This is a special edition “request” post (thanks, A.H.) for a dish I made for a dinner party last week. I wasn’t planning on posting it, so there is no photo. If anyone makes this–can you please take a picture and forward it to me?
It comes from Jack Bishop’s A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen. It’s vegan and delicious.
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 medium onions, halved and thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon minced gingerroot
- 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice (I actually used almost 2 sweet potatoes)
- 6 pitted prunes, chopped
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro leaves (I minced these and then forgot to add them, so I guess feel free to leave them out)
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onions and cook until golden, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the cumin and cinnamon and cook until the spices smell toasty, about 30 seconds.
2. Add the broth, chickpeas, sweet potato, and prunes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer, stirring once or twice, until the sweet potatoes are tender, 12-15 minutes. Stir in the cilantro (!) and salt and pepper to taste and serve.
“Fresh from Spain” might be a more appropriate title for this post, which highlights my favorite winter fruit…the clementine. I know that eating clementines in such large quantities does not win me locavore points with Barbara Kingsolver, author of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. However, I find that a clementine a day (at minimum) shields me from the germ factory* in which I work.
We used Murray’s chicken breasts for this recipe, which I sliced in half so they would cook more easily. Murray’s chicken comes from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. What I like about this chicken is that each package comes with a Farm Verification number. You can type this in, and find out exactly which farm. My number 2631 gave me 2 potential farms. Feel free to check it out at Murray’s Chicken website.
This healthy recipe comes from Lifetime Moms, and I only adapted the quantities. This amount made 4 salads, and was perfect for lunch the next day (just make sure not to dress it until right before you eat it)
*elementary school
Ingredients:
- 3-4 cups mesclun mix (We used Satur Farms)
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 4 fresh clementines,peeled and sectioned
- 1/2 cup plus 4 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange or clementine juice, divided
- 4 tablespoons slivered almonds
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced, divided
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 2 tablespoon rice wine vinegar (can substitute white wine vinegar)
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Directions:
- Mix together 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/2 cup orange juice or clementine juice, garlic cloves and ginger and pour over chicken breasts in a shallow dish. Refrigerate and let marinate at least 30 minutes. Heat griddle over medium heat and grill chicken for 6 minutes each side until juices run clear.
- While the chicken is grilling, mix together remaining soy sauce, orange juice, honey, ginger and rice wine vinegar for the dressing. Slowly add the olive oil while whisking until oil is incorporated.
- Slice the chicken into thin strips. Layer greens, clementine sections, almonds and chicken, topping with desired amount of dressing.
I made this bright and tasty salad to accompany latkes last night. It was a big hit. Thanks to Food and Wine for the great recipe!
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
- 1/4 cup chopped mint
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup salted roasted pistachios, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups farro (10 ounces)
- 1/4 cup dried sour cherries
- 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
- 1/4 cup golden raisins
Directions:
- Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the farro and simmer over moderate heat until al dente, about 35 minutes. Drain well, shaking off the excess water.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the orange zest, orange juice, lemon juice, ginger and oil and whisk to blend. Season with salt.
- Add the warm farro to the dressing along with the raisins and cherries and toss well. Let stand until the farro is almost cool. Just before serving, fold in the scallions, pistachios, mint and cilantro and season with salt.
This sweet soup was a perfect ending to a chilly Sunday. All of the vegetables and the cream are at the farmer’s market right now. This recipe comes from Didi Emmons’ Entertaining for a Veggie Planet.
Ingredients:
2 acorn squash
extra virgin olive oil
4 heads of garlic, 3 left whole, 1 separated into cloves and peeled
2 tablespoons butter
2 onions, chopped
4 cups vegetable stock
2/3 cup dry sherry
1 bunch spinach (the recipe calls for 2/3 pound–I think I went a little overboard)
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon kosher salt
pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
freshly ground black pepper to taste
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut the acorn squash in half with a large,sharp chef’s knife. Remove and discard the seeds and strings. Brush the cut sides with olive oil. Arrange the squash cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet. Cut off the top thirds of three heads of garlic, and brush the cut sides with olive oil. Place them cut side up on the baking pan with the squash. Roast until the squash and garlic are very tender, about 45 degrees.
- Meanwhile, in a large, heavy pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions and saute, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Add the unroasted garlic cloves and saute for 3 minutes more. Stir in the vegetable stock, sherry, and spinach. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Scoop the squash flesh into a food processor. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins and add to the food processor. Puree the squash and garlic, adding a bit of the liquid from the soup, if necessary. Transfer to a clean, large saucepan.
- In a food processor, puree the spinach mixture in batches, adding each batch to the squash mixture. Or use an immersion blender to puree the spinach mixture into the pot, then add it to the squash mixture. Add the cream, salt, and nutmeg and mix well. Heat through and season with pepper. Ladle into bowls and serve.
On Veteran’s Day, I had the day off and enjoyed lunch with a friend at Freeman’s (mmm). We both got their lentil salad, and it was so delicious that we each decided that we must make lentil salad ourselves as soon as possible.
Jack Bishop’s A Year in A Vegetarian Kitchen is filled with healthy recipes that highlight seasonal food. This recipe was great because I was able to make it a few hours ahead of time, and then just put it all together at the end. It was delicious for lunch the next day as well. Are you scared of cooking lentils? You are not alone. I am not a very experienced lentil cooker, and they usually end up mushy and bland. This recipe turned me into a believer. I will put the exact recipe below, but I actually cooked my lentils at least 5 minutes less than he suggests (mostly because I was in a hurry.) The lentils were just the right consistency.
Ingredients:
1 pound turnips, scrubbed and cut into 3/4-inch dice
3 small red onions (about 1/2 pound), quartered through the root ends
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/4 cup dried green lentils (called French lentils in some places), rinsed and picked over to remove any stones
2 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly crushed
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon minced fresh tarragon leaves
6 cups packed mesclun, baby spinach, or other tender greens (I used a combination of young greens from Carroll Street’s Sunday market)
Directions:
- Move an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 425 degrees. Toss the turnips, onions, 1 tablespoon of the oil, and salt and pepper to taste on a large rimmed baking sheet. Roast, stirring the vegetables once or twice, until lightly browned, about 40 minutes. Cool slightly and finely chop the onions.
- Meanwhile, bring the lentils, garlic, bay leaves, and 6 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in one teaspoon salt and continue cooking until the lentils are tender but not mushy, about 5 minutes. Drain and discard the garlic and bay leaves.
- While the lentils are cooking, whisk the lemon juice, mustard, and salt and pepper to taste in a large bowl. Whisk in the remaining olive oil until the dressing in smooth. Whisk in the tarragon and adjust the seasonings, adding more salt and pepper as needed.
- Add the warm lentils, chopped onion, and roasted turnips to the bowl with the dressing. Toss to coat and adjust the seasonings, adding salt and pepper to taste. Cool to room temperature, stirring the lentil salad from time to time to promote even absorption of the dressing.
- Divide the greens among four large plates. Spoon the lentil salad over the greens and serve.
My turkey salad picture: Proving produce is more photogenic than poultry 😦
My mom is responsible for creating wonderful Thanksgiving traditions that go beyond the traditional. There is always plenty to eat for vegetarians–not just a heap of potatoes and a roll. She is a vegetarian and an incredible cook, and makes a meal that herbvivores and carnivores enjoy side by side (salami, stuffed mushrooms, meatballs, spinach pie, sweet potato casserole to name a few favorites). This year was no different–the family getting together and enjoying delicious food made it my favorite day of the year. Thanks, mom!
Perhaps our family’s most unusual Thanksgiving ritual is the annual voting of the food. At the end of the meal, each dish is voted and commented on anonymously. My dad then reads all the comments while someone else tallies up the votes. Since many people in my family pride themselves in their terrific senses of humor (who is the funniest?), the comments are hilarious. The least favorite dish is not invited back on the menu the following year. Several years back, I remember the turkey getting the lowest vote, but an exception was made for the bird. I did not understand why an exception was made, since I enjoyed vegetarian Thanksgiving year after year and did not miss the turkey one bit.
Now that I am back to eating meat after an almost 20-year hiatus, I was curious about this turkey business, and eager to contribute a second turkey for the holiday meal. I picked it up from Stinky Brooklynon Smith Street. The turkey came from Stonewood Farms in Vermont. It was antibiotic and hormone-free, and pasture-raised with uncrowded open sided barns. Turkeys from true family farms such as this one are a far cry from what is produced and being called ‘turkey’ on the mass-market.
Jonathan Safran Foer’s Eating Animals is not my favorite book because reading it sort of feels like being lectured to by my 13 -year old self. However, I’m glad he wrote it because we are so far removed from our food that it is impossible for people to imagine what really goes on behind factory farm doors. He explains in detail some of the problems:
“Jamming deformed, drugged, overstressed birds in a filthy, waste-coated room is not very healthy. Beyond deformities, eye damage, blindness, bacterial infections of bones, slipped vertebrae, paralysis, internal bleeding, anemia, slipped tendons, twisted lower legs and necks, respiratory diseases, and weakened immune systems are frequent and long-standing problems on factory farms.”
Clearly, this treatment causes a great deal of suffering for the animals involved. But even if someone couldn’t care less about the life of a turkey, do we really want to be eating animals that are this unhealthy? Their natural life-cycle is so disrupted that they don’t even taste the same. Foer goes onto explain that factory farmed birds are then “injected (or otherwise pumped up) with “broths” and salty solutions to give them what we have come to think of as the…look, smell, and taste.”
Although I still don’t think turkey is a necessity on Thanksgiving Day, I enjoyed preparing the turkey with my husband this year. I looked up a recipe (Alton Brown’s Good Eats Roast Turkey), he did most of the hard work, and I watched in awe.
Now, of course, there are tons of leftovers. This morning I made a turkey soup and this quick recipe for curried turkey salad. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
2 cups of chopped roasted turkey
1 rib of celery, diced
2 tablespoons mayonaisse
1 teaspoon curry powder (I was out, so made my own version from mixing cumin, cardamom, turmeric, coriander, and mustard powders)
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
1. Mix together mayonaisse with curry powder.
2. Fold in turkey and celery and combine. Add salt and pepper.
3. Serve over a bed of greens, or in a sandwich.
I guess I’m on a pear kick, so here’s another one. This is a variation of this Epicurious recipe. It has great fall flavors and can be made in very little time. It is easy to double the recipe so you can make a lot for a big group.
Ingredients:
Dressing
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
- Freshly ground pepper
Salad
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
- 8 cups lightly packed fresh baby spinach leaves, stemmed if needed
- 2 firm but ripe Bosc pears (do not peel), quartered lengthwise, cored, and cut into long, thin slices
Directions:
- To make the dressing, in a small jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, sugar, salt, and pepper to taste. Cover tightly and shake vigorously to blend. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Set aside.
- Place the onions in a medium bowl and cover with cold water. Let stand for 30 minutes. This crisps the onion and takes away the raw onion taste. Drain well and pat dry on paper towels.
- In a small bowl, toss the cranberries with 2 tablespoons of the dressing to soften them. Set aside for at least 20 minutes or until ready to serve the salad.
- To assemble the salad, place the spinach, onions, and pears in a large bowl. Give the remaining dressing a last-minute shake and pour over the salad. Toss to coat evenly. Arrange the salad in a large serving bowl or divide it evenly among 8 salad plates. Scatter the cranberries over the top(s). Serve immediately.
This beautiful Barefoot Contessa recipe is perfect for the holidays. If you are hosting vegetarians, this can serve as a satisfying main course as well. I put her exact recipe below, but I actually made a few slight changes. I used about 1/4 cup olive oil instead of 1/2 cup. Also, I forgot to put the cranberries in the oven, so I just added them raw. To toast the walnuts, I put them in a 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes, tossing occasionally.
Peeling a dicing a raw butternut squash is not on my list of favorite activities. However, super sharp knives help to do the trick. We recently got our knives sharpened by the good people at A Cook’s Companion. It was long overdue, and I am so glad we did it. It made the dicing process a whole lot easier.
Ingredients
- 1 (1 1/2-pound) butternut squash, peeled and 3/4-inch diced
- Good olive oil
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons dried cranberries
- 3/4 cup apple cider or apple juice
- 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons minced shallots
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 4 ounces baby arugula, washed and spun dry
- 1/2 cup walnuts halves, toasted
- 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Place the butternut squash on a sheet pan. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, the maple syrup, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and toss. Roast the squash for 15 to 20 minutes, turning once, until tender. Add the cranberries to the pan for the last 5 minutes.
- While the squash is roasting, combine the apple cider, vinegar, and shallots in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the cider is reduced to about 1/4 cup. Off the heat, whisk in the mustard, 1/2 cup olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper.
- Place the arugula in a large salad bowl and add the roasted squash mixture, the walnuts, and the grated Parmesan. Spoon just enough vinaigrette over the salad to moisten and toss well. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
This recipe comes from Cook’s Illustrated’s Fall Entertaining 2011 magazine. They suggest three versions. This one is with frisee, goat cheese, and almonds. Other variations include :
*watercress, parmesan, and pecans
*radicchio, blue cheese, and walnuts
Any version would be great for a holiday starter. I found this one to be light enough that it won’t weigh you don’t before a big meal. Also, you can make it ahead of time, and then just put it together right before serving.
Ingredients:
- 3 ripe but firm pears (I used Bartlett, but you can also use Bosc), quartered and cored
- 2 1/2 teaspoons sugar
- salt and pepper
- 2 teaspoons plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 tablepoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 small shallot, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
- 1/2 medium head green leaf lettuce, washed, dried, and torn into 1-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
- 1 head frisee
- 4 ounces crumbled goat cheese
- 3/4 cup almonds
Directions:
- Toss pears, 2 teaspoons sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add pears cut side down in a single layer and cook until golden brown, 2-4 minutes. Using a small spatula or a fork, tip each pear onto the second cut side; continue to cook until second side is light brown, 2-4 minutes longer. Turn off the heat, leave skillet on burner, and add 2 tablespoons vinegar; gently stir until vinegar becomes glazy and coats pears, about 30 seconds. Transfer pears to a large plate and cool to room temperature, about 45 minutes. Cut each pear quarter crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces.
- Meanwhile, toast the almonds: Place almonds in a dry skillet over medium heat. Stir frequently until golden brown, about 10 minutes.
- Whisk remaining 2 tablespoons oil, remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar, remaining 1/2 teaspoon sugar, and shallot together in a large bowl; season with salt and pepper to taste. Add lettuce, frisee and cooked pears to bowl; toss and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper. Divide salad among individual plates; top each with portions of cheese and almonds. Serve immediately.
Hide your alfalfa…This recipe might make all other sprouts jealous.
GQ just named Brooklyn the coolest city on the planet (the whole PLANET, people), which is exciting because I did not realize that our borough had become an independent city once again. Also, I have a good feeling that this eponymous recipe will really catch on since the “city” I call home was given this honor by the same magazine that has articles which explain, “How to Dump Her Like a Man.”
I got the method for this recipe from Mark Bittman’s How To Cook Everything Vegetarian. A few changes: he calls for balsamic vinegar, which I omitted. Also, I added the pine nuts and parmesan, and sliced the garlic (he suggested leaving the garlic cloves whole).
Ingredients:
- 1 pound Brussels sprouts
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 5 cloves garlic, cut into thick slices (3-5 slices per clove)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmegiano-Reggiano cheese (the “real” kind with the name imprinted on the rind)
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Trim the hard edge of the stem from the Brussels sprouts, then cut each in half through its axis. Put the oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. When it shimmers, arrange the sprouts in one layer, cut side down. Toss in the garlic and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Cook, undisturbed, until the sprouts begin to brown, 5-10 minutes, then transfer to the oven. Cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until the sprouts are quite brown and tender. (Bittman recommends 30 minutes, but I typically take them out of the oven in 15-20. I think it really depends on the size of your sprouts.)
- While the sprouts of cooking, heat a small skillet over medium-low heat. Toast the pine nuts in the dry skillet for a few minutes, shaking frequently to avoid burning. Remove from heat once the pine nuts are lightly browned and fragrant.
- Put the sprouts mixture in a serving dish, and sprinkle with the pine nuts and cheese. Serve hot or warm.
fresh from brooklyn 