Pomodori al Forno

Here we are, staring October straight in the face.  I've neglected my poor little blog ... again... but there has been a lot of activity in the Veggie Kitchen of late.  We've been cooking up a storm - yes, both M. and I have been busy.  But, we've been cooking seasonally using fresh ingredients procured from local farmers' markets and haven't really been following recipes.  As a result, I've been too lazy to track ingredients, keep measurements recorded or even take pictures of the final result.  Bad blogger, I know.  

But now that we're moving into fall, I'm beginning to seek recipes and be inspired to keep better track of what I'm doing.  Recently I was inspired by Stephanie's post about a recent Molly Wizenberg column in Bon Appetit.  The column caught my eye when I read the issue, but it took Stephanie's raves about the recipe to really get me to the farmer's market to buy some tomatoes to try it for myself.  

We really enjoyed this recipe.  We enjoyed it as recommended at first, and served it on french bread slices over a bed of goat cheese.  The creaminess of the goat cheese complimented the tomatoes nicely, and we had to work hard to remember that there were supposedly eight servings in the recipe.  Then I used it in a tried and true pasta recipe in place of sundried tomatoes.  The leftover Pomodori al Forno worked perfectly, and added a depth of flavor that I don't remember previously.  So that experiment was considered a success in my book!

I also reserved the flavored olive oil from the Pomodori al Forno, and have used it in numerous recipes where I thought it would compliment the dish.  And so far, the tomatoey taste of the oil has done just that.  So the versatility of this one recipe has really impressed me.  And it's simple (although time consuming) and tasty to boot!  What could be better?

So I will join the ranks of those encouraging everyone to try this recipe.  Tomato season is almost over - but there is still time!  Hurry!  And I apologize for the lackluster picture accompanying this post - we were so busy scarfing down the tomatoey cheesey goodness that taking a picture was an afterthought.  :)

[Recipes for pomodori al Forno and Angel Hair with Sund-dried Tomatoes and Goat Cheese can be found by clicking the links above.]

Mezze, part one

Mezze. It is such a great word. According to Wikipedia, it means a selection of appetizers or small dishes taken with alcohol. What can be more perfect then that? And the alcohol is optional. In fact, I didn't actually know that was part of the definition until now but it certainly makes me love the concept even more. Enjoying a mezze-style meal is like having a little party. So tonight, we had a little mezze. No occasion. Sunday night. Football. Mezze.

The idea of making Middle Eastern food came from two sources. First of all, we went to one of our favorite Middle Eastern restaurants last night. And I mean favorite. Here in NYC, you have to really love a restaurant to return. After all, there are hundreds of thousands of more out there. Why return for just "okay"? But this restaurant in the East Village is fantastic. No menus, $35 for 7 plus courses and just a delicious mezze of food. But last night, they weren't up to their usual standards. Yes, the falafel was outstanding, but the hummus tasted bland. The usual fattoush salad had been changed to an avocado feta salad (also too bland) and there were several other similar changes. I was left wanting more.... wanting the fattoush salad and wanting better tasting hummus. This, coupled with the three eggplants picked from the garden this week planted the idea of making a mezze for dinner tonight into my mind. And then, I just couldn't think of anything else.

Baba Ghanouj is a personal thing. I like mine creamy, smoky from the grill but with enough tahini to make the flavor fuller. M. prefers his thinner and smokier. To each their own. Except that I was the chef tonight. :)

Baba Ghanoush (Roasted Eggplant with Tahini)
Deborah Madison
Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

1 large or 2 medium eggplants, about 1 1/4 pounds
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup tahini
Juice of 1 large lemon
salt
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Chopped parsley
2 tablespoons of mayonnaise

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Slash eggplant in several places so it won't explode, and then put in pan and bake until the point of collapse (30-40 minutes). Let skin harden and char in a few places to give it a smoky flavor. I cooked my eggplant on the grill for about 40 minutes. Let rest for 15 minutes or so. Peel eggplant, and puree in blender or food processor with the garlic and tahini. Season with lemon juice and salt to taste. I added a couple of tablespoons of mayonnaise to round out the flavor even more. Mayonnaise is a common ingredient in Israeli style baba ghanoush, but again optional. Mound puree in a bowl, create slight depression with the back of a spoon. Pour a little olive oil in to the depression, sprinkle with parsley and serve.

"Veggie" Sausage Rolls

I've been vegetarian since age 14. Half of my life, actually. Wow, that's weird to say. Before I turned vegetarian, I loved an appetizer my mother would make for my parents' annual Boxing Day Party. Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated in England on the day after Christmas. According to Wikkipedia, there are many possible reasons for the holiday. I particularly like the tradition that Boxing Day was the day when you "boxed" a gift to give to the people who work for you all year long (for example the postman, milkman etc). You can read more here. But, for whatever reason, Boxing Day is the day we would hold our annual open house cocktail party. Since Americans don't celebrate Boxing Day, my parents found that the party was well attended and so the tradition continued throughout the years.

It wouldn't be Boxing Day without sausage rolls. My mother would cook up sausage, roll out puff pastry dough and line strips of dough with the sausage filling. Next, she would roll over the dough and seal with a little egg wash. The process was simple, quick and the yield made the recipe perfect for a cocktail party as many rolls could be quickly produced at one time. I decided to replicate this with "veggie" sausage filling for our Oscar party last week. It was a success, the rolls were easy to prepare and well received by a non-vegetarian crowd. I don't have a picture since my camera was still held hostage at school, but there's still a piece of puff pastry dough in the freezer - perhaps more rolls will be forthcoming in the weeks to come.

"Veggie" Sausage Rolls

My notes - I found one tube of "veggie sausage" was just about enough for one piece of puff pastry dough. I had a little bit of sausage stuffing left, but I was generous in my application of sausauge to the rolls.

1 roll of "Gimme Lean" or vegetarian sausage
1 piece of puff pastry dough, thawed (boxes typically contain 2 pieces)
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat the egg in a small bowl and set aside.

Open sausage packet, and place in small bowl. Stir with a fork.

Unroll pastry. Roll into square/rectangle and cut into long strips about 2 inches wide.

Spread "sausage" down the center of one strip of puff pastry. Paint egg wash along edge of strip and roll over, pressing dry side of pastry into egg wash. Cut into small 1 inch sized pieces and place on cookie sheet. Brush top of pieces with egg wash. Repeat as necessary.

Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy!

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

I love the artichoke. Related to the thistle or not, it is one tasty veggie. For most of the year, I rely on the convenience of canned artichoke hearts. Using canned artichokes is quick and easy, and allows me to choose recipes highlighting the ingredient without a moment of hesitation. But artichoke season is coming up ... and I'm getting ready.

To get into the mood for artichokes, I decided to make this dip for a little Oscar soiree we hosted last Sunday. Neither M. nor I are THAT into the Oscars, but it seemed like a good excuse for a little party. I've made this dip many times before. It works well as is, but higher fat cream cheeses can be substituted without affecting the result. I usually add the whole box of frozen spinach, figuring that if a little spinach is good then more is definitely better. Enjoy!


Spinach-and-Artichoke Dip
From Cooking Light Magazine, September 2000

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1 (8-ounce) block fat-free cream cheese, softened
1/2 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
1 (13.5-ounce) package baked tortilla chips (about 16 cups)

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, sour cream, 2 tablespoons Parmesan, and next 6 ingredients (2 tablespoons Parmesan through spinach) in a large bowl, and stir until well-blended. Spoon mixture into a 1 1/2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup mozzarella and 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Serve with tortilla chips

Yield: 5 1/2 cups (serving size: 1/4 cup dip and about 6 chips)

CALORIES 148 (30% from fat); FAT 5g (sat 2.9g,mono 1.5g,poly 0.5g); PROTEIN 7.7g; CHOLESTEROL 17mg; CALCIUM 164mg; SODIUM 318mg; FIBER 1.5g; IRON 0.6mg; CARBOHYDRATE 18.3g

Ginger-Scented Vegetable Pot stickers/ Ginger-Sesame Dipping Sauce

When planning Saturday's meal, I thought that vegetable dumplings would make the perfect accompaniment to the Warm Vegetables with Cool Noodles. Well, they would have. But I made the classic mistake known to anyone with any specific dietary needs (be it vegetarian, no wheat, no dairy etc). I bought dumplings ... AND DIDN'T READ THE INGREDIENT LIST! I mean, there were a multitude of dumplings - some pork, some chicken, some shrimp and some vegetable. I grabbed a package of vegetable dumplings and kept going.

Boy was I bummed when I scanned the ingredients just before planning to prepare them. PORK FAT! Lurking in this particular brand of veggie dumplings - ack! And so, warm vegetables with cool noodles were served solo. And M. was told he had free reign on these particular dumplings (as he is not a vegetarian).

But when Monday rolled around, and the leftovers were looming - I still wanted dumplings. So, I purchased gyoza skins, grabbed my leftover grated carrots and my leftover shredded cabbage and found this recipe in Robin Robertson's Vegan Planet. But I modified it a touch, since the original recipe called for processing the ingredients uncooked. I simply sauteed them quickly before tossing them into the processer. Just my own personal preference.

Ginger-Scented Vegetable Pot Stickers
by Robin Robertson, Vegan Planet

1 cup minced napa cabbage (I used leftover shredded and left as such)
1 cup drained and crumbled extra-firm tofu (I cubed, since it was being processed anyways)
1/4 cup shredded carrots
1 clove garlic (I used 2)
9 tablespoons peeled and minced fresh ginger (I just used a lot)
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/2 tsp cornstarch
salt and pepper (which I now realize I forgot)
24 dumpling or wonton wrappers
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 tablespoon tamari or other soy sauce (I threw in a splash too lazy to measure)
1 cup of water

My first step - saute ingredients briefly for a few minutes until fragrant.
1. In a food processor, combine the cabbage, tofu, carrots, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, cornstarch and salt/pepper to taste. Process until well combined.
1. Place 1 wonton wrapper on a work surface and spoon 1 tablespoon of the filling into the lower third of the wrapper. Maybe mine were small, but I found 1 T too much filling- and my yield was higher then 24. Fold wrapper over the filling to form a triangle (if using square) or a semi-circle (if using round). Moisten edges of the wrapper with water to seal. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling.
3.Heat 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Placce half the dumplings in the pan and cook until golden. Do not crowd.
I used my own cooking technique of spraying skillet with cooking spray, adding a few dumplings (I froze most) and then browning for a minute or two. Then, I add some water to make sure dumplings heat through without adding to much oil. Then, as water dries, they brown nicely.

















Ginger-Sesame Dipping Sauce
Didi Emmons - Vegetarian Planet

This sauce is a favorite in our house. Fairly easy to mix up, it generally makes enough to get through a batch of homemade dumplings.

Makes about 1 cup

1 teaspoon wasabi powder
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey or sugar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil

In a small bowl, mix together the wasabi powder and water; let sit for a few minutes to allow the flavors to develop.
In a jar with a close-fitting lid, mix together the other ingredients. Add the wasabi mixture. Shake vigorously.


And the completed meal?



Not too shabby for leftovers at all!













Unfortunately, M. was unable to make it home for dinner as he had to work late. Very late as it turned out. Never fear! I didn't lack for a fine dinner companion....




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