Vegetarian Recipes

Alright, as suggested in the "Any Vegetarians Out There" thread, here are some recipes for the not-so-discriminating vegetarian.

Black Bean Hummus

1 19 oz tin black beans, drained
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 T tahini
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 c lemon juice
1 t cumin
1/4 t cayenne
3 T cilantro
salt & pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and food process until smooth. Add water if the mixture is too thick. Serve with pita bread.


Eggplant Steaks

1 large eggplant, 1/2" slices, unpeeled
1/2 t basil
1/2 t oregano
minced garlic or garlic powder
sliced tomatoes
feta cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Sprinkle bost sides of the eggplant with the spices. Top with tomato slices and crumbled feta cheese. Bake, covered for approximately 30 minutes.


Vegetarian Meatloaf

2 c water
1 t salt
1 c lentils
1 small onion, diced
1 c quick-cooking oats
3/4 c grated cheese (cheddar, swiss, jack or american)
1 egg, beaten
4 1/2 oz tomato sauce
1 t garlic powder
1 t dried basil
1 t ground oregano
1 T dried parsley
1/2 t seasoning salt
1/4 black pepper

Add salt to water and bring to a boil. Add lentils and simmer covered 25-30 minutes, until lentils are soft and most of the water has evaporated. Remove from heat and drain. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and partially mash the lentils. Allow to cool slightly. Stir in onions, oats, and cheese until mixed. Add egg, tomato sauce, and spices. Mix well. Spoon into a loaf pan that has been generously greased. Smooth top with a spoon and add tomato sauce to evenly cover top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes until top of loaf is dry, and firm. Cool in pan on rack fo about 10 minutes. Run a sharp knife around edges of pan then turn out loaf onto serving platter.

Anyone else?

The black bean hummus sounds great!

I don't measure and I cook very simply, so no laughing-

Red lentils and couscous

Mix equal parts cooked red lentils and couscous
Add feta cheese, cubed tomatoes, or roasted nuts to garnish
I sometimes boil raw cashews and then add the couscous
If you use whole wheat couscous, it will complement the protein in the lentils!
If you stuff it in a pepper, more power to you!

This is really easy, but one of my favourites. It take sminutes to prepare, and oh so yummy.

The only thing is I'm not sure how easy it is to find Haloumi cheese in all the countries represented on this board, but in Sydney, most ethnic delis have it.

1 block Cyprus haloumi cheese, sliced (to whatever size you like - though not too thin)
Fefferoni peppers (they should be hot)
Salad of your choice

Place the slices of haloumi cheese in a hot pan with olive oil. These things cook pretty quick, so you'll need to be on your toes. I like to spray a bit of olive oil on top the the haloumi as it cooks, helps give it that golden brown colour all the way around.

It should take about 1 - 2 minutes to cook the first side, flip the haloumi, and then another minute for the second side. It should have a golden brown on both sides when done. It doesn't matter if you burn it a little, some people like it slightly burnt.

When serving, eat a slice of the haloumi with a bite of the feferroni peppers. The haloumi will actually neutralise the "heat" of the peppers, it is just amazing to eat these two things together! Oh yeah, add a salad of your choice and your all done.

Z...

this is a really really easy one also:

pasta al aglio, olio e peperoncino ( i can speak some italian but my writing is dodgy )

you need lots of garlic and some hot chilli peppers for this one; you also need some olive oil and (obviously) pasta.

The pasta is boiled normally (but make sure you don't overcook it - it becomes too soft and it's not good).

first, dice the garlic and chilli peppers to small pieces (like 2-3mm thick);
(I usually use around a handfull of garlic and one full chilli pepper for one or two portions of pasta).

put some olive oil in a frying pan and let it get hot;

add the garlic and chilli and let it fry for around 30 seconds, then turn off the heat and remove the pan from the oven (note: if you fry it too much the garlic starts to stink and rouins the meal )

after you dry the pasta, just mix it with the sauce and it's ready to serve



a few notes:
- the combination is very simple and easy to make, but it's not tasty unless it's hot;

- if you have 1 table spoon of basil, just add it to fry with the garlic; it gives a very nice aroma;

- i didn't mention salt: around one tbsp. salt should be added to the boiling water for the pasta, and the oil should be salted also.

- if it's not hot enough when ready, you can just add more powdered chilli pepper to the plates.

Most of my recipes are too long to post plus I am not very good at measuring (unless baking...)

Hmmm, mushroom risotto:

1 onion (chopped up)
2 cups aborio or Italian style rice
3-4 T unsalted butter
1/2 cup - 3/4 cup wine
dried porcini mushrooms hydrated (I stick them in the boiling stock for flavour)
mixed wild mushrooms
1/4-1/2 cup Italian parsley
salt and pepper
1/2 cup + parmesan cheese
6 cups boiling vegetable stock

In a large pot at medium heat, melt butter (add some olive oil if you like as well) and saute onions until soft. Add aborio and continue cooking until it is coated and sealed with the oils. Increase to medium high heat and add wine until evaporated. Begin to ladle in stop one ladleful at a time (keep stock simmering on low heat) and stir continuously until all stock is absorbed. Add next ladleful, stir, and then repeat. When about half the stock is gone, add chopped mushrooms (coarsly chop them). Continue adding stock, stirring, etc. Continue process until aborio is fully cooked (this generally takes all the stock and may take a little more). Remove from heat, add parsley, salt and pepper to taste and parmesan cheese. Mix together. Serve with fresh parmesan on top. Enjoy!

(and this is one of my easier recipes.....)

Here's one of mine: Spinach and Artichoke Lasagna. A little bit of work, but well worth it (and no work just before dinner).

Ingredients
1 each cooking spray
9 each uncooked lasagna noodles
1 each onion, chopped
4 each cloves garlic, chopped
14 1/2 ounce vegetable broth
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
14 ounce canned artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
10 ounce frozen spinach, drained and squeezed
28 ounce tomato pasta sauce
3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
4 ounce herb and garlic feta cheese, crumbled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add noodles and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

Spray a large skillet with cooking spray and heat on medium-high. Saute onion and garlic for 3 minutes, or until onion is tender-crisp. Stir in broth and rosemary; bring to a boil. Stir in artichoke hearts and spinach; reduce heat, cover and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in pasta sauce.

Spread 1/4 of the artichoke mixture in the bottom of the prepared baking dish; top with 3 cooked noodles. Sprinkle 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese over noodles. Repeat layers 2 more times, ending with artichoke mixture and mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle crumbled feta on top.

Bake, covered, for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 minutes more, or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

In 8x8 pan, use 6 noodles and about 60% of the ingredients.

All those dishes sound good!

Here's a recipe for black beans and rice...

Ingredients:
1 medium onion
1 clove garlic
2 cans Bush's Black Beans
1 cup jasmine rice
Allspice
Teaspoon - oregano, salt, pepper
Habanero sauce
Salsa
Cheddar cheese

Add the desired amount of rice to a pot with water and let that cook while making the beans.

Dice the onion and cook in olive oil until slightly softened. Next, add a minced or crushed clove of garlic (don't overcook the garlic!). Then add the salt, pepper and oregano. I don't really measure, but it's probably a teaspoon of the oregano and a few sprinkles of the others. After stirring those ingredients, next add the two cans of black beans. On top of that, add a healthy dose of allspice (maybe 3-4 tablespoons) and as much habanero sauce that you can stand. Mix it all up and let it simmer.

As soon as the rice is done and the beans are thoroughly heated, you're good to go. Top off a bowl with some cheddar cheese and your favorite salsa.

Enjoy!

Now I'm hungry.

I posted this in another thread but it bears repeating:

Super easy recipeand even my kids like it!)

Saute fresh chopped garlic in olive oil then toss in cooked pasta, black olives, parmasan cheese and a little salt to taste

You can toss in some artickoke hearts, diced tomatoes and feta cheese if you desire:chef:

I posted this in another thread, but I thought it would find a home here:

(this is from vegweb.com and Parul Mehta)

Chana Masala

Ingredients (use vegan versions):
1 can garbanzo beans
1 big onion very finely chopped or processed in a food processor/grinder
1 inch piece of ginger grated
1 clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon amchur powder (dried mango powder)
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
2 tablespoon oil
salt to taste
Directions:
Heat oil in a frying pan. Add chopped onions and fry until golden brown. Add all the spices (except mango powder), crushed garlic and grated ginger to it.

Fry for about two-three minutes. Add garbanzo beans, salt and mango powder. Add about 1/2 cup of water and cook on low heat for about 15 minutes. This will give some time for garbanzo beans to absorb all the spices.

This isn't a recipe, but when I cook with tofu, I cut it up into flat squares, and for reasons I won't get into, I usually have a multiple of three. So after I pat it dry, I assemble little arches in a circle that resemble Stonehenge.

There is some method to the apparent madness. The tofu fries better if it is drier, and since I don't fry it right away, Tofuhenge does help dry the tofu because more of the surface area is exposed.