Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook (28 page)
Read Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook Online
Authors: Isa Chandra Moskowitz,Terry Hope Romero
Tags: #food.cookbooks
Variations:
POTATO-MUSHROOM BLINTZESSweet Crepes:
Add 2 tablespoons sugar.Sweet Orange or Lemon Crepes:
Add 1 teaspoon of finely grated orange or lemon zest and 2 tablespoons of sugar.Whole Wheat Crepes:
Substitute ½ cup of whole wheat pastry flour for ½ cup of the all-purpose flour, to add extra fiber and nutrients.
MAKES 8 TO 10 BLINTZES
TIME:
45 MINUTES, NOT INCLUDING MAKING CREPES
45 MINUTES, NOT INCLUDING MAKING CREPES
Blintzes are plump little packets of folded crepes stuffed with a sweet or savory filling. For your brunching pleasure, we present a hearty potato-mushroom filling, wrapped in your choice of a wheat or buckwheat crepe. Serve with any sauce you’d use for crepes, such as Mushroom Gravy (page 211) or any natural applesauce. These blintzes are also an exceptional choice for dinner served alongside a simple green salad. Assemble the blintzes the day before and they’ll sauté up crisp in mere minutes for a fun and filling meal.
1 recipe Savory Wheat or Buckwheat Crepes (page 77)
Softened nonhydrogenated vegan margarine for
frying
Filling:
½ pound Yukon gold or other waxy potato (about 2
medium-size potatoes)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 small onion, diced finely
1 teaspoon caraway seeds (optional)
½ pound mushrooms, any variety, sliced thinly
Plenty of freshly ground pepper
Salt
Optional sauces for garnish:
Mushroom Gravy, Mustard Sauce, Dill-Tahini Sauce, all-natural unsweetened apple sauce, store-bought soy sour cream
FIRST, PREPARE the crepes (see page 77). Stack them, one on top the other, on a dinner plate. Cover the plate with plastic wrap and set aside.
Peel and coarsely chop the potatoes. Place them in a medium-size pot, add enough cold water to cover by 1 inch, and boil for 20 to 25 minutes until easily pierced with a fork and tender. Drain, place the potatoes in a large bowl, and mash coarsely.
In a heavy skillet over medium heat, heat the oil and add the onion. Stir and fry the onion until it’s golden-brown and very soft, about 15 minutes. Add the caraway seeds and mushrooms. Sauté until the mushrooms are very tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed, about 7 minutes.
Fold the cooked mushroom mixture into mashed potatoes and season to taste with salt and plenty of ground black pepper.
To assemble each blintz, place 3 to 4 tablespoons of the filling in the center of the crepe. Pat the filling to shape it into an oblong. Fold two opposite sides of the crepe over the filling, then fold the remaining two sides over those. The resulting blintz should be a rectangular little bundle. Stack the assembled blintzes on a plate, seam side down.
Heat a heavy skillet or crepe pan over medium heat. The pan will be ready when a few droplets of water flicked onto its surface sizzle. Using a silicone brush, brush the bottom of skillet with the softened margarine. Place two or three blintzes, seam side down, onto the skillet and cook on each side for 3 to 4 minutes, until their pan-side surface is crisped and browned. Use a small, firm spatula to turn once. Serve the hot blintzes immediately.
Variation:
Potato-Spinach Blintzes:
Substitute 1 pound of cooked, chopped fresh spinach for the mushrooms.
SALADS AND DRESSINGS
W
E HAVE NOTHING personal against salads. Some have suspected that we do, just because they don’t feature prominently in
Vegan with a Vengeance
. It’s just that, all too often, salads are assumed to be the staple of vegetarians everywhere, and lots of times they end up being just that. It’s because we sympathize with the eleven-year-old vegetarian who ends up eating a sprig of parsley and a slice of limp, pink tomato while the rest of her family chows down on hamburgers that we’ve often paid attention to heartier, cooked fare, rather than a handful of leaves and olive oil.
E HAVE NOTHING personal against salads. Some have suspected that we do, just because they don’t feature prominently in
Vegan with a Vengeance
. It’s just that, all too often, salads are assumed to be the staple of vegetarians everywhere, and lots of times they end up being just that. It’s because we sympathize with the eleven-year-old vegetarian who ends up eating a sprig of parsley and a slice of limp, pink tomato while the rest of her family chows down on hamburgers that we’ve often paid attention to heartier, cooked fare, rather than a handful of leaves and olive oil.
But salad lovers everywhere can now rejoice that we’ve come to terms with all of those issues. Time well spent on the couch has allowed us to reexperience the subtle joys of arugula, spinach, fresh fruits and herbs, piquant vinegars, and oils. We lean toward substantial salads these days, so you’ll notice lots of tender grains, beans, roasted vegetables, and mushrooms adding plenty of depth and flavor to the medley of traditional leafy greens.
Most of these salads can be served as entrées with a couple of add-ons. Salads deserve to hang out all year round—not just during those steamy summer days—therefore, we proudly present a salad for most any occasion and season. So dust off those salad tongs and rev up the salad spinner. And don’t forget the parsley.
CAESAR SALAD WITH ROASTED GARLIC CROUTONSSERVES 4 TO 6 AS A SIDE, 2 TO 3 AS A ENTRÉE
TIME:
30 MINUTES, PLUS TIME TO CHILL
30 MINUTES, PLUS TIME TO CHILL
Creamy, bold, garlicky—this is the classic salad that eats like a meal. In our version of a Caesar, ground almonds provide a texture similar to that of grated hard cheese, and capers bring on that essential briny flavor. Fresh, homemade croutons bathed in roasted garlic and olive oil really make this and are super-easy, so don’t substitute lame store-bought ones if you can help it. (Be sure to roast a bulb of garlic in advance so that you can get on with the crouton recipe—see page 32.) Be generous when applying the Caesar dressing to the salad, as this dressing recipe makes a lot.
➣
Leftover salad, dressing, and grilled tempeh or tofu make an amazing filling for homemade Caesar salad wraps. Just tuck and roll up filling ingredients into your favorite flatbread and eat ASAP.
Caesar dressing:
⅓ cup slivered or sliced blanched almonds
3-4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
¾ pound silken tofu (preferably fresh, not vacuum-
packed)
¼ cup olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 heaping tablespoon capers
4 teaspoons caper brine
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon mustard powder
Salt
Croutons:
¼ cup olive oil
4 cloves roasted garlic (page 32)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 medium-size loaf French or Italian bread (little less
than 1 pound), stale and torn or sliced into bite-
size pieces
¼ teaspoon salt
Salad:
1 large head romaine lettuce, chopped
Freshly cracked black pepper
Handful or two of spinach and arugula, torn into
bite-size pieces
PREPARE THE dressing: Pulse the sliced almonds in a food processor or blender until crumbly. Empty the ground almonds into an airtight container that you’ll be using to store the finished dressing. Blend the garlic, tofu, and oil in the food processor or blender until creamy. Add the lemon juice, capers, caper brine, sugar, and mustard powder, and pulse until blended. Adjust the lemon juice and salt to taste. Pour into the container with the ground almonds and whisk to combine. Cover and allow the dressing to chill in the refrigerator for a minimum 30 minutes, optimally 1 to 1½ hours.
WE like to add a little spinach and arugula to this Caesar salad—the rich dressing contrasts perfectly with these bitter greens—but it’s not essential. Make an entrée out of it by tossing cubed, grilled tempeh or tofu (page 97) and grilled mushrooms, asparagus, or leeks. Other optional add-ins include roasted red peppers (pages 26-28), shredded red cabbage, shredded carrot, steamed or roasted green beans, or slivered toasted almonds.
While dressing is chilling, prepare the croutons: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Combine the olive oil, roasted garlic, and lemon juice in a large bowl. With a fork or immersion blender, mash or blend the mixture until creamy. Add the torn bread and toss to coat each piece with the oil mixture. Spread onto a rimmed baking sheet, sprinkle with salt, if desired, and bake for 12 to 14 minutes until golden brown. Toss the croutons twice during the baking process. Remove from the oven and cool the croutons on the baking sheet.
To assemble the salad, place in a large bowl 2 to 3 cups of lettuce/greens per individual serving (amount depending on whether it’s a side or entrée). If using, add vegetables, tempeh, and so on. Ladle on ⅓ cup of the dressing (or more or less to taste), and use kitchen tongs to toss the greens and coat them with dressing. Add the warm croutons, toss again, and transfer to a serving dish. Sprinkle with a little freshly cracked pepper. If not serving right away, warm croutons in 300°F oven for 5 to 8 minutes before adding to the salad.
CORN AND EDAMAME-SESAME SALADSERVES 4 TO 6
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