Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook (54 page)

Read Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook Online

Authors: Isa Chandra Moskowitz,Terry Hope Romero

Tags: #food.cookbooks

PREHEAT A large soup pot over medium heat. Sauté the onions until translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper. Sauté for 1 more minute, until the garlic is fragrant.
Add the potatoes and sun-dried tomatoes. Pour in the water. Cover and bring to a boil. Once the soup is boiling, lower the heat to medium, cover, and let simmer for about 20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the sun-dried tomatoes are soft.
Add the crushed tomatoes and heat through. If you have an immersion blender, you’re in luck! Puree the living hell out of it until it is very smooth. If you don’t have one, just transfer the whole shebang to a food processor or blender, in cooled batches, then transfer back to the pot. Add the lemon juice and adjust the salt if you need to.
Serve!
 
 
Variation:
Tomato-Basil Soup:
Add a half cup of shredded basil after pureeing.
 
SMOKY RED PEPPERS ’N’ BEANS GUMBO
 
SERVES 6 TO 8
TIME:
1 HOUR 30 MINUTES
 
 
Thick but not too thick, a stick-to-your-ribs veggie gumbo has a hint of smokiness from juicy, roasted red peppers. And a little help from the magic of liquid smoke (and it’s vegan, like a dream come true, so relax!). Traditionally, gumbos are served with a scoop of white rice in the middle, but this also pairs nicely with Skillet Corn Bread (page 223) or crusty French bread and a crisp green salad.
⅓ cup nonhydrogenated vegan margarine
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 medium-size onions, cut into small dice
2 green bell peppers, cut into small dice
1 stalk celery, sliced very thinly
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (10-ounce) package frozen okra, slightly thawed
and sliced thinly
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice, preferably
fire-roasted tomatoes
3 roasted red peppers, jarred or homemade (page
33), chopped into fine dice
1 (16-ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups vegetable broth
1 cup ale-style beer
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons oregano
¼ teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
2 bay leaves
4-5 sprigs of thyme
Pinch of cayenne
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Several pinches of freshly ground black pepper
 
 
➣
Leftover Simple Seitan (page 131), diced small, makes an delicious addition. Add it to the vegetables when sautéing them in the roux.
 
➣
Frozen okra makes this recipe a breeze; it slices up easily with little mess. If you’ve never used it before, you’ll be blown away by that perfect rectangle of frozen okra, or at least marginally amused. Of course, sliced fresh okra (½ to ¾ pound) may be used instead.
FIRST WE’RE going to make a roux: Preheat a large heavy-bottomed stockpot over medium-low heat. Place the margarine in the pot and stir until melted. Sprinkle in the flour and stir to dissolve it. Cook the flour mixture, stirring frequently, until it is a rich caramel color and smells toasty, anywhere from 10 to 14 minutes.
Add the chopped onions and peppers to the roux mixture, stirring to coat completely. Raise the heat to medium-high and cook until the vegetables are very soft, at least 12 minutes.
Add the celery, garlic, and okra, and cook for another 6 minutes. Add the tomatoes, roasted red peppers, kidney beans, and vegetable broth. Whisk together the beer and tomato paste and add that to the mixture, stirring to incorporate completely. Stir in the allspice, liquid smoke, and grated nutmeg, and lastly, tuck in the bay leaves and thyme sprigs.
Raise the heat and bring the mixture to a gentle boil, then lower the heat back to medium and partially cover. Allow the mixture to simmer 35 for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the okra is very tender. Allow to cool at least 15 minutes before serving, then season with salt, pepper, and cayenne.
CASSEROLES
 
PERHAPS AT FIRST the word casserole evokes images of a ’70s mom. You know, she’s the not-quite-picture-perfect version of ’50s mom: hair a bit messed up, mascara running, her apron slightly askew over her no-iron poly-blend twin set. But there she is, our hero, with her plaid oven mitts, getting dinner on the table even though she just returned from work an hour ago. And all she had to do was open a couple of cans, pour ’em into a ceramic, and throw it in the oven—patriarchy has never been easier!
Well, there’s no canned mushroom soup here in our modern, new-fangled kitchen and we smudge our mascara on purpose. When we talk about casseroles, really what we mean are one-dish meals that are baked. They aren’t necessarily faster than other dinners, but the oven time does give you downtime to do your nails, organize a “Take Back the Night” demo, or call your mom and apologize for being such an ingrate. So don’t let the longer cooking times for these recipes worry you.
These comfort meals—kugel, enchiladas, potpies of every description—come from all over the world. Some fall under the category of “side dish” and some are what laymen might call “main dishes,” but if it goes into the oven in a baking dish, it’s a casserole to us.
SPINACH-NOODLE KUGEL
 
SERVES 8
TIME:
ABOUT AN HOUR
 
 
So you’ve never made kugel before? If the word
kugel
scares you, just call this Spinach-Noodle Casserole. If
matzo
scares you, then use bread crumbs. See? There’s no reason to be scared. This goes great alongside the lentil salad. And of course, serving with potato pancakes and applesauce would be awesome. Just a note: the frozen spinach needs to be completely thawed, so remember to leave it in the fridge overnight or well in advance.
3 cups uncooked rombi pasta (or mafalde or any short,
cut ribbon noodles, or broken-up lasagna noodles)
3 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach,
thawed
1¼ cups matzo meal (from about 4 matzos) or plain
bread crumbs
1 small onion, finely chopped (about a cup)
12 ounces extra-firm silken tofu (the vacuum-packed
kind)
1 cup vegetable broth
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup lightly packed, chopped fresh dill
2 tablespoons lemon juice
¾ teaspoons salt (use ¼ teaspoon less if your matzo
is salted)
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Nonstick cooking spray
 
BOIL A pot of water and cook the noodles according to the package directions. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Meanwhile, place thawed spinach in a colander and leave it in the sink to drain.
If making your own matzo meal, place the matzos in the food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse until they are crumbs. Transfer to a medium-size mixing bowl.
Add the vegetable broth, oil, and tofu to the food processor and puree until smooth, scraping down the sides to make sure you get everything. Add the tofu mixture to the mixing bowl.
Press the spinach in the colander to get out as much water as you can, then add it to the mixing bowl. By this time, your pasta should be done, so drain it and run it under cold water.
Add the pasta along with the remaining ingredients (except, of course, for the cooking spray—cans don’t taste good) to the mixing bowl and mix very well. Use your hands if you have to.
Coat a 9 × 13-inch glass casserole dish with cooking spray. Press the kugel into the casserole dish. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.
SOUTHWESTERN CORN PUDDING
 
SERVES 6
TIME:
1 HOUR 20 MINUTES
 
 
This insanely flavorful, velvety side dish is the perfect accompaniment to any Southwestern meal—that is, whatever else you’re making with cilantro and scallions and jalapeños and stuff in it. Or, serve with Green Pumpkin-Seed Mole (page 210) and Chile Cornmeal-Crusted Tofu (page 125).
2 tablespoons corn oil
4 cups fresh corn (about 6 ears)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped finely
2 jalapeños, chopped finely
1 cup coconut milk
¼ cup cornstarch
½ cup cornmeal
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 cup finely chopped scallions
¼ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne
 
PREHEAT THE oven to 350°F and lightly grease an 8-inch square baking or casserole dish. A cast-iron pan would work here, too (in fact, to cut down on dishes, you can sauté the corn in a cast-iron pan and later use it to bake the batter).
Sauté the corn, bell pepper, and jalapeños in a large skillet for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally; the corn should be very lightly browned. Meanwhile, stir together the cornstarch and coconut milk until the cornstarch has mostly dissolved.
When the corn and peppers are ready, transfer 2 cups of them to a blender or food processor. Add the coconut milk and cornstarch mixture, and pulse about twenty times, until the mixture is mostly pureed but not completely smooth.
Transfer to a large mixing bowl and mix with the remaining corn, cornmeal, maple syrup, scallions, cilantro, salt, and cayenne.
Pour the batter into a baking dish (or your cast-iron pan) and bake for 40 minutes. Let cool for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
CARAMELIZED ONION-BUTTERNUT ROAST WITH CHESTNUTS

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