Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook (65 page)

Read Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook Online

Authors: Isa Chandra Moskowitz,Terry Hope Romero

Tags: #food.cookbooks

Meanwhile, add the leek, carrot, kabocha, and tofu to the broth. Simmer over medium-low heat for 20 to 25 minutes, until the squash is tender and can be pierced easily with a fork. Stir in the sake and mirin.
Place portions of the rinsed udon noodles into large, deep, individual serving bowls. Use a slotted spoon to add vegetable chunks to the bowls, then a ladle to spoon on the stock. Sprinkle with chopped scallions. Eat with a large spoon and chopsticks.
BRAISED SEITAN WITH BRUSSELS, KALE, AND SUN-DRIED TOMATOES
 
SERVES 4
TIME:
30 MINUTES
 
 
This makes an easy weeknight meal served over mashed potatoes, pasta, or rice. Make it a little more fancy with either Soft Poppy-Seed Polenta (page 115) or Broccoli Polenta (page 114). A warm and flavorful Fork You to winter.
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus a little extra if needed
6 average-size shallots, sliced thinly
2 cups seitan, sliced on the diagonal into bite-size
pieces
½ pound Brussels sprouts, quartered (about 2 cups
once sliced)
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon dried basil
¼ teaspoon dried tarragon
½ teaspoon salt
Several pinches of freshly ground black pepper
½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped into bite-size
pieces
2 cups vegetable broth
¼ cup red wine (any wine will do, really)
4 cups chopped kale
 
PREHEAT A large, heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Sauté the shallots and seitan in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil for about 7 minutes, until they have both browned. Add the Brussels sprouts and sauté for 3 more minutes, adding a little extra olive oil if need be. Add the garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper, and sauté for another minute. Mix in the sun-dried tomatoes.
Add the vegetable broth and wine. Once the liquid is boiling, which should be pretty quick if the heat is right, add the chopped kale. Stir the kale until it is wilted. Cover the pan, leaving a little room for steam to escape, and lower the heat. Simmer for 5 to 7 more minutes. Taste and adjust the salt, and serve immediately.
CHOLENT
 
SERVES 6
TIME:
45 MINUTES
 
 
Cholent is a Jewish beef stew that’s typically served on the Sabbath. Here, we use textured vegetable protein (TVP), kidney beans, and lentils to create a thick, full bodied pot of stick-to-your-ribs yumminess. Caraway seeds give it the Eastern European flavor that sets it apart from your run-of-the-mill stew, so now would be a great time to add them to your spice rack arsenal.We like to just crush crackers over the top and serve, but rice would be good, too. Or serve with bread for scooping. Warning: You might start inexplicably calling people
meshugenahs
and
putzes
after you’ve eaten this.
This is one of those stews that really benefits from a night in the fridge, but don’t let that deter you from eating it right away (or any day of the week).
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, cut into medium-size dice
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon tarragon
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon salt
Several pinches of freshly ground black pepper
½ cup red cooking wine, water, or vegetable broth
2 bay leaves
½ cup French lentils, rinsed
1 cup peeled, sliced carrots (about ½ inch thick)
4 medium-size potatoes (about 1¼ pounds), peeled
and cut into ¾-inch chunks)
1 (15-ounce can) tomato sauce
3 cups water
1 cup TVP chunks (
not
granules or crumbles)
1 cup frozen or canned and drained lima beans
(green peas are fine if you hate lima beans, hater)
1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed (1
½ cups)
 
PREHEAT A large soup pot over medium heat. Sauté the onions in the oil until translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic, tarragon, caraway seeds, salt, and pepper. Sauté until the garlic is fragrant, about a minute more.
Deglaze the pot with the red wine. Add the bay leaves, lentil, carrots, potatoes, tomato sauce, water, and TVP chunks. Mix together. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, until the potatoes and carrot are tender.
Add the lima and kidney beans and cook until heated through. Serve like crazy.
Ess gezunterhait
.
PLANTAIN AND PINTO STEW WITH PARSNIP CHIPS
 
SERVES 4
TIME:
45 MINUTES
 
 
In NYC, plantains abound in the supermarkets and we’re always looking for new ways to use them. This is a spicy and flavorful yet delicate stew. Use fresh tomatoes instead of canned so that you don’t get a concentrated flavor that overpowers the plantains. Choose plantains that are ripe yellow and flecked with black yet not completely blackened. The parsnip chips are optional but yummy!
1 recipe parsnip chips (recipe follows)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large white onion, chopped finely
1 yellow pepper, chopped finely
3 jalapeños, seeded and chopped finely
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 plum tomatoes, diced
¼ cup cooking sherry (any cooking wine will do, or
sub vegetable broth)
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
2 ripe plantains, peeled, sliced in half lengthwise, and
sliced into ½-inch pieces
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
 
IN A soup pot over medium heat, sauté the onions, peppers, jalapeños, and garlic in the oil for 5 to 7 minutes, until the vegetables are softened. Add the tomatoes, sherry, salt, and cumin. Cover and bring to a simmer; let simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are cooked and broken down.
Add the pinto beans and plantains. Cover and simmer for another 20 to 25 minutes. The plantains should be soft and sweet. Add the cilantro and mix in so that it wilts.
Ladle into bowls and stick a few plantain chips into each bowl, like spears.
PARSNIP CHIPS
 
If you like sweet potato fries, you will like these. There are only two ingredients here, but sprinkling them with ground cumin is yummy, too. For parsnip fries, just cut them into ¼-inch-thick slices instead of ⅛-inch and bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes.
1 pound parsnips (2 medium-size)
2 teaspoons or so peanut oil
 
PREHEAT THE oven to 400°F.
Peel the parsnips and slice them lengthwise. Place them cut side down and slice into ⅛-inch-thick strips, or as close to that as you can get them.
Line them in a single layer on a baking sheet and drizzle with oil. Toss them around and try to get the oil over all of them, add a little more oil if necessary.
Bake for 15 minutes, then flip them (use tongs for this). Bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes. The parsnips should be flecked with black and dark brown. If some are thinner than others, they will cook faster, obviously; remove the skinny ones from the baking sheet as they finish baking.
Sprinkle with salt and serve.
PUMPKIN SAAG
 
SERVES 4 TO 6
TIME:
1 ½ HOURS
 
 
Saag
is Hindi for a curry that’s made of greens—in this case, we use spinach. Baked pumpkin works as a flavorful backdrop to make this a healthier-than-usual saag (it’s typically loaded with lots of ghee and cream or coconut cream). Masala complements the pumpkin nicely because of its autumnal blend of cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom. What we’re going for here is mushy in a good way, with just a little bit of chunky pumpkin bites thrown in. Serve with basmati rice and some sort of chutney (page 212) and flat bread (page 222).

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