Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook (71 page)

Read Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook Online

Authors: Isa Chandra Moskowitz,Terry Hope Romero

Tags: #food.cookbooks

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Fresh lemongrass is available in well-stocked gourmet-type grocery stores or at Asian markets. If you can’t find it, look for dried, chopped lemongrass in the spice aisle. When using dried lemongrass here, you’ll need to make a mini-bouquet garni by tucking the dried lemongrass into a small, porous pouch along with the ginger and garlic, and knotting tightly on top. Long, empty tea bags sold for use with loose-leaf tea are ideal for this. You can also use cheesecloth and tie it into a little bundle, but double- or triple-layer it to make sure none of the lemongrass bits leak into the stock (just give the bundle a good squeeze before discarding).

3 cups vegetable broth
3 cups water
3 tablespoons soy sauce

Risotto:

⅓ cup cooking sherry
1 pound asparagus
5 tablespoons peanut oil
1 cup basil leaves (Thai preferred), rolled and sliced
into very thin strips
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
6 large shallots, sliced thinly
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 serrano red chile, sliced very thinly, or ½-1 teaspoon
dried red pepper flakes
1½ cups Arborio rice
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons lime juice
Chopped roasted peanuts and lime wedges, for
garnish

IF USING fresh lemongrass, peel away and discard any brown stems from the stalk. Slice the stalk in half lengthwise, cut those sections into 3 to 4-inch lengths, and then slice into thin matchstick pieces.

Lightly bruise the ginger slices by gently pounding them with the side of your knife. Crush the garlic cloves with the side of your knife as well, but keep whole; just lay the flat part of the blade over the clove of garlic and give it a good whack. Prepare your bouquet garni as described in the tip.

Place all the broth ingredients in a large stockpot and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium-low. Simmer for 10 minutes, then strain the broth, discarding the vegetables and herbs. Pour the broth back into the pot, cover, and place over low heat (as low as possible) to keep warm.

While you’re cooking the broth, warm the cooking sherry in a separate, small saucepan over medium heat.

Slice the asparagus into ½-inch pieces, removing any tough parts from the bottom of the stem. Separate tips from the stems and place each in separate small bowls.

In a medium-size heavy-bottomed pot, sauté the asparagus tips in 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat until the tips are bright green and crisp-tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Return them to their small bowl. Add 1 more tablespoon of oil to the pot and sauté the sliced asparagus pieces until crisp-tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the basil and mint, sauté for 30 seconds, remove from the heat, and set the sliced asparagus mixture aside in a small bowl separate from the tips.

Add the remaining oil to the pot. Sauté the shallots and garlic, stirring occasionally, until shallots are very soft and just starting to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the chile pepper and rice, and sauté for about 8 minutes, until the rice smells slightly toasted. Add the cooking sherry and stir constantly until the liquid is absorbed.

Now meditation time begins. Ladle about ½ cup of the broth at a time into the rice, stirring constantly until each addition is absorbed. Stir and cook until the rice is creamy but still somewhat firm in center. When broth is almost gone, stir the sugar and lime juice into the last of the broth before adding to the risotto. You may add more water or additional regular vegetable broth in ¼-cup increments if the broth runs out and the rice isn’t cooked enough yet. This will take about 35 minutes.

Stir the asparagus stems (not tips) into the risotto and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes, until the asparagus has reached desired tenderness.

Garnish individual servings with the sautéed asparagus tips, chopped roasted peanuts, and lime wedges.

GREEN PEA AND LEMON RISOTTO WITH ROASTED RED PEPPERS

SERVES 4

This bright-tasting risotto features summer’s vivid bounty. Use vegetable broth that isn’t too strongly flavored, so that the lemon, peas, and parsley really shine through. If your broth has a very strong taste, use only four cups of broth plus two cups of water.

2 red bell peppers
6 cups vegetable broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup finely chopped shallots
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon dried rosemary
Several pinches of freshly ground black pepper
½ cup dry white wine
½ teaspoon salt
1½ cups Arborio rice
1½ cups fresh or frozen peas
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
½ cup loosely packed chopped fresh parsley, (plus
extra for garnish)

Prepare the peppers:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Slice the stems off the peppers and pull out the seeds. Quarter the peppers lengthwise. Line a rimmed baking sheet with baking parchment and place the peppers, cut side down, on the sheet. Lightly spray the peppers with olive oil and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until the peppers have “collapsed” and are moist, juicy, and slightly blackened in some places.

Prepare the risotto:

Warm the vegetable broth in a saucepan. Keep it warm on the lowest setting possible as you prepare the risotto.

Preheat a heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium heat. Sauté the shallots in the oil for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme, rosemary, and black pepper, and sauté for 2 more minutes.

Add the white wine and salt, and raise the heat so that the wine boils and reduces for about 2 minutes. Lower the heat back to medium.

Add the rice and stir for about 3 minutes. The rice should soak up the liquid from the pot and have turned light brown. Add the broth by the cupful, stirring the risotto after each addition, until the broth is mostly absorbed (6 to 8 minutes). If the broth isn’t absorbing, raise the heat a bit. It absorbs faster as the rice gets more and more tender.

With your last addition of broth, add the peas and stir. When the peas are warm and tender and most of the broth is absorbed, add the lemon zest, juice, and chopped parsley.

Cook, stirring, until all the broth is completely absorbed and the parsley has wilted. Spoon the risotto into a wide bowl or plate and overlap the red peppers on one side of the dish. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve.

CURRIED UDON NOODLE STIR-FRY

SERVES 4

TIME:
35 MINUTES

This saucy noodle dish is inspired by the slightly sweet, mellow curries that are hugely popular in Japan for lunch and dinner, or so we hear. A simple roux-based curry sauce is prepared first, then stirred into udon, bits of sautéed seitan, and crisp veggies. Experiment—change the vegetables, use tofu in place of seitan, try different brands of curry powder—the variations are endless.

½ pound fresh udon noodles or dried udon noodles

Curry roux sauce:

2 tablespoons peanut oil
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons curry powder
½ teaspoon garam masala
½ cup vegetable broth
2 teaspoons sugar

Udon stir-fry:

2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 large yellow onion, sliced into thin strips
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into thin strips
1 hot red chile pepper, sliced very thinly (optional)
2 Seitan Cutlets (page 132), panfried and sliced into
thin strips
½ pound broccoli florets, sliced into bite-size chunks
¼ cup vegetable broth
2-3 tablespoons soy sauce, preferably shoyu
(Japanese soy sauce)

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Use any curry powder you like, depending on your tolerance for heat. Even generic, grocery-store Indian or Jamaican curry powder works very nicely in this recipe.

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You can use either dried or fresh udon noodles for any recipe calling for them. Dried noodles are sold packaged like spaghetti and can be prepared the same way. Cook the noodles according to the package directions till just tender and rinse in cold water. Keep them handy in a colander until ready to use. Give them a brief rinsing in cold water before adding to a soup or stir-fry.
Fresh udon noodles are sold twisted in cute bundles. They require only a brief cooking time in boiling water (follow package directions), usually about 3 to 4 minutes. Use a pair of chopsticks to separate the bundles while they are cooking. Drain, rinse with cold water and store in that colander. Rinse in warm water to unstuck any noodles just before using.

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