Tomato Chickpea Curry

I am not sure why it has taken me so long to post this recipe, even though it is probably the most fool-proof and common recipe in my family’s meal rotation.  I just follow the recipe on the curry paste jar, but substitute potatoes and chickpeas for diced chicken, and add frozen peas or spinach.  Serve with rice or naan bread.

2 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 potato, peeled and diced

1  can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

3-4 tbsp Patak’s Mild or Hot Curry Paste

1 can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup milk or cream (or coconut milk)

frozen peas or chopped spinach (0ptional)

1. Saute onion and potatoes until onions are soft, about five minutes.

2. Add chickpeas and heat through, about 1 minute.

3. Add curry paste and cook for another 3-4 minutes, coating everything with the paste.

4. Add the can of tomatoes and simmer 10 minutes.  Then add the milk or cream and simmer another 10 minutes.  Check that the potatoes are done.

5. Add the frozen peas or spinach during the last five minutes.

Coconut Curry Stir Fry

The original recipe calls for diced cooked meat, which is stir-fried for one minute before adding the orange juice.  The source is the National Post (unknown date.)

Everyone loves stir-fries.  If you would prefer one with Chinese flavours, use black bean sauce (Lee Kum Kee is the best) instead of the curry paste, and stock or water instead of the coconut milk.

3 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger

4 green onions, chopped.

2 tbsp mild or hot curry paste (I like Patak’s.)

1/2 package of extra-firm tofu, cut into 1-inch cubes.

1/2 cup orange juice

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 cups chopped cooked vegetables

1 cup canned coconut milk

3 cups cooked noodles, rice or pasta

1/2 cup toasted chopped nuts (peanuts, almonds, etc.)

1. Heat oil in a wok or large non-stick skillet.  Pan-fry tofu cubes until crispy.  Remove from pan and set aside.  Add a tablespoon more oil to the skillet if necessary.

2.  Add ginger, green onions and curry paste.  Stir-fry about one minute.

3.  Add orange juice and soy milk.  Bring to a boil and add vegetables and coconut milk.  Cook 3 or 4 minutes.

4.  Add noodles, pasta or rice, and tofu.  Toss well and cook a few minutes until sauce is mostly absorbed but dish is still saucy.  Taste for seasoning.  Sprinkle with nuts.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Bryanna’s “Breast of Tofu”

This marinade is so good, it actually has me excited about serving tofu to a meat-eater. I personally use poultry seasoning instead of sage, rosemary and thyme separately, and brown rice flour instead of whole wheat flour (the same as Julie Hasson prefers on “Everyday Dish.”) Guaranteed not to disappoint.

Bryanna’s “Breast of Tofu”

Marinade:
1 and 1/2 cups water

1/4 cup soy sauce

3 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes

2 teaspoons dried sage leaves, crumbled (or 2 T. fresh, chopped)

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary (or 1/2 T. fresh)

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (or 1/2 T. fresh, chopped)

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Prepare the marinade by mixing all of the ingredients together in a 5 cup rigid plastic container with a tight lid. Slice the tofu about 1/4″ thick and place in the marinade so that it is fairly tightly-packed and covered with liquid. Cover and refrigerate for up to two weeks, shaking daily.

Bryanna’s Seasoned Flour:

Keep some of this in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator– you’ll find many uses for it.

2 cups unbleached flour or whole wheat, or other wholegrain flour

1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon onion powder, optional

freshly-ground black pepper to taste.

Simply coat the slices in seasoned flour and pan-fry the slices over medium heat. You can also bake on cookie a sheet for 25-30 minutes at 400°F, turning after 15 minutes.

From EverydayDish.tv

Copyright © Bryanna Clark-Grogan

BBQ “Ribz”

This is the only fake meat I would ever dare serve to a carnivore. My husband says it tastes just like a McRib. Amazing results with a minimal effort, and plenty of demonstration is available on both Susan’s website and Everyday Dish.

Susan V’s Barbecued Seitan Ribz

1 cup vital wheat gluten

2 teaspoons smoked Spanish paprika

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

2 teaspoons onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

3/4 cup water

2 tablespoons peanut butter, tahini or other nut butter

1 teaspoon Liquid Smoke

1 tablespoon soy sauce

about 1 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce

Preheat the oven to 350 and lightly spray an 8×8-inch baking dish with canola oil. Mix the first 5 ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix the water with the nut butter, Liquid Smoke, and soy sauce and add it to the dry ingredients. Stir to mix well and then knead lightly in the bowl for a couple of minutes.

Put the dough into the baking dish and flatten it so that it evenly fills the pan. Take a sharp knife and cut it into 8 strips; then turn the pan and cut those strips in half to form 16 pieces.

Put it in the oven and bake for 25 minutes. While it’s cooking prepare your grill pan or grill.

Remove it from the oven and carefully re-cut each strip, going over each cut to make sure that the ribz will pull apart easily later. Generously brush the top with barbecue sauce. Take it to the grill pan or grill and invert the whole baking dish onto the grill (or use a large spatula to lift the seitan out, placing it sauce-side down on the grill). Brush the top of the seitan with more sauce.

Watch it closely to make sure that it doesn’t burn. When sufficiently brown on one side, turn over and cook the other side, adding more sauce, if necessary. When done, remove to a platter and cut or pull apart the individual ribs to serve.

Copyright © 2007 Susan Voisin and Fatfree Vegan Kitchen.
All rights reserved.

Macaroni and Cheese

Another strategy is to take a meat-free side dish that everyone enjoys and make it the main course. Mac & cheese is a safe bet because it’s everyone’s comfort food –and the aim of a good host is to make your guests feel comfortable. I scooped this easy, creamy, cheesy recipe by P.J. Gray off Yahoo.com. It was more popular (in my opinion) than the turkey at last Thanksgiving dinner.

TRIPLE-CHEESE MAC ATTACK
Makes 6 servings

2 cups cottage cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon salt
Garlic salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 cups extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
½ cup Swiss cheese, shredded
7 oz or 450 g elbow macaroni, cooked and drained

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, combine cottage cheese, sour cream, egg, salt, garlic salt, and black pepper. Add cheddar and Swiss cheeses and blend well. Cook macaroni as directed on package and drain well.

Add cooked macaroni to cheese mixture and blend until well coated. Add macaroni mixture to a greased 2- or 2½-quart baking dish and bake, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes.

Topping:

Optional of course, but I like my mac & cheese casseroles to have a crunchy topping. Melt some margarine and mix with crushed cornflakes or crackers. Sprinkle over top of casserole before baking.

Spanakopita

Primarily great because it requires no meat substitutions, yet the butter and feta cheese give the taste of fat and salt that meat-eaters crave. It is easier and cheaper to make than lasagne, can be prepared ahead of time, looks impressive out of the oven, and people don’t make it often; plus, you have a dinner party theme and a number of built-in, nutritionally dense sides: olives, hummous, warm pita bread, roast potatoes and Greek salad. And don’t forget to make a fresh tzatziki!

Spanakopita

This is a slightly modified recipe found on Allrecipes.com, Spanakopita II, submitted by Mary Kessler. I simply layer it in a 9 x 13 inch pan instead of folding triangles.

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 large onions, chopped

2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach – thawed, drained and squeezed dry

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 (4 ounce) packages feta cheese, crumbled

4 eggs, lightly beaten

salt and pepper to taste

1 1/2 (16 ounce) packages phyllo dough

3/4 pound butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Heat vegetable oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Slowly cook and stir onions until softened. Mix in spinach, dill and flour. Cook approximately 10 minutes, or until most of the moisture has been absorbed. Remove from heat. Mix in feta cheese, eggs, salt and pepper.

Brush 9 x 13 inch pan or 17 x 11 jelly roll pan with butter. Layer 12 sheets of phyllo dough pastry in the pan, brushing each layer with butter. Spread evenly with the spinach mixture. Layer another 8-12 sheets of pastry and butter on top. Brush top with butter and use a sharp knife to score top into diamonds.

Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until golden brown.

Roast Potatoes

Just a word, because I make the best, (after my Uncle Steve, who eats no dairy and used to own a restaurant.) I use any Yukon variety…scrub about 2 potatoes per person and cut into wedges. Toss in olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper (and Greek seasoning if you like,) bake in a 400 degree oven 20 minutes or until golden brown.

 

Madras Curry Penne

If you love pasta and have a passion for curry (as a lot of vegetarians do,) then this is the sort of fusion dish you will crave once in a while. I was a slave to Milestones for years before I could find a recipe that could approximate it. Now I make it about once a month. Click here for the original knock-off recipe, but my knock-off of the knock-off is even easier and just as addicting as the original. Serve with a wedge of naan cheesebread and a crisp green salad.

2 cups dry penne

1 small apple, cored and sliced

1/2 cup pineapple tidbits

1 small onion, sliced

2 tbsp butter or ghee

1 cup Patak’s Sweet Mango Chutney

1 can coconut milk

2 tbsp Patak’s Mild Curry Paste

dash of vinegar

Unsweetened coconut and grated Parmesan cheese

Cook and drain the pasta. In a large saucepan, caramelize the onions in the butter or ghee (about 10 minutes.) Once onion is caramelized, add apple and cook about 1 minute. Add the curry paste and coat the onions and apple, cooking another 2 minutes. Add the coconut milk and dash of vinegar and simmer until reduced to about half. This makes a rich, flavourful, and delicious sauce. Add the pasta and pineapple. Transfer to a plate and top with a dollop of chutney, a sprinkle of coconut or grated Parmesan.

Like anything spicy, this is probably even better the next day…but I wouldn’t know because there are never any leftovers.

Tofu Parmigiana

I find pan-frying and baking to be too much work for an everyday meal, but it can be worth it when entertaining. This recipe serves 4, but for non-vegetarians I approximate half a package of tofu per person and therefore double the recipe. It’s basically pan-fried tofu smothered in cheese and tomato sauce. Try serving it with angel hair pasta, a crisp green salad and garlic bread.

1/2 cup bread crumbs

5 tbsp grated Parmesan

2 tsp dried oregano

sea salt and ground black pepper

1 package firm tofu

2 tbsp olive oil

1 8 oz can tomato sauce (or 1/2 jar of your favourite seasoned tomato sauce)

1/2 tsp dried basil

1 clove garlic, minced

4 oz shredded mozzarella

In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs, 2 tbsp Parmesan, 1 tsp oregano, salt and pepper.

Slice tofu into 1/4″ thick slices and place in bowl of cold water. One at a time, press tofu slices into crumb mixture, turning to coat all sides.

Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Cook tofu slices until crisp on one side. Drizzle with a bit more olive oil, turn and brown on the other side.

Combine tomato sauce, basil, garlic and remaining oregano. Place a thin layer of sauce in an 8-inch square baking pan. Arrange tofu slices in mozarella and remaining 3 tbsp Parmesan.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

(This recipe appears in the Allrecipes “Tried and True Quick and Easy” cookbook.)

Basic Savoury Nut Mixture

This used to be a regular in our weekly rotation, until nuts became a choking and allergy hazard for Eddie. It is super easy and tasty, and we usually eat it with ketchup like regular meatloaf. The recipe is from a co-worker.

Basic Savoury Nut Mixture

1 cup nuts (I usually buy mixed nuts or cashews)

1 cup breadcrumbs

sea salt and black pepper

1/2 tsp chopped thyme, parsley, sage, or favourite herb

2 tbsp margarine

2 med chopped onions

2 eggs

Almost any nut can be used, but peanuts are cheapest and work well. Hazelnuts are (supposedly) worth the extra expense. The breadcrumbs can be made from stale but not hard whole meal bread using a blender, shredder, grater or even crumbling by hand.

Chop the onions and fry in a little vegetable oil, but do not allow to brown. Meanwhile put the nuts in a blender and chop to the consistency of breadcrumbs. In a large bowl, mix the nuts and breadcrumbs and add the chopped herbs, salt and pepper. Now add the cooked onion and rub in the margarine. Finally mix in the two eggs which should bind the ingredients and give a workable consistency. Add a little water if necessary.

The following are suggestions for how to use the basic nut mixture:

Nut Loaf: Place the basic mixture into a well greased bread tin and bake in a moderate oven (375-400) until brown on top, about 30 minutes. Can be topped with a few more nuts before baking.

Nut Rissoles: Form into fritters, coat in dry breadcrumbs and fry gently in vegetable oil, turning to brown both sides. These make a very satisfying accompaniment to a salad or to any cooked vegetable dish. They can also be eaten cold with a packed meal. (Mom would say, “Keep it refrigerated!”)

Formal: Dress up as a traditional roast with roast vegetables, stuffing and miso gravy. Serve with a glass of Merlot.

Informal: Add Spring Salad, chutney and bread, and serve with a glass of lager and lime.