Posted on 06/04/2015 3:38:35 PM PDT by Jamestown1630
I don't think there are any strict vegetarians in my current personal circle, but there are always some people with food restrictions whom we have to consider whenever we give or contribute to a big party.
I work in an 'ethnically diverse' environment with many people who don't eat 'mainstream', ranging from Jews and Muslims who don't eat pork, to a Hindu who doesn't eat beef OR pork; the occasional vegetarians of varying commitment; and (sigh) one 'raw-foodist'. (Just buy a pineapple for that one.)
Having been largely vegetarian for the first part of my own adult life - and loving veggies for their own sake - the biggest section of my personal loose-leaf cookbook is the vegetable section. I thought this week I'd share some unusual vegetable recipes.
I found this simple but special eggplant dish last year, but don't have a picture. The 'scoring' that you do on the eggplant is a kind of cross-hatching that looks like nice grill marks. (I've also seen similar recipes done by slicing the eggplant into thick slices, instead of two long halves):
Roasted Eggplant with Tahini Dressing
2 medium eggplants (about 1 1/4 pounds total), trimmed and halved lengthwise
coarse sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
DRESSING:
3 tablespoons well-stirred tahini
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons hot water
1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
1/8 teaspoon minced garlic
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
For Eggplant: Heat oven to 425°F with rack in middle. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. (It helps to first sprinkle the eggplant halves with salt, and let them "drain", flesh side down, in a large colander for about 30 minutes before roasting. It helps to reduce the moisture content of the dish.)
Put eggplant pieces on prepared baking sheet, flesh-side up. With the tip of a sharp knife, score flesh, about 3/4 inch deep. Season eggplant with salt and pepper, and drizzle with oil. Roast, rotating pan once halfway through, until eggplant flesh is soft and collapsed and edges are deep golden, 35 to 40 minutes.
For Dressing: While eggplant is roasting, in a bowl, whisk together all dressing ingredients. Remove eggplant from oven and sprinkle with salt.
Transfer to serving plates, drizzle with half of the dressing and sprinkle with parsley. Serve with remaining dressing.
One of the most popular vegetarian recipes I've taken to a party was a Mushroom Strudel. I originally found it in some healthy-eating magazine, where it was suggested as an entree for a vegetarian Thanksgiving. I've misplaced the original, but this recipe is identical:
http://www.food.com/recipe/mushroom-strudel-21852
This next recipe from Paula Wolfert's book 'The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen' is one of the most surprising recipes that I've tried, though it appears to be very common in the Middle East. I think we actually cheated the first time by making it with frozen artichokes, and it was still very good:
http://leitesculinaria.com/6844/recipes-compote-of-artichoke-orange-coriander-and-mint.html
Lastly, as Jacques Pepin has often said, you can't do better than excellent bread with excellent butter. This week someone asked to be added to this ping list, and mentioned an interest in Sourdough bread-making. I would like to learn that too, and perhaps some of the folks who have done it can give us tips/recipes. I'm not sure if I've posted this before, but I recently found this interesting article by a microbiologist named Debra Wink, who turned her scientific knowledge to the sourdough cause:
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/10856/pineapple-juice-solution-part-1
That is all I buy now too. Just went to our local semi-pro supply house and brought home 2 10lb bags.
/johnny
no problem, i’ll look at KA. I was getting antsy to try it tomorrow ;)
I hear ya on the tablets - typing is slow and not all my files are available. I probably need to setup my network differently.
1 cup starter
3 cups flour
1 2/3 lukewarm water
Mix these together vigorously Let proof for 4 hours room temp
Refrigerate for additional 12+ hours
Remove from fridge and add remaining flour 2 cups, salt and sugar. Knead for a few minutes. Return to bowl for second proofing for 2-4 hours. Turn out on bread board, cut dough into two pieces, shape dough put on baking sheet and proof for another 2-4 hours. Bake at 425 for approx. 35 min. Score loafs prior to baking of course.
I tweaked this recipe a bit. I do the second and third proof in my ceramic lined Dutch oven for the final step. I skipped the baking sheet, but still do the two proofing. I use only King Arthur flour. I noticed a marked difference in my starter and bread with this upgrade from store brand flour. I stated previously, I sub 1/2 cup whole wheat flour for the unbleached white flour. I like the texture and tang it gives.
I think I copied this recipe correctly. Please check out the king Arthur flour website. It is great for tips and tricks along with recipes. Happy baking. I think we should start a sourdough bread thread myself
Is only the first rise in the frig? the recipe isn’t clear on where to rise the dough or loaves.
I’ve been intrigued by that sour salt for awhile , but it seems like ‘cheating’, LOL!
Wow, lucky you. It sounds like a wonderful place to take a class or two. Or just tour the facility. I also use only King Arthur flour. I just noticed a marked difference not only in my starter but also my bread when I went from store brand to KAF. Good stuff. I also bought a bag of their whole wheat flour. I like a dad bit of it in my sourdough. I might have already said this. Forgive my repetition if I did. I think we should have a sourdough bread thread.
Yes, it does. :) The fun in all this is to work with the ingredients to get the hit and misses. I have enjoyed learning how all the fermentation works on the molecular level and such. Science along with the art. 7 years of home ec in HS and JHS, never prepared me for sourdough. Ha Ha
Do use King Arthur regular flour or bread flour?
I’m excited to be trying this! It is so much simpler than that silly recipe I tried where I had to try to figure out hydration percentages :-)
I agree on the sourdough thread. I have Word documents that I keep all my recipes – and I separate bread into yeast bread and non-yeast bread. But the sourdough bread has a file all to itself. It’s too big to incorporate with the other.
I wonder if Alton Brown ever to the sourdough show? I love the way he incorporated science into the cooking, and especially adorable were those burping little sock puppets that played the yeast.
Will have to look for the high protein bread flour. Thank for the tip.
KAF unbleached all purpose flour. Also, KAF whole wheat flour for that 1/2 cup of whole wheat.
Okay thank you. I will have to see if any local stores carry it. I usually grind my own wheat, but I think for the first go around I need to stick to the recipe. Just dealing with the sourdough starter is complex enough! That in itself add so many variables to the equation. So many things that can go wrong!
What are the ingredients in higher protein flour? Do you mill it yourself or buy?
Mr. C4E and I gave up cable years ago. Elton Brown was fun and educational, I agree. Let me know how your bread turns out. It is a long process, 24 hours, but the bread is good and the recipe is simple. I will share one thing I did a week or so ago. Before God and country- after the fridge exile and when adding the remander of flour, salt, sugar; I don’t know where my mind was but I added another round of water. Oh my lord, I had to add more flour to the gooey mess and had the bread dough from hell. LOLz and the fun part was it still came out pretty good. Fun with sourdough.
Dang, you grind your own flour?!!!! I sit at the feet of
The master. :)
I think half the fun of baking is these little “mistakes” in which we can experiment :-) I’m glad all turned out anyway.
When I do the rise for the dough and the loaves – what temperature do you think is best? In the fridge, on the counter (which is about 78° nowadays), or in the basement (about 65°)?
Naw, not at all! I just bought all these wheatberries in preparation for the coming economic collapse, then figured that I better learn how to use them :-)
another one of those little obsession things now. It goes along with my infatuation for sourdough. And doing things from scratch, like making laundry soap. I never do things halfway, it’s always extremes, darn it!
Well, fridge temp is fridge temp, but room temp I would go with the warmer area. My kitchen temp now runs about 76-78 degrees. When summer hits, don’t know what I will do during the proofing stages. I guess it I’ll proof faster as our summers here in my part of So Cal can get to 105 and is steady about 85-90. Our nights always cool down though. Guess I’ll be baking at 2 in the morning. More fun with sourdough. With a basement, oh what I could do, I would love to tackle pickling.
When I make pickles “spicy;” I add peppers to the jar (either raw or cooked with the cucumbers). Most of the recipes that I use are “fresh” pack; so they just go into the jar raw.
It only takes a few chunks of jalapeno to add some heat after the processing. So, I would think with habanero you will not need much (maybe 1 at most in a pint jar)...and certainly no seeds. I know you don’t want to have many in the jar; but that’s where most of the “heat” will come from when cooked during processing, I think.
I supposed you could boil some peppers in the vinegar for awhile to infuse the flavor and then strain them out; but with the steam coming off of a simmering vinegar/habanero concoction you might “gas” yourself....LOL! That’s why I add them to the jar and let them cook when processing.
I calculate I need to wait until Mon to start the process, given the recipe schedule trying to mesh with my schedule. I’ll let you know how it turns out and thanks for the recipe and notes.
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