Category: Vegan Vegetable Side Dishes

by betsy

Roasted Zucchini and Japanese Eggplant with Vegan Horseradish Sauce

Yield: 4 servings

This dish tastes so cool and refreshing on a summer evening.   The tanginess of the sauce is the perfect counterpoint to the sweetness of the summer squash.  And it’s delicious with lots of other dishes too!

The dish was inspired by the anti-vegan, Guy Fieri, of Food Network fame.  On a recent program, he roasted root vegetables and served them with a horseradish sauce.  I didn’t watch the rest of the program, so I don’t know the recipe for his sauce, but this one is good enough to eat with a spoon!

I served this dish to my friend, David (the choral director at our school, otherwise known a my “building husband”), with my Savory Southern Tarts with Butter Bean Filling and Sweet Tea Drizzle and a side dish of sliced heirloom tomatoes sprinkled with a little sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and nutritional yeast, garnished with a sprig of basil.  It was the perfect light, but satisfying antecdote to the 97 degree temperatures.

2 small to medium zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and then cut crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces

2 Japanese eggplants, cut in half lengthwise and then cut crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

Sea salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper

Vegan Horseradish Sauce (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Place all squash pieces on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle very lightly with sea salt and toss to coat.  Place pan on middle rack of  oven and roast for 20 minutes, tossing and turning after 10.  Remove pan from the oven, sprinkle squash lightly with black pepper to taste, toss lightly, and spoon onto a serving platter or individual plates.  Drizzle with sauce (9and serve warm or at room temperature.  Alternatively, sauce may be passed in a small bowl.

Vegan Horseradish Sauce (You will have some leftover and you’ll be so glad!)

1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise, purchased or home made (I tend to prepare Vegenaise over Nayonaise if using purchased)

1-2 tablespoons horseradish, or to taste  (not “prepared horseradish,” as it is not vegan)

1 teaspoon Dijon or yellow mustard

1 large clove garlic, minced

2-3 tablespoons minced fresh chives

Sea salt and white pepper to taste

Optional: 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

In a medium bowl, whisk together all ingredients.  Adjust seasoning if necessary and whisk again.  Store, covered, in the refrigerator, until serving time.

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by betsy

Vegan Zucchini, Onion, and Yellow Squash Gratin

Yield: 6 to 8 servings as a side dish

Olive oil

1 medium-large zucchini, trimmed, split lengthwise, and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices

2 small yellow squash,  split lengthwise, and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices

1 small yellow onion (or half of a medium-large), peeled, halved, and cut into 1/4-inch slices

Sea salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Red pepper flakes to taste

3 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1 tablespoon vegan butter (I like Earth Balance)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup Panko bread crums (any bread crumb will do, but I love the crunchiness of Panko)

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh herbs (I use equal parts sage, basil and oregano, but use what you have)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Oil a 9-inch glass or ceramic pie dish with non-stick spray (or olive oil).  Add both squashes, drizzle with a little more olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.  Toss and then spread to an even layer.  Top with sliced onion and sprinkle with additional salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon of the nutritional yeast.  Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.   Meanwhile, stir together the melted butter, olive oil, bread crumbs, remaining 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast and herbs.  After the vegetables have cooked for 20 minutes, remove the foil from the dish, sprinkle the top of the veggies evenly with the bread crumb mixture, and return to the oven for 10 minutes.  I like the top very brown and crispy, but if you prefer less color and crunch, simply remove the gratin from the oven after about 8 minutes.  Serve immediately or at slightly warmer than room temperature.

Note: this dish is also delicious with 1/4-inch thick slices of tomatoes (from a cored medium-large tomato) arranged over the top of the onion before the vegetables are sprinkled with the bread crumbs.

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by betsy

Crash the Superbowl Snack Recipe #4: Vegan Indian Cauliflower with Black Mustard Seeds

Note: I inadvertently skipped yesterday in my Crash the Superbowl Snack Recipe countdown, so I will make up for it by posting two today.  Sorry about that!

 

Yield: 4 servings

Okay, I admit it: Indian dishes aren’t the first thing that pops into my mind when I think of the Superbowl.

But someone recently singled out this photo from my album of Blooming Platter Cookbook winter dishes on Facebook and I was reminded of how pretty it is.  But I was also reminded of a Christmas Eve party that my family has attended for many years.  Annually on the menu is a huge bowl of marinated cauliflower, rings of fresh onion, black olives and shrimp (which I avoid) served with toothpicks.  Everyone always enjoyed it and it was fun to eat.

So it occurred to me, though it’s not your standard Superbowl fare, that a big platter of my Indian Cauliflower set out with toothpicks would easily serve and satisfy a crowd.  It is fragrant, simple and delicious. Try using orange cauliflower when making the recipe; it tastes the same as white and it looks beautiful with the black mustard seeds (see photo).

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 cup chopped onion

1 head white or orange cauliflower, cut into small florets

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon vegan butter

1 tablespoon black mustard seeds

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, optional

 

1.  Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until golden. Add the cauliflower, coriander, turmeric, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the water and simmer until the cauliflower is tender and most of the water is absorbed, 3 to 5 minutes.

2. In a small skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the mustard seeds and cook for 2 minutes.

3. To serve, transfer the cauliflower to a serving platter, drizzle with the mustard seed mixture and sprinkle with cilantro, if using. Serve hot (or room temperature).

 

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by betsy

The Blooming Platter Cookbook’s Vegan Sweet Potato Latkes with Chutney-Sour Cream and Curried Onion-Apple-White Bean Topping Published on One Green Planet

With Hanukkah and other winter holidays just around the corner, I was thrilled that One Green Planet (OGP) published my latkes recipe from The Blooming Platter Cookbook (TBPC) to which I added a couple of tasty toppings to make them more of a tapas-style meal.

Consider them dressed up for the season!

Find the recipe and a little about their inspiration here.

Thanks OGP for making our holidays and our world just a little greener!

To purchase TBPC, just click on the title in RED above.

 

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by betsy

Restaurant Redux: Ruth’s Chris Tempura Onion Ring Cups with “Creamed” Kale

Okay, I know I have some explaining to do…Ruth’s Chris Steak House?

Well, you see, after we went to the movies one night this past December, my husband Joe and I headed over to a wine bar we like, only to find it was closed for a private holiday party.  Not wanting to drive anywhere else, we considered our options and chose nearby Ruth’s Chris, opting to dine in their attractive bar with its dark, gleamy and very appealing “men’s club” aesthetic.

Unfortunately, my husband isn’t a vegan–or even a vegetarian–so ordering was no problem for him.  However, for me, I think there were only two choices on the menu: tempura-battered onion rings and asparagus.  But since seasonal cooking and eating is my thing, I just couldn’t do asparagus in December.  Fortunately, I’d had a healthy snack before the movie, so we chose to split the onion rings which the bartender confirmed were vegan (a soda water and flour batter) after checking with the kitchen.

I have never seen such colossal rings in my life.  A mere  five came in an order, but I could only eat two and Joe one.  Because they were so substantial, I couldn’t bear not to bring the last two home.  But I wasn’t in the mood for a couple of honkin’ onion rings the next day, so I decided to do a “Restaurant Redux” inspired by my husband’s side dish of creamed spinach which I remember loving at  Ruth’s Chris during my vegetarian days in Nashville.

The rings are so tall that they make almost a cup form.  And the farmer’s market had gorgeous heads of kale that they had just cut, so I decided to fill the onion ring cups with “Creamed” Kale instead of spinach.  With half a can of leftover white beans in the fridge, I decided to make the “cream” out of the beans, nutritional yeast, and unsweetened soy milk.

The result put less emphasis on the cream and more on the greens, but was still silky, luscious and reminiscent of the Ruth’s Chris specialty. I simply heated the onion ring cups, filled them with the “Creamed” Kale, and served them surrounded by Ruth’s Chris’s special sauce which has a tangy sweet-hot Asian flare.

Even if you don’t happen to have onion rings-on-steroids on-hand, the filling is delicious on its own.

With this recipe, you can enjoy a little taste of Ruth’s Chris without all the death and dying.

Yield: 4 servings

4 Ruth’s Chris onion rings (they’re about 2 inches wide/tall!)

1/2 can (a scant cup) white beans, rinsed and drained

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1/4 cup unsweetened soy milk

Pinch sea salt

Pinch grated nutmeg (preferably fresh-grated)

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 cups lightly packed finely chopped kale (I remove the stems and then use a food processor for this task)

Pinch sea salt

Pinch garlic powder

Approximately 4 tablespoons Ruth’s Chris special Asian sauce served with their Tempura Onion Rings (or a prepared Asian chili sauce)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place onion rings on a terracotta stone or an oiled or Silpat-lined baking sheet and heat for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, combine beans, nutritional yeast, soy milk, salt, and nutmeg in a food processor and process until smooth.  Heat oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high.  Add kale and a pinch of salt and garlic powder, and saute for about 5 minutes or until tender, but still bright green.  Reduce heat to medium and stir in bean mixture.  Heat, stirring continually, for about a minute or until “cream” is heated through.  Spoon kale immediately into the onion ring cups and serve with the sauce drizzled around the onion rings and over the kale.   Note:  I actually used this much filling for two onion rings because that’s all I had, but it would fill four of them generously.

For 150+ additional seasonal recipes for someone on your holiday list, I invite you to consider The Blooming Platter Cookbook: A Harvest of Seasonal Vegan Recipes.

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by betsy

Our Blooming Thanksgiving Platter–Third Up: Barley with Butterut Squash and Baby Bellas

For this addition to our five-star Thanksgiving feast, I turned to star chef, Emeril Legasse. 

In a recent culinary magazine, his recipe for a barley, mushroom, and squash risotto made in a slow cooker really appealed to me.  I gave my slow cooker away age ago–I just don’t enjoy cooking that way–but I loved his concept.  So I simply made some quick-cooking barley and folded in cubed and sauteed butternut squash and baby bellas whose flavor I deepened with a sprinkle of nutritional yeast.  It was a hit and it made a ton, so I plan to add broth and make soup with the leftovers.  

Minced rosemary would be a nice addition, but I was flavoring the gravy with rosemary, so I didn’t include and it is still super tasty.   Similarly, since our dressing included sauteed onion, I didn’t add, but sauteed onion and garlic would be nice, though my stripped down version was delicious and satisfying.

Yield: 16 servings (when served with a couple of other side dishes and a main dish)

4 cups vegetable broth or stock

Pinch sea salt

2 cups quick cooking barley

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 butternut squash about 8 inches long, seeds, membrane, and peel removed; cut ino 1/2 inch pieces

Pinch of sea salt

1 pound baby bella mushrooms, sliced about 1/4-inch thick (I purchased them pre-sliced from Trader Joe’s)

Approximately 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

In a 2-quart saucepan, bring the broth or stock and a pinch of salt to a simmer.  Stir in the quick cooking barley, and simmer, loosely covered, about 12 minutes or until tender and water is evaporated.  Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high.  Add squash and a pinch of salt and saute, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes or until tender and just beginning to develop some color.  Lower heat if necessary to prevent from sticking.  Add mushrooms and continue sauteeing and stirring for about 3 minutes or until tender.  Turn off heat and stir in nutritional yeast.  Spoon cooked barley into a large bowl, add vegetables, and gently stir to combine.  Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if desired.  Transfer to a serving bowl and serve immediately.  If you make the dish well in advance of serving, spoon it into an oiled heat-proof serving dish, cool, cover, and refrigerate until about an hour and a half before serving time. Remove the dish from the refrigerator about an hour before serving.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and heat barley mixture, covered, for 20-30 minutes or until lheated through.  Serve immediately.

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by betsy

Our Blooming Thanksgiving Platter–Second Up: Vegan Apple-Roasted Pecan-Sage Stuffing

On a recent Sunday, listening to our outstanding local public radio station, WHRV, announcer and jazz musician, Jae Sinnett, host of “Sinnet in Session,” shared his recipe–as he frequently does, for his show follows “Splendid Table” in their line-up–for an apple-pecan stuffing.  I didn’t write the recipe down, since I was driving; rather I just used it for inspiration, thinking it sounded perfect for our Thanksgiving feast.  To Jae’s basic recipe, I added cornbread to the bread base, as our family has always used a combination for what we think is the best taste and texture.  I also used roasted pecans–and a lot of them!–for depth of flavor.

Yield: 10-12 servings (when served with a couple of other side dishes)

1-8 inch pan of cornbread, cooked and cooled

About 10 ounces of multi-grain bread

1 pound roasted and lightly salted pecan pieces or halves (I purchased them already roasted and salted and Trader Joe’s; if using halves, break them with your fingers as you add to the stuffing); reserve a few to sprinkle on the top if desired

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large yellow onion, but into 1/4-inch dice

About 3 stalks of celery, trimmed, and cut lengthwise into 4 strips and then cut crosswise ino 1/4-inch pieces

2 sweet-tart apples (I used an apple grown here in Virginia), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/4 inch pieces

Approximately 2 teaspoons of rubbed sage or to taste

Vegetable broth or stock, added a little at a time until mixture is very moist but holds its shape and is not soggy (this will take at least 2 cups, so start with that amount)

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Photo Credit: SoupAddict.com

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Crumble cornbread into a large mixing bowl.  Tear bread into bite-size pieces into the same bowl and toss gently to combine.   In a large cast iron skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high.  Add the onion and saute, stirring frequently, for about 3 minutes.  Add celery, and continue sauteeing and stirring for about 2 minutes.  Add the apple and do the same for about 3 minutes.  All vegetables should be tender, but still hold their shape.  Add them to the breads in the large mixing bowl along with the sage, and toss gently to combine.  Begin adding broth or stock, stirring and “fluffing” with a fork until desired consistency is reached.   Taste to check for seasoning, and stir in salt, pepper, and sage as needed.   Oil a 9 x 13-inch glass or ceramic dish and spoon in stuffing without packing it down.  Sprinkle with reserved pecan halves if desired.  Bake just until heated through, about 25 to 30 minutes.  Cover with foil if the top appears to be drying out during the baking process.    Serve immediately.  If you want to prepare earlier in the day and reheat before serving, simply bake for about 20 minutes, cool, cover, and refrigerate.  About an hour and a half before serving, remove the dish from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for an hour.  Then reheat, covered, in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes or just until heated through.

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by betsy

What Bloomed on Our Platters for Vegan Thanksgiving 2011–First Up: Vegan Roasted Pumpkin with Pepita and Sage Pesto

Thanksgiving 2011 Hosts: Betsy & Joe DiJulio

This Thanksgiving was surely one of the best in recent memory, if a bit bittersweet.

In 1991, the year after my husband and I got married and moved to Virginia, we began a tradition of hosting the Thanksgiving celebration for both of our families.  Over the ensuing two decades, our families changed and grew with everyone welcome, though busy lives, blended families, and family responsibilities to aging relatives meant that not everyone could come every year.  However, some years, we happily picked up an aunt or two and a good family friend.  More recently, both Joe’s and my mothers experienced increasing health issues to the point that his couldn’t travel for the last two years and mine couldn’t travel last year, so we went to our respective homes for the holidays in 2010.  Sadly, Joe’s mother passed away last April (and had been predeceased a few years by his father), but my mother rebounded.  So this year, nine of our clan once again gathered here to revive the tradition.

It was a joyful day of cooking and visiting.   Our niece Gabriella and Joe’s Aunt Cathy stayed with us, with everyone else in beachfront hotels.  Before everybody woke and/or came over, I sprung out of bed and cleaned out our kitchen and garage refrigerators so we would have a clean slate.   The result was two sparkling fridges and an entire dishwasher load of food storage cartons.   Cathy dried every single one of them (I don’t run the heated dry cycle on the fridge to save energy) and she somehow kept up with the food prep dishes and tools all day, as I hand wash a lot of them either because they are special or because they will be reused.

 

Minnie Quickly Had Mom Trained

With the great fridge clean-out and a nice dog walk with Gab and Cathy under our belts, my parents and sister arrived and we all eased into a nice leisurely five hours of food preparation.  Joe and his sisters went to the gym, stopped by to say “hi,” and then headed to their hotel suite, complete with kitchen, to see about their contributions, returning around 4 p.m. with them in tow for the feast.

Meanwhile, at home, our house guests and my family were wonderfully helpful and conversant kitchen companions, easily moving in and out to offer help as needed.  And plenty was needed, as the only preparation my sister and I had done the day before was to make the dessert–Cranberry Crunch, a longtime family favorite–and a pan of cornbread for the dressing.  My dad turned out to be the ace pumpkin cleaner and peeler.  Doing that for a crowd is a bit of a chore, but was so much more enjoyable with my papa.

When we sat down to dinner my husband said he was surprised that there was nothing green on the menu.  He was right: there were no green vegetables!  But that was somewhat by design, as there simply wasn’t anything other than collards and broccoli at my go-to farmer’s market, and I didn’t have a particular hankerin’ for either.  But the market did have beautiful pumpkins and butternut squash, so I served both. 

Let’s begin with a recipe I’ve featured here on The Blooming Platter before:  Roasted Pumpkin with Pepita and Sage Pesto.  It is loved by many, including former pumpkin haters.  And, after introducing it to our Thanksgiving guests this year, it has even more fans.  Simply click on the link to access the recipe.  Note that, for Thanksgiving, I used six small striped pumpkins about 6 inches in diameter (see photo below) instead of a Turk’s Turban Squash and doubled the pesto recipe to serve 10 to 12 people (with other side dishes).  But we prepared the pumpkins the same way: roasting them for a little bit before removing the seeds, pulp, and peel; cutting it into chunks; and then roasting the chunks again for 17-20 minutes, or 8-10 minutes on each of two sides.

These Beauties Are as Tasty as They Are Pretty

Be sure to check out my three remaining Thanksgiving posts for my Apple-Roasted Pecan Dressing and Barley with Sauteed Butternut Squash and Baby Bellas plus my sister-in-law’s Cranberry-Orange Relish with Ginger and Walnuts and Aunt Cathy’s Caponata.

And for even more seasonal specialties, I hope you will check out The Blooming Platter Cookbook, great for everyone on your holiday gift list.

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by betsy

A Blooming Platter Vegan Thanksgiving Recipe Featured on Super Vegan

The good folks at “Super Vegan” have been posting vegan Thanksgiving recipes for the past several days and were kind enough to include my Sweet Potatoes Caribbean recipe which is from The Blooming Platter Cookbook: A Harvest of Seasonal Vegan Recipes.

Check out my recipe and all the other delicious offerings on the Super Vegan site.

And have yourself a beautiful T-Day (Tofu-Day) regardless of what’s on your menu.

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