guerilla vegetarianism
Oct. 26th, 2009 12:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
veronica_richSome of you may remember my request last week for vegetarian recipe and ingredient ideas, for my visiting friend. I appreciated all and took some of the ideas to heart for future recipes (which I may try for myself - I'm not a vegetarian, but I have incorporated more veggies and fruit into my regular diet over the past three years). However, I come to you today bearing the recipes for a couple of dishes I DID make.
I didn't invent these; I'm not a chemist/artist/foodie enough to come up with recipes with this many ingredients and steps. But - much like I do with my fanfic - I did make some substitutions and additions on the originals. If any of you are vegetarians or just like veggies and you don't already have recipes for these things, here you go.
Snack's Shepherd's Pie Remixed
Base recipe provided by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
the_dark_snack; vegetarian substitutions noted in italics
FILLING
1-2 cups chopped leftover lamb; or 1 pounds of ground beef, browned and drained; or 12-ounce bag of Morningstar Farms Meal Starters vegetable crumbles
3 packets mushroom gravy mix and 1 cup water or vegetarian brown gravy (recipe below)
2 cans baby carrots, drained (or if you like firm carrots, buy non-canned in the produce section instead)
1 can peas and pearl onions, drained (I substituted with: 1 can peas drained, 3/4 medium chopped onion - you can use the other 1/4 onion for the gravy - and 1-2 cans of canned new potatoes, drained)
1 small can mushrooms (optional), drained
11.5-ounce bottle Guinness Stout (I may try only 1 cup next time, as my filling was just a little soupy for my taste)
1-2 tablespoons paprika
POTATO TOPPING**
2 cups water
1 cup milk
2 cups instant potato flakes
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 cup shredded cheese
ALTERNATIVE VEGETARIAN BROWN GRAVY
Store-bought gravy and powdered mixes tend to use a beef or some other meat element; I did some Googling and came up with the following (which I suppose could also be used as a gravy substitute for mashed potatoes, etc.):
4.5 tablespoons margarine (vegetable oil-based)
1/4 finely chopped onion (told you you'd use it!)
3 minced garlic cloves, or 2-3 teaspoons garlic powder
4.5 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1.5 cups water
Black pepper, to taste
First, the potato topping: Bring water and margarine/butter to boil and remove from heat, stirring in the potato flakes and milk. When stirred, add the cheese, stir, and set aside while you make the filling, to let the cheese melt into the potatoes.
**Because I like making real mashed potatoes, I peeled and cut up three medium-sized potatoes and boiled them in water until soft enough to mash. Drain off water. With a mixer (I never use a potato masher, but that's up to you), mash the potaotes on low speed with the margarine/butter and much less milk than this recipe calls for - add a little at first and keep gradually adding until you get a thick but smooth texture. Add a little salt for flavor. THEN, hand-stir in the cheese and set aside.
Turn oven on to BROIL at this point.
Filling: In a large saucepan, combine gravy mix with Guinness and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil and let thicken. (If you are using the vegetarian recipe, melt the margarine, onions, and garlic over medium-high heat; reduce to medium after onions/garlic are golden-brown. Make a roux by slowly adding flour, stirring to avoid lumps. Add soy sauce and water and let thicken to desired consistency, stirring. Pepper to taste. If you just want the gravy recipe itself, stop here and use with your meal; if you're putting it in the shepherd's pie, add the Guinness and stir a bit longer.)
Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine. Spray a large casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray, then pour the filling into the dish. Cover the filling with the potato topping, using a spatula to spread it over the entire surface if possible. If very full, set the casserole dish on a cookie sheet; if not, you can pop it into the oven as-is. Broil uncovered for upwards of 10 minutes, then remove and let cool for a few minutes before serving.
Red Pepper Bisque
Base recipe developed by Chef Linda Carucci; vegetarian substitution noted in italics
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I used dried red pepper flakes instead)
4 medium or 3 large red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and chopped into 1-inch pieces
4 cups chicken stock, homemade or low-sodium canned (for vegetarian, substitute canned vegetable stock or use my recipe below**)
1/4 cup heavy cream
Black pepper, to taste
Fresh cilantro (optional)
It's best to make this soup before you need it, not right before you serve it. If you can, prepare it a day ahead and refrigerate overnight.
In a large pot over medium heat, add the oil, then the onions, carrot, and celery. Saute about 8 minutes, keeping an eye on this (it's a good idea to have chopped everything before this point) - DON'T LET IT BURN OR BLACKEN. Stir in the cayenne pepper and the bell peppers.
When the peppers start to soften, about 5 minutes, add the stock and bring to a rolling boil. Immediately reduce heat to medium or just under and simmer, covered, about 30 minutes.
**I make homemade vegetable stock. This requires some advance planning and freezer space. I keep a plastic bowl in the freezer - about the size of one of those 16-ounce Cool Whip bowls - and when I use vegetables in salads or anything else, there's usually waste left over - leaves, stems, lettuce hearts, even potato peelings. I wash this "waste" good and then add it to the bowl as I go along. When the bowl becomes full, packed down, it's ready to use for making stock. You can make almost any amount of stock you need from this - for 4 cups, I boil this direct from the freezer in about 7 cups of water, uncovered. (Part of the water will lift off as steam and part will stay in the waste veggies.) Boil for about 30 minutes or so, then run through a strainer to separate the liquid from veggie waste; mash down on the veggie waste with a big spoon to squeeze out some of the excess liquid, but not all of it. When using this to cook, you may wish to add a little salt to taste, since there's none in it naturally.
In a blender, puree soup on graduated speeds until smooth, only 2 cups at a time. Pour through a medium-mesh strainer into a fresh pot. If the puree won't filter through fast enough, use a spoon to stir and scrape within the strainer. Do this until all the soup is pureed and strained; it's OK if you have no "pulp" left and have mashed it all through the strainer (I was left with just a thin coating on my strainer that I had to wash off). Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Let cool and refrigerate.
When you're ready to serve the soup, add the heavy cream and reheat it over medium heat, stirring. Add black pepper to taste, as well (hint: it doesn't take much). Ladle into bowls and top with a couple of sprigs of cilantro and stem, if desired. (There are other things you can top bisque with, but you'll have to Google for those. I like mine pretty plain.)
I didn't invent these; I'm not a chemist/artist/foodie enough to come up with recipes with this many ingredients and steps. But - much like I do with my fanfic - I did make some substitutions and additions on the originals. If any of you are vegetarians or just like veggies and you don't already have recipes for these things, here you go.
Snack's Shepherd's Pie Remixed
Base recipe provided by
the_dark_snack; vegetarian substitutions noted in italicsFILLING
1-2 cups chopped leftover lamb; or 1 pounds of ground beef, browned and drained; or 12-ounce bag of Morningstar Farms Meal Starters vegetable crumbles
3 packets mushroom gravy mix and 1 cup water or vegetarian brown gravy (recipe below)
2 cans baby carrots, drained (or if you like firm carrots, buy non-canned in the produce section instead)
1 can peas and pearl onions, drained (I substituted with: 1 can peas drained, 3/4 medium chopped onion - you can use the other 1/4 onion for the gravy - and 1-2 cans of canned new potatoes, drained)
1 small can mushrooms (optional), drained
11.5-ounce bottle Guinness Stout (I may try only 1 cup next time, as my filling was just a little soupy for my taste)
1-2 tablespoons paprika
POTATO TOPPING**
2 cups water
1 cup milk
2 cups instant potato flakes
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 cup shredded cheese
ALTERNATIVE VEGETARIAN BROWN GRAVY
Store-bought gravy and powdered mixes tend to use a beef or some other meat element; I did some Googling and came up with the following (which I suppose could also be used as a gravy substitute for mashed potatoes, etc.):
4.5 tablespoons margarine (vegetable oil-based)
1/4 finely chopped onion (told you you'd use it!)
3 minced garlic cloves, or 2-3 teaspoons garlic powder
4.5 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1.5 cups water
Black pepper, to taste
First, the potato topping: Bring water and margarine/butter to boil and remove from heat, stirring in the potato flakes and milk. When stirred, add the cheese, stir, and set aside while you make the filling, to let the cheese melt into the potatoes.
**Because I like making real mashed potatoes, I peeled and cut up three medium-sized potatoes and boiled them in water until soft enough to mash. Drain off water. With a mixer (I never use a potato masher, but that's up to you), mash the potaotes on low speed with the margarine/butter and much less milk than this recipe calls for - add a little at first and keep gradually adding until you get a thick but smooth texture. Add a little salt for flavor. THEN, hand-stir in the cheese and set aside.
Turn oven on to BROIL at this point.
Filling: In a large saucepan, combine gravy mix with Guinness and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil and let thicken. (If you are using the vegetarian recipe, melt the margarine, onions, and garlic over medium-high heat; reduce to medium after onions/garlic are golden-brown. Make a roux by slowly adding flour, stirring to avoid lumps. Add soy sauce and water and let thicken to desired consistency, stirring. Pepper to taste. If you just want the gravy recipe itself, stop here and use with your meal; if you're putting it in the shepherd's pie, add the Guinness and stir a bit longer.)
Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine. Spray a large casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray, then pour the filling into the dish. Cover the filling with the potato topping, using a spatula to spread it over the entire surface if possible. If very full, set the casserole dish on a cookie sheet; if not, you can pop it into the oven as-is. Broil uncovered for upwards of 10 minutes, then remove and let cool for a few minutes before serving.
Red Pepper Bisque
Base recipe developed by Chef Linda Carucci; vegetarian substitution noted in italics
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I used dried red pepper flakes instead)
4 medium or 3 large red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and chopped into 1-inch pieces
4 cups chicken stock, homemade or low-sodium canned (for vegetarian, substitute canned vegetable stock or use my recipe below**)
1/4 cup heavy cream
Black pepper, to taste
Fresh cilantro (optional)
It's best to make this soup before you need it, not right before you serve it. If you can, prepare it a day ahead and refrigerate overnight.
In a large pot over medium heat, add the oil, then the onions, carrot, and celery. Saute about 8 minutes, keeping an eye on this (it's a good idea to have chopped everything before this point) - DON'T LET IT BURN OR BLACKEN. Stir in the cayenne pepper and the bell peppers.
When the peppers start to soften, about 5 minutes, add the stock and bring to a rolling boil. Immediately reduce heat to medium or just under and simmer, covered, about 30 minutes.
**I make homemade vegetable stock. This requires some advance planning and freezer space. I keep a plastic bowl in the freezer - about the size of one of those 16-ounce Cool Whip bowls - and when I use vegetables in salads or anything else, there's usually waste left over - leaves, stems, lettuce hearts, even potato peelings. I wash this "waste" good and then add it to the bowl as I go along. When the bowl becomes full, packed down, it's ready to use for making stock. You can make almost any amount of stock you need from this - for 4 cups, I boil this direct from the freezer in about 7 cups of water, uncovered. (Part of the water will lift off as steam and part will stay in the waste veggies.) Boil for about 30 minutes or so, then run through a strainer to separate the liquid from veggie waste; mash down on the veggie waste with a big spoon to squeeze out some of the excess liquid, but not all of it. When using this to cook, you may wish to add a little salt to taste, since there's none in it naturally.
In a blender, puree soup on graduated speeds until smooth, only 2 cups at a time. Pour through a medium-mesh strainer into a fresh pot. If the puree won't filter through fast enough, use a spoon to stir and scrape within the strainer. Do this until all the soup is pureed and strained; it's OK if you have no "pulp" left and have mashed it all through the strainer (I was left with just a thin coating on my strainer that I had to wash off). Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Let cool and refrigerate.
When you're ready to serve the soup, add the heavy cream and reheat it over medium heat, stirring. Add black pepper to taste, as well (hint: it doesn't take much). Ladle into bowls and top with a couple of sprigs of cilantro and stem, if desired. (There are other things you can top bisque with, but you'll have to Google for those. I like mine pretty plain.)
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no subject
Date: 2009-10-26 08:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-31 03:08 pm (UTC)As for adding new potatoes to the filling, since you have the potato topping, I think it's kind of overkill. If I were adding another ingredient, I'd put in zuchinni or squash.