My Vegetarian Recipe of the Day

Only one week until New Year’s Eve. Whether you do snacks, a full meal, or a midnight brunch, you can find great vegetarian options. Obviously, with only sevendays, I don’t have time to post a lot of recipes, so I’m going to remind you of a couple of recipes that have been posted in the past that you might want to include in your celebrations.

Black Eyed Peas are traditional for New Year’s and over the past year I’ve posted three black eyed pea recipes.

Cumin Black Eyed Peas with Tomatoes

Lime Rice and Black Eyed Peas

Black Eyed Pea Scramble

If you’re looking for brunch recipes, here are some of my favorites from the past year:

Easy Biscuits

Prepare Ahead Breakfast Casserole

Banana Macademia Nut Muffins

What if you just want snacks for New Year’s Eve? You might want to try some of these:

Vegetarian Nachos

Cream Cheese With…

Vegetarian 7 Layer Dip

Now, I will still be posting some new recipes, as well, this week. So, if you didn’t find something that you like, check back between now and New Year’s Eve.

I meant to write this one out during Thanksgiving and then somehow forgot about it. This was originally meant as a vegan recipe, but I usually adapt it and make it vegetarian. It’s really very tasty, although it does require a bit more work than some other nut loafs. Although if you double the recipe for the stuffing, you can get a main dish and a side dish for exactly the same amount of work. Vegan ingredient options are marked with a star and in italics. Leave out the eggs for vegan option.

Nut Loaf with vegan alternatives

Loaf

two tablespoons (or more) butter *oil or margarine
2 large onions, chopped fine
5 cloves (or an entire bulb) garlic, minced
3 cups raw cashews
1 1/2 cups bread
1 cup soup stock or broth— you can use water, but I wouldn’t
salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 egg

Cook the onion and garlic in the butter, oil or margarine until tender, and remove from the heat.

Chop the cashews by hand or in a food processor; cut up the bread as well. Add the cashews and bread to the onion, then add the vegetable stock, egg, salt and pepper, nutmeg, and lemon juice. Put half of this mixture into a small, non-stick loaf pan. Even if you’re using a non-stick pan, I would still spray it with non-stick spray or oil it with olive or canola oil. If you want to use a regular pan that is not non-stick, the original recipe recommends lining the pan with parchment paper first.

Stuffing

3 cups bread cubes, toasted
four tablespoons butter *margarine or oil, melted but not hot
1/2 to 3/4 cup finely-chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
1/2 teaspoon sage
3 tablespoons parsley, chopped
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1 egg
enough to stock to moisten

Mix together all the ingredients. Put the mixture on top of the stuff in the loaf pan, and add the rest of the first mixture so that there are three layers of food in the pan.

Place the pan on a baking sheet or in a larger loaf pan (in case it overflows while cooking), and bake at 400 degrees F for half an hour. The top should be browned.

Let the roast cool for a few minutes, then serve out of the pan or invert it on to a plate. Serve with gravy, if desired. I’d recommend the mushroom gravy.

Green bean casserole is an easy enough solution for the vegetarians in your family, but what if you have a vegan coming for dinner? This green bean casserole should help them feel right at home while avoiding any animal products.

Vegan Green Bean Casserole

1 can French cut green beans
1.5 canisters vegan French fried onions (or make your own*)
1.5 cups soymilk
1 cube veggie bouillon (make sure this is vegan)
2-3 tablespoon corn starch (or potato starch) mixed with 2-3 tablespoon cold water to use as a thickener
1/2 medium onion, diced
3/4 cup chopped mushrooms (button, crimini, portabella, whatever)
1-2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon each of garlic, salt, pepper, basil, oregano, sage, marjoram, thyme,
or whatever seasoning you enjoy

Heat soy milk and veggie bouillon in a saucepan, stirring until bouillon cube disintegrates. Do not boil or scald the soy milk. Just heat it. Sauté onions and mushrooms in the oil in a skillet. Add salt, pepper, and any herbs or spices.

Mix the starch and water well, and pour into the soymilk/bouillon. Stir well, because this will thicken quickly. Quickly add the can of green beans and the sautéed veggies, and stir well.

Pour that mixture into a casserole dish or pan and top with rFrench fried onions. Bake in oven at about 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes, until the onions begin to brown. Remove. Eat. Enjoy.

• French Fried Onions

3 large onions, sliced into thin rings
2 cups milk
2 cups all-purpose flour (can use gluten free)
oil (for frying)
salt

Soak the onions in the milk for 5 minutes. Heat the oil in a large skillet or deep fryer. Take a handful of onions and run them through the flour with a fork to coat.
Fry in batches in the oil, stirring as needed to brown evenly. Drain on paper towels and season to taste. Store in an air-tight container.

Every year I try a new latke recipe. We all love the potato latkes, but for eight nights it can get a bit old. I’m thinking of trying this recipe for this year.

Sweet Potato Latkes with Sugared Pecans

2 medium sweet potatoes
1 egg
1 T vanilla
1 T cinnamon
1 t ground nutmeg
Up to 2 T potato flour (regular flour will do if you don’t have potato flour or potato starch)
1/3 c brown sugar; packed
Oil
Sour cream or powder sugar for dusting
Sugared Pecans (recipe below)

Parboil potatoes in boiling water until slightly tender but firm (or microwave for a couple of minutes). Refrigerate potatoes until cold. Remove skin and shred into bowl. Add egg; vanilla, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and potato flour. Mix until well blended. Coat bottom of 10” non-stick skillet with 2 T. oil. Shape latkes into 2 1/2 ” patties. Cook until brown on both sides and transfer to paper towels to drain briefly. Add oil as needed to remaining batches. Pipe dollop of sour cream with pastry bag on top for each latke. Top with Sugared Pecans.

*OPT. Sugared Pecans

1 c. whole pecans
1 egg white
1/3 c. sugar
1 t. cinnamon

Put pecans in ziplock bag with egg white. Shake until coated. Mix together sugar and cinnamon. Add to the ziplock bag— shake until coated. Bake at 400F 9 to 12 min. Cool.

Lasagna is a perfect meal for the holidays. It can be prepared ahead of time and reheated for parties or family dinners. This one is a non-traditional winter inspired acorn squash creation from Martha Stewart. When I make this I plan to double it and use a 9×13 pan or my lasagna pan, but this size would be perfect for a buffet, if you’re serving lots of other dishes.

Acorn Squash Lasagna

Olive oil, for baking dish
4 cups Acorn Squash Purée or 2 packages (12 ounces each) frozen winter squash purée, thawed
1/2 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 container (15 ounces) part-skim ricotta cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
8 no-boil lasagna noodles (half of an 8-ounce package) (You could also use regular noodles— just prepare them according to the package ahead of time.)

Preheat oven to 400°. Brush an 8-inch square baking dish with oil; set aside. In a medium bowl, mix squash purée with sage, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. In another bowl, mix ricotta with 1/2 cup Parmesan, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.

Lay 2 lasagna noodles in the bottom of prepared dish; spread with half the squash mixture. Layer with 2 more noodles, and spread with half the ricotta mixture. Repeat layering with remaining noodles and mixtures. Sprinkle top (ricotta mixture) with remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan.

3. Cover baking dish with foil; place on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until lasagna is heated through, about 45 minutes; remove foil, and continue baking until golden on top, 20 to 25 minutes more.

No matter what holiday you celebrate, it’s a good idea to have some munchies on hand for parties or friends who drop by. These spicy nuts are perfect. Make up a batch ahead of time and wait for the company to arrive— maybe you should make two batches, in case the cook needs feeding.

Spiced nuts

Assorted shelled nuts (almonds, cashews, peanuts, etc.)
For sweet and spicy nuts:
Peanut oil, for drizzling
Sugar, to taste
Kosher salt, to taste
Chinese five-spice powder, to taste

For savory nuts:
Peanut oil, for drizzling
Kosher salt, to taste
Chili powder, to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
For a sweet and spicy nut, toss your choice of nuts with oil, sugar, salt and a few dashes of Chinese five-spice powder.

For a savory and spicy nut, toss your choice of nuts with oil, salt and a few dashes of chili powder.

Lay out the nuts in an even layer on a baking dish. Bake, redistributing the nuts every 7 minutes or so to make sure they cook evenly, until the nuts are lightly browned, about 15 to 20 minutes.

The great thing about Hanukkah for vegetarians is the traditional dish is not chicken, not turkey, but fried pancakes called latkes. The bad thing about Hanukkah for my waistline is the traditional dish is fried pancakes called latkes The most traditional latkes are potato, but there are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of variation. Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll share some of my favorites and some I want to try. This first recipe falls into the second category. Chickpeas should make for a somewhat more substantial latke, allowing it to become the main dish, if you like, rather than sitting on the side. Someone described this latke as a cross between a latke and a falafel— sounds good to me.

Chickpea and Potato Latkes

18 ounces white potatoes, about 3 medium
3/4 cup chopped leek, white and pale green parts only
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2-1/4 cups drained canned garbanzo beans/chickpeas; about 1-1/2 15-ounce cans
3 large garlic cloves
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1-1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons plus additional all purpose flour
vegetable oil (for frying)

Cook potatoes in pot of boiling salted water until tender. Drain; refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes.

Peel potatoes; grate coarsely into large bowl. Mix in leek and cilantro.

Blend garbanzo beans, garlic, cumin, salt, pepper and baking powder in processor until almost smooth. Stir into potato mixture. Mix in 3 tablespoons flour.

Using floured hands, shape 2 rounded tablespoons mixture into ball; flatten into 1/2”-thick disk, about 2” in diameter. Place on lightly floured baking sheet. Repeat with remaining mixture, forming about 24 fritters. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Sprinkle lightly with flour. Cover and refrigerate.)

Pour enough oil into 2 heavy large skillets to reach depth of 1/4”. Heat over medium heat until sprinkle of water sizzles in oil. Coat each fritter with flour. Fry fritters until brown, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to paper towels; drain.

This may seem like an odd Holiday recipe. There’s nothing terribly “holiday” about it. BUT it is super fast. It can be completely done by the time the pasta boils. So, since the holidays sometimes get a bit crazy, I thought it would be good to post at least one meal that is elegant, delicious and so easy that you don’t even have to think about it. I think this recipe would go great on a buffet, in case you have a holiday party, but want to do something other than cook all week long.

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup walnuts, toasted and cooled
3/4 c. shredded Romano cheese
3 cloves garlic
1 t. salt
1/2 t. black pepper
1 lb. shaped pasta (I tend to use bowtie)
red pepper flakes, to taste

Cook pasta, according to directions on bag.

Toast walnuts at 400 degrees for 5 minutes.

Throw all ingredients, except pasta, into food processor and process for about 1 minute, until thick and creamy— but don’t process it so long that the cream starts to turn to butter Add to the pasta, stir until combined and serve.

**If you don’t have a food processor, you could probably do this in a blender, but I haven’t tried that, so your results may vary.

The usual cranberry salads often contain jello or marshmallows. While you can find vegetarian alternatives to these, I find that a hassle. They are not found at stores conveniently located to me. So, when I found this recipe that includes neither, I was thrilled. And it’s really tasty, too. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Whipped Cream Cranberry Salad

2 (12 ounce) packages fresh cranberries
1 cup white sugar
1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup chopped pecans
1 pint heavy whipping cream (or one carton non-dairy whipped topping—decrease sugar to 1/2 c. if using this)

Coarsely chop the cranberries in a food processor; put in a large, non-metal bowl and mix in the sugar. Cover and refrigerate for 12 hours.

Whip the cream until stiff (skip this step if using non-dairy topping). Add the pineapple and nuts to the cranberries, mix well. Fold in whipped cream; refrigerate until ready to serve.

*** If you like, you can stir in marshmallows with the whipped cream. Vegan marshmallows are available. Also, kosher marshmallows are made with fish gelatin, which may be acceptable to some.

Can you believe it’s almost December? For many people, that means holiday parties. In our family, we celebrate Chanukah. In other families, they’ve begun preparations for Christmas or some other holiday. Regardless of what holiday you celebrate, you’ll probably need great vegetarian recipes to take to the office party, for your own family get-togethers, or just to have around the house. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting vegetarian holiday recipes. If you have favorites of your own, feel free to post them in the comment section.