My Vegetarian Recipe of the Day

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.

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.

We eat this at Rosh Hashana. It’s really tasty and an easy addition to a meal.

Cumin Black-eyed Peas with Tomatoes

1 package frozen black-eyed peas (or black-eyed peas with green beans)
2 medium onions
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 T. olive oil
1 T. cumin
14 oz. can diced tomatoes or stewed tomatoes
1 cup of water
salt and pepper, to taste

optional: chopped green peppers, cayenne, chopped zucchini or other vegetables

In a large pot, brown the onions in the olive oil, along with any other chopped vegetables. Add the garlic towards the end and cook until golden. Add the rest of the ingredients, except the salt. Add the cayenne if you like extra heat. Cook about 45 minutes, until the peas are soft. Add the salt the last 10 minutes. Serve alone or over rice or potatoes.