Category: Vegeterian Main Dishes

Spiced Tomato Stew with Cheesy Polenta

Leave a comment



From Sara Bradley, in the Wall Street Journal

We’re kind of swimming in garden tomatoes at the moment, and this recipe is a great way to use them. Sara’s original recipe calls for heirloom tomatoes, smoked cheddar and regular cheddar, but I had Pecorino Romano and Gruyere and garden tomatoes, so I just used those.

It was really delicious and I loved the rustic tomato sauce, which I’ll definitely make again.

Ingredients:

4-5 cups water
½ tsp salt
1 cup polenta
2 oz smoked cheddar (or gruyere), grated
2 oz white cheddar (or pecorino romano), grated
2 oz cream cheese

1/4 cup olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, chopped
2 large shallots, thinly sliced or chopped
1/4 tsp red chile flakes
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
½ tsp kosher salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
pinch of sugar
4-6 cups roughly chopped tomatoes
Fresh basil leaves, torn

Bring salted water to boil in a medium pot. Add in polenta, reduce heat and cook 20 minutes or so, stirring from time to time and adding a little water if it gets very thick. Once the polenta is creamy, add in the two grated cheeses and the cream cheese. Stir well and set aside.

Meanwhile in a large frying pan, heat 1/4 cup olive oil. When hot, add in shallots and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly. Add garlic and stir another couple of minutes. Then add red chile flakes, fennel seeds, salt, black pepper and sugar. Stir for a minute or so, then add all of the tomatoes.

Cook, stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes. Check seasoning.

Scoop polenta into a wide bowl, and top with a nice big spoonful of the tomato stew, and some fresh basil leaves.

Frog & Prince Sheet-Pan Baked Feta With Broccolini, Tomatoes and Lemon

Leave a comment
Note: this was the first time I made this, and hadn’t dipped the feta slices or nestled them down. But I had to share the tray before going into the oven with all these vivid colors!

Based on Yasmin Fahr’s recipe with a few tweaks, it is one of those incredibly beautiful dishes because of the colorful veggies, that also tastes wonderful. It’s also quick and easy.

The funny name came because I try new dishes all the time, and honestly, some are duds. (Those don’t make it on the blog.) Kumy tried this and said, “There are frogs and princes, and this one is definitely a prince.” You can add practically any vegetable, as long as you include sliced lemons, onions and tomatoes, which are the real stars. So good!

Ingredients
1 bunch broccolini, ends trimmed, thick stalks split lengthwise, and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved (about 2 cups)
1 big red onion, peeled, quartered and cut into 1-inch wedges
1 small zucchini, cut into ½” thick rounds (optional)
1 and 1/2 yellow or orange bell peppers, sliced into 1″ strips
1 lemon, 1/2 cut into thin rounds and the remaining 1/2 left intact, for serving
3 Tbsp olive oil, plus more for serving
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp red-pepper flakes
1 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 (6- to 8-ounce) block feta, cut into 1-inch slices (can also use Queso Fresco wedges)

Cooked orzo, for serving
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped for garnish

Heat the oven to 400 degrees with a rack set in the lower third. Put all the veggies in a sheet pan.

Mix olive oil and seasonings in a bowl, then carefully dip the feta slices in the oil to coat, set them on a plate and drizzle the oil mixture over the veggies. Toss the veggies with your hands until the veggies are pretty evenly coated. Nestle the feta slices into the veggies.

Roast at least 20 minutes, until the broccolini stems are soft enough to pierce with a fork and the tomatoes blister and collapse a bit. Yasmin tosses the veggies 1/2 way through, but I didn’t want to break up the cheese, and it was fine.

Remove from the oven, squeeze a bit of fresh lemon over it then serve over orzo, and top with a drizzle of olive oil and the basil. Yum!

Greek Style Beans with Onions & Spinach

Leave a comment


I found this recipe by The Doctor’s Kitchen, aka Dr Rupy Aujla, on the BBC website. I was incredibly skeptical about these flavors combined, but I have to say I am totally won over.

It’s super satisfying – a very solid healthy main dish, and very quick and easy to make. I made some tweaks, since he uses some ingredients less easily available in the US.

It uses mostly pantry ingredients, but tastes super fresh and delish. Kumy and I had it with naan and we totally devoured it! It’s also great with toast.

Ingredients
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced (red’s fine, too)
½ tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 can chopped tomatoes, with juice (14.5 oz)
2 tsp honey
1 small dry red chilli, deseeded and broken into chunks
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp paprika
1 tsp dried oregano
1 can Cannellini beans, drained and rinsed, 14.5 oz (Can use any white beans.)
8 oz baby spinach (really big handful)
Feta cheese, crumbled for garnish

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400.

Heat the oil in a large oven-proof frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 3-5 minutes until softened.

Add the tomatoes, honey, chilli, cinnamon, paprika and oregano. Simmer for a few minutes. Stir in the beans and the greens. Toss the spinach to help it wilt.

Bake uncovered for 20 minutes and serve sprinkled with Feta.

Cabbage, Leek and Toasted Walnut Pasta

Leave a comment


This is based on a great recipe from Hetty Lui-McKinnon in the New York Times. I’ve made it three times in the past month or so, and every time it is really good. I love sautéed cabbage and when you add leeks, cheese, walnuts and pasta, it’s practically perfect!

I usually have Romano Cheese in the fridge, but tonight I had a couple of other hard cheeses I needed to use up, and they tasted good, too. So it’s very forgiving about what kind of cheese you actually need.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
1½ tsp whole cumin seeds
3 medium leeks, halved, cleaned and cut into 1″ lengths
1 lb. cabbage, cut into 1″ cubes (about 1/2 of a good-sized cabbage)
1 ½ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ pound spaghetti or any other pasta
1 cup grated Romano Cheese (or other hard cheese) plus a little more for a garnish
Juice of ½ lemon
1 cup walnuts, toasted in the oven for 5 minutes or so

Directions

Heat oil and butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add cumin seeds and stir for 10-15 seconds. Add leeks, cabbage, garlic powder, salt and black pepper. Cook stirring from time to time – about 10 minutes or until you can see the cabbage has softened and it’s starting to brown on the bottom of the pan just a bit. 

This is really delicious as is – and you could stop here for a simple side dish. But keep cooking it, so it caramelizes just a little and really brings out the sweetness in the cabbage.

Meanwhile, set a pot of salted water boiling and cook the pasta for the time recommended on the package. When it’s done cooking, save ½ cup of the pasta water and drain the rest of the pasta.

Add pasta, pasta water and cheese to the cabbage mix and stir well. Squeeze lemon juice over and stir in walnuts, saving a few for a garnish. Check seasoning and serve hot with extra walnuts and cheese sprinkled over. So delicious!

Ina’s Lemon Mashed Potatoes

Leave a comment

Ina Garten has one of the best recipes for Lemon Pureed Potatoes. I basically make her potatoes, but I don’t peel the potatoes and I just mash them. But they are absolutely incredible. It’s basically just mashed potatoes, but you add lemon zest at the end, which completely transforms it. It doesn’t need gravy or extra butter or anything – it’s perfect just the way it is.

Ingredients:

2½ lbs large Yukon Gold potatoes, washed but not peeled, cut into 1″ pieces
2 tsp Kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ lb (2 sticks) butter or vegan butter
3/4 cup whole milk or whatever plant-based milk you like
1 Tbsp grated lemon zest (2 lemons)

Half fill a large pot with water and add a tablespoon of salt. Add potatoes, and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and let them simmer for 15-20 minutes until nice and soft when you poke them with a fork.

Remove from heat, drain and mash with a potato masher. Add salt, pepper and butter and continue mashing until the butter has melted. Add the milk and stir well. If you’re going to serve right away, add the lemon zest and stir. Check seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed. 

I left the potatoes a little lumpy, since we like it that way. If you want them perfectly smooth, you can buzz them or run them through a food mill, but just add a 1/4 more milk if you do that. (That’s what Ina does.)

Ina says that the lemon zest can get bitter and to wait and add it later if you aren’t going to serve it right away. I haven’t noticed bitterness when I’ve had leftovers the next day, but just to be on the safe side, listen to Ina.

Bhuta ka Salen (Corn Curry)

2 Comments

This is the first dish I ever learned to cook when I moved to Karachi. I learned it from Kumy’s sister and mom and it remains an all-time favorite. I love to fish out the rounds of corn and dip them in the curry, but it can be messy! If you’re squeamish, cut the corn off the cobs before you cook it.

When sweet corn is in season, there is nothing better.

Ingredients:

6 ears sweet corn, cut into 1½” wide rounds
1 yellow onion, finely diced
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 large bunch cilantro, leaves and about 2″ of stems, rough chopped
2 jalapenos, seeded (if desired) and rough chopped
½ tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp salt
1 large clove of garlic (or 2 small)
1/2 cup corn water
3 Tbsp gram flour (check online for substitutes)
1 can coconut milk
½ lemon

Boil water (do not add salt!) in a large pot and cook corn pieces for 3-5 minutes, until tender. Remove from heat and drain, saving a cup or so of the corn water.

Heat oil in a large frying pan and add onion. Sauté on medium heat for several minutes until onion is soft and transparent. Let cool a bit.

Add cooked onions with cilantro, jalapenos, turmeric, salt, garlic and water, and buzz with an immersion blender or food processor until smooth. Then pour back into frying pan and cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly.

In a little cup, stir together a couple spoons of the corn water with the gram flour until smooth. Add gram flour slurry into the frying pan and cook a few more minutes to thicken, stirring frequently.

Reduce heat and add coconut milk. Stir well and finally add the sweet corn, tossing to coat with the curry.

Just before serving over rice, squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the dish. Yum!

Garbanzo & Feta Salad

Leave a comment


I’ve made this amazing “Chickpea Salad” from The Pioneer Woman twice in two weeks. Does that tell you something? I did make a few changes to her recipe, but nothing too drastic. It’s a great side dish, or even main dish, since there’s protein in the garbanzos and feta. So delish!

I made it yesterday, holding back on the avocadoes and dressing until just before tossing it and serving it today at a picnic. So you can easily make it ahead of time.

INGREDIENTS:

2 15-ounce cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
6 oz. feta, cubed (omit for a vegan version)
4-5 baby cucumbers, (or 1 English cucumber), cut into half moons (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 pt. cherry tomatoes, halved
1 red or orange bell pepper, diced
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced (optional – Kumy doesn’t like raw onions, so I didn’t add this.)
2 avocados, cubed
1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

FOR THE DRESSING:
1/3 cup olive oil
3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp dried Basil
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

Mix all veggies, beans and feta in a large bowl. If making ahead, don’t add avocadoes.

Mix dressing ingredients in a mason jar, close lid and shake like crazy.

Drizzle dressing over and toss well.

Note for photo: my avocadoes were quite ripe, and were very creamy.

Mushrooms with Brown Butter & Sage

1 Comment


This is such a delicious dish – mushrooms sauteed in brown butter and sage, seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic with a little spinach and a dollop of Mascarpone cheese. These flavors always feel very woodsy to me and I love that it feels meaty and satisfying, but not heavy.

Ingredients
8 oz pasta, any kind
4 Tbsp butter
1 tsp dried Sage, crushed
1 ½ lbs mushrooms (Costco package), washed and halved
½ tsp kosher salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp garlic powder
3 cups baby spinach
2 Tbsp Mascarpone cheese (Cream cheese is fine, too.)
Romano cheese grated as a garnish (Just a little)

Start a pot of salted water boiling, and add Pasta. Cook until done – but not mushy.

Meanwhile, rinse the mushrooms well. I know you’re not “supposed” to do that, but rinsing is so much quicker and any little water that they absorb cooks off anyway. For washing larger quantities of mushrooms, a basket strainer like this works great:

In a large frying pan on medium heat, melt the butter and continue cooking and stirring until the butter gets a nice brown color and smells nutty. Takes about 5 minutes or so.

Add the Sage and stir for about 30 seconds.

Add the mushrooms and toss well. Continue cooking and stirring until the mushrooms release their water, and then add the salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Continue cooking and stir occasionally, until only about a half cup of liquid is left. Add the baby spinach and stir to wilt. Take off the heat and add the Mascarpone cheese, stirring gently to combine.

Taste a mushroom and add a little salt, pepper or garlic powder if needed. Sprinkle a good-sized pinch of rubbed sage over the top, and grate a little Pecorino Romano cheese over.

Serve over pasta. Delish!

Mushroom, Leek & Cheese Scrambled Eggs

Leave a comment

Poked through the veggie drawer this morning, hungry for something “brunchy” yet healthy. Fortunately I had some really nice mushrooms and a leek, perfect for scrambled eggs. I made up a recipe on the fly and to my delight, it was surprisingly delicious. Thought I’d have enough for leftovers, but nope – ate the whole thing!

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 medium leek, halved and cut into 1″ pieces (be sure to wash really well)
1/4 cup diced onions
2 Tbsp diced peppers
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 kosher salt
few grinds of freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of dried basil leaves
½ tsp butter
2 eggs, beaten
1 slice sharp cheddar cheese (approximately) torn into smaller pieces

Heat olive oil on medium heat in a large frying pan and add mushroom, onions and peppers. Cook, stirring occasionally until the mushrooms have released their water and it has dried back up again. (7-8 minutes?) Add the butter, leeks and seasonings and saute for another 5 minutes.

Once leeks have softened up a bit, turn the heat way down. After a few minutes stir in the beaten eggs and start folding and gently stirring. Once eggs are mostly cooked, add cheese and continue folding and stirring until cheese is mostly melted. Check seasoning and serve immediately.

Mexican Veggie Soup – Caldo de Res (Sorta)

1 Comment

There is a great Mexican grocery store near us and recently, I noticed a really interesting tray of veggies in the produce section, simply labeled “Mexican Soup Mix.”

Curiosity piqued, I brought them home, along with a ½ lb. of Chorizo. (Not sure if that’s traditional, but I love how Chorizo adds flavor. You could really probably leave it out, too.)

The closest recipe I could find is called Caldo de Res, so that’s what I based my recipe on. Though this is not a classic Caldo de Res, it is an easy and delicious soup, and makes a big batch – perfect for cool fall evenings.

Really almost everything you need is in the package, including about a million extra red chiles. I am not brave enough to use all those chiles, but maybe someday! Here’s all the veggies, in case you can’t find the mix.

The mix includes a Chayote Squash, which is the green veggie on the far left. I used it like any other squash, though I removed the pit, which oddly it has. I chopped all the vegetables in small bite-sizes like for soup, so not too finely.

Ingredients:

½ lb. Chorizo
1 tsp olive oil
½ onion, rough chopped
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
3 long red chiles, whole
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp cumin
2 carrots, diced
½ small cabbage, rough chopped
1 Chayote squash, pit removed and rough chopped
2 potatoes, scrubbed but not peeled and rough chopped
1 small zucchini, rough chopped
1 small tomato, chopped
1 ear of corn, cut into 4-5 sections, or corn kernels removed
4 cups chicken stock
1/3 cup fresh cilantro chopped
Juice of one lime

Serve with:
Sour Cream
More chopped Cilantro
Grated mild cheese
warm corn tortillas
lime wedges
Jalapeno slices

Add oil to large Dutch oven and add Chorizo. Cook a few minutes until lightly browned. Add onion and cook for a few minutes until onion is softened, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and chiles and cook for a minute or two.

Add seasonings and all veggies, except for cilantro and lime. Add chicken stock and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes, covered.

When Chayote Squash and potatoes are soft, gently stir in Cilantro and Lime juice.

Serve in a wide bowl, topped with sour cream, chopped cilantro, mild cheese, lime wedges and Jalapeno slices.

Warm corn tortillas are delicious too, especially dipped into the broth. You can easily heat corn tortillas in the microwave.

Just lay 5-6 tortillas on a small plate and cover with another plate. Microwave for 30 to 60 seconds, until nice and warm. Keep covered when you serve.

So good!