main dishes

Thu 15 Sep 2011

Arroz con Seitan

20110913-122958.jpgI recently picked up a new cookbook, Viva Vegan! Though we aren’t vegan we are mostly vegetarian so I thought this book would help me make veggie versions of my favorite Latin dishes. I was right! This is an exceptional cookbook and everything I’ve made in it thus far has been phenomenal. With some weekend prep I was able to put together this version of arroz con pollo in about 40 minutes. This recipes uses sofrito, a mixture of sauteed green peppers, onions & garlic. If you are making the sofrito along with this dish it will take a little longer (20 min or so). You can also prepare the sofrito ahead of time or just buy some. It comes both frozen & in jars. I can never bring myself to buy the jarred version because it contains preservatives. I cannot remember if the frozen variety includes preservatives or not. Don’t like seitan but do like chicken? Just replace the seitan with 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

Arroz con Seitan
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Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 40 mins
Total time: 50 mins
Serves: 4
A vegan version of the very popular Latin dish Arroz con Pollo. This hearty dish is a weeknight one-pot meal if you have premade sofrito on hand. Otherwise, make your own via the directions below.
Ingredients:
  • 12 oz seitan, cut into strips
  • 1 Tablespoon lime juice
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • Large pinch oregano
  • 1 cup sofrito
  • 2/3 cup crushed tomatoes
  • 1 cup Mexican beer (e.g. Corona)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice
  • 1 1/4 cups water or veggie broth
  • 1 cup frozen shelled edamame or peas
  • 1 carrot, diced small
  • 1/3 cup green olives, sliced
  • 1/4 cup capers, drained
  • 1/4 cup cilantro, minced
Directions:
  1. Marinate seitan in lime juice, olive oil & oregano for 10 minutes. Heat a skillet to medium-high heat, lightly oil skillet, and sear seitan strips for 2 minutes per side. Remove to a plate.
  2. Add sofrito to pan to reheat. Add tomatoes, beer, spices and salt. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add rice water (or broth), edamame (or peas) and carrot. Bring to a boil. Push seitan strips into mixture then sprinkle top with green olives & capers.
  3. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, until rice is cooked. Fluff rice and mix in minced cilantro.
Notes:

To make sofrito: Combine 2 Tablespoons olive oil and 5 minced cloves garlic in your skillet over medium heat. Sauté until garlic begins to release its fragrance (approximately 30 seconds). Add 1/2 cup diced yellow onion and 1/2 cup diced green pepper to pan. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are very soft and juice, approximately 15 minutes.

Posted by carrie under grains , main dishes , recipes , tofu
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Thu 25 Aug 2011

Fried Rice

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Fried rice is a great dish for weeknights because it uses up leftovers and comes together in about 15 minutes. It is incredibly versatile and can be made with any number of vegetables or proteins. Use this recipe as a guide for the technique and the sauce ingredients then make your own “house special” fried rice. Other vegetables to use include frozen peas, broccoli florets, green beans, sugar snap peas, or asparagus. For protein you can use anything from beans to steak.

Fried rice
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Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Total time: 15 mins
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
  • 3 Tablespoons light olive oil or peanut oil or canola oil
  • 10 frozen pearl onions or 1/2 diced yellow onion
  • 1/2 bell pepper, diced
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • 2 cups spinach or other greens
  • 8 oz tempeh, crumbled
  • 1 T minced garlic
  • 1 T minced ginger
  • 3 cups cooked rice, cold
  • 2 eggs, slightly beaten
  • 3 Tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1/4 cup white wine
Directions:
  1. Put 1 Tablespoon olive oil in a wok or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add pearl onions & sauté until browned on all sides. Add carrot and 1/8 cup water. Cover for 1 min or until water has evaporated. Add red pepper. Cook 1-2 minutes until carrots are beginning to brown. Add spinach. Saute 1-2 minutes more just until spinach is wilted. Remove vegetables to a serving bowl.
  2. Add tempeh to skillet along with 1/4 cup water. Cook until all water has evaporated. Remove temeph to serving bowl.
  3. Add remaining 2 Tablespoons olive oil to skillet. Add garlic & ginger. Sauté 15 sec or until fragrant. Add cold rice breaking any clumps up with your fingers. Toss with oil. Make a hole in the center of the rice & add eggs. Scramble eggs with rice and stir until cooked. Add vegetables & tempeh back to the skillet. Add soy sauce, sesame oil & wine. Stir until everything is coated with the sauce. Transfer everything back to the serving bowl.
Posted by carrie under grains , main dishes , recipes
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Fri 29 Jul 2011

French Friday: Mustard Roasted Fish

20110715-151145.jpgEasy recipe number two comes from my friend Leah. Her exact email about the recipe stated “made this tonight, paired with salad and a roll, and it’s AMAZING and AMAZINGLY EASY. Definitely a gourmet-style meal that can be made in 20 mins”. We tried it last week and it was amazing and amazingly easy!

Mustard Roasted Fish
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Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Total time: 20 mins
Serves: 4
Leah & I both used salmon for this recipe but you can use any fish you like. I liked the salmon as it pairs nicely with the strong flavor of the sauce.
Ingredients:
  • 4 fish fillets
  • salt & pepper
  • 8 ounces creme fraiche
  • 4 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 2 Tablespoons minced shallots or onions
  • 2 teaspoons capers
Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
  2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place fish filets (skin side down) on paper. Sprinkle each filet with salt & pepper.
  3. Combine creme fraiche, Dijon, shallots (or onions) and capers in a bowl. Mix. Divide mixture evenly between filets and spread over the top of each filet.
  4. Bake filets for 10-15 minutes in the preheated oven.
  5. Serve with a side salad & roll.

Posted by carrie under fish , main dishes , recipes
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Thu 7 Jul 2011

French Lentil Salad with Mozzarella

20110627-205225.jpgFrench lentils (or green lentils or Puy lentils) are great for salads. They have a nice, peppery taste and they hold their shape when cooked. This is a great salad for busy weeknights. It only takes 30 minutes from start to finish!

French Lentil Salad with Mozzarella
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Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 25 mins
Total time: 30 mins
Serves: 2
Ingredients:
  • 3/4 cup French lentils
  • 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 lemon
  • 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 small ball fresh mozzarella or 1 tub of small mozzarella balls, torn into pieces
  • 3 sprigs basil, leaves torn into pieces
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 handfuls mixed lettuce
Directions:
  1. Combine red onion with juice of half a lemon. Let marinate.
  2. Combine lentils with 3-4 cups water. Bring to a boil. Simmer 25-30 minutes, until lentils are tender.
  3. Meanwhile, in a bowl combine cherry tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. Place lettuce in two bowls.
  4. When lentils are done cooking, drain then place back in pot. Add onions, juice of half a lemon, a few glugs of olive oil and salt & pepper, to taste. Mix lentils with tomato-mozzarella mixture.
  5. Spoon lentil salad over greens.

 

Posted by carrie under beans , main dishes , recipes , salads
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Mon 4 Jul 2011

Thon et bok choy grilleé à la japon

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This main dish is another winner from Olive Magazine. Aside from the marinade time it is lightening fast to prepare. And honestly, I think you could skip the marinade time and just broil right after you pour the marinade over the tuna. The original recipe called for grilling the tuna & bok choy, however, we only have a charcoal grill and I wasn’t up for depending upon it during a dinner party. Thus, we broiled instead. I’ll do a separate post on broiling but I’m finding it to be one of my favorite cooking methods lately.

Japanese-style Tuna & Bok Choy
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Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 5 mins
Total time: 15 mins
Serves: 6
The teriyaki marinade adds enough flavor to make this dish interesting but doesn’t distract from the tuna. The bok choy makes a crunchy and zesty foil for the rich fish.
Ingredients:
  • 4 Tablespoons soy sauce
  • 3 Tablespoons cane sugar
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 6 tuna steaks
  • 3 baby bok choy bunches, halved
  • 2 large limes
  • 2 scallions, thinly sliced diagonally
  • 1 Tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Directions:
  1. Combine soy sauce & sugar in a small saucepan and heat until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat & add the garlic & sesame oil. Cool slightly then pour over tuna steaks. Let steaks marinate for 1 hour.
  2. Preheat broiler. Broil each tuna steak 1 min per side for rare, 2 min per side for medium. Broil the bok choy halves, cut side facing broiler, for 2-3 minutes. Put in a bowl and squeeze lime juice over bok choy. Sprinkle sesame seeds & scallions on top.

 

Posted by carrie under fish , main dishes , recipes , vegetables
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