Mango Pesto Mouth Party

Long ago in a land far away (*cough* Montreal *cough*), I enjoyed the best pasta dish I have ever had. Now, it's gonna sound weird, but I promise you, it works. It works so well that I'm shocked that no other restaurants discovered this combo: mangoes, pesto, avocado, kalamata olives, sundried tomatoes, and a ton of parmesan. All tossed with a notched pasta perfect for soaking up all of the wonderfulness. 

This pasta was so mind-blowing, friends, that I remembered enjoying it years later, and went so far as to google the heck out of it, as I had completely forgotten where I had gobbled it down. Well, I finally found the restaurant. Thank you, Jardin Nelson, for inventing the best pasta dish known to mankind.(Refer to the "Cartier" on page 2.) As a side note, any of you going to Montreal should definitely go to Jardin Nelson. It has a beautiful dining area outside- in a giant garden- and they have live music. And this pasta dish, so enough said.

But anyway, clearly I did not replicate this pasta dish exactly, as this is Vegan Mofo, after all. I removed all cheese from the recipe, and subbed kamut instead of pasta. 

How did it compare to the original? Oh, it was super delicious, and I will 100% be making this many times over. In fact, it was so darn tasty that I am titling it "Mango Pesto Mouth Party". The mix of salty olives, chewy and sweet sundried tomatoes, creamy avocado, tropical mango, and basil pesto will make your tongue do a happy dance.

I am also delighted to say that this recipe is boyfriend approved (who is non-veg). He said it really is an awesome combo of ingredients. Whenever I get a thumbs up from him, as he has particularly delicate tastebuds, I know it's pretty damn good.

Mango Pesto Mouth Party
Serves 3-4

Ingredients

• 1 cup dry kamut (see note)
• 5 cups raw spinach
• 1 mango, chunked
• 1/2 avocado, chunked
• 1/3-1/2 cup vegan pesto
• 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, julienned
• 1/4 cup kalamata olives, sliced

Directions

1. Cook the kamut in 3 cups water for 1 hr and 15 mins, or until all water is absorbed by the grain. Add in the spinach to the pot, stirring until all leaves are wilted.
2. Mix in the rest of the ingredients. Dig in!

Note: Any chewy grain would be a great substitute for the kamut. Farro, barley, or brown rice should work well. Kamut is actually a snazzy grain that was enjoyed in ancient Egypt. I found it in the Whole Foods bulk bins and picked up 1 lb after reading that it has 7g of protein per serving! 

Eggplant Capo-"nada"

Before making this recipe, I had (sadly) never enjoyed the flavor explosion that is caponata. The first time I heard of it was watching Ina make a variation on Barefoot Contessa. Raisins? Pinenuts? Eggplant? Olives? Balsamic vinegar? What the what? I am a fan of bold, sassy flavor combos, and bookmarked this Italian salad in my mind to make eventually. Well, I'm glad to say that I finally did, spurred by none other than the farmer's market. A girl can't say no to a basket of eggplant for $3.

Caponata is an agrodolce, or sweet and sour, Sicilian salad, traditionally created using eggplant, tomatoes and capers (hence the name). However, in my usual laziness, I did not have capers on hand so I left them out (hence capo-"nada", wink, wink), and subbed olives in their place. 

Although this dish has many ingredients, it was super easy to make. Once you complete all of the chopping, all that's left is dumping everything in stages into a giant pan. And that's all, folks! 

You can enjoy this salad cozied up next to a veggie burger, mixed into a mound of pasta, or if you're really into this stuff like I am, as a giant bowlful all by itself. This would also be a fantastic appetizer to bring to a party accompanied by some toasted slices of Italian bread.

Eggplant Capo-"nada"

Serves 12 as appetizer, or fewer as main course

Adapted from Mario Batali and Saveur

Ingredients

• 5 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 3 tbsp pine nuts
• 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tbsp red pepper flakes (yes, this measurement is correct!)
• 10 cups eggplant, diced into 1" cubes
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped green olives
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 6 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 15oz can tomatoes (see note)
• 1/3 cup basil, julienned

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a very large rimmed pan. Add the onion, raisins, pine nuts, sundried tomatoes, and red pepper flakes. Sautee for 5 minutes until soft.
2. Add the eggplant, cinnamon, cocoa powder, and sugar and cook for 5 more minutes.
3. Throw in the rest of the ingredients and bring the pan to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 5-10 more minutes, or until the eggplant has cooked through. You can enjoy this at room temperature, but I also think it is equally yummy warm.

Note: You can use any kind of canned tomatoes. I used diced, but crushed or sauce should work fine.

Vegan Nicose Salad

I have vegetarianized and veganized cuisines from all over the world: Italy, India, China, Thailand, Korea, Spain, Japan, Germany, Mexico. However, the one cuisine that always bursts my bubble is French. The problem with veganizing French food, in my humble opinion, is that it is too reliant on meat and fish for the entirety of a dish. Oftentimes, a plate consists of a piece of meat, with some kind of meat-centric or buttery sauce, adjacent to a small pile of carrots, or other veggie, again cooked in butter. 

But, before you go saying, "Wait, Maggie- but there are French vegetarian dishes!", let me give a shout out to ratatouille and salade de carottes rapees. (If you know of any other French vegetarian / vegan dishes, I would love to try them out!) In addition, there are a few recipes I have been itching to vegetarianize, or veganize in this case, such as Salad Nicoise and cassoulet (must order those beautiful cassoulet beans!). 

Nicoise salads, originating in Nice, are traditionally composed of tuna, hardboiled eggs, tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, Nicoise olives, and anchovies, all dressed in a vinaigrette. Here, I replace the tuna and anchovies with cannelinni beans, and use giant green olives stuffed with garlic (mo garlic, mo betta). I also left out the potatoes in preference for a bed of crunchy romaine, artichokes, and some sliced cukes.

Funny story. So for this recipe, I saw these purple beans at the farmer's market, and I got so. excited. I bought them, thinking how awesome they would be in this jazzy new take on a Nicoise salad.

And then, when I boiled them in water for a few minutes, they turned green. Womp. Maybe they taste different, I thought. Crunch. Nope, tastes just like a green bean. Another womp. But they were fun while they lasted! Next time I'll make a salad with some raw purple beans.

I made a vinaigrette out of olive oil, red wine vinegar, a dollop of dijon and these herbes de provence that my mom picked me up in...you guessed it- Provence! Look at that massive bag. It reminds me to better start thinking of some more herbes de provence recipes stat!

Per my usual style, I made 3 of these ginormous salads at once to take for lunches during the work week. 

Vegan Nicoise Salad

Serves 3

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups green beans, trimmed halved
• 2 romaine hearts, chopped
• 3/4 of an English cucumber, chopped
• 3/4 can artichoke hearts in water
• 1-2 tomatoes (or a bell pepper)
• 1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• red onion, minced
• 15 olives, chopped
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 4-5 tbsp red wine vinegar, to taste
• 1/2 tsp herbes de provence
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Fill a medium saucepan with water. Bring to a boil. Add the green beans and boil for 3 minutes, or until they are bright green. Drain.
2. Arrange the next 7 ingredients into three bowls.
3. Mix the oil, vinegar, herbes, and mustard to make the vinaigrette.
4. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salads, and add salt and pepper to taste.

Vegan "Egg" Salad (V"egg" Salad)

This is one of those game-changing recipes. Show-stopping, breath-catching, life-changing recipes. As soon as I took one bite of this vegan egg salad, my eyes grew to the size of craters in amazement. Who knew you could mimic eggs? What the what?! I've mimicked and purchased many faux animal products before- seitan, "chikn", "cheez", almond"milk", but never in my life had I consumed a fake egg product (I mean, minus tofu with tumeric, but that does not even taste remotely close to eggs). 

Intrigued, my vegan and veg-curious, friends? What could make this dish so eerily similar to eggs? Two very distinct and absolutely necessary ingredients: chickpea flour and indian black salt.

Black salt, which is actually light pinkish- / grey-colored, has a high sulfur content, and lends the dish that remarkable hard-boiled egg flavor. You can find black salt online, or at an Indian or Asian grocery store. I purchased mine at the Indian store down the street for $1.30. That is right, peeps- so cheap! I highly suggest you get it from there if you have one of these stores in your neighborhood. You can also get the other essential ingredient from the Indian / Asian grocery store, too (love me some one-stop shopping): chickpea flour, also known as besan or gram flour. This flour is used often in Indian cooking in a variety of preparations. 

Chickpea flour is highly nutritious and packed with protein: 1/3 cup has 7 grams of protein and 110 calories. For comparison, 1/4 cup of white flour has just over 3 grams of protein and 110 calories. This high protein content allows chickpea flour to be a great egg replacer.

Another magic quality of chickpea flour is that when you prepare it in a certain way, it takes on a texture very similar to that of eggs. (Personally, I feel soy tofu is much too spongey to ever mimic the egg texture properly, but this chickpea flour recipe nails it). So, what is this special preparation method? If you have ever made polenta, it is basically the same steps: boil some water, dump the flour in, stir rapidly for a few minutes, pour into a dish and refrigerate overnight. This chickpea mixture is also known as Burmese tofu. Besides making egg salad with it, you can also use it like you would any slab of tofu: pan-fry it in some teriyaki sauce, bake it, eat it raw on salads, etc. 

I will for sure be making another batch of this Burmese tofu and experimenting with it. I love that it is made out of simple, whole-food ingredients, and only takes a few minutes to whip up. 

Vegan "Egg" Salad (V"Egg" Salad)
Serves 4
Adapted from: Vibrantly Vegan

Ingredients

• 1 cup chickpea flour
• 2 tsp black salt
• 1/2 tsp tumeric
• 6 cups water, divided
• 4 tsp tahini (see note)
• chopped red onion
• black salt, to taste

Directions

1. Mix chickpea flour, 2 cups of water, salt, and tumeric in a bowl.
2. Bring the remaining 4 cups of water to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-high. While stirring the water with a large spoon, pour in the chickpea mixture. Stir vigorously with a spoon to reduce any lumps that may have formed.
3. Let cook for 5 minutes. 
4. Pour into a greased 13 x 9 pan. Refrigerate overnight. 
5. When ready to munch on some v"egg" salad, pour off any water that may have separated from the mixture and put 1/4 of tofu in a bowl. Chop it into large hunks. Drizzle on a teaspoon of tahini. Sprinkle in some chopped onion, and/or celery, if you have some on hand. Stir until tahini is incorporated. I try not to overmix because I do not wish it to be super-smooth. Dollop this onto your favorite pita, add some tomato wedges, and sprinkle on some more black salt. Pure bliss.

Notes: 1) I rarely ever have Vegenaise on hand, but if you do, feel free to use some in this dish instead of the tahini. 2) The tofu will keep up to a week in the fridge. Just keep pouring the water off each time you use it.

P.S. This stuff is fillllling! It will keep you happy and running for hours.

Backyard BBQ Salad

I know, I know. You're probably thinking: "Maggie. It is September 12. It is no longer summer. Bring on the pumpkins and apples." Well, I am all for the pumpkins, apples, and PSLs, but it is still summer according to the farmer's almanac, so I am dragging it out as long as I can. I say use those grills, people! 

This salad is a veritable BBQ in a bowl. Fresh veggies, corn off the cob, coleslaw, tempeh slathered in tangy barbecue sauce, chopped herbs, and a creamy barbecue dressing. Mmmm. 

The dressing is made of just 3 simple ingredients: barbecue sauce, apple cider vinegar, and tahini (you could sub almond butter for an equally creamy dressing if you don't have tahini). 

Just mix it up in a jar, and bam. Homemade dressing in a flash. I actually made two of these salads to take for lunches at work during the week. 

Backyard BBQ Salad

Serves 2

Ingredients

Salad

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 package of tempeh
• 2 tbsp BBQ sauce
• 6 cups spinach or your favorite salad greens 
• 1 cup green beans, cooked
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 1 corn on the cob, sliced off the cob
• 2/3 cup vegan coleslaw
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, julienned (optional)
• minced red onion, to taste
• minced chili pepper, to taste
• salt and pepper, to taste

Dressing

• 2 tbsp tahini
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp BBQ sauce
• water

Instructions

1. Slice the tempeh into 12 strips. Heat the oil in a sautee pan over medium heat. Add the tempeh and sautee for 3-5 minutes. When toasty, reduce the heat, and add in the BBQ sauce. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
2. Arrange the rest of the salad ingredients in two bowls. Add the tempeh on top.
3. Mix the dressing ingredients together. Use enough water to reach your desired consistency.
4. Drizzle each bowl with the dressing and enjoy a barbecue in a bowl.

Cold Sesame Squash Noodles

Refreshing on a warm summer night, these cold sesame "noodles" are an easy, healthy side dish to any Asian-themed dinner. They can also be enjoyed for a light lunch, or hell, even a midday snack.

I did employ a julienne peeler to turn the zucchini into noodles, but I bet a spiralizer would work even better. I have been lusting after a spiralizer for many months now. Even though it's not that expensive, I feel a little excessive buying a big, complicated-looking piece of equipment that does one thing: turn veggies into ribbons. Alas, when it is raining money and I have a giant kitchen (as opposed to the tiny galley of current times), perhaps I can live in such luxury.

I used two kinds of sesame paste in this recipe. One is extremely smooth (pictured on the left), known as tahini. The other is my failed attempt at making this tahini with unhulled sesame seeds in my Vitamix. It is clearly chunkier, and tastes more bitter- closer to the sesame seed in its au natural form. I still have yet to try to make tahini in the Vita with hulled sesame seeds. That will be one of my next adventures.

I used purple bell peppers (oh, how I love you, farmer's market) and baby carrots to lend these "noodles" a pop of rainbow color, but feel free to use whatever other veggies you have on hand. Cucumbers, red or yellow bell peppers, or even some peas would be a nice addition. 

Cold Sesame Squash Noodles
Serves 1-2 (see note)

Ingredients

Salad

• 1 zucchini 
• 6 baby carrots (or 1 regular carrot)
• 1/2 purple pepper
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Dressing

• 1 tbsp dark sesame oil
• 1 tbsp tahini
• 1.5 tbsp sesame paste (or 1 more tbsp tahini)
• 1.5 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 inch ginger, minced
• 1 tsp agave or maple syrup

Directions

1. Julienne the zucchini. Slice the carrots and pepper into thin strips, lengthwise.
2. Mix all of the dressing ingredients together.
3. Toss veggies with dressing and stir in cilantro. Chow down.

Note: This can serve 2 as a side dish, or 1 as a main meal. If you are enjoying this as a meal, stir in some beans (my go-to meal-maker). See below. I used mung beans, which can be found online, or at Asian supermarkets.

Indian-Style Tomato Salad

As the summer comes to a close, here is a fun tomato salad recipe to try out before all you're left with is pink, grainy winter tomatoes (sorry to be a debby downer, but it's the truth). I used these crazy zebra-esque tomatoes from the farmer's market. If you look closely in the pictures, you can see their yellow striations.

This salad was inspired by the boyfriend. One night many moons ago, he threw some cumin and salt into a bowl of tomatoes and told me that is how his mom usually serves them (plus onions). I was extremely skeptical of mixing cumin and raw tomatoes (What is this world coming to?!, I thought). But then I slipped my spoon into the bowl and plopped a chunk in my mouth. Cumin made the tomatoes come alive. Ba-zinga! as Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory would say.

This recipe is a twist on that dish- with garlic, cilantro, rice wine vinegar, and chili peppers added to mimic the traditional Indian salad, kachumber. Kachumber is usually made with cucumbers, tomatoes, chopped onion, lemon juice and chili peppers, and served as an accompaniment to meals.

Indian-Style Tomato Salad
Serves 1-2 (see note)

Ingredients

• 2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 tbsp olive or canola oil
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar (or white vinegar)
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• minced chili peppers, to taste
• salt, to taste

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients together in bowl. Chow down!

Note: This can serve 2 as a side dish, or 1 as a main meal, with some protein added in. Pan-fried tofu would provide a tasty texture contrast.