The Complete 15-Minute Gourmet: Vegetarian

By Paulette Mitchell and Nancy Bundt

Easily cook up an assortment of creative gourmet vegetarian recipes, including soups, salads, sandwiches, and entrees, in just fifteen minutes.

You don’t have to sacrifice flavor or nutrition just because your life is hectic. For more than twenty years, Paulette Mitchell has been creating gourmet dishes that can be prepared in fifteen minutes or less. Her speedy meals are sophisticated enough to please the palates of savvy gourmets, yet simple enough that a novice can prepare them. In just fifteen minutes, you could be feasting on:

• Orzo Salad with Parmesan Peppercorn Vinegarette
• Gingered Carrot Soup
• Smoky Chipotle, Mango, and Avocado Wraps
• Ravioli with Hazelnut and Sage Pesto
• Garlic and Lemon Lentils

Whether you crave cuisine with an international flair or want a new spin on a traditional favorite, The Complete 15-Minute Gourmet Vegetarian has recipes that yield extraordinary results with minimal time and effort. You’ll be amazed by what you can create in just fifteen minutes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Oct 5, 2008
• ISBN: 9781401604943

Book preview

Vegetarian Introduction

FOR SEVERAL years I was a vegetarian. As time went on and I continued to travel and eat in many parts of the world, I realized that vegetarian eating was somewhat limiting. But I still love to cook vegetarian dishes at home, and I find that most of my friends eat meat-less meals frequently, though not exclusively, just as I now do. Nearly all cuisines include full-flavored, satisfying vegetarian dishes. And even the most devout carnivores I know appreciate the appeal of gourmet Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with Balsamic Dip, meaty Grilled Portobello Mushroom Sandwiches, and Huevos Rancheros accompanied with cubes of juicy papaya for Sunday brunch, as well as many pasta dishes, especially Ravioli with Hazelnut and Sage Pesto.

My cooking class students often ask me for advice in dealing with the challenge of cooking for friends or family members on a meatless diet. If this is one of your concerns, too, you’ll find solutions in this chapter. Many of the recipes can also serve as side dishes for others at the table who want meat, seafood, or chicken as their main course. For example, serve Greek Green Beans and Tomatoes with Feta to accompany chicken breasts cooked on the grill, or add shrimp to Chilean Vegetable Stew.

Some dishes in this chapter are perfect for vegans, strict vegetarians who do not eat any animal meat or animal-derived foods, such as butter, cheese, eggs, or milk. They’ll welcome a meal of the Mexican Vegetable Soup, Fresh Green Bean Salad with Spicy Peanut Sauce, Chinese Mapo Tofu with Wheat-Flour Noodles, and Garlic and Lemon Lentils. Other dishes can become vegan by making simple changes, such as eliminating the cheese garnish on Chickpea Soup with Kale, Chilean Vegetable Stew, Mostaccioli with a Trio of Sweet Peppers, and Rigatoni with Swiss Chard, or omitting the cheese layer in the Grilled Portobello Mushroom Sandwiches.

Variety is the key to healthful vegetarian recipes. Here you’ll find opportunities to try vegetables that may be new to you, such as kale and Swiss chard, or new flavors, like curry leaves or oyster mushrooms.

But healthful meatless meals can’t be composed of vegetables alone. You will find dishes here that offer a variety of protein sources: from legumes, nuts, and soy to eggs, cheese, and other dairy products.. Try Japanese Miso Soup with tofu and East Indian Noodles with Split Peas and Cashews. I’ve also included a variety of satisfying carbohydrates, such as rice, couscous, pasta, and polenta, which form a fine foundation for tasty meatless ingredients.

When making vegetarian dishes, always use top-quality vegetables. For some recipes, especially the soups, a good vegetable stock is essential. Making stock from scratch isn’t really practical for 15-Minute cooking, but I have found that the choices are endless for making vegetable stock quickly: On the supermarket shelves, you will find many products, including vegetable stock concentrates, cubes, and powders. They vary significantly in flavors—some are salty, some herb flavored, others mild. Experiment to find the one you like best. (You’ll find that I have not specified low-sodium vegetable stock because I think that some salt is necessary to add flavor.)

Salads

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ENDIVE AND APPLE SALAD WITH BLUE CHEESE DRESSING

Makes 4 servings

Blue cheese, apples, and walnuts are a classic combination to snack on beside a warming fire. But there’s no need to wait for winter to enjoy their compatible flavors. Use the trio to top spears of endive for a memorable summer salad.

For the dressing:

½ cup buttermilk

¼ cup coarsely crumbled blue cheese

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

½ teaspoon minced garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

For the salad:

3 Belgian endives, divided

2 red-skinned apples (such as Pink Lady or Braeburn), cut into ½-inch cubes

½ cup coarsely chopped walnuts

• Combine all the dressing ingredients, except the salt and pepper, in a blender; purée until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

• Separate the leaves of one endive and arrange leaves on each of 4 salad plates with the tips pointing outward.

• Coarsely chop the remaining 2 endives and put into a medium bowl. Add the apples and dressing. Stir until combined.

• Sprinkle the servings with walnuts.

STONE FRUIT SALAD WITH POMEGRANATE-RASPBERRY VINAIGRETTE

Makes 4 servings

All year long, I look forward to the stone fruits of summer because few pleasures can be compared to biting into a perfectly ripe peach. When making this salad, also add apricots and a plum, in whatever combination you’d like so that the total amount of chopped fruit is about 4 cups. There are several new hybrid fruits in the stone fruit category too, such as the Black Velvet Plumcot, a juicy cross between a plum and apricot.

2 peaches, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

2 apricots, cut into 1-inch chunks

1 plum, cut into 1-inch chunks

¼ cup Pomegranate-Raspberry Vinaigrette

2 tablespoons dried currants

1 cup arugula leaves

Coarsely chopped toasted walnuts for garnish

• Stir together the peaches, apricots, and plum. Add the vinaigrette and currants; stir again.

• Serve the salad on arugula leaves and garnish with walnuts.

PINEAPPLE CARPACCIO

Makes 4 servings

As a photographer who loves cooking and shooting beautiful food, my friend Nancy Bundt shared this recipe, which was served to her by a worldly Swedish couple. Nancy recommends using a fruity type of olive oil rather than the more bitter-tasting Tuscan oil. To make the presentation visually appealing, she arranges a circle of overlapping pineapple slices, with some basil leaves peeking through from beneath and others arranged on top. Irresistible!

20 ( s2 -inch) fresh pineapple slices

Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling

Fresh basil leaves and coarse freshly ground pepper for garnish

• Arrange the pineapple slices on salad plates. Lightly drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with pepper. Garnish with basil leaves.

TIP

Mixed baby greens, also called mesclun, come in a prewashed mix—usually including arugula, frisée, oak leaf lettuce, and radicchio leaves—which offers a variety of textures and flavors ranging from sweet to bitter.

MESCLUN SALAD WITH GRILLED PEARS, BLUE CHEESE, AND MAPLE-WALNUT VINAIGRETTE

Makes 4 servings

Sweet and savory flavors pair well together in this elegant salad. I love the look and texture of grilled pear slices, but to speed up the preparation, simply chop the pears and stir them with the vinaigrette before tossing the salad. Sometimes I also add dried cranberries. Serve this as a first course or for lunch accompanied by slices of nut bread.

2 pears, peeled, cored, halved, and cut into ¼-inch slices

Olive oil for brushing

6 cups mesclun (mixed baby greens)