Vegetable Challenge

[nancya]

The question was raised on one of the Diabetic boards about vegetables and making them more interesting....Now, I love vegetables in most shapes and forms so I posted a vegetable challenge...then I thought, why not steal recipes ---- I mean request recipes from my friends at Chef Talk?

This is one of my favorite vegetable recipes...

Roasted Vegetables Procencal

8 ounces medium or large mushrooms, halved
1 large zucchini, cut into 1 inch pieces, halved
1 large yellow squash, cut into 1 inch pieces and halved
1 large red or green bell pepper cut into 1 inch pieces
1 small red onion, cut into 1/4 inch slices, separated into rings
3 Tablespoons olive oil
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
1/2 tsp salt [optional]
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
4 large plum tomatoes, quartered

Heat oven to 425 F. In a 13x9 pan, combine all the vegetables except the tomatoes. Add the olive oil and herbs, salt and pepper, toss to coat. Bake 15 minutes, stir in tomatoes. Continue baking 5 to 10 minutes until vegetables are tender.

This is excellent served with pasta....but a dandy dish on it's own. You can certainly substitute some vegetables. Eggplant works nicely in here also. Very delicious and very healthy!!!

[cape chef]

I love playing with vegetables.
We have discussed vegetarian dishes a number of times on cheftalk.

If it's interesting you want, Then it's interesting you'll get.

Arugula noodles with smoked yellow tomatoes sauce, black olives and roasted garlic purre. I nice rosata or rose sancerre would work well here.

Or how about this...Pea prouts, shiitake mushrooms, pickled cucumabers and tofu stir fry with jasmine rice, miso sauce and coriander juice. A well oaked white Burgundy or Chardonnay

Roasted beet salad with empire apples, watercress and roasted poblano vinaigrette. sauvingnon blanc.

cc

[nancya]

Those ideas sound great, Brad!

But you are going to make me work out recipes on my own....sigh. Here I was all set to just "borrow" the minds of the wonderful chefs here.

BTW, I don't think these have to be vegetarian. We are talking vegetables more generally here.

Thanks!

[cape chef]

Jicama and pepper salad.

1 head bibb lettuce
1 orange bell pepper, cut into rings
1 red bell pepper, cut into rings
1 yellow bell pepper cut into rings
1 green bell pepper cut into rings
1 purple bell pepper cut into rings
3/4 # jicama peeled and cut into strips.
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced and seperated into rings.

Tear the lettuce into bit size pieces and prepare a bed on each plate. Overlap the differnt color pepper rings and weave the jicama slices through the peppers.
I serve this with a creamy serrano dressing

1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon tarragon
1 garlic clove
1/4 teaspoon suger
1 to 2 serranos
S&P to taste
1 large egg yolk
fresh parsley
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 cup olive oil.
In a blender combine the mustard, tarragon, garlic,suger (nancy you could sub out the suger)chillies and S&P. Process. blend in the egg yolk, parlsy and lime juice, pour in the oil and your all set.

also a tasty dressing for chilled seafood
cc

[cape chef]

You want recipes ???
Ha, surely you jest.
These are my guarded secrets (Just kidding) I will write them later for you Navcy, I promise

[roon]

That jicama salad sounds wonderful! And you know, if my aunt hadn't introduced me to jicama, I wouldn't have had any idea what you were talking about. I regularly put it in my salads now.

I would also like some vegetable recipes. I must admit that vegatables stump me somewhat. Anyone out there have some fairly simple side dish type recipes they wouldn't mind sharing? Time consuming is ok, just not anything really complex. I'm not a chef...yet.

[Athenaeus]

Nancy

In Greece we use almost all the vegetables in preparing casseroles. They are our "summer" food because we have fresh tomatos to create tomato sauces and after you have your food you take a good amount of feta cheese, you squeeze it with your fork and you eat it with a loaf of bread
(Mezzaluna I hope that someone showed to you that !)

So, spinach with rice
cabbage with rice or make cabbage dolmades
Eggplant torte ( I have won in an eggplant culinary contest with that recipe )
Eggplant casserole
Potatos in the oven with lemon sauce
Horn shaped green peppers stuffed with feta cheese
Beet salad ( with yughurt and wallnuts )
Roasted eggplants with yoghurt sauce and tomato sauce ( )
Zuccini, eggplants, green peppers in the casserole with tomato sauce
Couliflower in the casserole with red sauce

If you find something interesting give me a signal, you will have your recipe riiiiiiiight away

[Rachel]

What about mallorquin tumbet? Layers of sliced potatoes, aubergine (eggplant), courgette (zuchinni - I think, someone correct me if I'm wrong)with a homemade tomato sauce poured on top. it's then baked in the oven
Vegetable cous-cous. There MUST be a recipe for that on the Morrocan food threads
Wild mushroom risottos with parmesan cheese. Or orzottos using pearl barley instead of rice.

[panini]

Don't forget you can smoke all those vegies too. Even throwing some wet shavings in foil when grilling add wonderful flavor. I'm happiest when the smoker is full and I'm doing veges. Eggplant, all sorts of squash,tomatoes,oso onions,garlic,corn,mushrooms etc. Sliced and presented on a platter with the best balsamic you can afford drizzeled on top, and now a warm smoked boule.

[coolJ]

Glazed Carrots with Dill.
take some carrots and cut them batonnet, cook them until al dente, then melt some butter in a pan, and toss the carrots until coated with the butter, and toss in a bunch of minced fresh dill weed.

Broccoli Mornay.
Cut some broccoli in florets, cook to al dente, place in a hotel pan, nappe with sauce mornay, sprinkle with paprika, and broil for a couple of minutes to brown the tops and also to make sure the brocolli is still hot, because it will get cold fast in the process of placing it in the pan and topping with the sauce.

Green Beans Paysanne.
Saute some chopped bacon until almost done, add some pearl onions to the pan and when they are almost done, add in some blanched green beans and saute until done.

hope this helps.

[nancya]

Thanks for the good ideas so far!

Especially thanks for the recipes coolJ.

Love ya'll....these will help!

Nancy

[marmalady]

Roasted corn, Poblano and black bean salad

4 ears of corn, off the cob
2 fresh poblano peppers, seeded
1 medium white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 each red bell and green bell pepper
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
salt/pepper
1 14 oz. can black beans, drained
Sherry vinegar and olive oil mixed to your taste
Ancho chili powder and Chipotle chili powder to your taste

In a dry skillet, (cast iron if you have it), heat to medium, add the corn and roast til the corn begins to char; add about 1T oil, the poblano pepper, onion, garlic, red and green bell pepper saute over medium high heat, til onions begin to brown on edges; add tomatoes, and ancho and chipotle powders, and salt/pepper. Cook another minute or so, til the tomatoes soften.

Place mixture in a large bowl to cool down. When lukewarm, add the drained black beans, sherry vinegar and olive oil, and adjust seasonings to your taste.

This is great either on a salad plate with some colorful greens underneath, or as a 'wrap' with a flour tortilla and some shredded Monterey Jack or Queso Quesadilla cheese.

I have some more, but my coach is turning into a pumpkin and I must go to bed!

[nancya]

Athenaeus! I can't believe I missed the last line of your post!!!!

I want all 3 of those eggplant recipes - I love eggplant!!!!!

And anything else you care to share

Thanks!

Nancy

[Athenaeus]

Hmmm where shall I start from...

From the most easy one

Let's say Nancy that you have prepared a nice home made pizza and you have 2-3 tsps tomato sauce left and you have 2 or even 1 eggplant in your fridge...

Cut your eggplant into cubes or stripes ( whatever youlike)
Proceed to the the " removing the bitter liquid" method
Grill the eggplant cubes , brushing then occasionaly with olive oil.
When they are ready, place them in you plate
Cover them with 3 tbsp of yoghurt
Add the tomato sauce on the yoghurt.
Sprinkle some chopped parley andyou are ready!

easy , healthy , low cab

Eggplant casserole

In Greece we have a varity of eggplants that are horn shaped and they are very sweet in taste.

If you have those too , I suggest to prefer those

They are soooo easy.
In a big casserole heat half cup of virgin olive oil
Add your eggplants and saute them until their skin starts to become brown...
Add 2 cups ( at least, I add more) of tomato juice
Reduce the heat and let your casserole boil for 40min in peace
Do not stir because you will mash the eggplants. Instead of stirring take the casserole with both hands and shake it
Add 1 clove of garlic, salt peper and mucho fresh parsley

Do you want to pig-out ??? I am sure you do!!

So, when it's ready and you have turned off the heat and while it's still hot , open you fridge and pick up whatever cheese you have ,( cream cheese is excluded of course) cut it with your hands over the casserole and wait until it melts ...
I do this with feta cheese althought gruyere or my beloved parmesana with do just fine...

Where are you coming to Greece BTW ????

[Peachcreek]

Its easy to make. Hard to spell. Feel free to correct me. I run a restaurant, not a spelling bee!