Carol Gelles - 1,000 Vegetarian Recipes

1,000 Vegetarian Recipes

Carol Gelles

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Boston New York 2015

Copyright 1996 by Carol Gelles

For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to trade.permissions@hmhco.com or to Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 3 Park Avenue, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10016.

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A catalogue record is available from the Library of Congress.

eBook ISBN 978-0-544-18917-1

v2.0915

Appetizers

Appetizers tend to be a "company" or special-occasion dinner item. I don't recall any family I know serving appetizers before dinner on a regular basis, but that doesn't mean you should ignore the recipes in this chapter until you're expecting company. They actually make good little meals on their own. Many of the spreads are excellent lunch choices (such as ) and a series of appetizers makes a very satisfying vegetarian meal.

Appetizers fall into a number of different categories, and the sections of this chapter reflect this: spreads, dips, finger and toothpick foods, first courses, and snacks. Choose your appetizer to fit the mood of the meal. If you've chosen an ethnic motif, find appetizers from that culture to serve as an appetizer. If you're having a Super Bowl party with casual food, dips and snacks may be the right foods to have first. Look at the section if you need help choosing the right appetizer for your meal.

SPREADS

Spreads are always popular at parties; guests love to eat them, and they're easy for the host or hostess because they can be prepared ahead of time. Spreads are also great to have on hand to use as sandwich fillings, or serve a number of different spreads as a main course, similar to a typical Israeli or Ethiopian meal. You will find additional spreads in the sandwich section of the Breakfast, Brunch, Lunch , and occasionally as a variation of a main or side dish. Any of them make good appetizers. Another way to use spreads is for canaps, spread on crackers or bread, or piped through a pastry bag for an even more interesting presentation.

Choose interesting breads and crackers to serve with your spreads. Try .

Cheese Spreads

You can tailor these spreads to fit your needs. If you are not concerned about fat intake, or if you're making these for company and want a rich spread, choose cream cheese as the base. If you are watching fat intake, there are now many low-fat and no-fat soft cheeses available (you may not like the first one you taste, but keep trying different brands until you find one that suits you). Lower-fat products tend to be tangier and less smooth than their high-fat relatives. If you find you can't stand no-fat cheese, don't despair; you may like 1% or 2% fat and you'll still be better off than if you'd used whole milk or high-fat products. Another alternative to cream cheese is , and again, you can use whole milk, low-fat, or fat-free yogurt. Finally, if you are vegan, there are now many tofu cream cheese substitutes available (one pretty good product is Tofutti's "Better than Cream Cheese").

Most of these recipes are made in a food processor, but if you don't own one, you can just soften the cheese, finely chop the ingredients, and stir them together with a spoon.

Garlic-Herb Spread

This cheese mixture is available in the supermarket, sold under brand names such as Boursin or Allouette. It's easy and less expensive to make at home. Prepare the recipe with the recommended 2 cloves of garlic and let stand overnight so the flavors can meld. Taste it the next day and if you want a more garlicky flavor, add more garlic at that time.

One 8-ounce package whipped cream cheese or plain cream cheese, softened

2 or more cloves garlic, put through a garlic press

teaspoon dried marjoram or oregano

teaspoon dried thyme

In a medium bowl, stir together the cream cheese, garlic, marjoram, and thyme.

Variations: Thin with cup heavy cream to make a dip for vegetables.

Stuffed Celery: Fill the hollow center of celery stalks with this mixture, then cut into 1-inch pieces.

Schmear Kaese

This dish is officially known as liptauera Hungarian cheese spreadbut in my family we call it Schmear Kaese (which is literally "spread cheese" in Yiddish or German, I'm not sure which). As a kid I would never even taste it because it has too many "yucky" things in it, like anchovies (for which I substitute sun-dried tomatoes), capers, and Parmesan cheese. Now I love it, and even my dad thinks this version tastes relatively authentic. Both he and my mom asked why I hadn't used anchoviesI had to remind them that anchovies aren't vegetarian. This spread is especially good served on pumpernickel bread or bagels.

cup whipped or small-curd cottage cheese

cup butter or margarine, softened

cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 oil-marinated sun-dried tomato halves

2 teaspoons grated onion

2 teaspoons capers, drained

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons paprika

2 teaspoons caraway seeds

Place all the ingredients in a food processor container fitted with a steel blade. Process until smooth.

Chill at least 2 hours to allow the flavors to blend.

Variation: Use the white and green portions of 1 scallion, cut into pieces, instead of the grated onion.

Savory Cheesecakes

Although these are called cheesecakes, they're really just fancy cheese spreads. They're all very rich and can feed quite a few people. Serve them as spreads with thin slices of whole grain or pumpernickel bread, or with crackers or toasts. Or place thin slices on individual plates and serve as a pt.

Sun-Dried Tomato Cheesecake

1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

One 8-ounce package feta cheese

16 oil-marinated sun-dried tomato halves

cup sliced scallions (white part only)

3 cloves garlic, minced

Three 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened

3 eggs

Preheat oven to 325F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan. Dust with the Parmesan cheese.

Place the feta cheese in a food processor container fitted with a steel blade; cover and process until smooth. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, scallions, and garlic. Cover and process until finely chopped.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in the feta mixture. Pour into prepared pan.

Place cheesecake pan in a larger pan filled with hot water 1 inches deep. Bake 50 minutes in the water bath. Remove from oven and cool.

Variation: Pesto Cheesecake: Omit the sun-dried tomatoes and garlic; add cup basil pesto ( when you add the scallions.

Roquefort Cheesecake

1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

cup walnuts

1 cups crumbled Roquefort cheese (1 pound)

cup chopped onions

2 cloves garlic, minced

Three 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened

3 eggs

Preheat oven to 325F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan. Dust with the Parmesan cheese.

Place walnuts in a food processor container fitted with a steel blade and process until finely chopped. Add the Roquefort, onions, and garlic. Process until fairly smooth.