Southwestern Quinoa & Sweet Potato Salad

I love this salad so much that it's usually the first recipe I tell people to make when they want to try quinoa for the first time. It's super easy to throw together, not to mention crazy delicious. It has a great combination of textures: chewy quinoa, creamy avocado, and crunchy bell pepper. Plus the always wonderful flavors of lime juice and cilantro... yes please!

Southwestern Quinoa & Sweet Potato Salad
From How to Cook Everything Vegetarian

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa (or 2 1/2 cups cooked)
• 1 large or 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 1/4 cup minced red onion
• 1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced
• Cayenne pepper, salt, black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Juice of 1/2 lime (or a whole lime if it's not very juicy)
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

First, cook the quinoa: put it in a saucepan with water to cover by at least an inch and a big pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer and cook until it's done (taste often to check; it should take between 10 and 20 minutes; add more water if it gets dry but isn't done yet). Drain and rinse in a fine mesh strainer.

Meanwhile, cook the sweet potatoes: put them in another saucepan with water to cover and simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until fork tender. Drain well.

In a large bowl, combine the quinoa, sweet potatoes, bell pepper, red onion, and avocado. Season with salt and pepper to taste, along with a sprinkle of cayenne pepper. In a separate bowl, whisk together the olive oil and lime juice, then add to the quinoa mixture and toss to coat. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

Black Bean Tostadas

So, this recipe isn't the most seasonally appropriate thing I've ever made, but I had a Mexican craving yesterday that had to be satisfied, and this was how I did it. Tostadas are such a quick and easy no-cook meal -- just throw the topping ingredients together in a bowl, toast some tortillas in a dry skillet or over the open flame of a gas stove, pile the former on top of the latter, and voila.

I estimated quantities in the ingredient list (enough to make topping for about 4 small tostadas, or a 2-person serving), but this is a completely adaptable recipe. Do whatever you like. If you want to go heavy on the avocado, knock yourself out. If you hate cilantro, omit it. This isn't the kind of recipe where precision is really needed. It will be good no matter what you do with it.

Black Bean Tostadas

• 1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 Tbsp red onion, minced
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 medium jicama, peeled and diced (about 1/2 cup)
• 1/4 cup frozen corn kernels, rinsed under hot water to defrost
• 1/4 cup avocado, diced (about 1/2 small avocado)
• 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved (about 12 tomatoes)
• 4 Tbsp canned green chili peppers
• 3 Tbsp fresh lime juice, from about 1 large lime
• 2 Tbsp cilantro, fresh, chopped
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• Salt to taste
• 4 small corn tortillas

Combine all ingredients, except tortillas, in a large bowl; mix to combine. Toast tortillas and top each with about 3/4 cup of bean mixture.

Thai Coconut Soup

I always love trying new recipes, so I don't usually make the same thing twice unless it's really good. So you should know it's really saying something that I've made this Thai coconut soup more times than I can remember.

This soup recipe comes from my favorite vegetarian cookbook, Linda McCartney On Tour.* Ms. McCartney was an animal rights activist who refused to "eat anything with a face." Her cookbook is fantastic and contains recipes influenced by all sorts of different world cultures and cuisines. I do have to say that I disagree with her choice of name for this recipe -- she calls it "tom yum soup," but it has pretty much zero in common with tom yum (at least as I'm familiar with it). This soup has more in common with tom kha gai, since it has a coconut base, except this is a vegetarian version with lots more veggies. And in my opinion, more deliciousness.

Whatever you want to call it, this soup has lots of wonderful flavors, and like all good soups it tastes even better the next day.

 Thai Coconut Soup

• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 1 medium onion, chopped finely
• 1 fresh jalapeno pepper (or other, if your store has interesting types), seeded and minced
• 2 stalks lemongrass (if my store doesn't have it, I sometimes add some lime zest instead)
• 3/4 pound eggplant, cut into half-inch cubes
• One 14-ounce can of diced tomatoes in juice
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• One 14-ounce can of coconut milk
• Cilantro, anywhere from 2 to 4 tablespoons (or none at all)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 to 1 cup cooked jasmine, basmati, or long grain brown rice
• Chopped peanuts, for garnish
  

Heat a large soup pot over medium-high heat and add the oil. When it is hot, add the garlic, onion, jalapeno, and lemongrass stalks (leave them whole, or at least in large enough pieces that you can easily remove them later). Stir-fry for 2 minutes, then add the eggplant and cook for about 4 minutes until it has browned. Stir in the sugar and tomatoes, and mix well. Add the stock, coconut milk, and cilantro (if using). Bring to a simmer, season to taste with salt and pepper, and simmer gently for about 5-10 minutes. Add the rice about 2 minutes before the end of the cooking time. Remove the lemongrass, pour the soup into bowls, and garnish with the chopped peanuts.

*Note: to be distinguished from my favorite vegan cookbook, which is definitely Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. You'll definitely see recipes from that book cropping up on this blog more than once.

Vegetarian Posole

Vegetarians tend to eat a lot of ethnic food. American food -- with the exception of some delicacies like mac-and-cheese and veggie chili -- tends to focus on meat. We aren't known as a meat-and-potatoes culture for nothing. Anyway, so because of that, I end up cooking and eating a lot of cuisines like Thai, Japanese, Chinese, sometimes Italian and Greek, and especially Indian.

But one of my very favorite cuisines for delicious vegetarian meals is Mexican. Oh man, there are so many great veg-friendly Mexican ingredients. Beans, cheese, rice, peppers, lime, avocado, tomato, cilantro. It's easy to forget about the whole meat thing entirely.

This recipe is one of those classic Mexican dishes that's healthy, filling, and really good. Also, it just so happens to be vegan (no dairy!). According to the history books, posole is a traditional pre-Columbian meal that was made on special occasions -- specifically, the occasion of human sacrifice. After the heart was torn out in the ritual, the rest of the human flesh was chopped up and cooked with corn meal because corn was considered a sacred plant. After the Spanish conquest, cannibalism was banned and pork was substituted in the posole because it "tastes very similar."

Now aren't you glad this version is vegetarian?

Vegetarian Posole

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 5 cups vegetable broth, water, or a combination
• 2 cups cooked whole hominy, or one 14-ounce can of hominy, drained and rinsed
• One 15-ounce can of pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups kale, chard, or other leafy green
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• Salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste
• 1 medium avocado, diced
• 3 medium plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1 medium lime, cut into wedges

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Pour broth over onion mixture and bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer 5 minutes. Add hominy and beans; cook 2 minutes. Add greens and cook until greens are wilted and just cooked, about 2 minutes more. Stir in cilantro, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Garnish with remaining ingredients and serve.

Pot-Roasted Eggplant with Tomatoes and Cumin

So I was traveling over the long Labor Day weekend. And I was so exhausted when I got home yesterday that when I cooked dinner, I forgot to take a picture. Unforgivable, I know.

But this dish is so good that I have to post the recipe, even if it has no images to accompany it. It's an older Food & Wine recipe that's a favorite in our apartment. Despite the name the magazine editors gave it, it should really be called Pot-Roasted Eggplant with Tomatoes and Smoked Paprika, because that smoked paprika is what gives it the most amazing flavor. Don't even think about substituting regular paprika, because it won't be nearly as special.

The magazine refers to the dish as a salad, but I eat it as a meal with some brown rice or couscous. And you should, too.

Pot-Roasted Eggplant with Tomatoes and Cumin

• 1 large eggplant (1 1/4 pounds)
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• Kosher salt
• 1 cup drained, canned diced tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon cilantro leaves
• 2 teaspoons sweet smoked paprika
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Freshly ground black pepper

Heat a large enameled cast-iron casserole (or any other large pot with a lid). Using a fork, prick the eggplant in a few places. Add the eggplant to the casserole, cover and cook over moderately low heat, turning once, until charred on the outside and soft within, about 40 minutes.

Transfer the eggplant to a colander set in the sink. Using a sharp knife, make a lengthwise slit in the eggplant; let drain for 10 minutes. Scrape the flesh into a bowl, discarding the skin and any hard seeds; mash to a puree and transfer to a large skillet. (I just put it back into the pot I used for roasting.)

Using the side of a large knife, mash the garlic to a coarse paste with 1 teaspoon of salt. Add the paste to the skillet along with the tomatoes, olive oil, parsley, cilantro, paprika, cumin and cayenne. Cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until all the liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.