Sort of urgent need for Vegan recipes!!

My son is coming home with his girlfriend for Labor Day weekend…. We have not met her yet but I would say it reasonably serious. She is vegan and we are thinking through dinners now…. Do you guys have any killer ideas???

THANKS!!

Some recent ideas, with or without truffles: http://forums.wineloverspage.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=65923

Another idea that comes to mind is Beggars Purses. Get a package of phyllo, some chives, and make any filling that their heart desires -- mushrooms and leeks, tofu and jellied cranberries, ratatouille (not too wet), spinach and chickpea, etc. Fold a sheet of phyllo into a 3" square, brush with melted butter, put a spoon of filling in the middle, pick up the sides and tie it at the top with a chive. Bake in a 400* oven for 10-15 minutes. All kinds of fun to plate!

[Jenise]

brush with melted butter

Of course you mean plant-based butter.

John, have you ever made cauliflower steaks? It's becoming somewhat commonplace but they're still delicious (browned in a skillet, lightly baked for tenderness and doused in a, say, caper-butter-tarragon butter, and they make a suitable main course--which veganism doesn't necessarily require. In fact, the whole idea of replacing one large meat protein with one large vegetable is probably an antiquated carnivorian notion vs, Chinese style, offering several dishes from which to make choices like I did at the Italian dinner Jeff referenced. What wouldn't be is having a protein source in every meal, though: beans, lentils etc are excellent sources of same. Some thoughts:

Crush garbanzo beans in a bowl, add garlic oil and vinegar to make a dressing, then ross with torn escarole. Fantastic.
Stew garbanzo beans and tomatoes together, season well. Lots of internet recipes for this classic. Make it a main course by scooping over a crouton of toasted bread. Drizzle conventional pesto over for color.
Tear broccollini into one to three pieces. Toss with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast at 425 for 15 -17 minutes. Serve hot or room temp as is or drizzled with a vinaigrette made creamy with ground raw cashews or tahini.
Soup-salad combos--hearty soups made with butternut squash as a base are winners. Vegan tomato bisques or creamy zucchini soups are also perfectly in season.
Serve avocado halves stuffed with a beluga lentil salad, top with marinated celery leaves.
Roasted beets, whole or sliced and dressed with a horseradish vinaigrette to accentuate their earthiness.
Whole platters of roasted vegetables: quartered fennel bulbs and all kinds of things. Drizzle with that Spanish sauce made from pureed roasted red peppers, EVOO and garlic whose name momentarily escapes me. Serve with white rice also cooked with garlic and EVOO. Maybe add cumin seed. Great flavor either way.

Anyway, just riffing. A good source (and where the idea for the broccolini above came from) is Food & Wine's online site. Look up any vegetable that might sound like a good starting point, and you'll find a compendium of a dozen or three recipes, many vegan, which might inspire you.

A caution: don't assume that just because someone's vegan they eat ALL vegetables. I did the cauliflower thing above as a substitute main course for a couple at a big dinner I did once, and turned out they didn't care for cauliflower! They should have warned me.

brush with melted butter

Of course you mean plant-based butter.

A caution: don't assume that just because someone's vegan they eat ALL vegetables. I did the cauliflower thing above as a substitute main course for a couple at a big dinner I did once, and turned out they didn't care for cauliflower! They should have warned me.

I understand vegetarianism, but not veganism, especially with things like honey, milk, cheese, and butter. You also have to be careful to get enough B12 if you're a vegan.

brush with melted butter

Of course you mean plant-based butter.

Actually, no, I meant lard.

John, have you ever made cauliflower steaks?

Can be done with celeriac, too. A bit wetter than cauliflower so best to let it weep a bit first, then bread and fry.

I understand vegetarianism, but not veganism, especially with things like honey, milk, cheese, and butter. You also have to be careful to get enough B12 if you're a vegan.

I understand the concept; tho' producing the listed items don't involve killing animals, they xploit them and ofr mile based items a vegan would argue that their production does require the killing of animals, e.g. the killing of male calves because they don't produce milk, and the killing of cows that do not produce enough milk.

Getting enough B12 is not a concern of John F - he's just supplying a few meals.

Hi John F


I don't think about whether a meal is vegan or not when deciding to have it- it's a meal - but when a similar question was previously raised on this board I realised we had quite a few 'vegan' meals, but we are not vegans or vegetarians.

Examples - Jenise has already mention roasted cauliflower steaks, i.e. thick slices of cauliflower. It's become a favourite of ours - we are having it again this coming week. I serve the roast cauliflower with tarka daal (to give moisture, like a sauce or gravy) and roast okra (to give crispness - roasting them shrinks by up to a half and makes them crispy).

Pasta with a tomato sauce and slices of thin fried or broiled aubergine
or chopped olives and capers (i.e.puttanesca - without the anchovies) with optional some chilli flakes

Ratatouille with French sticks.

Chilli sans Carne - crushed tinned chickpeas instead of meat with pitta bread

Vegetable curry with rice

Mixed bean curry with rice.

PS _ On Monday we are going to a favourite steak house and having fillet steak!

Getting enough B12 is not a concern of John F - he's just supplying a few meals.

I meant for vegans in general (think pernicious anemia), not whether a meal or two has enough B12.

And I can't see how you're exploiting bees by eating honey.

As for the wine cellar, a great way to preserve it from plunder by possible future daughters-in-law is to clearly state that you only keep wines fined using eggs.

As for the wine cellar, a great way to preserve it from plunder by possible future daughters-in-law is to clearly state that you only keep wines fined using eggs.

Or isinglass!

As for the wine cellar, a great way to preserve it from plunder by possible future daughters-in-law is to clearly state that you only keep wines fined using eggs.

Or isinglass!

True!

So, John F, what are your culinary plans?

We are sitting down tonight to map out….but the cauliflower steak will be one of them. I also have a new (to me) cookbook from Nigel Slater that has lots of ideas….. especially in the eggplant/tomato aisle and served over rice…. Will keep you guys posted!! Thanks for your help

A lot of North African cuisine features meatless recipes. I recently bought Mourad's: New Moroccan which has many veg recipes you could choose from.

I believe that Jenise also perused that book and can perhaps comment on its usefulness for your purposes.

[Jenise]

Bill's right. And I thought of one in particular over the weekend that I should call your attention to, a recipe so enchanting I posted it here. It's a carrot soup and one of the most hypnotically good soups EVER. And with the citrus 'salad' in the center of the bowl, it's incredibly beautiful. I have made it several times for guests, and even served it as a soup course at a dinner for 80 two years ago. Even the carnivores are amazed to realize afterward that it was vegan. Serve rose with it:

http://forums.wineloverspage.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=54680&p=465609&hilit=Mourad%27s+carrot+soup#p465609