Recipes: January 2007 Archives

The recent cold fronts have incited waves of fried food and heavy stews in our kitchens. This week we were yearning for something heavy on all the things we're supposed to focus on by being vegetarian: fiber, flavor and tons of vitamins. This wintry salad will not only fill you up (and clean you out) but it'll help fend off all those colds going around.

We found most of the ingredients for this little guy at local farmers markets. Next month we'll be doing profiles for some of our favorite vendors and the awesome bounty of their loins...er...fields.

2 shallots, minced
3 cloves of garlic, sliced
3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbs sherry wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 tsp prepared horseradish
2 ripe pomegranates
2 cups mixed fresh sprouts
1 cup picked cilantro
1 cup raw almonds
1 small red onion diced
2 Tsp paprika
2 Tbs honey
1 Tbs vegan butter
1/4 cup warm water

Combine the minced shallots, sliced garlic, vinegar, salt, and pepper in a small bowl and set aside. Seed the pomegranate, reserving some whole sections for garnish. Now pick the leaves from the cilantro sprigs and wash in a salad spinner with your sprouts and the pomegranate seeds. When dry, place the seeds, leaves and sprouts in a salad bowl.

Heat a sauté pan on high heat and add the almonds and the diced onion. Dry toast them for three minutes, tossing them frequently to avoid burning. Now add the vegan butter and paprika and sauté for one minute. In a small bowl whisk the honey into the water, then add to the pan. Cook until the liquid is completely gone.

Back to your dressing; whisk in the horse radish, then whisk in the olive oil in a slow steady stream to emulsify. Toss your salad. Garnish with the warm almonds and a pretty piece of pomegranate.

Beverage: Fantome Hiver
Soundtrack: The Antarcticans' Teach Children: Fear All Teachings Of Eternity

We've seen this Thai-Italian fusion thing that's gaining momentum (they both use basil, why don't we put them together?!) and we're not convinced. That said, Thai cuisine has tomato-based dishes of its own that you can recreate easily at home with ketchup.Ketchup's the obvious choice when on a budget or a deadline: It happens to be both sweet and sour, so with a little heat kick the stuff makes a perfect coating for gummy rice noodles, soft cauliflower and crunchity green onion stalks. In fact, chances are the spicy noodles at your local Thai place are made with ketchup anyway, so if you whip up a jar of your own, you're already one-upping the Heinz shit.

Spicy Thai Tomato Sauce
3 Tbs. canola oil
1 Tbs. curry paste
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Thai chiles, chopped
1 small bulb ginger, chopped
1/2 cup ketchup
1 Tbs. seasoned rice wine vinegar

1. Throw a saucepan on medium heat and add oil. Once hot, toss in the curry paste, garlic, chiles and ginger. Sauté for 5 or so minutes, until aromatic and curry has dissolved.

2. Add the ketchup and vinegar, stirring thoroughly. Heat until ketchup is bubbling on the sides of the pan, then bring to a simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.

3. Fix a stir-fry of your choosing. Cook rice flat noodles or elbow rice pasta, strain and add to finished veggies. Then stir in spicy ketchup, heat until gooey and serve.

Just as an aside, this sauce can go further than just noodle dishes. If you have particularly good veggies, say farmers market fresh baby bok choy, just steam them for 2-3 minutes, throw them in a pan with some garlic and soy sauce, and serve them with a shot glass of spicy ketchup.

Ketchup, red gravy, sauce American -- it may no longer be the most popular condiment in the U.S. (salsa) but it still rules over all of us, a timeless classic, and all told a pretty shitty sauce. However, this red goop has an undeniably sexy past.

Not only was the stuff invented before any dudes named Heinz or Hunt even discovered the tomato, it was originally made from pickled fish, and when brought to the New World people tried making it out of mushrooms.

We happen to think it has an even sexier future, in the right hands. Consider that a precursor, or maybe a threat: We are about to splatter this site with weirdo catsup recipes. But let's warm into it shall we? Here's a fairly tame but ridiculously sweet recipe for a basic, homemade, stovetop, slather-it-all-over-your-plate ketchup given to us by our good food friend Meagan Y.

Ketchup
1 large tomato, chopped
1 whole canned tomato, with juice
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbs. cinnamon
1 Tbs. cayenne pepper
1 Tbs. fruit jelly (strawberry or grape)
1 green onion, chopped
1 cup cane sugar
3 Tbs. corn starch
1/3 cup water

1. Put a small saucepan on low heat and combine both the fresh and canned tomato (with a couple spoonfulls of its tomato sauce) and add the vinegar, garlic and cinnamon. Stir and prod for 4-5 minutes to break up the canned tomato. Then add the rest of the ingredients except for the sugar and heat on medium for another ten minutes or until bubbling.

2. Slowly add the sugar, stirring throughout. Bring back to a bubble.

3. Make a slurry with the corn starch and cold water. Slowly add while stirring. The sauce should thicken considerably.

What should be the staple of any diner worth it's salt -- Western-style hash browns, distinct from its unrefined bumpkin cousin the hash brown by having melted cheese and chile -- is sadly often bacon-ified and rarely ever vegan. Here it is vegan. 2 frozen hash brown patties 2 purple potatoes 1 Tbs. olive oil 1/2 white onion, thinly sliced 3 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 cup red chile (or "hot" enchilada sauce) 1 cup spinach

1. Microwave both the frozen product hash browns and the purple potatoes for about 2-3 minutes or until thawed and nearly cooked, respectively. Slice the purple potatoes into thin, round chips.

2. Heat a large skillet on high heat with olive oil. Toss your potatoes in and add the onion and garlic. Let cook for 10 minutes, flipping occasionally, until golden brown. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3.Then dump in your wet chile and spinach and cook for another 2-3 minutes or until the spinach is wilted.

4. Plate your hash in big fluffy piles, sprinkle Soy-Sation shredded cheese on top and fold in or nuke for another 20 seconds in the microwave.

Beverage: Bourbon and vanilla bean milkshake
Soundtrack: the Shins' Oh Inverted World