Lebanese Vegetable Soup

From Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant

This soup is, so far, my favourite soup in the Moosewood canon. It is chock full of ingredients that make Lebanese food so healthy and delicious: chickpeas, artichokes, tomatoes, and parsley. It has a nice briny kick to it, with a tart and sharp finish. It's also extremely hearty if you add a bunch of potatoes (which I do). My boyfriend likes this soup so much that I call it "his" soup---just between us! This soup is also a great bring-to-work item, as the veggies inside aren't overcooked and won't lose their shape after being popped into the microwave to warm it up. It will give you a nice lemony briny delicious kick in the middle of your work day.

Serves: 6-8 Cooking time: 30 minutes

1 large Spanish onion, chopped (2 cups)
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 medium-large carrots, chopped (2 1/2 cups)
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (I put double this)
1 teaspoon ground coriander
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups chopped potatoes (I usually add about 3 cups for a heartier soup)
1 teaspoon salt
4-5 cups vegetable stock (use whatever brine is left from the canned artichokes and then water for the rest)
2 large tomatoes (chopped)
10 artichoke hearts, cut into 1/8ths (2 14 ounce cans)
1 can of chickpeas, or 3/4 cups of cooked chickpeas
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 lemons, cut into wedges

Saute the onion in oil for 5 minutes. Stir in the carrots. Cover. Stir again after 3 minutes. Add the ground red pepper, coriander and garlic. Cover and cook for a few more minutes.

Add the potatoes, salt & 2 cups of the stock. Cover the pot and bring the soup to a boil, reduce the heart and simmer until the potatoes are nearly tender. Be careful not to overcook them. Gently stir in the tomatoes, artichoke hearts and chickpeas. Cover and simmer for about 3 - 4 minutes. Add the remaining 2 - 3 cups of stock, heat gently. Garnish with parsley and have everyone squeeze a wedge or two of lemon into their soup right before they eat it. YUM!

Mediterranean Eggplant Casserole

From Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health

This casserole goes great with a strongly flavoured salad and is something good to bring along to work. Everyone in the lunch room was very curious about this particular casserole and I bragged that I had made it myself. It does look kind of fancy once you are done, especially with the custardy cheesy topping, and everyone is impressed by eggplant for some reason. However, this casserole is a little bit of work, and you have to use at use a few pots and pans, and me being a little bit lazy I think I might be reluctant to do it all again.

I also would be reluctant to make this particular casserole again because I had one of those "I'm a bad cook and also probably an idiot" kind of experiences when I was making this dish. I assembled the casserole one morning before work (so I would have something delicious for my lunch that day) and put it in the oven with the timer set so I could get ready (aka read my horoscope online on a hundred different sites) and when the timer went off and I checked the oven, I saw that the oven wasn't on and obviously, from the cold state of the casserole, hadn't been on the whole time! I seriously considered calling into work to tell my boss that I would be late because "something came up", but when I thought about my boss asking me the obvious question of "what"?, I knew I couldn't make up an excuse. And I just didn't think she would be understanding about a casserole emergency. So I had to stick my cold casserole in the fridge and then cook it when I got home. The good news is I had something delicious to eat for lunch. It was just a day later than I planned.

Serves 6 to 8
Hands on time: about an hour - baking time: about 55 minutes

1 medium eggplant (about 1 1/4 pounds)
salt
2 teaspoons dried marjoram
1 cup bulghur
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups chopped onions
4 garlic cloves, pressed
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup currants
3 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups crumbled or grated feta cheese
2 cups small curd low-fat cottage cheese
3/4 cups grated parmesan cheese
3/4 cup chopped basil or parsley
1 cup chopped toasted walnuts
1 tablespoon lemon juice
ground black pepper
2 large ripe tomatoes, sliced
1. Slice the eggplant into 1/2 inch-thick rounds and arrange them in a single layer on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Brush or spray the slices with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and 1 teaspoon of the marjoram. Bake uncovered in a preheated 400 degree oven until tender and lightly browned, about 20 minutes.

2. While the eggplant is baking, put the bulghur and boiling water into a heatproof bowl. Cover and set aside until the water has been absorbed and the bulghur is tender, about 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, warm the olive oil in a skillet on medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, oregano, salt, and the remaining marjoram, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft, about 10 minutes. Stir in the currants and remove them from the heat.

4. In a separate bowl, stir together the eggs, feta, cottage cheese, 1/2 cup of the parmesan, and 1/4 cup of the basil. Set aside.

5. Fluff the bulghur and sitr in the onions and currants, the remaining 1/2 cup of the basil, and the toasted walnuts and lemon juice. Add more salt and pepper to taste.

6. To assemble the casserole, spread the bulghur pilaf evenly in a lightly oiled 9 X 13 inch baking pan. Layer the baked eggplant slices and then the tomato slices. Spoon on the egg and the cheese mixture and spread it evenly over the top. Sprinkle on the rest of the parmesan.






7. Cover the baking pan with foil, rounding it so the foil won't stick to the custard. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40 minutes, until the casserole is mostly set. Uncover and bake until the top is golden and the custard is firm, about 15 minutes.

Thai Butternut Squash Soup

From Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Serves 4

My darling husband doesn't like tofu. He will eat just about anything that I put in front of him (a real treat for a new cook) but when the meal has tofu in it he suddenly looks rather pained. But I can happily report that the tofu in this recipe is so deliciously marinated that even he proclaimed: "This one is a keeper!"
SOUP
1 cup coconut milk
0.5 tsp Thai red curry paste
4 tsp sugar
0.5 tsp salt
2 cups vegetable broth
1 Keiffer lime leaf (optional)
2 12-ounce packages of frozen cooked winter squash
1 lime
2 cups fresh baby spinach
chopped fresh cilantro

PAN- FRIED TOFU
0.5 cake firm tofu (about 8 ounces)
1 tbsp soy sauce
0.5 tsp Thai red curry paste
1 tsp vegetable oil

In a soup pot, whisk together the coconut milk, curry paste, sugar, salt, and broth. Add the lime leaf and frozen squash, cover, and bring to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, until the squash is thawed, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the Pan-Fried Tofu. Cut the tofu into small cubes and put them in a bowl. Toss with the soy sauce and the curry paste. Heat the oil in a small skillet on medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the tofu and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Lightly grate the lime peel and juice the lime. Add 1 teaspoon of the zest and 2 tablespoons of the juice to the simmering soup. Stir in the spinach and tofu and cook just until the spinach wilts. Add more sugar and salt to taste. Serve the soup garnished with cilantro if you like.

*Packaged frozen winter squash is perfect for this recipe, but if it's not available, look for pre-cut butternut squash in the produce section of your market, or peel and seed your own squash. You'll need 4 cups chopped. Puree the soup in a blender before adding the spinach and tofu.

Vegetarian Chili

From The New Moosewood Cookbook
Preparation time: 1.75 hours
Serves 6

This has been one of my favourite recipes since Sarah introduced me to it months ago. Though this recipe claims that the bulgur will provide a "ground-beef-like texture" I didn't believe this claim until I tried it. Sure enough, it does!
I like to make some alterations to the original version shown below. As Sarah once said: "There just aren't enough recipes that call for lima beans." And since, to the horror of my lima bean-hating mother, it turns out I actually agree with Sarah I like to cut back on the kidney beans and add in some lima beans for good measure. Last night I was out of these so I threw in a can (yes a CAN) of mixed beans and also one of black eyed peas. Also add the juice of one lemon to the recipe right at the end. It infuses it with zesty goodness! It turned out well enough that I took a sample in to work today for my boss to try. Result? Success! The photo? Not so much... Sorry!

2.5 cups dry kidney beans, soaked
1 cup tomato juice
1 cup uncooked bulgur wheat
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
6 to 8 large cloves garlic, minced
1 medium carrot, diced
1 medium stalk celery, diced
2 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. basil
2 tsp. chili powder (more, to taste)
1.5 tsp. salt (more, to taste)
black pepper and cayenne, to taste
1 medium bell pepper, chopped
1 14.5-oz. can tomatoes
3 Tbs. tomato paste (half a small can)
Optional toppings (but highly recommended by Cari!):
finely minced parsley (or cilantro)
grated cheese

1. Place the soaked beans in a Dutch oven or kettle, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Partially cover, turn heat down to a simmer, and cook until tender (about 1.25 hours) Watch the water level during cooking, adding more if necessary. Drain off any excess water when the beans are done.

2. Heat the tomato juice to boiling. Add it to the bulgur in a small bowl, cover and let stand 15 minutes. Add this to the cooked beans.

3. Head the olive oil in a medium-sized skillet. Add onion, halt the garlin, carrot, celery, and seasonings. Saute over medium heat about 5 minutes, add bell pepper, and saute until all the vegetables are tender.

4. Add the sauteed vegetables, tomatoes (au jus), and tomato paste to the beans. Simmer over lowest possible head, stirring occasionally, for 20 to 30 minutes or longer. After about 15 minutes, add remaining garlic. Taste to adjust seasonings, and serve hot, topped with parsley and/or cheese.

Broccoli-Cheese Wrap

From Moosewood Restaurant: Cooking for Health



I made these wraps and took a bunch of blurry unattractive pictures while realizing that I was totally behind schedule, so I apologize about the less than beautiful picture. I don't know about this recipe, I think it would have been really good if I had a chance to eat it right away, still warm, instead of bringing it with me to work and eating it out of the fridge at lunch. It probably would have tasted better if I put it in a wrap instead of pita too. Although it was better than a peanut butter sandwich, I doubt I would make these again.

Serves 4 - Time: 20 minutes


1 tablespoon oil
1 cup onions
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups chopped broccoli
4 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
1 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated feta cheese or chevre
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
salt and ground black pepper
4 large or 8 small whole wheat tortillas

1. Warm the oil in a skillet on medium heat. Add the onions and salt and cook until softened, stirring occasionally, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the broccoli, garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes, if using, and cook until the broccoli is bright green and tender, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the ricotta, mozzarella, and feta cheese and the basil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

2. To make wraps: In an unoiled skillet or griddle on medium heat, warm each tortilla for about 30 seconds on each side, until softened, or warm the stack of tortillas in a microwave oven for about 20 seconds. Roll the filling in smaller tortillas like an enchilada. For larger tortillas, place filling in the center, fold one side and then the other up and over the filling, and then tuck the open ends under. Eat as is, or brown lightly in an oiled skilled on medium heat.