Baked Stuffed Tomatoes

There are some dishes that I really love, but for some reason I keep forgetting they exist. This is one of them. About once a year I suddenly remember it exists and make. And it's actually a shame, because this dish is easy, delicious, and filling. So hopefully now I'll remember it and you can all enjoy it too.

Now, as you will see, the recipe here is pretty vague. The reason is that this dish is one of the most versatile and customizable in the world. Don't have cream cheese? Use some other cheese, creme fraiche or sour cream instead. Want to make it dairy free or vegan? Lose the cheese, add some lentils, and you have a great vegan dish. Have some leftover rice or quinoa in your fridge? Throw it in the mix as well. In other words, this recipe is more about the basic technique. I don't think I've ever made it exactly the same twice.

Baked Stuffed Tomatoes 

Ingredients (for 4 tomatoes, but you can just multiply them for as many tomatoes as you like): 

- 4 medium-large tomatoes, preferably ones with relatively flat bottoms 

- a few tablespoons of cream cheese (or soft goat cheese, or sour cream, or creme fraiche, or whatever you like)

- 1/2 of a small-medium red onion, finely diced.  

- a handful of grated cheese (mozzarella or cheddar or whichever kind you like)

- fresh herbs, finely chopped

- a few tablespoons of breadcrumbs 

- salt and pepper to taste 

Preparation: 

1. Prepare the tomatoes: slice off just the top of each tomato. If you like, you can reserve the top and put it on the stuffed tomato as a little "hat" for presentation purposes, but it's not necessary. With a teaspoon carefully and gently remove the contents of the tomatoes onto a cutting board. Try not to break the tomato itself. Lightly oil the bottom of an oven safe dish (oil spray is best for this) and place the tomatoes, bottoms down, in the dish. Preheat oven to 350 F/180 C.

2. Prepare the filling: chop the tomato filling into small chunks and place in a bowl. Add the onion, and then mix in the cream cheese, the grated cheese, the herbs and the breadcrumbs. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (As noted above, you can really mix in anything you like here. The only thing that remains constant is the contents of the tomato. Everything else can change according to your tastes).

3. Fill each tomato with the filling. The filling should be a bit higher than the tomato itself, but not so high that it falls. If you have extra filling you can place it in the dish outside of the tomatoes and let it cook with them. If you want, you can top the tomatoes with the their tops.  Bake the tomatoes in the oven for about 10-15 minutes, or until the tomatoes are tender. Because the filling has nothing in it that requires cooking, it's really just a matter of getting the tomatoes to the consistency you like. If you prefer your tomatoes lightly baked and still quite crunchy, bake them only until the filling warms through. If you like a softer tomato, leave them a bit longer (but not so long that they burst!).

"Pressed" Garlic-Mint Tofu

 This succulent tofu is marinated to give it a great flavor, and then cooked while being pressed under the weight of another pot or skillet in order to get rid of excess moisture and keep it crispy.

Because our household is both veggie and non-veggie, we sometimes struggle with what to cook for dinner. Because it's a hassle to make two completely different meals, we often try to make food that is similar and uses similar ingredients, but one version is veggie and the other is not.

This exact situation is the concept behind the cookbook The Flexitarian Table . This book is divided into meals rather than individual recipes, where most of the meal is vegetarian, while the main course usually appears in two versions: one veggie, one not. Both versions use very similar ingredients and they are written in such as way as to create as little mess as possible.  Although in this case it uses tofu as a chicken alternative, not all of the veggie recipes in the book use "meat alternatives" such as tofu and seitan. The main change I made from the book is making extra marinade.

In the picture this is served with lemony Israeli couscous.

"Pressed" Garlic-Mint Tofu 

Ingredients (for 2 portions of tofu): 

- 12-14oz (about 340-400 grams) extra firm tofu, cut into four slabs about 1 cm/half an inch thick
- 4 large cloves of garlic, smashed
- 1.5 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 cup packed chopped fresh mint
- grated zest from 1 lemon
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Preparation: 

1. Prepare the tofu: place the tofu slabs on a paper towel, top with another paper towel and press down on them to remove excess liquid. Leave them under the towel until the marinade is ready.

2. Make the marinade: Mash the garlic to a paste with the sea salt. In a bowl, whisk together the mint, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic paste and pepper flakes. Then, while whisking or mixing constantly, drizzle in the olive oil.

3. Put the marinade in a dish large enough to contain the tofu slabs and place the slabs in the marinade.Leave to marinate for about 30 minutes.

4. Prepare to cook the tofu: in order to cook the tofu pressed, you will need a large heavy skillet for the actual cooking. You will also need something to weigh the tofu down. I used another heavy pot with a clean bottom. If your other pot isn't very heavy, you can weigh it down additionally with a brick, a large can or another heat-proof object, or you can just press down on it while the tofu is cooking.

5. Cook the tofu: Put the skillet over medium high heat and allow it to get nice and hot. Take the tofu pieces out of the marinade reserving the left over marinade and place them on the hot skillet. Place your weighing-down pot directly over the tofu and press down. The tofu should lightly sizzle, but if it's smoking a lot and sizzling loudly then lower your heat a bit. Cook, pressed, for about 5 minutes, or until the bottom of the tofu is golden-brown and crispy looking. Then flip the tofu over, weigh it down again, and cook until the other side is also golden and crispy. Remove tofu to the plate or serving dish.

6. Take the reserved marinade (if you don't have a lot left you can add a bit more olive oil to it) and put it on the skillet on medium-low heat. Gently scrape anything that was left on the bottom of the skillet into the marinade and cook together for a few seconds. Pour the heated marinade over the tofu and serve hot.

 

Israeli Couscous (Ptitim) with Peas and Lemon

In Israel, ptitim (known around the world as Israeli couscous or pearl couscous) are the most basic food you could possibly find. They are the thing you serve with ketchup to your very picky toddler who refuses any other sustenance. So the fact that in recent years they have showed up on the menus of gourmet restaurants around the world is a consistent source of hilarity for Israelis.

The "traditional" Israeli way to serve these is with nothing other than a bit of fried onion - and I will speak no ill of that, because they are absolutely awesome that way.
However, sometimes you do want to try something a little different, so here it is. 

If you can't get your hands on Israeli couscous, you can make this with Italian orzo, which is basically the same thing. Also, in Israel one can get gluten free ptitim (which are, in fact, what I used in the picture you see), but sadly they have not yet made it to the US. If you want to make this gluten free, I suggest using similar flavors but adding cooked white or brown rice.

Israeli Couscous with Peas and Lemon

Ingredients (for 3-4 portions): 


- 250 grams uncooked Israeli couscous (ptitim)
- 2 handfuls of frozen peas
-  finely chopped herbs (I used garlic chives, but dill or mint would work well)
-  1-2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lemon
- salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation: 
1. Cook the peas: either heat them in the microwave with a little bit of water for about 2 minutes and strain, or cook them in a pot of boiling water until tender and drain. Set aside.

2. Make the couscous: do not make it in the regular (cooking until the water is absorbed). Instead, cook it like you would pasta: boil water in a pot, add the couscous, cook until al-dente and drain. 

3. In a large skillet or in the same pot you used for the couscous, heat the olive oil. Add the herbs and cook for about 1 minute. Add the couscous and the peas and stir. Squeeze the juice from half a lemon on the couscous and stir. Taste to see if you are happy with the tartness. If not, add more lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Fresh Corn Risotto

This was another recipe I tried following the purchase of lovely fresh corn from a farm stand. The basics of all risottos are pretty much the same, but I do still find it easier to use a specific recipe for each kind of risotto I make. I used this recipe.

Fresh Corn Risotto 

Ingredients: 

- 6 cups vegetable broth 

- 1 bay leaf

- 3 tbsp olive oil 

- 1 medium onion, very finely chopped 

- 1 1/2 cups arborio rice (risotto rice)

- 1/2 cup dry white wine

- kernels from 2 ears of corn (about 1 cup if you use frozen) 

- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (Reggiano is best) 

- 2 tbsp (30 grams) unsalted butter, cubed 

- Salt and pepper 

Preparation: 

1. In a medium saucepan bring the stock to a boil with the bay leaf in it. Keep it over low heat so it's just warm. 

2. In a large, preferably flat saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add the onions and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring until opaque, about 2 minutes. Add the white wine and cook, stirring, until the wine is completely absorbed, about 1 minute. 

3. Lower the heat to moderate, and add 1 cup of the broth to the rice. Cook, stirring, until the broth is mostly absorbed into the rice. Continue adding the stock one cup at a time until about half of it has been absorbed. Make sure to stir frequently, and also make sure that the heat is not too high, so that the liquid doesn't absorb right away. 

4. When half of the liquid has been absorbed, add the corn into the rice, remove the bay leaf from the remaining broth, and add the remaining broth to the rice. Cook, stirring frequently, until most of the stock is absorbed and the rice is al-dente and creamy. The whole cooking process should take about 25 minutes. If you run out of stock and the rice is still not cooked, just add water. 

5. Stir in the cheese and butter, season with salt and pepper, and serve. 

Seitan/Tofu in Orange Sauce

Crisp pieces of seitan, in a sweet, tangy, orange-y sauce with just a hint of a heat. So delicious!
Don't be fooled by the small amount of orange juice in this recipe. The recipe actually tastes quite strongly of orange, in an excellent way. I started out with this  "orange chicken" recipe, but modified it to make it both vegetarian and gluten free, although the latter is not a requirement.
One of the nice things about this recipe is that the protein pieces are just lightly floured and stir fried in some oil, rather than battered and deep fried, so they still taste nice and crispy, but they aren't heavy with batter and it's not a mess to make.

As always, you can use seitan, tofu or any protein of your choice for this.

Seitan/Tofu in Orange Sauce

 

Ingredients (for 2 large portions or 3-4 smaller ones): 

For the Sauce: 

- 1.5 cup water

-   2 tbsp orange juice (freshly squeezed is best)

- 1/4 cup lemon juice (freshly squeezed is best, this is about the juice of  2 lemons) 

- 1/3 cup rice vinegar

- 1 tbsp soy sauce 

- 1 tbsp sesame oil 

- grated zest from 1/2 orange 

- 1 cup packed brown sugar 

- 1 tsp minced ginger root

- 1 clove minced garlic 

- 2 tbsp chopped green onion

- red pepper flakes (at least 1/4 tsp, but add more if you like things a bit hotter) 

For the protein:

- 1 package seitan or tofu (about 8 oz/225 grams), sliced into strips or chunks. 

- 1 cup all purpose flour or all purpose gluten free flour 

- 1/4 tsp salt

- 1/4 tsp pepper

- 3 tbsp vegetable oil 

To finish off the recipe: 

- 2 handfuls of snow peas, sliced (you can also use other greens, such as broccoli)

- 3 tbsp cornstarch 

- 2 tbsp water

Preparation: 

1. In a saucepan combine all of the sauce ingredients. Set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes. 

2. Place the seitan/tofu pieces in a bowl, pour 1 cup of the cooled sauce into the bowl, stir to coat the pieces well, and allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes (but if you can leave it longer, by all means do so). Keep the rest of the sauce. 

3. In a resealable plastic bag combine the flour, salt and pepper. When the protein is marinated, put the pieces in the bag of flour, seal the bag and shake it around to give the pieces an even coat. 

4. In a wok or large skillet heat the oil to medium heat. Take the seitan/tofu pieces out of the flour, shaking them a bit to lose excess flour, and add them to the skillet. When the pieces are nice browned, take them out of the skillet and set aside.

5. If the skillet is completely dry, add another tsp or so of oil. If you still have some oil, just use that. Stir fry the snow peas for about 1 minute, until they just begin to soften. 

6. Add the sauce that you had previously saved to the skillet and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, combine the cornstarch and water in a small bowl and mix well. Add this mixture into the sauce and stir. The sauce will immediately begin to thicken. Reduce heat to medium-low, add the seitan/tofu pieces and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve as is or over rice. Enjoy!

Red Onion and Goat Cheese Quesadillas

This is a recipe from the Culinary Institute of America's great "Gourmet Meals in Minutes" cookbook. While much of the book is for meat eaters, it does have some great veggie recipes, and this is one.
It can be eaten as a snack or as a meal, depending on how many quesadillas you want.

The original recipe calls for serving it with a home-made tamale salsa (for which the book also gives the recipe), but I think store-bought salsa would work quite well, and I actually ate them with no accompaniments at all, just as is. They were great.

Red Onion and Goat Cheese Quesadillas

Ingredients (for 8 quesadillas): 

- 2 medium-large red onions, sliced into thin slices 

- a few tbsp of olive oil 

- 1 tsp salt

- freshly ground black pepper, to taste

- 1.5 cups of grated cheese: jack or cheddar are best for this 

- 16 flour tortillas (the recipe uses 6-inch tortillas. You can use larger tortillas and make more filling or fewer quesadillas.  You can use GF tortillas as well) 

- 1/2 cup of soft goat cheese

- 1 cup of cilantro leaves (optional, I skipped it)

- To serve: sour cream and salsa (optional) 

Preparation: 

1. Saute the onion in 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium-low heat until soft and translucent. Make sure the heat isn't too high, because it will get charred rather than softened. Season with salt and pepper. 

2. For each quesadilla, sprinkle 3 tbsp of the grated jack or cheddar on one tortilla. Crumble 1 tbsp of the goat cheese over the grated cheese, and then spoon about 2 tbsps of the sauteed onion on top of that. If desired, top with a few sprigs of cilantro. Cover with a second tortilla and press down. Repeat this until all the quesadillas are prepared.

3. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a saute pan large enough to fit a quesadilla, over medium heat. Cook each quesadilla for about 2 minutes on each side, until lightly brown and the cheese is melted. Make sure to watch over them, as they burn quite quickly!  Do this with the rest of the quesadillas, adding more oil as needed to cook all of them. 

4. If desired, top each one with sour cream and salsa. If you used larger tortillas you may want to slice them into quarters, as in the picture here. 

Enjoy!

Black Bean and Corn Chili

A few days ago we drove past a lovely country farm stand, and they had some great fresh corn. I'd never cooked fresh corn before, except straight on the cob, so I decided to look for a few recipes, and came across this one.  I modified it a bit to fit my tastes, and the result was a hearty vegetable chili with great flavor and texture, which was perfect served on rice.

I made it just before I had to leave town for a few days, so I froze the leftovers. When I got back it was late and I needed a quick dinner, so I defrosted and heated the chili in the microwave and wrapped it up in a tortilla with a bit of melted cheddar for a quick burrito. It was delicious, and the chili didn't seem to suffer at all from being frozen.

Black Bean and Corn Chili 

Ingredients (for a large pot of chili, about 6-8 servings): 

- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 bell peppers, whatever color you liked, diced.
- 1 hot pepper (Serrano or jalapeno or something similar) , finely diced. You can deseed it if you don't like heat, or leave some of the seeds for a bigger kick.
- 6 medium tomatoes, preferable ripe red ones, diced.
- Fresh kernels from 2 corn cobs (or about 1 cup of kernels frozen or from a can)
- Seasoning: black pepper, cumin, chili powder, salt
- 2 cans of black beans, rinsed and drained.
- 1.5 cups vegetable stock or water with bullion seasoning
- grated cheese to serve (optional)

Preparation: 

1. Heat the oil in a large pot. Add all of the vegetables (except the beans) and saute until the onion is softened and becomes somewhat translucent.

2. Season with the various seasonings. The original recipe calls for 1 tsp of the black pepper and cumin and 1 tbsp of the chili powder, but you can modify this according to your tastes.

3. Add the beans and the vegetable stock, and bring to a boil. Then take 1.5 cup of the chili and put it in a food processor or blender and puree it (if you only have a stick blender, you can also just slightly puree the chili, but still leave it chunky). Add the pureed chili back into the pot and cook for another 10 minutes or so. Check seasoning. If wanted, top with grated cheese.

You can serve this by itself as a thick soup/stew, or over rice as a chili. You can also serve it over nachos or inside a burrito.

Fried Rice with Seitan and Eggs

When we run out of ideas for dinner, and we don't feel like going back to the same old recipes, we start going through the cookbooks to look for cool ideas. Yesterday we went through the Asian cookbooks and found some great recipes in this one. 
 
The rice in this recipe comes out savory and sweet and with a hint of a "kick" from the chili. While it was delicious and satisfying on its own, I think next time I'll make it even better by also adding stir fried veggies.  Obviously this is a great recipe to make with leftover rice.

The original recipe used chicken and shrimp, so in the vegetarian version I decided to also use two proteins (seitan and egg). However, if you want to make it vegan, you can just leave the egg out. And if you want to make it gluten free, just replace the seitan with tofu or skip the seitan entirely and just use egg.

Fried Rice with Seitan and Eggs

Ingredients (for 4 portions): 

- 4.5 cups of cooked rice, cold (or if you just cooked it, at least let it cool down a bit) 

- 1-2 tbsp canola oil 

- 1 package (about 200 grams) seitan, cut into small cubes or thin strips (you can replace it with tofu or any protein of your choice) 

- 2 eggs, lightly beaten 

- 1 medium onion 

- 1 chili pepper

- 3 cloves of garlic 

- 1 tbsp soy sauce or tamari 

- sweet soy sauce, made by combining 1 tbsp of soy sauce with 1 tbsp of brown sugar and mixing well until the sugar melts into the sauce. 

Preparation: 

1. In a food processor or mortar and pestle grind the onion, chili and garlic together into a paste. 

2. In a wok or large pan heat the oil, then add the onion-chili-garlic paste. Fry for about a minute, then add the seitan and fry for another 2 minutes. Push the ingredients to the side of the wok, add a little bit more oil if needed (if you are using a non-stick pan you probably won't need more oil), and add the eggs into the space you created in the wok. Scramble the eggs while they are cooking, and when they are scrambled and cooked, stir them back into the seitan and veggie mixture. 

3. Add the cooked rice, the regular soy sauce and the sweetened soy sauce to the wok and stir until the sauce coats the dish and the rice is warmed through (Note - the dish will not be "saucy", the sauce will get absorbed into the rice and flavor it). Serve immediately.