Tag: vegetarian

Posted on » by Michael » Theme:

Vegetable Couscous Paella

Yield: Serves 6
BON APPÉTIT | OCTOBER 1997
 CousCousSQ-300x300 (1)

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 cups chopped onion
  • 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
  • 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
  • 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
  • 2 cups canned vegetable broth
  • 3 large plum tomatoes (about 10 ounces), seeded, coarsely chopped
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 1 cup drained canned garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
  • 1/2 cup chopped peeled carrot
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed saffron threads
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 1/2 cups (about 9 1/2 ounces) couscous
  • 6 canned artichoke hearts, quartered
  • Sliced red bell pepper rings
  • 1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges
  • Chopped fresh parsley

Preparation

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and chopped bell peppers; sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and paprika and sauté 1 minute. Stir in broth and next 6 ingredients. Bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook 5 minutes to blend flavors. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Mix couscous into vegetable mixture. Cover and simmer 1 minute. Remove pot from heat. Let stand covered 5 minutes. Fluff couscous with fork. Let paella stand covered 5 minutes longer; fluff with fork again. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to serving bowl. Arrange artichoke hearts, red bell pepper rings and lemon wedges atop paella. Sprinkle parsley over and serve.

We scooped out a few onions and baked them then stuffed them with the couscous

Posted on » by Michael » Theme:

Cucumber Ginger Fizzes

http://www.marthastewart.com/343410/cucumber-ginger-fizzes

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 1/2 cups vodka
  • 2 English cucumbers; 1 peeled and coarsely chopped, 1 left whole
  • 1 lime, cut into 8 wedges
  • 2 bottles (750 mL each) sparkling water
  • 1/2 to 1 cup Ginger Simple Syrup
  1. Put vodka and chopped cucumber in a nonreactive container. Refrigerate 1 hour. Strain; discard cucumber. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to use, up to 2 days.
  2. Using a vegetable peeler, shave the remaining cucumber lengthwise into wide strips; discard seeds.
  3. Fill eight tumblers with ice. Add 3 cucumber strips and 3 tablespoons infused vodka to each glass. Squeeze, then drop, a lime wedge into each. Top with sparkling water; stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons syrup.
Posted on » by Michael » Theme:

Restaurant Style Curry Sauce

Recipe Type: Base sauce
Prep time:  20 mins
Cook time:  90 mins
Total time:  1 hour 50 mins
Ingredients
  • 3 tennis ball sized cooking onions – finely sliced
  • 50ml vegetable oil or ghee
  • 3 cloves of garlic – smashed in their skins
  • 1 inch piece of ginger – finely sliced
  • 1 inch carrot – peeled and chopped
  • ¼ cup shredded cabbage (optional)
  • ¼ red bell pepper – diced
  • water
  • 2 tomatoes – finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon ghee
  • 1 pinch turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon cumin powder
  • 1 teaspoon coriander powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground fenugreek seeds
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • Salt and pepper to taste ( I usually leave this out and simply add it to the final dish)
Instructions
  1. Place the ginger and garlic with a drop of the water in a blender and pulverize to a smooth paste. Set aside.
  2. Now pour the oil/ghee into a large heavy bottomed saucepan and heat until bubbling.
  3. Throw in the sliced onions, bell pepper, carrot and cabbage and cook slowly over a medium heat in the oil.
  4. Allow the vegetables to fry – stirring occasionally for about 20 minutes. You want to brown the vegetable lightly but not burn them.
  5. When the onions are translucent and soft, add the ginger and garlic mixture the rest of the spices except for the turmeric.
  6. Finally, add the tomatoes and just enough water to cover the vegetables.
  7. Bring to a boil and then place the lid on the pan and turn the temperature down to low.
  8. Simmer for about 15 minutes. As you do this, a froth will rise to the top. This is okay. No need to skim.
  9. After 15 minutes, remove the mixture from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
  10. For a smoother sauce, popular in many Indian takeaways, simply blend for about two minutes. It is perfectly good unblended though.
  11. Once your sauce is to your liking, melt the ghee in a frying pan. Add the turmeric powder. It will darken as it cooks. You want to brown it for about a minute.
  12. Now add the turmeric/ghee mixture to the sauce and bring to a simmer again. Once it is bubbling away, turn down the heat and simmer for a further 15 minutes. Stop simmering if the sauce becomes too thick.
  13. Use immediately or store in the fridge for up to four days.

1. I didn’t exactly follow the recipe. I ground the veges and garlic/ginger together. I used canned tomatoes. After I blended them all together I cooked it down for about  2 hours.

2. Then I added the spices and cooked it down for another hour.