Double-Post Tuesday

Besides being Taco Tuesday, it's also Double-Post Tuesday. Here are today's six vegetarian recipes to help you through the day, including Samosa Stuffed Peppers and Homemade Baklava. Enjoy!

PERSIAN JEWELED RICE

This is from David Tanis in The New York Times cooking email. David wrote, “This dish is called jeweled rice because it is golden and glistening, laced with butter and spices and piled with nuts and gem-colored fruits. In Iran, it is typically served at weddings or other celebrations. Great platters of it appear at banquets. It also goes beautifully with a weeknight roast chicken.

“You will probably need to do a little shopping to make this traditional dish. But it is well worth it, and most good supermarkets can supply what you require.”

Yield: 6 servings; Time: About 1 hour 15 minutes.

This was featured in “Buried Beneath Jewels, an Aromatic Treasure” and can be viewed online here..

Ingredients

2 cups best-quality Basmati rice

Kosher salt

Unsalted butter, 6 tablespoons in total

1 large onion, diced small

1/4 teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled and soaked in 1/4 cup hot water

Large pinch ground cinnamon

Large pinch ground cardamom

Large pinch ground allspice

Large pinch ground black pepper

Large pinch ground cumin

1/3 cup chopped dried apricots

1/3 cup golden raisins or currants

1/3 cup dried imported barberries or goji berries, soaked in warm water for 5 minutes and drained (or use 1/3 cup dried cherries or dried cranberries)

1/3 cup blanched slivered almonds

1/3 cup roughly chopped pistachios

Preparation

Rinse the rice several times in cold water until the water runs clear. Drain. Bring 3 quarts water to a boil in a large pot with 2 tablespoons kosher salt. Add the rinsed rice and boil, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, then drain well in a colander.

Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, season lightly with salt and cook until softened and lightly colored, 4 to 5 minutes. Moisten with 1 tablespoon saffron water and stir in the cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, black pepper and cumin. Cook for 1 minute more. Stir in the apricots, raisins (or currants) and barberries (or cherries or cranberries).

Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a heavy-bottomed enamel or nonstick Dutch oven over medium heat. Spread half the par-cooked rice over the bottom of the pot. Spoon over the onion-fruit mixture, then the remaining rice. Leave the pot on the flame, uncovered, for 5 to 8 minutes to gently brown the rice. (Do not stir or move the rice — you will need to rely on your nose to tell if the rice has browned.)

Drizzle the remaining saffron water over the rice and put on the lid. Adjust the heat to very low and leave undisturbed for 30 minutes. Turn off the heat and let rest at least 10 minutes.

Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a small skillet over medium-low heat and gently toast the almonds and pistachios for a minute or so, taking care not to get them too brown. Set aside for garnish.

To serve, spoon the rice into a wide bowl or platter. With a spatula, carefully lift the bottom crust, placing the crisp side up. Sprinkle with the toasted nuts.

SAMOSA STUFFED PEPPERS

This comes from the March 2014 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 71. It starts off, “The filling for these stuffed peppers tastes a lot like samosas, small Indian turnovers. STORE/SERVE: If making ahead, skip final baking step. Cool stuffed peppers, cover tightly with foil, and refrigerate up to three days or freeze up to three months. Thaw, if necessary, then cover with foil, and finish baking as in step 3.” Serves 8.

To view this online, click here.

4 large red bell peppers, halved

2 Tbs. vegetable oil

1 large onion, chopped (2 cups)

4 tsp. curry powder

1 Tbs. garam masala

2 tsp. grated fresh ginger

1 cup basmati rice

1/4 cup red lentils, rinsed and drained

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas or 1 15-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

2 large carrots, finely diced (1 cup)

1 cup green beans, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup raisins or dried currants, optional

1/2 cup unsalted peanuts or cashews, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place halved bell peppers cut side down in two large baking dishes. Cover with foil, and bake 25 minutes, or until peppers begin to soften.

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, and sauté 3 to 5 minutes. Add curry powder, garam masala, and ginger, and cook 1 minute. Stir in rice, lentils, salt, and 4 cups water. Add chickpeas, carrots, green beans, and raisins (if using). Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 15 minutes, or until most of liquid is absorbed, stirring once or twice. Remove rice mixture from heat, stir in peanuts, and season with salt, if desired.

Flip bell pepper halves. Fill each with 3/4 cup rice mixture. Re-cover baking dishes, and bake 15 minutes. Uncover, and bake 5 to 10 minutes more.

nutritional information Per Stuffed pepper: Calories: 288; Protein: 10 g; Total Fat: 10 g; Saturated Fat: 1 g; Carbohydrates: 42 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 241 mg; Fiber: 8 g; Sugar: 8 g; Vegan; Gluten-Free

HOMEMADE BAKLAVA

This was in the September 2009 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 55. It begins, “This classic Greek sweet may look tricky to make, but it’s as easy as a kid’s craft project. Crispy layers are produced by brushing melted butter between sheets of phyllo dough. Don’t worry about making each layer perfect—uneven ends and tears will be hidden in the final outcome.” Makes 32 servings.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

Baklava

12 oz. pistachios, walnuts, or almonds

1/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 16-oz. pkg. phyllo dough, thawed

10 oz. (21/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

Honey Syrup

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup honey

Preparation

To make Baklava: Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread nuts on baking sheet, and toast in oven 6 minutes. Cool.

Pulse nuts, sugar, and cinnamon in food processor 8 to 10 times, or until finely chopped. Set aside.

Brush 13- x 9-inch metal baking pan with butter. Line with 2 phyllo sheets; brush phyllo with butter. Repeat 4 more times, or until you have 5 layers of 2 phyllo sheets each (10 sheets total). Sprinkle with one-third of nut mixture. Top with 2 phyllo sheets, brush with butter, and repeat phyllo layering 2 more times (6 sheets total). Sprinkle with one-third of nut mixture. Top with 2 phyllo sheets, brush with butter, and repeat phyllo layering 2 more times (6 sheets total). Sprinkle with remaining one-third of nut mixture. Top with 2 phyllo sheets, brush with butter, and repeat phyllo layering 2 more times (6 sheets total). Lay 1 phyllo sheet on top, brush with butter, then lay last phyllo sheet on top, and brush with butter. Chill 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut Baklava into 16 squares with knife. Cut each square into 2 triangles, or for larger dessert-size serving, leave in squares. Bake 30 to 40 minutes, or until top is golden brown.

To make Honey Syrup: Combine sugar, honey, lemon zest, and 1 cup water in small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 15 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Remove lemon zest, and pour syrup over hot Baklava. Cool on wire rack.

To serve: recut triangles or squares with knife, and remove from pan. Store covered at room temperature.

CHEESY, SPICY BLACK BEAN BAKE

This is from Ali Slagle at The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Ali wrote, “Whether or not you’ve fallen for this cheesy white-bean tomato bake, we’d like you to meet its bolder counterpart, smoky and spiced, with lots of melty cheese. Black beans shine in a deep-red mixture of fried garlic, caramelized tomato paste, smoked paprika and cumin. The whole skillet gets coated in a generous sprinkling of sharp Cheddar or Manchego cheese, then baked until melted. The final result is what you hope for from a really good chili or stew, but in a lot less time. For a spicier rendition, add a pinch of cayenne with the paprika, or douse the final skillet with hot sauce. Serve with tortillas, tortilla chips, rice, a baked potato or fried eggs.”

Yield: 4 servings; Time: 15 minutes

Note: To view the recipe for the cheesy white-bean tomato bake, you’ll have to sign up for the Times’ cooking e-newsletter. Signing up is definitely well worth it!

View this online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020705-cheesy-spicy-black-bean-bake

Ingredients

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

5 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced

1/4 cup tomato paste

1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 (14-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup boiling water

Kosher salt and black pepper

1 1/2 cups grated Cheddar or Manchego cheese (from about a 6-ounce block)

Preparation

Heat the oven to 475 degrees. In a 10-inch ovenproof skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high. Fry the garlic until lightly golden, about 1 minute. Stir in the tomato paste, paprika, red-pepper flakes and cumin (be careful of splattering), and fry for 30 seconds, reducing the heat as needed to prevent the garlic from burning.

Add the beans, water and generous pinches of salt and pepper, and stir to combine. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top then bake until the cheese has melted, 5 to 10 minutes. If the top is not as browned as you’d like, run the skillet under the broiler for 1 or 2 minutes. Serve immediately.

MUSHROOM AND BEAN ENCHILADAS

This came from One Green Planet, and begins, "Lathered in enchilada sauce before being baked in the oven, these enchiladas are filled with beans, sautéed mushrooms, bell peppers, fresh corn and potatoes."

Cooking Time: 90 minutes; Serves: 6-8

To view this online, go to https://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-recipe/mushroom-and-bean-enchiladas-vegan/.

Ingredients

Preparing Your Mise en Place:

3 1/2 cups mushrooms, sliced

1 large white onion, diced

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 red bell pepper, diced or sliced

1 yellow bell pepper, diced or sliced

1 green bell pepper, diced or sliced*

1 jalapeño, seeded and minced*

5 cups of your favorite Enchilada Sauce

1 1/2 cups white beans (or beans of choice)

1 cup fresh corn (or frozen)

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

4 cups cooked potatoes (or cooked brown rice)

For the Filling:

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

sea salt, to taste

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 teaspoon ground cumin

To Assemble:

6 to 8 large tortilla shells*

Preparation

Preparing Your Mise en Place:

To start your mise en place, first prepare the potatoes or rice, whichever you are using.

For the potatoes, either use leftover steamed potatoes or simply steam some potatoes.

Once done, mash them slightly and then season to taste.

Note: Make sure the potatoes are not overcooked as they will be too mushy in the enchiladas. For more heat/spice, the seeds can be left in the jalapeño.

Cooking the Filling:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

To cook the filling, heat a large fry pan, over medium heat. Once hot, dry-sauté the onions until golden and translucent. Adding stock or water as needed, to prevent the pan and/or food from drying out and/or burning. This should talk about 6 to 8 minutes.

Once the onions are ready, add the garlic and jalapeño and let cook for 30 second or so.

Next, add the peppers and let cook until all of the their moisture has been released. At this point, add the cumin, stir to combine and then transfer the mixture to a bowl.

Now, using the same pan, dry-sauté the mushrooms. Season the mushrooms to taste.

Once all of their moisture has been released, add the pepper and onion mixture back to the pan.

Lastly, fold in the corn, beans, nutritional yeast and fresh cilantro and gently fold everything together.

Taste for seasoning.

Assembling & Baking the Enchilada:

Next, prepare an appropriate-sided casserole dish, by very lightly spraying the bottom of the dish with non-stick spray. Next, pour a few tablespoons of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of the dish.

To assemble the enchiladas, the easiest and cleanest way to assemble them is to first cover a part of the countertop with some plastic wrap. Next, pour about half of the enchilada sauce into a round flat dish (big enough to fit the tortilla shell).

Now, with all of your other mise en place ready, begin to fill the tortillas. To do this, first warm a tortilla in a pan to make it pliable, then place it into the enchilada sauce and then flip it over to coat the other side; it should be soft enough to roll.

At this point, remove the tortilla and place it onto the plastic wrap. Next, place about a few tablespoons of cooked potato onto one half of the tortilla (the side closest to you). Add a few tablespoons of filling and then roll up the tortilla.

If the tortillas are quite long, fold the ends in as you roll up the tortilla (more like a burrito shape). For shorter tortillas, you can simply roll them up, without tucking in the ends.

As you roll up the enchiladas, place them into the prepared casserole dish. Continue with the rest of the tortillas, packing them tightly next to each other as you place them into the casserole dish. Once done, pour about 1/2 to 3/4’s of a cup of sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Save the remaining sauce for serving later.

Bake the enchiladas in uncovered for about 20-30 minutes, until the tortilla edges start to become crisp. Allow enchiladas to cool slightly before serving.

Serve with the remaining sauce, warmed slightly. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast and fresh cilantro, if desired, and enjoy! These enchiladas go well with either this Cashew Sour Cream and/or Lime-Avocado Sauce.

Notes:

Note: Regular flour, corn or gluten-free tortillas can be used for this recipe. The amount of tortillas needed, will depend on the type used and how full you fill the enchiladas.

Chef's Note: Leftover can be frozen, if desired. To reheat, defrost overnight in the refrigerator (or at least for a few hours). To reheat the enchiladas, place them into a casserole dish and cover with aluminium foil. Place them into a preheated 350°F (175°C) oven for approximately 30 minutes. Then remove the foil and pour some additional enchilada sauce over top (if you still have some). Place the enchiladas back into the oven and let cook for another 5 to 10 minutes. If you do not have any leftover enchilada sauce you can simply leave it out, or use some salsa.

VEGETARIAN SWEDISH MEATBALLS

This is from Kay Chun in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Kay wrote, "Cremini mushrooms, chickpeas and bulgur wheat mimic the texture of ground meat in this vegetarian version of the classic Swedish meatball dish. Seasoned generously with allspice and nutmeg and blanketed in a velvety mushroom gravy, they are excellent served over egg noodles or mashed potatoes — or spooned onto a toasted hero (add sliced tangy pickles to balance out the richness). Leftover cooked meatballs can be frozen and reheated in a 425-degree oven until warmed through, about 15 minutes."

Yield: 2 dozen meatballs; Time: 50 minutes.

To view this online, go to https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020839-vegetarian-swedish-meatballs.

Ingredients

For the Meatballs:

2 tablespoons bulgur wheat

4 cremini mushrooms, stemmed and quartered

1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed (about 1 1/2 cups)

1/3 cup plain bread crumbs

1/4 cup sour cream

1 large egg

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

3/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

Canola oil, for greasing

For the Gravy:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups mushroom stock (or vegetable stock)

1 tablespoon sour cream

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Make the meatballs: Heat oven to 375 degrees. Bring 1/4 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the bulgur, remove from heat, cover and let sit until tender, 15 minutes. Drain, pressing to remove excess water. Cool.

Meanwhile, in a food processor, pulse mushrooms until finely chopped with some pea-size pieces remaining (do not purée); transfer to a large bowl. Repeat with the chickpeas: Pulse, then add them to the large bowl. Add the bread crumbs, sour cream, egg, salt, allspice, pepper, onion powder, nutmeg and the cooled bulgur and mix until well blended. Form into 1 1/4-inch meatballs (about 2 teaspoons each; you should have about 24). Arrange on a greased baking sheet and bake, turning halfway, until golden, 18 to 20 minutes.

Make the gravy: While the meatballs bake, in a large nonstick saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and cook, whisking constantly, until smooth and lightly golden, 2 minutes. Add stock and bring to a simmer. Cook, whisking, until thickened, 2 minutes. Whisk in sour cream, parsley and mustard; season to taste with salt and pepper (you should have about 1 cup gravy). Add meatballs and simmer, spooning sauce over meatballs, until nicely coated, about 2 minutes more. Serve warm.