All posts tagged: vegetarian

Vegetable Puff Pie

Published by Kathy Hunt

Blustery, East Coast winters make me crave warm, saucy and filling vegetable puff pies. My take on the traditional dinner or pot pie features an interchangeable combination of vegetables. Potatoes, parsnips, carrots, mushrooms, peas, pearl onions, garlic, and corn have all found their way into the pie’s filling. Blanketed with puff pastry, the vegetable pie is baked until golden brown on top and moist and tender inside. A brief history of dinner pies Indigenous to Northern Europe, dinner pies have been a popular since at least the 14th century. It’s no wonder. To make this easy dish, I begin with a gravy that I’ve made using a roux. I simmer the vegetables in this light gravy for 3 to 5 minutes, until warmed. I then spoon the ingredients into a pie pan or casserole, top them with puff pastry and the pan into into the oven. In less than an hour, I have a hearty dinner. The term “pie” supposedly earned its name from its range of diverse ingredients. The late British historian Alan Davidson …

portobello mushroom with pesto and couscous

Pesto-Goat Cheese Portobello Mushrooms

Published by Kathy Hunt

What to do with all the basil that you grew in containers on your patio or fire escape or in your garden? The obvious choice is make pesto. But, then what do you do with all that pesto? If you’re someone who loves the earthy flavor of mushrooms, you might just drizzle it over baked portobello mushrooms. That brings me to this short entry and luscious, tender, and juicy offering, Pesto-Goat Cheese Portobello Mushrooms. So, grab a big bowl, collect an even bigger bunch of basil, and get ready for an extraordinary, pesto-dressed meal. Pesto-Goat Cheese Portobello Mushrooms Serves 2 Ingredients: for the pesto: 2 cups packed basil leaves, washed and dried ¼ cup blanched almonds 3 cloves garlic 1 to 2 ounces Pecorino Romano ½ teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper ½ cup extra virgin olive oil for the mushrooms: 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for greasing baking dish 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 1 teaspoon granulated garlic ¼ teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper 2 portobello mushrooms, cleaned and trimmed 2 …

pearl couscous salad

Cucumber, Zucchini, Basil & Couscous Salad

Published by Kathy Hunt

We’ve hit that point in the season where, whether you have a garden or not, produce has begun to pile up in your kitchen. Everyone you know wants to share some zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes and more. If the prospect of cucumber-infused drinks and zucchini bread has lost its appeal, try something a bit different. Add your summer surplus, along with fresh herbs, to a big bowl of pearl or Israeli couscous. You’ll be happy that you did. Go big with pearl couscous Invented in Israel as a substitute for rice in the 1950s, pearl or Israeli couscous possesses a chewy texture and uniformly round shape. Unlike traditional couscous, it is toasted rather than dried. As a result, it has a slightly nutty flavor. Its larger shape and complex taste make it an excellent addition to stuffing, stews and salads. A few words on raw zucchini Although people usually cook zucchini before consuming it, you can eat this summer squash in its raw form. Keep in mind that the smaller the zucchini, the fresher and milder …

baked polenta with eggs

Polenta and Eggs with Spring Onions

Published by Kathy Hunt

Polenta tends to get a bad rap. People say it takes too much effort and too long to make. I disagree. Stirring up a batch of polenta is as easy as putting ingredients into a saucepan, bringing them to a boil and stirring them together. How hard is that? The tricks to smooth, creamy polenta are to stir often and watch your saucepan. Don’t walk away from the bubbling pot and expect to come back 20 minutes later to the perfect dish. (That holds true for many foods.) More than likely, you’ll return to find a scorched mess. A quick refresher on polenta A staple of Northern Italian cuisine, polenta has been consumed since Roman times. Made from cornmeal, it is reminiscent of hominy grits in its texture and consistency. While grits are made from ground white corn, oats or rice, polenta is comprised of coarsely ground yellow corn. Hence the yellow color of the dish. To cook polenta, you need a heavy bottomed pan, water or stock, ground cornmeal, a touch of cream and …

potato tagine

Potato, Preserved Lemon & Picholine Tagine

Published by Kathy Hunt

With travel on the back burner indefinitely and my wanderlust still intact, the number of international flavors and recipes coming from my kitchen has soared. If I can’t poke around a souk, bazaar or mercado, at least I can cook as though I’ve been shopping in one. That’s how Potato, Preserved Lemon and Picholine Tagine came to be. Featuring North African ingredients and cooked in a tagine from Essaouira, this dish evokes warm days spent wandering the labyrinthine, cobbled lanes of ancient medinas and dining on aromatic couscous, basteeya and, of course, tagines. How tagines work My favorite and most useful souvenir from Morocco is a terra cotta tagine. An engineering wonder, it consists of two parts: a circular, shallow pan and the large, conical-topped cover that fits inside the base. The cone shape allows condensation to cascade back down to the casserole, creating a rich, reduced sauce. The lid has a small knob on the top, providing cooks with something to grasp when removing the cover to check on the bubbling contents within. How …

cold herby cucumber soup

Cold Herby Cucumber Soup

Published by Kathy Hunt

Cold herby cucumber soup is my global pandemic dish. Had it not been for the coronavirus and resulting quarantine, I wouldn’t have stayed in Southeastern Pennsylvania long enough to plant and tend a garden, one that produces an absurd amount of cucumbers and herbs. I also wouldn’t have considered teaching virtual cooking classes. Unlike in-person classes, where we work with a host of ingredients and equipment, online courses require simpler recipes. After all, I can’t expect people to spend hours tracking down unusual spices and produce or invest in special kitchen tools. That’s where a quick, easy dish like Cold Herby Cucumber soup comes in handy. A few words about cucumbers Originating in India over 3,000 years ago, cucumbers are one of the oldest cultivated plants. Although classified as a fruit, they are used as a vegetable in salads, soups and hors d’oeuvres. While North Americans consume them raw, parts of Asia and Europe also cook them. Cucumbers consist of 95% water, making them a great thirst quencher. Low in calories and fat-free, they possess …

mushroom vegetarian cheesesteak

All Mushroom, No Steak Mushroom Cheesesteak

Published by Kathy Hunt

Saint Augustine advised, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” So, when quarantining outside of Philadelphia, the cheesesteak capital of the U.S., I started making cheesesteak sandwiches but with a little twist. Instead of thinly sliced beef, I used the “meat of the vegetable world,” mushrooms. The result was a lighter, less fatty but no less delicious mushroom cheesesteak. History of an iconic sandwich Legend claims that, in 1930, tired of dining on hot dogs, brothers and South Philadelphia hot dog stand owners Pat and Harry Olivieri asked a local butcher for beef scraps. The two fried this beef alongside some onions from their condiment tray and stuffed the mixture into rolls. When a passing cab driver asked to buy their hot, juicy dinners, a culinary classic was born. By the 1960s, cheese topped the beef, giving the sandwich its name, “cheesesteak.” Roughly 90 years after its inception, a debate rages over what makes a great cheesesteak. Some swear by cheese, while others demand Cheez Whiz, the topping used at Pat’s King of Steaks, …

corn noodle soup

My Mom’s Chicken Noodle Soup/My Corn Noodle Soup

Published by Kathy Hunt

Although my mother hated to cook, she did have a few dishes that she almost enjoyed making, ones that I truly enjoyed eating. Top on that list was chicken noodle soup. Brimming with plump egg noodles, tender chunks of chicken and colorful bits of carrots, this velvety soup was the epitome of comfort food. For years I asked for my mother’s chicken noodle soup recipe. I even gave her various ways to share it. She could recite the ingredients and measurements; I’d write them down. She could make the soup as I watched; I’d take notes while she cooked. Invariably, she would be too busy, in no mood to cook or not have the ingredients. However, if I wanted to take a few containers of frozen chicken noodle soup that she happened to have on hand, well, that would be fine. It took me a while to realize that she wanted to make this soup for me. Giving away the recipe would be giving away this gift forever. She was not about to do that. …

lentil burgers with marinara

Mediterranean Red Lentil Burgers

Published by Kathy Hunt

If you’re stocking up on dry goods, you’ve bought a bag of red or brown lentils, and now you don’t know quite what to do with them, I’ve got the dish for you—Mediterranean red lentil burgers. Although I make these velvety patties with dairy products and breadcrumbs, you could easily turn them into a vegetarian or gluten-free dish. Check out the recipe headnote for suggestions or adapt these lentil burgers yourself. Delicious and nutritious Lentils are one of my kitchen staples. I use them in soups and curries, as salads and as stuffings for fish and vegetables. Reputedly the oldest of all legumes, lentils have a wonderfully nutty flavor that goes well with a variety of ingredients. That includes carrots, peppers, onions, garlic, chicken, fish—particularly salmon, trout, Arctic char, swordfish, mahi mahi and scallops—and spices and herbs such as cumin, curry powder, paprika, basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, fennel and parsley. Nutritious as well as delicious, lentils are high in iron and phosphorus and possess a decent amount of calcium and vitamins A and B. On …

big bowl of Moroccan couscous salad

Inspired by travels in Morocco, it’s Moroccan Couscous Salad

Published by Kathy Hunt

A food copy editor once advised me not to mention travel so much in my work. It made me, in her words, “sound like a spy.” I had to chuckle because, with my voluminous, flame-colored hair, perpetual, toothy smile and inability to keep a poker face, I would be the world’s most recognizable spy. Because travel informs so much of my writing and cooking, I laugh about this, too. How could I not mention sunny Morocco when discussing Moroccan couscous salad? I couldn’t. Morocco’s national dish That brings me to this month’s offering, Moroccan couscous salad. Once the national dish of Morocco, couscous consists of tiny, steamed balls of semolina. To prepare this food, Moroccan cooks may use a couscousiere, which resembles an oversized double boiler. Desiring authenticity, I had picked up one of these big pots at a souk in Marrakech. After dragging it over the Atlas Mountains, to the Western Sahara and back to Kennedy Airport, I promptly shoved the aluminum contraption into a closet. Unfortunately for my couscousiere, I had found instant …