Black Bean and Poblano Chile Torta

 

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Author: Jason Wyrick

Yield: 2 sandwiches

Ingredients

• 1 poblano chile

Roasted Garlic Aioli:

• 10 cloves roasted garlic
• ½ cup vegan mayonnaise
• Juice of 2 limes
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• Indian black salt, optional, for garnishing

Filling and Toppings:

• 2½ cups meatless strips or 3 cups chopped oyster mushrooms or 2 cups quartered cremini mushrooms
• ½ cup water
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons guajillo chile powder
• ¾ teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar or distilled white vinegar
• ¾ cup refried black beans
• ½ cup shredded vegan cheese, optional

Bread:

• 2 bolillo or telera rolls, halved (see note)

Instructions

1. Pan-roast the poblano, seed it, cut it into ½-inch thick strips, and set aside. While the poblano is pan-roasting, make the aioli. Purée the garlic, mayonnaise, lime juice, and salt in a blender or food processor and set aside.
2. In a small pot over medium heat, simmer the meatless strips or mushrooms in the water, garlic, chile powder, oregano, salt, and vinegar for 10 minutes. If you need to add a splash of water to keep the sauce hydrated, do so. Ultimately, the sauce should cook down so it coats the filling. Pull out a small amount of bread from the center of each half of the rolls, creating shallow boats in which the filling and toppings can sit. Toast the bread in a toaster, in the oven, or in a buttered skillet. Spread the filling on the bottom halves of bread and top with the poblano strips. Spread the black beans and then the aioli on the top portions of bread and sprinkle it with the Indian black salt. (Don’t close the sandwich, because the Indian black salt makes a nice presentation.) For a more decadent version of this sandwich, sprinkle the cheese on top of the filling and toast the bottom part of the sandwich until the cheese melts.

Notes

Note: If you can’t find bolillo or telera rolls, you can use ciabatta rolls or small baguettes instead.

Recipe from [i]Vegan Mexico[/i], copyright © 2016 by Jason Wyrick. Used by permission Vegan Heritage Press.

3.5.3226

The post Vegan Black Bean and Poblano Chile Torta appeared first on Chic Vegan.

And while this recipe puts a Mediterranean spin on hummus, one of the great aspect of hummus is that once you have the base you can flavor it up anyway that tempts your taste buds.

Ingredients

• 1 (14-ounce) can of quartered artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 1 (14-ounce) can of hearts of palm pieces, drained and chopped
• 1–2 smashed garlic cloves (to taste)
• 2 tablespoons tahini (some stores sell flavored tahini which is also a great way to add in rapid pizazz)
• 1 lemon, juiced (if you are not a big lemon person use juice of 1/2 lemon or omit.)
• 1–2 tablespoons (to taste) each: fresh chopped  or dried oregano, fresh chopped or dried parsley, fresh chopped or dried cilantro, and fresh chopped or dried rosemary (you can also use an Italian seasoning mix.)
• 2 tablespoons rich tasting olive oil (don’t use a light oil – you want that great olive oil flavor or you can use a nut oil or infused oil, but you actually want that rich flavor to come through)
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil (Note: Sesame oil is a big flavor, if you are not fond of sesame oil use 1/2- 1/4 teaspoon or omit.)
• 1/2 teaspoon each of freshly ground black pepper and freshly ground pink Himalayan salt or other healthy salt
• Dash of cayenne powder, to taste (Go light this is powerful stuff! You can always add but you can’t take away.)
• 1/2 – 1 teaspoon of cumin powder, to taste
• 1/2 – 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika powder, to taste
• For topping: One to two tablespoons of pine nuts, crushed (Note: if you are on a nut free diet you can use sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds or omit.)

Preparation

• Place all of the ingredients in a food processor.
• Pulse on the chop setting to start incorporating the ingredients and breaking things down. Change to chop setting for about 15-30 seconds. Stop and scrape down sides. Taste to assess whether you are happy or if it needs “anything” such as additional oil, salt, spices. If you’re happy with the flavor, you are done.  Or add more spices or oil as needed and pulse. Be careful not to over process. You want to keep this thick and not let it start getting watery.
• Place hummus into a bowl, top with crushed pine nuts, and serve with cut up veggies, veggie chips, cut up toasted pita wedges, or serve in endive topped with sliced olives. The possibilities are endless!  To store place in an air tight container and keep in the fridge for 3-5 days.

This recipe offers a Mediterranean take on hummus but you can omit the oregano, rosemary and lemon to have a base that can be flavored up  with a countless array of add-in toppings or taste enhancers such as:

• Chopped sun-dried tomato and chopped fresh basil
• Additional sesame oil and sesame seeds
• Chopped canned or fresh roasted red pepper, one chopped chipotle pepper in adobo, dash of hot sauce, and cilantro
• Two tablespoons of chopped green and black olives, added chopped rosemary and garlic
• Roasted garlic and onions, cooled and chopped, added rosemary and oregano

The next time you have a hangry attack reach for those cut-up veggies and dip into a no-carb, no-guilt, no-gluten snack that will fill you up but won’t weigh you down!

The post Mediterranean No-Bean “Hummus” appeared first on Chic Vegan.

Until then, I can recreate the famed dishes that the restaurant serves in my own kitchen, now that their cookbook (also called Vedge) is available in paperback. Vedge: 100 Plates Large and Small That Redefine Vegetable Cooking by Rich Landau and Kate Jacoby was released as hardcover to rave reviews in 2013, and the paperback version of the book just came out last week.

I referred to Vedge as a vegan restaurant – because everything that is served is vegan – but Rich and Kate like to say it’s a vegetable restaurant, because vegetables are the stars of the show. The same is true of the Vedge cookbook. Vegetables take center stage, and this book will teach you how to cook them deliciously in recipes that border on pure genius. Who could say no to Korean Eggplant Tacos with Kimchi Mayo? Or Portobello Frites? What about Fingerling Potatoes with Creamy Worcestershire Sauce? A stronger person than I, that’s who.

The recipes may look complicated upon first glance, but they are surprisingly simple to prepare. (And simply delicious!) In these dishes, distinctive flavors are created by layering herbs, spices, vinegars, and other simple ingredients. One of the things I really love about Vedge is that in the pantry essentials section of the book (which any good cookbook should have), rather than just giving a list of ingredients to buy, the flavor of each item is explained along with how that flavor can affect the final dish. Vedge is not just a cookbook with recipes to follow, it’s about learning how to cook too.

If you’re like me and you’d like to eat at Vedge but just haven’t been able to get yourself to Philly yet, this cookbook is for you! It’s also a must-have if you’re trying to incorporate more vegetables in to your diet and are in need of some tasty inspiration. I think anyone who wants to learn how to use spices and condiments to cook simple, yet flavorful food should have Vedge in their cookbook library as well.

Hearts of Palm Cakes on Curried Lentils

Hearts of palm are unsung heros in the vegetable world. Vedge’s hearts of palm hail from the Wailea Agricultural Group on the big island of Hawaii. Sustainably farmed and flown to us each week, fresh hearts of palm have a flavor and texture that can’t be beat. Their crunchy, clean-tasting white flesh is reminiscent of a fresh artichoke heart. If you don’t have a small tropical farm filling your produce orders on a weekly basis, canned or jarred hearts of palm make for a very good runner-up.

Prep time: 20 minutes, Cook time: 35 minutes, Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons minced green bell peppers
• 2 tablespoons minced scallions, white and light green parts only
• One 16-ounce can hearts of palm, drained, cut into 2-inch chunks
• 4 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup minced onions
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 1 cup dried yellow or red lentils, picked through and rinsed
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• ½ cup vegan mayo

Preparation

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large sauté pan over high heat. Add the bell peppers and scallions and cook, stirring, until brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the hearts of palm chunks, 2 teaspoons of the curry powder, and ½ teaspoon of the salt. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning, then transfer the mixture to a large bowl and let cool. Pulse the mixture in a food processor to achieve a coarse, shredded consistency. Set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
3. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large saucepan over high heat. When the oil begins to ripple, add the onions and cook, stirring, until brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons curry powder and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Add the stock and lentils. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the lentils are tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Stir in the remaining ½ teaspoon salt and the cilantro. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.
4. Fold the vegan mayo into the cooled hearts of palm mixture. Form the mixture into four balls. Transfer the balls to a sheet pan, flatten them into round cakes about 2 inches thick, and bake until the edges turn brown, 6 to 8 minutes.
5. To serve, spoon the lentils onto four plates and place one hearts of palm cake on top of each portion.

Recipe from Vedge: 100 Plates Large and Small That Redefine Vegetable Cooking, copyright © Rich Landau and Kate Jacoby, 2013. Reprinted by permission of the publisher, The Experiment. Available wherever books are sold.  Photo by Michael Spain-Smith

The post Hearts of Palm Cakes with Curried Lentils from Vedge by Rich Landau and Kate Jacoby appeared first on Chic Vegan.