On the advice of my friend Missy, we gave this a shot for MMM. I don’t know where it has been all our lives, because it’s awesome. Despite the fact that we have the Momofuku cookbook and never saw this, I’m glad it has been pointed out now! You can do anything with this base sauce and noodles. We did broccoli and green peas. Would have been great with an egg too, and many non-veggie possibilities as well. Definitely a favorite of mine now! I served this with Sichuan Green Beans.
MMM is going pretty well so far, and this was one of the dishes we liked enough to repeat. This is an Alton Brown recipe that I did not alter save to use vegetable stock instead of beef stock. I did not find any change or lack of flavor due to the stock…however, next time I will increase the salt a bit and also double+ the mushrooms. Recipe below is with my adjustments. I served this with spicy brussel sprouts.
Panzanella has been one of my favorite things ever since my friend Missy first made it for a dinner party a few years ago. This was a fun way to use some roasted veggies, and it made a great side dish for some steamed mussels. Originally from Gourmet, I didn’t do too much to this…cut the olive oil to make it a little healthier, and I don’t care for capers so we substituted olives. I did leave out the beans because I really wanted a less filling salad. That said, beans included and this would be a full meal. Recipe below is as printed. This would be great with any vegetables you have on-hand. We’ll be repeating this one, and I think it will be especially good when the summer veggies grow.
Mostly Meatless March has been a huge success so far, and this was another recipe we enjoyed a lot. A take on risotto I would never have thought about, but I love brussel sprouts so it sounded like a great idea. This one also came from Chow, which definitely has given us a couple of good recipes to kick off MMM. I didn’t make too many changes to this – I used raisins instead of figs because that’s what we had on hand, and I used all vegetable stock instead of a stock/water combo. I had homemade veg stock on hand and I think it definitely added some flavor to this. I did find it needed more salt than I would have expected, so keep that in mind. This is a definitely make-again.
Gnocchi is one of my favorite dishes, and I often order it in restaurants. It never really occurred to me to make it at home until Mostly Meatless and a butternut squash on our counter that needed a job. I got this recipe from Bon Appetit, and it was outstanding…I would make a few changes, and it was a little time consuming, but it is a definite repeat. A little less butter next time (even halved, depending on your taste), and increase the nutmeg and squash so they don’t get lost in the flour/potato. It can be made ahead, which is great for get-togethers! I served this with a side of sauteed herb and garlic broccoli.
• 1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 3/4 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 large head cauliflower, cut into large florets
• Nonstick olive-oil cooking spray
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. In a large bowl, stir together oil, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry powder, and salt. Add the cauliflower, tossing to coat thoroughly with spice mixture.
Arrange cauliflower in a single layer on prepared sheet. Roast until florets are browned on bottom and tender when pierced with the tip of a paring knife, about 35 minutes. Serve hot. Makes about 4 servings.
This was a recipe I got from Chow, and modified a little bit because a) I had no yellow lentils, and b) I really wanted to add paneer. I think the addition of paneer was a good one for sure – delish! But this would have done a little better with yellow split peas – it could have used the bulk. Still very good, though, and one we’ll make again. We’d normally serve this over rice or with some naan, though we’re trying to watch the carb overload during Mostly Meatless March. I paired this with curried roasted cauliflower.
First meal of Mostly Meatless March! We had a ton of eggs in the fridge and I was not feeling creative, so this is what happened. Inspired by a recipe on Chow, I made it with mostly egg whites to make it a little more low cal. Frittatas are one of my favorites for the versatility and clean out the fridge ability. It was quite good, and a nice start to being Vegetarian for a month (well, Pescetarian). The leftovers will make a great breakfast!
A colorful and fun side salad, this is one I’ve served mostly with Latin or Mexican themed meals. It has a lot of flavor and dresses up chicken and pork especially well, I have found. This would be a good one at a picnic or BBQ. If you can do fresh corn with this, great – about 3 -4 ears. If not, a bag of thawed out frozen corn would be fine too.
I’m becoming awfully fond of spaghetti squash…I don’t think we’ve encountered a recipe yet that we haven’t liked. This one was a winner for sure, and definitely satisfied my craving for some good old fashioned comfort food. I got this one from Skinnytaste, and spiced it up a bit…we loved it. The original recipe called for two squash, but that was too much for us. I did not cut the sauce for one squash, and it was still fine (but a smidge soupy). It was also ridiculously low calorie and made a ton, so there are plenty of leftovers for lunch.
Om nom nom! 