Category Archives: Vegetarian

Recipes, Side dish, Vegetable, Vegetarian

Candied Yams

The flavour of yams baked in their skins and then mashed with brown butter and maple syrup is like caramel candy; nutty, sweet, and delicious. The vegetable referred to as a yam in North America is actually correctly identified as an orange sweet potato. Slaves, on encountering the tubers in the South, were reminded of the true yam, a tuber found in central Africa, and bestowed the name upon the variety of sweet potato they commonly used.

Preheat oven to 375 F

6 medium yams (orange sweet potatoes)
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup maple syrup
pinch nutmeg

Bake yams for 1 hour, until tender.
Allow to cool for 15 minutes, then cut in half and scoop flesh from skins and transfer to a bowl
Heat butter until golden brown and pour over yams
Add maple syrup and nutmeg
Mash together until well combined
Season to taste

Recipes, Side dish, Vegetable, Vegetarian

Mashed carrots and parsnips

Nothing can be simpler or more tasty than sweet carrots and parsnips mashed together as an accompaniment to a simple meal. If you want to puree them instead of the more casual mash, that’s fine as well.

2 lb carrots, preferably a sweet variety like Nantes
2 lb parsnips
2 tbsp butter
salt

Wash and peel carrots and parsnips.
Cut roughly into 1 inch pieces and place in a saucepan, cover with cold water and add a healthy pinch of salt.
Bring up to a simmer, reduce heat, cover, and simmer until tender, about 30 minutes.
Drain, add butter, and mash together or puree, depending on the consistency you prefer.
Season to taste.

Appetizer, Recipes, Sauce, Side dish, Vegetable, Vegetarian

Roasted Vegetable Relish

This vegetable relish is a favourite of ours to serve as the beginning of a summer meal. If I’m cooking on the barbecue, I will grill the vegetables instead of roasting them. I usually slice some fresh baguette, and guests can spoon the relish on as a very informal bruschetta, but it can also be used as a condiment or sauce for grilled chicken or fish. Select ripe cocktail sized tomatoes (no more than a 2 inch diameter) from a thick walled variety such as Cascades.

6 small tomatoes (about 1 lb)
1 sweet onion
2 yellow peppers
2 tbsp olive oil
salt
pepper
2 tbsp basil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 300 F

Halve tomatoes and arrange cut side up on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
Peel and slice onion into 1/4 inch thick slices, and arrange on the same baking sheet
Quarter peppers, remove seeds, and arrange on baking sheet as well
Drizzle vegetables with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper
Place baking sheet in oven and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until vegetables are tender and slightly browned. (Turn peppers and onions halfway through baking)
Remove tray from oven and allow to cool to room temperature
Chop all vegetables into a 1/4 inch dice and mix together with basil and balsamic vinegar
Adjust seasoning, if necessary, and serve at room temperature

Potato, Recipes, Side dish, Vegetarian

Basil Gnocchi

Gnocchi are Italian potato dumplings, very easy to prepare, and a great way to use up a few left over baked potatoes. The potatoes are preferably baked, although you can boil them provided you spread the cooked potato out on a baking sheet and allow it to dry out while it cools to room temperature. Wet potato will cause you to have to add more flour, making the gnocchi heavy. Doughs made with potato have a tendency to get soft rather quickly, so it is crucial that once the flour has been added to the dough, that the gnocchi are shaped and cooked immediately. My preferred method for calculating the ratio of flour to potato is to weigh the cooked potato, and divide it by three. That way, you aren’t worrying about cooking exactly 2 pounds of potato. The ratio of 1 cup of flour per pound of potato is a good approximation, as all purpose flour weighs between 5 and 6 ounces (150 to 170 grams) per cup.

2 lb potato, (a starchy variety such as Russet or Yukon gold)
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp chopped basil
1 egg

Bake potatoes, scoop out flesh and rice or put through a food mill. (if you don’t have either a ricer or food mill, they can be grated on the fine setting of a box grater)
Allow potato to cool to body temperature (basically if it doesn’t feel warm or cool to the touch, it’s great)

Before making the dough, put a large pot of water on to boil with a generous amount of salt

Add salt and basil to potato and mix well.

Beat egg lightly and mix into potato with a fork
Add flour and mix lightly
Turn onto a lightly floured board and knead until dough just comes together. ( I always think it looks like biscuit dough, a bit of texture, but well combined)
Divide dough into quarters and pat one quarter into a rough cylinder.
Rolling your hands over the top of the dough forwards and back, stretch the dough into a long cylinder approximately 3/4 inch in diameter. Cut the dough into lengths of about 1 1/2 inches, and pinch them lightly in the center, transferring them to a sheet pan (line it with parchment so they don’t stick)
Transfer the shaped gnocchi into the boiling water, no more than will cover the bottom of the pot in a single layer. Once they all float to the top, remove them with a slotted spoon and place them in cold water to stop the cooking process and preserve the shape.
Repeat the process with the remaining dough until all the gnocchi has been prepared.
Strain the cooled gnocchi in a colander and toss with a small amount of oil. Place into a shallow dish and refrigerate until needed.
To finish the gnocchi, place a small amount of olive oil (2 tbsp) in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Cook gnocchi until golden brown, and serve either on its own as an accompaniment or with a sauce.
It works well with either a simple tomato sauce or a creamy alfredo or pesto with freshly grated parmesan on top.

Recipes, Sauce, Vegetable, Vegetarian

The Simplest Tomato Coulis Of All Time

Nothing can be easier or more delicious than the ripest summer tomatoes pureed with basil and olive oil. The resulting liquid, once strained to remove seeds and skin is the cleanest, purest tomato sauce you will ever taste, and should be tossed with freshly made gnocchi or pasta. You can also chill it and serve it as a cold soup.

2 lb extremely ripe tomatoes
2 tbsp basil
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt

Dice tomatoes, chop basil, drizzle with olive oil and salt, place everything in a large bowl, and allow to sit at room temperature for an hour.
Puree and strain, using a not too fine strainer (you want to remove the seeds, but retain the pulp for a nice thick texture.)
Adjust seasoning if necessary.
That’s it, nothing else to do!