The Sexy Vegan Cookbook (11 page)

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup diced yellow onion

½ cup thinly sliced carrot

1 large leek, halved lengthwise and sliced

Salt

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

4 cups vegetable stock

2 leaves kale, stemmed and roughly chopped

2 cups drained freshly cooked white beans (cannellini, navy, etc.) or one 15-ounce can white beans, rinsed and drained

Pepper

2 teaspoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat, and add the onion, carrot, leek, and a pinch of salt. Cook for 5 minutes, or until soft. Add the garlic and rosemary, and cook for 3 more minutes. Add the vegetable stock, and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the kale and beans, and simmer for 1 more minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste, stir in the parsley, and serve.

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup plus 1 tablespoon thinly sliced scallions

½ cup diced carrot

Salt

1 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes

3 cups vegetable stock

5 tablespoons Peanut Sauce (see recipe,
page 204
)

Pepper

¼ cup chopped peanuts, for garnish

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the ½ cup of scallions, the carrot, and a pinch of salt, and sweat until tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the squash and the vegetable stock, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 30 minutes, or until the squash is very tender. Use a hand blender or pour the soup into a food processor or blender, and puree until smooth. Stir in the peanut sauce, season with salt and pepper to taste, and garnish with the peanuts and the remaining 1 tablespoon of scallions. Serve.

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup diced yellow onion

½ cup diced carrot

½ cup diced celery

Salt

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons tomato paste

One 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, with juice

4 cups vegetable stock

2 cups drained freshly cooked kidney beans or one 15-ounce can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

½ head cauliflower, cut into bite-size pieces

1 small zucchini, cut into bite-size pieces

2 leaves kale, stemmed and roughly chopped

1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley

Pepper

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat and add the onion, carrot, celery, and a healthy pinch of salt. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, then add the garlic. Continue cooking for 4 to 5 more minutes, until the veggies are tender. Stir in the tomato paste, tomatoes (and juice), and vegetable stock. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add the beans, cauliflower, and zucchini, and simmer for 5 more minutes, or until the cauliflower and zucchini are tender. Turn off the heat, and add the kale. Let sit 5 minutes, until the kale becomes tender. Stir in the parsley, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup diced yellow onion

½ cup diced carrot

Salt

1 cup red lentils

4 cups vegetable stock

1 teaspoon black mustard seeds

15 curry leaves

½ pound tomatoes, cut into bite-size pieces

1 tablespoon sambar powder (see WTF, next page)

½ teaspoon tamarind paste

¼ pound green beans, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces

Pepper

In a large pot, heat 2 teaspoons of the oil over medium heat, and add the onion, carrot, and a healthy pinch of salt. Cook for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the veggies become tender. Add the lentils and 3 cups of the vegetable stock, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the lentils become very tender.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 teaspoon of oil in another pot or skillet over medium heat. Add the black mustard seeds and curry leaves. When the mustard seeds begin to sizzle and pop, add the
tomatoes, a pinch of salt, and the sambar powder, and stir to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes become soft, for 8 to 10 minutes.

Now that your lentils are completely cooked, mash them against the side of the pot with the back of a wooden spoon to help thicken the soup. Add the tomato mixture, tamarind paste, and beans, and simmer for 8 more minutes. If the soup is too thick, add as much of the remaining 1 cup of vegetable stock as you want. There is no hard-and-fast rule for thickness, just personal preference. When the green beans are tender, the soup is done. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Also known as
sambar masala,
sambar powder is a combination of Indian spices, including fenugreek, coriander, and turmeric. It lends great flavor and a little heat to the soup. You can find it at an Indian market or on the interwebs.

Et Tu, Tempeh?

The Karate Chop

The Grilled Cobb

The Beet Down

Curry Fried Tofu Salad

The Girlfriend’s Favorite Salad That She Constantly Asks Me to Make and Won’t Shut the Hell Up About

Southwest Slaw

Marinated Eggplant Pasta Salad

Chickpea Party

Seared Hearts of Palm Salad

WE ALL KNOW WHAT SALAD IS.
We all know that it’s good for us, and we do our best to eat it every day. But many of us do our salads — and ultimately, ourselves — a supreme injustice: we use store-bought dressing. You may already be hip to the fact that we should not be consuming things like calcium disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, apocarotenal, or Red 40… I mean, c’mon, how can you
eat
a color? I don’t really know what any of these are, and they sure don’t
sound
like food, but they are passed off as it in popular store-bought salad dressings all the time.

The entree salads in this chapter show you that a salad dressing should contain very few, easily pronounceable ingredients. For instance, a vinaigrette needs only an acid (vinegar or citrus), a fat (any oil, from canola to extra-virgin olive), herbs, spices, and maybe a sweetener (agave or maple syrup, or sugar). To aid in emulsification and to add another layer of flavor, a small amount of Dijon or grain mustard can be added as well. You can even go creamy by adding a little pureed silken tofu or vegan mayo to the mix. The point is: There’s a bunch of bad shit out there. You can easily make your own salad dressings at home, in very little time, with very little effort. You also don’t have to drop a ton of coin on those organic allnatural dressings in the hippie section of the store, when you could be spending it on much more important things…like wine.