The Wheat-Free Meat-Free Cookbook: 100 Gluten-Free Vegetarian Recipes (6 page)

Serves 8

Burgers

1 medium plantain, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces

salt

1 cup cooked black beans

½ medium red bell pepper, roughly chopped

½ medium green bell pepper, roughly chopped

4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

2 small tomatillos, roughly chopped

2 small chipotles in adobo

¼ teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon dried oregano

½ cup crushed tortilla chips

olive oil for the pan or baking sheet

Topping

1½ avocados

½ mango, cut into small chunks (½ cup)

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice

salt

1. Put the plantain pieces in a medium pot. Cover with water and liberally salt. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 20-25 minutes, until the plantain can be easily pierced with a knife. Drain and let cool slightly.
   
2. Put the plantain in a food processor and quickly pulse a few times. Add the remaining burger ingredients, except the crushed tortilla chips. Pulse until a chunky paste forms. Spoon into a large bowl and stir in the tortilla chips. Form into 8 patties.
   
3. For pan fried burgers, heat a large pan or griddle over medium-low heat. Lightly coat the pan with oil. Cook, about 20 minutes per side, until the patties are golden-brown and firm.
   
4. For baked burgers, lightly grease a baking sheet, and place the patties on the sheet. Place an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Set the broiler to low and broil the patties for 15-20 minutes per side, until browned and firm.
   
5. While the patties are cooking, prepare the topping. Cut the avocado in half and remove the pit. Score the inside flesh with a paring knife and remove the flesh with a spoon. Place in a bowl. Add the mango. Stir in the lime juice and season to taste with salt.
   
6. Serve the burgers with the avocado topping.
   

Makes 8 3-inch patties

These are between burgers and sliders in size. I wouldn’t recommend making them bigger as they tend to fall apart at larger sizes.

It is easier to peel the plantain if it is lightly scored along its length first.

Look for canned chipotles in adobo in the Mexican food section of your grocery store.

4 portobello mushrooms, stems removed

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 small red or orange bell peppers (¾ pound)

2 ounces gluten-free blue cheese, crumbled

1. Place mushrooms gill side up in a casserole dish. Cover evenly with the oil and vinegar. Divide the garlic and rosemary between the mushrooms and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Set aside to marinate for 1-2 hours.
   
2. Using tongs, roast the bell peppers over an open flame until the skin is blackened. Alternatively, cut peppers into quarters and place skin side up on a baking sheet. Place under a broiler until black all over. Once peppers are blackened, enclose them in a paper bag or covered dish to steam. When peppers are cool enough to handle, rub the outside with a towel to remove the blackened skin. Cut into thin strips.
   
3. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Roast the mushrooms for 20-25 minutes.
   
4. Remove the mushrooms from the oven and top each one with one-fourth of the peppers and ½ ounce of blue cheese. Return to the oven, and roast an additional 5 minutes, until the peppers are heated through. Serve immediately.
   

Serves 4

1 teaspoon olive oil + more for the pot

1 large yellow onion, one half diced, one half thinly sliced root to stem

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1½ teaspoons ground cumin

½ teaspoon ground allspice

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cups gluten-free vegetable broth

½ cup brown basmati rice

½ cup brown lentils, picked through

3 tablespoons fresh mint, thinly sliced

1. Heat a medium pot over medium-high heat. Lightly coat the bottom of the pot with oil. Add the diced onion and garlic. Cook for a few minutes, until the onion softens. Add the cumin, allspice, and cinnamon and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add the vegetable broth, rice, and lentils. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and let cook undisturbed for about 30-40 minutes.
   
2. While the lentils and rice are cooking, heat a medium pan over medium heat. Add the sliced onion. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes, until just starting to brown. Add the 1 teaspoon oil, and lower the heat slightly to just under medium. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is brown and frizzled, about 15 minutes.
   
3. Check the lentils and rice. If the broth is absorbed, turn off the heat. If broth is not absorbed, cook another 5-10 minutes. Let sit, covered, for about 5 minutes.
   
4. Spoon the lentils and rice into bowls. Garnish with frizzled onion and fresh mint.
   

Serves 4

The amount of time it takes to cook the frizzled onion varies quite a bit. Keep an eye on it. Stirring frequently, especially once the onion starts to brown, helps to prevent burning.

2 tablespoons olive oil + more for the casserole dish

1 small head of cauliflower (2¼-2½ pounds)

1 small Bartlett pear, cut into large chunks

3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

3-4 small chipotles in adobo sauce

6 ounces dried apricots

2 tablespoons honey

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly grease an 8×8-inch casserole dish.
   
2. Remove the leaves and stalk of the cauliflower. Slightly cut into and remove a small portion of the core. Put the cauliflower core side up into the casserole dish.
   
3. Place the remaining ingredients in a food processer, and pulse until a thick paste forms. Spoon the apricot mixture into the crevices between the cauliflower florets. Lightly pat the filling around the bottom of the cauliflower. Flip the cauliflower over, and continue patting the apricot mixture onto the cauliflower, until it’s completely coated. Loosely cover the dish with a piece of aluminum foil.
   
4. Bake for 1 hour. Remove the foil and bake for another 30 minutes, until a knife can easily be inserted in the center.
   

Serves 4-6

Look for canned chipotles in adobo in the Mexican food section of your grocery store.

1 12-ounce block extra firm tofu

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 teaspoons lapsang souchong tea, crushed to a powder

1½ teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon dry mustard powder

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon ground coriander

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper

olive oil for the baking sheet

1. Rinse the tofu and pat dry. Slice the tofu widthwise into eight even slices.
   
2. Mix the sugar, tea, salt, and all of the spices in a small bowl. Rub the spice mixture onto the tofu slices, covering all sides.
   
3. Move your oven rack to its highest position. Turn the broiler on low.
   
4. Grease a baking sheet. Arrange the tofu slices on the sheet in a single layer and place under the broiler. Cook for 11-12 minutes; the tofu should feel firm around the edges. Flip and cook for another 11-12 minutes.
   

Serves 2-4

Lapsang souchong is a smoke-dried Chinese tea, and the source of smokiness in this recipe. I use a coffee grinder to grind it into a powder.

It is important to pat the tofu dry. If it’s too wet the rub doesn’t stick as well.

Sauce

⅓ cup freshly squeezed lime juice

¼ cup gluten-free vegetable broth

4 teaspoons white sugar

2 serrano peppers, minced

1 teaspoon gluten-free soy sauce or tamari

Noodles

½ pound Napa cabbage, cut in thirds lengthwise and thinly sliced

4 cups water

½ cup peanuts, finely chopped

4 ounces gluten-free bean thread noodles

¼ medium red onion, thinly sliced

¼ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

1. Put the sauce ingredients in a bowl and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
   
2. Place the cabbage in a large bowl. Bring the water to a boil in a medium pot. Set a medium pan over medium heat. Add the peanuts to the pan. Cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, about 4-5 minutes.
   
3. Once the water is boiling, remove from the heat and add the noodles. Let sit for 5 minutes. Drain the noodles and use scissors to cut into smaller pieces. Add to the cabbage and immediately pour the sauce over the noodles. Stir well. Add the onion, cilantro, and peanuts and stir until thoroughly combined.
   

Serves 6-8

This dish can be chilled and served cold. It is very spicy; to make it less spicy remove the seeds and membranes from inside the serrano peppers or use one fewer pepper. Using a vegetable broth that’s lighter in color makes for a better-looking dish.

I prefer bean thread noodles to rice vermicelli as they clump less. Rice vermicelli can be used, but it is even more important to add the sauce quickly to keep the noodles from clumping. Look for either of them in the Asian section of your grocery store.

3 medium sweet potatoes (1½ pounds)

olive oil for the potatoes and pan

3-4 teaspoons minced ginger

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

½ jalapeño pepper, minced

½ teaspoon dry mustard powder

¼ teaspoon ground turmeric

¼ teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon ground coriander

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

pinch crushed cardamom seeds (seeds from 2 pods)

2 cups de-stemmed chopped kale

½ cup full-fat canned coconut milk

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Scrub the outside of the sweet potatoes to remove any dirt. Pat dry. Poke each potato with a fork a few times and rub with oil. Place the potatoes on the middle or top rack in the oven and bake until cooked through, about 1 hour. (They should give a little when pressed.) Remove from the oven, but leave the oven on.
   
2. Meanwhile, heat a medium pan over medium heat. Generously coat the pan with oil. Add the ginger, garlic, jalapeño, and spices. Heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the kale, cook for 4-5 minutes. Add a few splashes of water if the kale starts to brown and stick to the pan.
   
3. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut in half lengthwise, and scoop out the inside. Leave about ¼-inch of flesh on the potato.
   
4. In a bowl, mash the scooped out potato with the coconut milk. Stir in the kale.
   
5. Spoon the potato/kale mixture back into the potato halves.
   
6. Place the potato halves in a roasting pan and return to the oven to bake for another 15 minutes.
   

Serves 4-6

It is easier to scoop the flesh out of the potatoes if they are more round than oblong.

salt

olive oil for the pan

½ medium yellow onion, minced

2 medium stalks celery, ends trimmed, minced

½ medium red bell pepper, minced

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1¼ cups gluten-free vegetable broth

⅓ cup brown basmati rice

⅓ cup brown lentils, picked through

2 teaspoons dried parsley

freshly ground black pepper

1 medium head green cabbage, cored

1 8-ounce can tomato sauce

1 6-ounce can tomato paste

½ cup water

⅓ cup red wine vinegar

½ teaspoon crushed red pepper

1. Fill a large pot with water, salt liberally, and bring to a boil.
   
2. Meanwhile, heat a large pan with a lid over medium-high heat. Lightly coat the pan with oil. Add the onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic and sauté until the vegetables are soft and the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
   
3. Stir in the vegetable broth, rice, lentils, parsley, a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 60-75 minutes, until the broth is absorbed.
   
4. Once the water in the pot is boiling, gently lower the head of cabbage into the water. Cook a couple of minutes until the leaves are bright green and softened. Remove the outer leaves with tongs, setting them on a towel to dry. Continue cooking then removing leaves, until the entire cabbage is gently cooked.
   
5. Dump the water. Set the pot over low heat. Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, red wine vinegar, and red pepper. Stir until well combined.
   
6. Take one cabbage leaf and spread it out on a cutting board. Cut out the center stem. Spread some lentil/rice filling a few inches from the uncut end of the leaf. While holding the cut sides overlapping, pick up the uncut end and roll over the filling. Fold in the sides. Continue until completely rolled. Place in the pot (seam-side down) on top of the tomato sauce. Repeat with the remaining leaves and filling.
   
7. Spoon some of the tomato sauce over the stuffed greens. Cover and increase the heat to medium-low. Simmer for 45-60 minutes.
   

Serves 4-6

It is important to completely remove the core from the head of cabbage. This is what allows the leaves to be easily removed from the boiling water.

Sauce

1 15-ounce can + 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce

1 8-ounce can tomato paste

¼ cup + 2 tablespoons molasses

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon liquid smoke

¾ teaspoon paprika

¼ rounded teaspoon crushed red pepper

¼ rounded teaspoon garlic powder

¼ rounded teaspoon ground cumin

Filling

1 14-ounce package extra firm tofu