Moroccan harira stew

I know it’s summer, but when I stumbled upon this recipe, I was intrigued. Yes, it’s hot out, but this harira (stew) has so many fresh ingredients and flavors that it doesn’t taste heavy. A tadouira is a mixture of flour, tomato paste, and cilantro, and is used as a thickener here. Vermicelli are tiny noodles (commonly used in Indian desserts, actually), but if you can’t find them, just take some Italian vermicelli or angel hair pasta and break it into small, 1/2-inch pieces.

For the harira:
1/2 cup green lentils
1T olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 cinnamon stick
15-oz. can chopped tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved
2 cups vegetable broth
15-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup vermicelli

For the tadouira:
2T all-purpose flour
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2T lemon juice
1T tomato paste

Bring a small pot of salted water to a boil, add lentils, and cook for 2 minutes. Drain and set aside. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, parsley, cilantro, ginger, and cinnamon stick and sauté for 5 minutes, or until the onion is soft.



Stir in the tomatoes and sauté for 5 minutes more.



Stir in the broth, chickpeas, lentils, reserved tomato liquid, and 4 cups water. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 40-45 minutes or until the lentils are tender, stirring occasionally.



Meanwhile, make the tadouira by whisking the flour with 1 cup water in a small bowl. Whisk in the cilantro, lemon juice, and tomato paste.



When the harira is almost done, stir in the tadouira and vermicelli and cook for 3 more minutes, or until the noodles are soft. Season with salt to taste, and remove the cinnamon stick before serving.



As far as I’m concerned, you just can’t go wrong with these ingredients. I love this combination of vegetables and legumes, and the fresh herbs really brighten up the earthier components. I’m sure you could make it in a slow cooker, too. No matter what season it is, I LOVE ethnic comfort food!



Yield: 6 servings. Per serving: 238 calories, 4g fat (.6g sat), 44g carbs, 8g fiber, 9.3g protein.

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Chickpea lentil slow-cooker stew
Three-bean vegan chili

Curry lentil crackers w/spinach-avocado dip

When I ordered Brendan Brazier’s The Thrive Diet from Amazon a couple weeks ago, I couldn’t wait till it came in the mail to try out one of his nutrient-dense dishes. A web search yielded this cracker recipe on the Vegetarian Times site. Curry + lentils? It was made for me! It also brought to mind another VT recipe for a great raw Indian dip I’d had my eye on for some time, and it just so happened I actually had spinach in my fridge (left over from my green smoothies). I knew they’d make a perfect pair.

For the crackers:
1/4 cup chickpea flour
1/4 cup cooked or sprouted lentils
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
2T balsamic vinegar
1T coconut oil
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp agave nectar
Salt to taste

For the dip:
4 cups (about 6 oz.) spinach leaves
1 large avocado, peeled, pit removed
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1 clove garlic, peeled
1/4 tsp curry powder
1/8 tsp minced fresh ginger
Dash chili powder
Dash cayenne pepper
Dash cumin

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a food processor, combine all cracker ingredients. If you don’t have chickpea flour (I happen to, since I cook a decent amount of Indian food), I’m sure whole wheat pastry or all-purpose would work fine.



Pulse ingredients together, then process until incorporated. It will still appear grainy.



Lightly grease an 11x15-inch baking sheet with cooking spray or extra coconut oil. Spread the mixture on the baking sheet as thinly as possible. I used a wooden skewer as a miniature rolling pin, but this was still the best I could do:



Not quite a full pan, to say the least. Oh well; just call it "rustic." Gently score it with a knife to mark desired cracker size before baking. I also sprinkled them lightly with salt. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool before breaking apart.



Meanwhile, make the dip. So as not to overload the food processor, I pulsed together half the spinach and half the avocado first, then added the other halves of each.



Once roughly chopped, add the remaining ingredients...



...and process until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl or container and refrigerate. The longer it chills, the yummier it gets. When the crackers have cooled completely, dip away! Is that a ridiculously vibrant green, or what?



The crackers are delicate, but hold up just fine against the lightly-textured dip. They’re hearty and filling (remember, all the saturated fat in these is coconut-derived), and the flavor is super-unique. I could pick out a faint taste of sunflower seeds, a tiny tang of balsamic, and just a whisper of curry and cumin. They’re salty, savory, and full of "umami." When the crackers are gone, there will be plenty of dip left, so plan to eat it with raw veggies, in sandwiches, on pita bread, as a veggie burger topping (which I tried; delicious!) or any other way you can dream up. Despite the seemingly minimal seasoning, it packs a massive flavor punch. I don’t see seasoned salt called for often in recipes, but I think it really made a difference here. And I’m telling you, this dip is downright silky. The luxuriously smooth avocado sends the spices spinning in all directions across your palate. And I couldn’t taste the spinach! Victory!



Crackers—Yield: 2 servings. Per serving: 258 calories, 17.6g fat (7g sat), 18.5g carbs, 6g fiber, 8.8g protein.
Dip—Yield: about 2 cups. Per 1/4 cup: 102 calories, 8g fat (1g sat), 8g carbs, 5g fiber, 2g protein.

If you like this, you might also like...
Indian spice hummus
Tuscan white bean dip

White chip brownies

The brownies I made on Sunday afternoon turned out even better than I'd hoped. I didn't change anything in the recipe, but I did add something. Sadly, the addition of the white chocolate chips robs these brownies of the official designation of "vegan," but they're still damn close. To keep them vegan, just leave out the white chips, or use regular chocolate chips, or perhaps substitute some chopped walnuts...ideas abound.

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips
1/4 cup canola oil
1 small ripe banana, mashed
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup plain or vanilla soymilk
1T flaxseed meal
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup white chocolate chips (or addition of choice), optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch square baking dish with cooking spray. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl.



Melt the chocolate chips with the canola oil in the microwave at 50% power, stirring until smooth. Whisk in the banana and sugar.



Combine the soymilk, flaxseed meal, and vanilla in a measuring cup, then fold into the chocolate mixture.



Stir the chocolate mixture into the flour mixture until just combined.



Gently fold in the white chocolate chips or other add-in, if using. And yes, taste the batter.



Spread in the prepared baking pan, and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted 2 inches from the side of the pan comes out dry, but the middle is still soft (mine took 20). Cool in the pan on a wire rack.



SO GOOD. They were far moister than I expected - these are not the dense and chewy type of brownies, but the soft, luscious, cakey kind. I was mildly concerned that the banana flavor would come through too strong, and was surprised to find out that even though the inclusion of banana is just barely detectable, it's actually a pleasant top note against the richness of the chocolate. You can't even complain about these nutritionally! Ah, at last...I may have finally discovered my perfect brownie.



Yield: 16 brownies. Per brownie (with white chocolate chips): 151 calories, 7g fat (2.2g sat), 20.5g carbs, 1.5g fiber, 2g protein.
Per brownie (without chips): 111 calories, 5g fat (1g sat), 15.4g carbs, 1.5g fiber, 1.5g protein.

Three-bean vegan chili

I wasn’t kidding when I said I was determined to recreate the vegetarian chili I tried on the cruise. Not only did I do so, I believe that mine was even better. I based it loosely on a Vegetarian Times recipe, but tried to match the ingredients and heartiness of the cruise chili. It was a smashing success.

2T olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 small green bell pepper, diced
4+ cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, minced (optional)
1 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 can pinto (or kidney) beans, rinsed and drained
1 can chickpeas/garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 can navy (white) beans, rinsed and drained
2T chili powder
2T ground cumin
1T brown sugar
2 tsp dried oregano
1-2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1 cup frozen corn



My favorite thing about this chili is the odd choice of beans. It sets it apart from other chilis, and really gives it a personality of its own.
Gawd I love beans.



Heat the oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté for 3 minutes. Add the carrot, bell pepper, and jalapeno and cook 2 minutes more. Add the garlic, and cook and stir for 1 minute or until fragrant.



Add 2 cups water and all remaining ingredients except corn, and season to taste with salt and pepper.



Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the corn and a scant 1/2 cup water and simmer for 10 more minutes.



There is no better word to describe this chili than “hearty.” It’s so healthy, filling, and flavorful that it is as pleasing to an omnivore as to a vegan. Each bite is packed full of savory veggies, creamy beans, sweet corn, and a rich amalgamation of warm spices. I’m not the comfort food junkie that a lot of people are, but I can envision this chili warding off many a chill this winter.



Yield: 6-8 servings. Per serving (6): 320 calories, 5.7g fat (.7g sat), 54.2g carbs, 13.8g fiber, 15g protein.
Per serving (8): 240 calories, 4.3g fat (.5g sat), 40.6g carbs, 10.4g fiber, 11.3g protein.

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White bean garlic soup

Tempeh bolognese

For dinner last night I made a recipe that I discovered fairly recently—and have already made three times. It’s basically pasta with "meat" sauce, and if you've ever been a fan of traditional real-meat sauce, I bet you’ll like this. Nick, an omnivore, gave it his seal of approval when I made it for him. (You see, good things come out of Italy, like pasta, pizza, and my boyfriend.) I pulled it from a vegetariantimes.com email, made it as directed, and since then have altered it to make it, in my opinion, far better—heartier and more flavorful. (You can view the original recipe here.) Now, ingredients!

1 pkg whole grain rotini
8-oz. pkg tempeh
2T olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, shredded and finely chopped
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
1T soy sauce (or tamari)
1 cup water
28-oz. can crushed tomatoes with basil
2 tsp dried oregano
2T chopped fresh parsley (optional)



A note about the pasta...
You can use any pasta shape you like in this. I have made it with spaghetti before, but you really need a shape that the sauce can cling to—with spaghetti, I found myself slurping up the pasta and having to take a separate bite of sauce. I much prefer rotini. Penne would be good, too.

A note about bolognese...
Interestingly enough, authentic bolognese is nothing like the version found outside of Italy. The real stuff, which originated in Bologna (of course), has almost no tomato in it! It contains the mirapois (the trifecta of aromatic vegetables comprised of onion, carrot, and celery), beef and pancetta, meat broth, tomato paste, wine, and sometimes a splash of cream, and is almost exclusively served in lasagna or over fresh tagliatelle (egg-based, of course). Clearly a vegan’s nightmare all-around. Outside of Italy, bolognese has taken on the meaning of any standard meat sauce served over pasta. It still retains Italian authenticity – thick, meaty tomato sauce served over durum wheat pasta is the Neapolitan style – but in summary, our bolognese is not actually Bolognese.

Now that you’ve had your history lesson, let’s get down to business.

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain it and set it aside. Get your vegetables chopped, the smaller the better. Carrot’s not required, but it’s great in meat sauce. You won’t taste it in there, but it will add body and base flavor to the sauce.



Heat the olive oil in a giant skillet over medium heat. Dump in the onion and carrots and sauté for 5 minutes, until the onion is tender and translucent.

Meanwhile, crumble up the tempeh with your hands, breaking it up as small as you can.



When the onion is soft, stir in the garlic and sauté for about 30-60 seconds. I cook it until I can smell it. Next, mix in the tempeh, soy sauce, and water. Bring the mixture to a boil, then turn the heat to low. Cover it and simmer for 5 minutes. Then uncover, and simmer till the liquid is reduced.



Add the tomatoes and oregano and stir to combine. If you can’t get the crushed tomatoes with basil, you can use plain crushed tomatoes and add 2T chopped fresh basil OR 2 tsp dried basil. If you have it on hand, add 2T chopped fresh parsley. If you don’t have any, it’s no big deal. Cover the sauce and simmer for about 10 minutes (if you can wait that long) or until thickened.



Now, I’m a little bit OCD/neurotic about meals with multiple components (like curry with rice, or sauce with pasta) because I like to make sure every serving has the same amount of both things. So what I like to do for this is put my drained pasta back in the big pasta pot, pour the whole batch of sauce over it, and mix it till all the pasta is evenly coated. See?



Spoon it up and top it with a sprinkle of nutritional yeast if you like. It is so unbelievably good. The tempeh chunks are chewy and hearty, the sauce is rich and flavorful, and let me tell you, the bowl of it you see below disappeared fast.



Yield: 6 servings. Per serving: 376 calories, 9.7g fat (1.5g sat), 63.5g carbs, 10.8g fiber, 16g protein.

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Vegan pesto pasta