Fresh & Fast Vegetarian_ Recipes That Make a Meal - Marie Simmons [5]
Cheese plane
A stubby V-shaped spatula with a sharp-edged horizontal opening in the middle, a plane makes thin curls of cheese, which are good for portion control. Cut from a wedge, pressing down hard and drawing the plane toward you across the surface. If you don't have a cheese plane, you can use a vegetable peeler.
Immersion blender, blender and/or food processor
These tools are especially handy for making smooth soups (see [>]).
Mortar and pestle
The mortar is the bowl and the pestle is the short, bat-shaped tool used to pound the food into a paste. Use a small (1-cup) mortar for chiles, garlic, salt and herbs and a larger (2- to 3-cup) one for pesto, guacamole and salsa.
Rasp grater (Microplane)
A long, narrow piece of curved stainless steel with razor-sharp perforations, it grates citrus zest, fresh ginger, garlic and hard cheese in seconds.
Serrated peeler
A vegetable peeler with serrated edges picks up and pulls away thin skins quickly. It is often sold as a tomato peeler. (Life is too short to peel tomatoes.)
Skillets
A large straight-sided skillet or sauté pan, 10 to 12 inches in diameter and 2½ inches deep, with a tight-fitting lid, is my all-purpose pan. I use it for everything from cooking grains to steaming greens to making risotto. Skillets that are 10 to 12 inches in diameter with shallow sloping sides are good for searing over high heat, sautéing and cooking eggs, omelets and frittatas. A small 8-inch pan is good for toasting nuts. A cast-iron skillet (10-inch) is great for high-heat cooking—searing peppers, dry-frying green beans and sautéing mushrooms or asparagus.
Soup pot or Dutch oven
A 5- to 8-quart pot has ample room for sautéing, simmering and stirring. It's great for polenta, stews and soups. A favorite is enameled cast iron.
Wok
Look for a piece of cookware called a "wok skillet." My favorite is made from anodized aluminum and has a long, soft cushioned handle. Its slightly flattened bottom ensures that it will sit securely on any cooking surface, and the material and its strong handle make it easy to lift and clean.
FAVORITE INGREDIENTS
CHEESE AND OTHER DAIRY
Cheese choices for the strict vegetarian
A wide range of cheeses use enzymes or vegetable rennet for coagulation in place of animal rennet. Search out a cheese shop with a knowledgeable staff for the best selection. In my grocery store, the cheese lists the source of the rennet on the printed labels.
Parmigiano-Reggiano
Imported from Italy, this aged, hard, granular cheese is made from skimmed or partially skimmed cow's milk and has a delicious nutty, almost buttery taste. Chopped-up rinds or chunks simmered in polenta, soup or stew are a treat.
Comté
Imported from the Jura region in east-central France, Comté is a semihard cow's-milk cheese with a rich, creamy, nutty taste. It makes a fabulous grilled cheese sandwich. To keep cheese fresh, change the wrapping each time it is used.
Feta
This cheese is imported from all over the world and can be made from cow's, goat's or sheep's milk, or a blend. I like the mild French cow's-milk feta sold in shrink-wrapped packages. Once you open feta, store it in a plastic container covered with fresh water.
Queso fresco
Available wherever Latin-American products are sold, this pressed cow's-milk cheese is dry, crumbly and salty. If it's not available, substitute a mild feta.
Crema
In Mexican cooking, crema is comparable to crème fraîche or sour cream (which may be substituted) but thin enough to drizzle on tortillas or other dishes.
CHILES
Jalapeños
These chiles are often less fiery than they are supposed to be, so I usually buy more than I need, hoping that at least half will have adequate heat. If the flesh of a jalapeño isn't hot, include some of the white membrane and