Get Cooking_ 150 Simple Recipes to Get You Started in the Kitchen - Mollie Katzen [46]
Most of these dishes are complete meals with the addition of a green salad or, in the case of the stir-fry and the curries, a bowl of rice to serve them over. And most of them are, or can be, vegan-friendly, with the exception of the quiche, cornbread, calzones, and Popover Pie. Where cheese is called for—other than in the recipes just mentioned—you can simply leave it out.
One of the things I like best about mostly-plant-based eating is that it defies all the old rules about what goes on a plate. Who says you can’t serve any of these vegetarian entrées with any of the recipes in the Sides chapter? As far as I’m concerned, the more garden food we all eat, the better. Mashed potatoes with quiche? Sounds like a plan!
acorn squash stuffed with apple-almond-cherry basmati pilaf
Makes 4 servings
A corn squash is a natural edible bowl that was born to be stuffed. Here, it’s filled with a fragrant pilaf of basmati rice, sweet onions, garlic, almonds, apples, and dried cranberries. Use plain raw almonds (not roasted, salted, or otherwise processed), chopped with a sharp heavy knife on a cutting board, or buzzed very briefly in a food processor. They don’t need to be too fine—just coarsely chopped. Some people like the skin of cooked acorn squash. If that’s you, eat this with a fork and a sharp knife, such as a steak knife, to make cutting through the skin easier.
You can cook the rice and bake the squash at the same time. I’ve provided a simple rice method here. You could also use a rice cooker (follow the manufacturer’s instructions) or the slightly unconventional method on Chapter 7: Sides, but for this smallish amount, I recommend just doing it as described below.
1 cup brown basmati rice
1½ cups water (possibly more)
1½ tablespoons olive oil
2 medium acorn squash (about 2 pounds each), halved and seeded (see Chapter 4: Vegetarian Entrées)
1 teaspoon butter
½ medium red or yellow onion, minced
1/3 cup chopped almonds
¼ teaspoon minced garlic (about half a small clove)
Heaping ¼ teaspoon salt
1 medium apple, chopped (unpeeled)
¼ cup dried cherries (halved or quartered, if large)
1. Combine the rice and water in a medium-sized saucepan and bring to a boil. Then turn down the heat to the lowest possible setting (insert a waffle heat absorber under the pot, if you have one), cover the pot, and let the rice simmer undisturbed for 40 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, adjust the oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking tray with foil, and pour 1 tablespoon of the olive oil on it. Use your fingers to distribute the oil so that it coats the area where you’ll put the squash. Place the squash, cut side down, on the olive oil. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, or until you can easily insert a fork or a sharp knife into the squash from the skin side.
3. While the squash is roasting and the rice is cooking, place a small skillet over medium heat. After about a minute, add the remaining ½ tablespoon (that’s 1½ teaspoons) olive oil, and swirl to coat the pan. Add the butter and swirl until it melts into the oil. Add the onion, and cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes, or until it becomes very soft and is beginning to turn golden. (If it appears to be browning too quickly, turn the heat to medium-low.) Add the almonds and cook them with the onions, stirring frequently, for 5 to 8 minutes, or until the almonds begin to toast and give off a lovely aroma. Stir in the garlic and salt, and cook for 5 minutes longer. Remove the pan from the heat.
4. When the squash is done, remove the tray from the oven, and set it aside. Turn the oven down to 300°F.
5. After 40 minutes of undisturbed cooking, you may now disturb the rice by fluffing it with a fork. Give it a taste. If it is a little too crunchy, add another 3 tablespoons water, and without fluffing or stirring it further, put the top back on and let it sit for another 10 minutes with the heat turned off. It will steam itself a little further and become more tender.
6.