Veganomicon_ The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook - Isa Chandra Moskowitz [114]
Make the pine nut cream:
In a food processor, blend the pine nuts and lemon juice, scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, until a creamy paste forms. Add the tofu, garlic, arrowroot, nutmeg, salt, and white pepper. Blend until creamy and smooth.
Lightly oil a 9 × 13-inch pan and preheat the oven again to 400°F, if necessary. Spread ¼ cup of sauce on the pan, then add successive layers in order of eggplant, potatoes, sauce, and half the bread crumbs. Spread all the zucchini on top of this. Top with a final layer each of eggplant, potatoes, sauce, and bread crumbs. Use a rubber spatula to evenly spread the pine nut cream over the entire top layer. Scatter a few pine nuts on top, if desired.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is lightly browned and a few cracks have formed in the topping. Allow to cool 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
KASHA PHYLLO PIE
SERVES 6 TO 8
TIME: ABOUT AN HOUR
This filling wintertime pie is a little like a great big mushroom and kasha knish. It’s wrapped up in layers of flaky, melt-in-your-mouth phyllo dough with a sneaky layer of crunchy sauerkraut tucked in its center. The filling can be made days in advance and the pie assembled and baked later (but don’t assemble the pie until you’re ready to serve it, to keep the dough from getting soggy). Serve with a dollop of your favorite spicy brown mustard or Horseradish-Dill Sour Cream (page 208), or doused in Mustard Sauce (page 204).
Filling: 3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium-size onion, cut into small dice
1 stalk celery, cut into small dice
½ pound cremini mushrooms, sliced thinly
1 small carrot, grated
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1¼ cups whole roasted buckwheat groats (roasted kasha)
2¼ cups vegetable stock, preferable mushroom- flavored, heated to almost boiling
½ teaspoon salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
1 cup sauerkraut, well drained of excess liquid
Phyllo: 1 16-ounce package of frozen phyllo dough, thawed
according to package directions
⅓ cup or more of olive oil for brushing
PREPARE THE filling: Heat the olive oil in a 3-quart saucepan over medium heat and add the onion and celery. Stir-fry the vegetables until slightly soft, 4 to 5 minutes, then add the mushrooms and cook until most of mushroom liquid is evaporated, another 6 to 8 minutes. Add the grated carrot, stir-fry for 2 more minutes, then add the caraway seeds, coriander, salt, pepper, and buckwheat groats. Stir to coat the groats with oil and pour in the hot vegetable stock. Bring the mixture to a boil, lower the heat to a low simmer, and cover.
➣Kasha, or buckwheat, is a hearty, protein-packed grain (actually an herb, botanically speaking!) that’s kept people alive in many parts of Asia and Eastern Europe for thousands of years. It can do the same for you; however, it does have a distinctive, “earthy” taste that might take some getting used to, for those uninitiated in the ways of buckwheat. This pie is a must for kasha fans, though! Look for whole, roasted buckwheat groats in the rice and pasta or kosher foods section of well-stocked grocery stores.
➣Use the best possible sauerkraut you can get, so stay away from the canned stuff. Look for fresh, water-packed varieties found in the refrigerated section of the grocery store.
➣Working with temperamental phyllo, a thin pastry dough, can sometimes make you curse the Greek gods, but with a little practice and some careful arrangement of your work “materials,” you’ll fly though it. For this dish, have the phyllo arranged right next to the casserole dish and keep the dough covered with either plastic wrap or a lightly damp, clean dish towel, so that it doesn’t dry out. (Make sure to keep phyllo covered when not using, even between adding layers.) Keep a bowl with the olive