Potato & Squash Gratin

This is super tasty – but leave it in the fridge overnight and it’ll taste even better. The veggies soak up all the pesto sauce and the whole dish just gets even more creamy and delicious. Perfect with a simple balsamic-dressed spinach salad. Originally posted on 101 Cookbooks.

lemon zest or lemon juice
2 medium yellow/summer squash
2 medium zucchini
10 smallish potatoes – yukon gold or other waxy spuds

bunch of basil
10-12 stalks of italian parsley (optional)
2 minced cloves of garlic
1/4 c raw sunflower seeds
pinch of red pepper flakes
1/2 c safflower oil
salt

1/4 earth balance
2 c fresh wheat breadcrumbs

Preheat your oven to 400 F. Slice the squash about 1/6″ thick, but slice the potatoes potato-chip thin – I used my mandoline for this, it was way easier and quicker. If you don’t slice them thin enough the dish won’t cook as evenly and the squash will get soggy and gross. Put the squash into a colander and toss with salt – let it set for 10 mins while you prep the potatoes and other ingredients. Rinse the slice potatoes really well – I read somewhere that this gets out a lot of the starchiness, resulting in creamier potatoes. Keep in water till ready to use.

Place the herbs, garlic, sunflower seeds, red pepper, oil and salt into a food processor and blend. Add a little more oil if necessary.

Melt the earth balance in a pan and then toss the breadcrumbs till well-coated.

Toss all the veggies, the pesto sauce and about 2/3 of the breadcrumbs together and spoon into a big baking dish. The original recipe says to sprinkle lemon zest on the bottom before adding the gratin, but I totally forgot… so I took a shortcut and just squeezed about 2 tbsp of lemon juice over the top. Sprinkle the remaining breadcrumbs over the top and bake for about 40 mins (till potatoes are cooked).

Faux-Chicken and Zucchini with Dijon Tarragon Sauce

This recipe is from Veganize It… Don’t Criticize It!. I’ve bookmarked a bunch of recipes from this site, and ordered the cookbook, but this is the first one I’ve attempted – and goddamn, if they’re all as good as this, we’re gonna be eating pretty well! This meal strikes a really nice balance of creamy sharp flavours and and lightness – and it’s reasonably healthy. I made a few changes, like cooking the zucchini – the original recipe doesn’t cook it at all, but I wasn’t super keen on that idea.

2lbs zucchini
3-4 cloves of crushed garlic
some faux-chicken or tofu (if using tofu, pre-marinate it in faux-chicken stock overnight)
2 tbsp oil (canola or olive)
2-3 tbsp dry white wine
salt and pepper
1/2 c minced red onion (I only added this because I happened to have leftovers from another recipe)

Slice the zucchini into 1/8″ rounds – I just used the slicer attachment on my food processor. Set aside.

Season the faux-chicken/tofu with salt and pepper and sautee in a fry pan on medium with the crushed garlic – be careful not to burn the garlic. Add the wine and deglaze the pan. Add the zucchini, toss, put a lid on it and turn the heat down to med-low.

To make the sauce:
3.5 c faux chicken broth/stock
4 tbsp earth balance
4 tbsp flour (I only had rice flour on hand, it worked like a dream)
2 tbsp dijon (DON’T skimp on this – even if you’re not a huge fan of it. Trust me.)
2 tbsp fresh tarragon, chopped (you could probably use dill, if that’s all you have)
salt and pepper
a couple of good squeezes of lemon juice (like, maybe a tbsp or two? adjust for your preference. It’s not in the original recipe, but I really like this addition)

Melt the marg in a saucepan over medium high heat, then whisk in the flour and cook for 2 mins. Keep whisking while  you SLOWLY add in the faux-chicken broth (I was using cubes, so I added 3.5 c of water, then 2 faux-chicken stock cubes). Slowly bring to the boil, stirring occasionally and then add the mustard and tarragon. Let it simmer for about 8 mins, stirring occasionally, until it thickens up to a nice consistency. Season with salt and pepper and lemon juice.

Add the red onion to the chicken and zucc, toss and spoon onto plates. Ladle the sauce over the top and enjoy!

Pesto Pasta take #2

Got this recipe from over here and goddamn it’s soooo good! The original recipe calls for 5 cups of mixed ‘summer and patty pan squash’ but since I failed to google either of those before going to the supermarket, I just picked up some  yellow squash. I’ve since found out that zucchini, patty pan and yellow squash are all from the same family, so you can sub in any kind. I also added some baby spinach leaves to mine.

3-5 c of squash
1 package of pasta – your choice, but spiral (or anything with grooves/indents) works well because it holds the pesto
salt and pepper
oil

set your pot of water boiling for the pasta and some salt, and set a pan to heat on medium-high. Julienne your squash, and when the water is boiling, add the pasta to the pot and the squash to the fry pan (along with a couple tablespoons of oil and some salt and pepper). Set your timer for 8 mins. Stir the squash frequently. Pasta and squash should be ready at the same time, but test for doneness (I like my pasta more overdone than underdone). Once your turn of the squash, toss in a couple handfuls of baby spinach and stir – that’ll let it heat through and wilt down a little.

1 bunch of basil
2-4 cloves of garlic
1/2 c walnuts
juice of half a lemon
a small pot of plain yoghurt (about a cup)
1/4 c oil (olive oil in the original recipe but I used canola)
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 c daiya cheese (mozzarella is what I used)

Add the basil, garlic and walnuts to your food processor and pulse while slowly adding the oil. Scrape down the sides periodically and pulse till smooth. Add a teaspoon of the lemon juice, the yoghurt, salt and pepper and pulse till combined. Taste and add more lemon if you prefer – I like my pesto super lemony!

Add the squash/spinach, pesto and pasta to a large bowl and combine. Top with the daiya and serve!

Stuffed Zucchini

After the disaster that was dinner last night (zucchini fritters), I was super happy that this dish turned out so well. Two things: I actually don’t like zucchini but I’ve been trying to expand my vegetable horizons, and the other ingredients in this dish really balance out the zucc and make it much more palatable; the stuffing would work fantastically in potato skins, so I might try that next. Original recipe here.

Main course for 2 people:

1 super large zucchini (I’m talking like 12″ long and about 2-3″ in diameter)
1 onion (I used a regular old yellow onion)
about 10 large shiitake mushrooms
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
4 large basil leaves
canola oil (I used peanut because those stupid fritters used up all my canola last night – the peanut oil was fine)

1/2 c breadcrumbs
1/2 c faux cheddar cheese (Daiya makes this)

3/4 c of marinara sauce (I just used a can of stewed tomatoes, which I pureed)

salt & pepper

Finely chop your onion and throw into a non-stick fry pan with a couple of tablespoons of oil on medium and cook a couple of minutes. Finely slice the mushrooms and add those too, along with a couple of pinches of salt and some cracked pepper. Stir frequently and cook down – about 4 mins. Slice your zucchini lengthwise and scoop out the middle – I used a grapefruit spoon for this because it has serrated edges but the zucchini is soft enough you should be able to do it with a regular spoon.

Lay your zucchini down on a baking tray and spoon in the tomato sauce (the marinara or whatever you’re using): not too much, as you want to leave room for the other stuff. Stir a 1/4 of the cheese into the mushroom mixture, along with the basil (chiffonade the basil by stacking the leaves, rolling them tightly lengthwise and then finely slicing them) and then spoon that on to the zucchini. Top with the breadcrumbs and the rest of the cheese. Bake at 350 F for about 25mins.

I found the topping to be a little dry so i drizzled over just a little extra peanut oil.