Tomato and Avocado Appetizer "Salad"

Avocadoes make an easy and delicious appetizer course. As simple a dish as a halved avocado with a simple salad dressing or just balsamic vinegar and salt starts a dinner well. But combined with fresh, sweet tomatoes and a fancier dressing. avocado can be quite elegant, yet very simple to prepare.

 

Here's an appetizer "salad" of avocado and tomato topped lightly with a Vegan version of my favorite Rose Sauce and a bit of chive or shredded green onion topping. Since fresh local farm-raised tomatoes aren't readily available right now, I'm using the Campari tomatoes that are available at supermarkets year round, which are reliably sweet and beautifully dark red. They are specially developed hybrids (not GMO) for hydroponic and greenhouse production. I believe this same type of tomatoes are also marketed as "Cocktail" tomatoes, and come on the stems.

 

The recipe serves six, and should be made and served on individual appetizer plates.

 

3 ripe avocadoes

6 medium-small ripe tomatoes, preferably "Campari" or "Cocktail"

Finely cut chives or green onion top for garnish

 

Rose sauce

3 tablespoons plant-based sour “cream”

2 tablespoons tomato ketchup

1 tablespoon Vegan mayonnaise (I like Hellmann's)

1 teaspoon prepared horseradish

A large pinch of salt

Mix the sauce ingredients together well.

 

Cut avocadoes in half and remove the pits. Peel the avocado halves and cut each half into pieces on a separate appetizer plate. Cut a tomato into either four or six wedges, depending on size, and place them attractively among the avocado pieces on a plate. 

Spoon about a tablespoon of rose sauce over the vegetable pieces on each plate. Sprinkle a small amount of cut chives or green onion top over the dressed plate, allowing a few to fall onto the plate outside the vegetables and sauce.

Serve as the appetizer course for your dinner.

 

 

Potato Salad, German Deli Style

 

I prefer potato salad tangy sweet-sour and with little mayonnaise. This contrasts with the glubby, mayonaise-laden, yet somehow bland potato salad I grew up with. When I first tasted the striking potato salad at a German deli in New York, I never turned back. I keep the potato skins on, which the original would generally not, for convenience plus food value. And although I use relatively little mayonnaise, the vinegar makes the salad moist and creamy.

 

These days, I would keep the parsley as a garnish rather than mix it into the salad because some of my grandkids, as well as other young diners, avoid foods with “green things” in them. But the parsley would typically be mixed into the salad. If desired, coarsely chopped dill pickles can also be mixed into this salad. The potato salad is much better flavored if made ahead of time and refrigerated, a few hours to a few days, before serving.

 

The recipe serves 6 as a side dish or appetizer.

 

2 pounds small red- or yellow-skinned potatoes

2 tablespoons minced red onion

4 tablespoons white vinegar

2 1/2 tablespoons Vegan mayonnaise (I like Hellmann’s)

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt or to taste

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon minced parsley for mixing in or for garnish

 

In large, uncovered pan with plenty of unsalted water, bring unpeeled potatoes just to a simmer over medium heat. Do not boil them or cover the pan. If water begins boiling, pour in a little cold water to slow it. Swirl the pan occasionally to gently move the potatoes around. After 8-10 minutes, test a potato for doneness by piercing with a toothpick. When tender except for firmness, but no hardness, at the very center, remove from the heat. Drain and cool.

 

In a large mixing bowl, stir minced onion, vinegar, mayonnaise, sugar, salt and pepper until mayonnaise is thoroughly mixed in. Peel or do not peel potatoes according to your choice. Cut potatoes into quarters lengthwise then cut them across into 1/4-inch slices. Add them to the bowl as they are cut.

 

Stir the potatoes into the mayonnaise mixture, mixing gently with a large spoon or hands (wear plastic gloves). Let sit for 15 minutes. Mix well again and taste. If necessary, add salt, vinegar and/or sugar. The taste should be slightly salty (the potato will absorb more) and tangy sweet-sour. Refrigerate until used. If combining the parsley into the potatoes rather than garnishing with it when serving, stir it in now.

 

An hour before serving, stir potato mixture again. Taste and add salt, if needed. Transfer to a serving bowl or platter and sprinkle with minced parsley if it was not already mixed in.

 

Split Pea Soup with Vegetables

 

Pea soup dates back thousands of years. Street vendors sold it in ancient Athens. Peas, along with lentils and barley were among the earliest vegetables cultivated at the dawn of agriculture.

Tasty and nutritious, with loads of protein and dietary fiber, pea soup satisfies and sustains. Many versions of the soup are traditional in various cultures, but purely plant-based soup remains a winner. The richest flavor is achieved by browning the vegetables a bit in olive oil before adding them to the simmering peas.

The recipe serves six to eight, but leftovers are great.

1 pound (2 1/4 cups) dry green split peas

8 cups water

1 large bay leaf

1 medium-large onion

2 medium-large carrots

A small celeriac or 2 large sticks celery

3 cups broth made from the vegetable trimmings and peels

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons salt, plus to taste

1/2 teaspoon dry savory or oregano

1/2 teaspoon black pepper, plus a little at the end

A small pinch of ground cloves

 

Rinse peas. Place in pot with water. Bring to a boil. Skim off foam. Add bay leaf. Simmer, stirring frequently and scraping bottom of pot, until peas start to break down.

Meanwhile peel onion, carrots and celeriac, if used. Make broth with peels, leaves of celery, if used, plus 3 cups water, simmering 20 minutes.

Coarsely dice the peeled or trimmed vegetables. Fry them with the oil until softened. Add to simmering peas. Strain vegetable-peel broth into soup. Add salt, dry herbs, pepper and cloves.

Simmer until peas disintegrate and vegetables are very tender. Add water, as needed, to keep the consistency lightly creamy (it thickens when it cools). Taste, and add salt if needed. Finish with a generous sprinkling of ground black pepper.

 

 

Vegan Massaman Curry, with Tofu, Sweet Potato and Peanuts

 

Although Thai curries were not traditionally Vegan, some communities of Thai Buddhist nuns did choose to completely avoid meat and seafood. And dairy products are rare in the Thai diet, anyway. The principles and spice mixtures used in making Thai curries can be applied to produce some very tasty, as well as nutritious, Vegan versions. Here’s my effort at a Vegan Massaman curry.

 

“Gaeng Massaman,” is richly flavored but not very hot from peppers. The curry paste is made with darkly caramelized garlic and red onion and has aromatic spices like cardamom, cloves and cinnamon. It is also somewhat sweet-sour.  Purchase it at Asian grocery stores, along with the  unsweetened coconut milk. “Maesri,” my preferred brand, is completely Vegan (check other brands, if available, to be sure that shrimp paste, a traditional Thai curry component, is not an ingredient.)

 

Massaman curry flavors reflect the dish’s origins in southern Thailand’s Muslim community, which was ancestrally Malay/Indonesian. Massaman curry almost always has peanuts cooked into it for flavor, and in addition they add to whatever protein the principal ingredient brings. Here, I’m using tofu for the main protein and sweet potato as the vegetable interest, along with the usual peanuts.

 

In the Thai manner, serve this curry with Jasmine rice, or other long grain rice, cooked without salt. (See a rice cooking method in this blog.) A Thai curry dinner would usually include a stir-fried vegetable dish as a side dish for contrast.

 

The recipe serves six to eight.

 

2 (14-ounce) blocks firm or extra firm tofu

1 (4-ounce) can Massaman curry paste (I like “Maesri” brand)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 (13-14 ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk -- shake well before opening

2 cans worth of water

1/2 cup dry-roasted skinned peanuts (unsalted or lightly salted)

1 medium-large sweet potato, about 3/4 pound

Salt, if needed

1 teaspoon lime or lemon juice

Sprigs of cilantro plus fine shreds of a small red hot pepper for garnish

 

Drain tofu. Cut into approximately 3/4-inch cubes. Set aside to drain. Peel and cut the sweet potato into 3/4-inch cubes. Set aside till needed.

 

In a pot over very low heat, gently fry the curry paste in the oil, stirring constantly, until the oil bubbles a little. Add the coconut milk, and stir well. Heat until beginning to boil. Add the water and bring to a full boil.

 

Add the peanuts, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes and bring back to a boil. Boil gently, stirring occasionally, until sweet potato is becoming tender (test by piercing a piece with a toothpick), 7-8 minutes. Add the cubed, drained tofu, part at a time, stirring very gently. Simmer 4-5 minutes and remove from the heat. Stir in the lime or lemon juice. Taste and add a little salt if needed.

 

Allow to cool for the flavors to mingle. Reheat, stirring very carefully, and serve with unsalted rice. Offer the curry in a serving dish, and garnish lightly with plucked-off cilantro leaves and fine shreds of hot red pepper.

 

 

 

French Mustard Vinaigrette “Left Bank” for Green Salad

 

Vinaigrettes – salad dressings – containing mustard are common in France and French-speaking regions of Switzerland. They are wonderful on simple leafy green salads, or endive salads. The mustard used is Dijon style, not the yellow American mustard designed for hot dogs.  

 

Here’s a Vegan version of the dressing I make that is patterned after a wonderful vinaigrette I had at the “Left Bank,” a French-run restaurant in Saranac Lake, NY. The dressing was served with fresh local endive and was the starter course for lunch.

 

The recipe makes a little over a pint of vinaigrette. Use about 3/4 cup for salad greens for six persons. Any leftover vinaigrette can be stored for a number of days in the refrigerator.

 

1/2 cup Dijon mustard (Left Bank uses whole grain mustard and purees it)

1/2 cup water

6 tablespoons Vegan mayonnaise

6 tablespoons white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

2/3 cup sunflower or other non-olive oil

1/3 cup olive oil

 

Mix well with small whisk.

 

Just before serving: toss the vinaigrette with salad greens, using about 3/4 cup for salad for six people. Check a leaf for salt, and add in a little if needed and toss the salad again. Serve dressed greens on individual salad plates.

 

Succotash – Old Fashioned Butter Beans with Fresh Corn

 

A country dish I remember from my childhood in southern New England is succotash, a combination of baby lima beans simmered with fresh corn kernels. It turns out the combination of corn and beans goes back much further, to the indigenous peoples of the New England region. It was adopted into the earliest cuisine of the European colonists, and showed up at many Thanksgiving dinners. Its name derives from a word in the language of the Narragansett people, who once inhabited what’s now Rhode Island.

 

I was reminded of succotash recently when writing an article about Brunswick Stew, a Southern dish in which the two succotash vegetables, cooked together, show up prominently. And then I had occasion to actually make succotash after all these decades when I was tasked with cooking butter beans (w
hich are in fact small lima beans) for a family gathering and thought about adding corn off the cob. It was a big hit with several in the family, and gave me a twinge of nostalgia. Though it’s no longer familiar to a lot of people, especially outside New England, succotash is still a good dish.

 

Here’s a recipe that will serve six as a side vegetable.

 

1 (12-ounce) bag frozen butter beans or baby lima beans

1/2 cup water, plus more as needed

1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 large ears fresh corn on the cob

2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil

 

Heat a small pot with 1/2 cup water. When it boils, add the frozen beans, salt and pepper. Stir well. When the pot comes a boil again, reduce the heat to low, cover the pot and simmer/steam the beans. Stir frequently and add a little water as needed to keep 1/4 inch or so in the bottom of the pot. Cook until beans are tender, 10 minutes or more.

 

While the beans are simmering, shuck the corn and remove as much corn silk as possible. With a sharp knife slice off the kernels, holding each cob upright in a shallow bowl to catch the corn as it’s cut off.

 

When the beans are tender, add the corn kernels and bring back just to a boil, adding a little water if needed to keep 1/4 inch or so in the bottom of the pot. The corn should simmer 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Taste a few kernels to check that the corn is done. Do not over cook.

 

Remove from the heat. Holding the lid on the pot, tip the pot above the sink to drain off most of the cooking water. Add oil to the beans and corn, mix well, and taste. If salt is needed, mix it in.

 

Serve now, or after cooling, reheat it in a casserole bowl in the microwave before serving.

 

Coleslaw, Delicatessen-Style

 

Good-old American coleslaw hails from … (wait for it!) … Holland. “Koolsla” in Dutch is pronounced exactly like coleslaw (double “o” in Dutch sounds like the long O in “rose”). Koolsla is the shortened form of “koolsalade” -- cabbage salad.

 

I make coleslaw the New York German deli way, with little mayonnaise, but tangy sweet and sour.

Any smooth-leaved green variety of cabbage seems to produce good coleslaw. Sweetness in the cabbage gets lost with all the seasonings added to it by the time the dish is completed. Savoy cabbage, though I love it for other things, in my experience doesn’t make particularly good coleslaw. Red cabbage produces a spectacular, if unorthodox, coleslaw. It serves well on a holiday buffet table. Specialty slaws for fancy and restaurant fare include one made from Brussels sprouts.

 

The recipe serves six as a side dish, with easily stored left-overs.

1 medium head of green (or red) cabbage or 3/4 of a medium-large head
1 medium-large carrot
2 tablespoons Vegan mayonnaise

1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard
6 tablespoons white vinegar
4 tablespoons sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Discard any tough outer cabbage leaves. Cut off cabbage’s bottom inch. Cut the head in half through the stem and cut it again into quarters. Set a quarter on a board and cut away the core and any big ribs on the exterior.

 

Shred cabbage finely crosswise, either with a sharp knife on a cutting board, with a mandolin slicer, or in a food processor fitted with a 2-millimeter slicer blade. As you shred it, place cabbage in a very large bowl for mixing.

 

Peel carrot and shred it, using the coarse side of a grater or the food processor fitted with a grater blade. Add it to the cabbage.

 

Add mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Mix well. It will be dry at first. Let it sit 15 or 20 minutes, mixing from time to time, until the cabbage softens and the juices increase. Taste and adjust salt, vinegar or sugar as desired.

 

Coleslaw is best if allowed to chill for an hour or more, or even up to several days, covered. Mix well and taste before serving and adjust salt, vinegar or sugar if needed.