vegetarian – Page 2 – Alice the Cook

April 29, 2013

Mushroom Pâté

This past weekend, I did a small catering event that required a lot of finger food. Below is a recipe for mushroom pâté, a vegan friendly recipe. It looked like real pâté, but tasted even better. My apologies for the lack of a photo; the guests began eating it before I could document my work.

Ingredients:
1 lb sliced portabella mushrooms
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
½ cup pine nuts
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cup water
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 tbsp fresh thyme
Pinch of fresh rosemary, minced
¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper
Sea salt to taste

Begin heating a pan on medium heat. Add the olive oil, garlic, shallots, and pine nuts and begin to sauté. After about two minutes, add the thyme, rosemary, black and cayenne pepper and continue to sauté for 2 more minutes. While stirring, add the mushrooms. Keep stirring so that everything is covered in oil and will not stick to the pan. Add 1 cup of water and cover the pan and continue to let it cook.

The goal is to let the mushrooms cook down a bit so that they are soft. If the water is evaporating too quickly, add more water. When the mushrooms are soft, drain off most of the extra water and place the cooked mushrooms and spices in a food processor or mortar and pestle and begin to mix and pulverize the cooked ingredients. Place the mixture into a mold and refrigerate for two hours until firm. Place the mold upside down, onto a plate and release it from the mold. The pâté is ready to serve. It is best served with roasted garlic or caramelized shallots on toasted bread or crackers.

January 8, 2013

Caramelized Shallots

Ingredients

2.25 lbs of shallots, peeled and cut into half and large ones in quarters
6 cloves of garlic
3 sprigs or fresh rosemary
3 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 tbsp of raw sugar
6 tbsp of olive oil
2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
Salt and black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl toss together the shallots, garlic, rosemary, thyme, raw sugar, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. Season with the salt and pepper and toss (mix well).

Place items in an oven proof dish with cover. Cover the items and bake for 20 minutes. Pull it out, stir well and place back in the oven uncovered for another 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. After 30 minutes, most of the liquids should have reduced to a nice glaze.

Transfer the items into a serving dish. When served hot, it makes an excellent relish for steak or chicken. When served cold, it complements cheese and crackers.

I’ve also added it to scrambled eggs and fried potatoes as well. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.

December 25, 2012December 25, 2012

Garlic Roasted Red Potatoes

1/2 lb of red potatoes (baby ones work best), cubed with skins on

4 tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, minced
5 cloves of garlic, minced
5 green onions, diced
1 sprig rosemary
sea salt
black pepper

Pre-heat oven to 350°F.

Heat up a sauté pan on medium heat and add the olive oil. Once hot, add the shallots, garlic and half of the rosemary. After a minute, add the cut up potatoes. Sauté, stirring occasionally to avoid burning and to make sure the potatoes have been thoroughly covered in oil, shallot, garlic and rosemary. Sauté for about 5 minutes and transfer to an oven safe bake pan.

I usually recommend putting down tin foil to minimize the sticking. Once in the pan, add the green onions and cover it up and bake at 350°F for 15 minutes. Pull out of the oven, flip potatoes over and add salt and pepper. Turn up the oven to 400°F and continue cooking the potatoes uncovered until browned.

Pull out of the oven and serve.

December 25, 2012December 25, 2012

Lemon Green Beans

2 cups of green beans, tips trimmed* (raw work best)
1/2 lemon, zested** and juiced
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil or use cooking spray
Sea Salt
Pepper

Begin heating the pan to a medium-high heat and add the oil or cooking spray. Once hot, add the green beans and begin to sauté. They will cook very fast so after a minute, add the garlic and the zest. Continue to stir to avoid burning. Add the black pepper and salt. After about two minutes, the beans should be bright green. Add the lemon juice and let the beans steam and cook in the evaporating juice for about 30 seconds. The beans should be el dente (just done) and are ready to serve.

* Asparagus, Chinese pea pods, zucchini will make excellent substitutions for this dish.

**As a note: I do not use a traditional zester. I shave off the zest from the lemon with a sharp knife and then I begin slicing the zest into long, thin strips.

December 14, 2012

Two modern shrimp recipes from Alice the Cook

SHRIMP WITH PINEAPPLE AND PEA PODS

2 cups raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 cup pineapple, 1″ cubed

1 cup Chinese pea pods, tips removed
1 tbsp sesame or olive oil
1 tsp of Chinese five spice or 1/2 tsp garam masala (spicier)
3 pinches of kosher salt
2 pinches black pepper
Optional: 1/2 cup red bell pepper

Heat up a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the oil. Once heated add the shrimp first and the fruit and vegetables immediately after. Stir occasionally.

Add spices (garam masala or Chinese five spice), salt and pepper

Continue to cook until vegetables are bright green and the shrimp is done (the shrimp should be
pink).

Serves 2

ITALIAN SHRIMP

2 cups of medium raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup of young asparagus
½ cup of green onions, diced
1 zucchini, shredded
2 cloves of garlic, minced finely
4 large basil leaves, chiffonade (rolled and then sliced)
½ cup of baby portabella mushrooms, minced
½ tsp of dried red pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon, zested and juiced

Heat up the pan and add the olive oil. Add the shrimp with the garlic, basil, dried red peppers and lemon zest and sauté for 1 minute. Add all of the vegetables and stir lightly.

Continue to cook until vegetables are el dente and the shrimp is thoroughly cooked. Can be served with risotto or some nice crusty bread.

Serves 4