Recipes
Buddha Bowl
This Buddha Bowl from "a modern way to cook" by Anna Jones is chock full of good-for-you things and a rich curry, fragrant with a homemade curry paste and peanuts, all served over over brown basmati rice, then topped with freshly pickled carrots, crispy kale, and toasted seeds. From the Author: “This all comes together in 45 minutes, but you do need to stay on top of a few things at once. The list of ingredients may look long, but I promise this is simple to make. You can also make a double batch of the paste and freeze some.”
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Tea-Rubbed Eggplant & Halloumi
For your next smorgasbord or mixed grill, try our Asian Tea Rub on eggplant and halloumi. The flavors are delightful and it's quick and easy to put together. Perfect as a side dish for the next time you use your grill, and also makes a great vegetarian entree, too!
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Vadouvan Vegetable Pie
This savory vegetable pie emerged from our experiments with Vadouvan paste, a wonderfully rich and elegant flavor base. We wanted a warm, comforting meal for the cold weather outside, and this was the prize winning pie. The recipe balances the subtle, hearty flavor of the toasted curry with the earthy goodness of cauliflower and butternut squash. If you don't have Vadouvan paste, then this versatile recipe can easily feature other flavor combinations. Missing one of the vegetables used in this pie? Use whatever you have on hand!
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Vadouvan Paste
Vadouvan Curry is a spice blend with South Indian and French influences, and the name means "sun-dried spices" in French. This fusion blend can be used just like a curry powder, or made into the iconic Vadouvan paste, a rich blend of onion, shallots and aromatics.Making Vadouvan paste takes a little doing, but is worth the effort. Some some specialty shops sell the paste for $100 per pound! A little does go a long way, and the paste is a wonderful short-cut to add fully developed curry flavors into your dish in an instant. The flavor is bold and subtle at the same time, with a meaty base surrounded by an intricate spice melange. Proportions and methods for making Vadouvan paste vary, we tried out several and liked this one best for its simplicity.Try Vadouvan paste in our Vadouvan Vegetable Pie.
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Lentil Loaf with Awesome Sauce
I've made this recipe for lentil loaf a million times. It is a go-to dish that keeps coming back around. Why? It's true the loaf is moist and flavorful, healthy, and satisfying. It's true that you can make it with just about any assortment of seasonal vegetables and spices. But the real reason is that the sauce is AWESOME. Seriously. For a family that loves to experiment with new dishes, the fact that we keep coming back to this recipe is a testament to its greatness.Credit goes to The Simple Veganista and her perfectly proportioned recipe for The Ultimate Vegetable Lentil Loaf. We've barely adapted it here. For our tastes, the secret is in the sauce, a simple blend of balsamic vinegar, ketchup and maple syrup, that pairs perfectly with all manner of flavors in the loaf. For this recipe I made it with New Mexico Chili Powder and our new Garlic Salt, but Sassy Steak Spice and Creole Seasoning also work well.
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Pickle Jar
It's easy to fall in love with a delicious recipe, and doubly so when that recipe is versatile and easy to make. Such is the case with this recipe Rose Water & Orange Blossoms, by Maureen Abood. This versatile mixed pickle jar, can easily accommodate whatever vegetables you happen to have on hand. From the Author: "Mixing vegetables in one jar is a great way to make use of a variety of vegetables you may have on hand, and they look just great in the jar. The tops of the peppers sliced off and placed strategically to face out from the jar look like little flowers—so pretty that you hardly want to disrupt the jar to pull out the pickles to eat!"
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Fresh Herb Falafel
Truly well executed falafel is a revelation to the palate, and this recipe from Rose Water & Orange Blossoms by Maureen Abood provides exactly that. You can also make the falafel mix a day ahead, as well. For more delicious Lebanese recipes, be sure to check out this cookbook - you will want to make every recipe! From the Author: "What a fantastic discovery homemade falafel is! Completely fresh and such a difference from falafel in restaurants, because of the copious fresh herbs and balance of spices. We’ve never cooked with cumin in my extended Lebanese family, but here you can add a pinch if you like."
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Fried Potatoes with Harissa Tehina
Zahav is a popular Middle Eastern restaurant in Philadelphia, and its owner Michael Solomonov wrote a fantastic cookbook using recipes that he serves at the restaurant, as well as at his home. Cowritten by James Cook, Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking reinterprets the type of Israeli Cuisine served at the restaurant, but makes it more manageable for American kitchens. We're especially excited about this inventive recipe for fried potatoes using Harissa, a perennial favorite here at the shop!From the Authors: "This dish happened by serendipity. At Zahav, our Israeli pickles come packed in huge cans with a ton of excess pickle juice. One day, in a passion for brining, I decided to throw some peeled potatoes into that leftover pickle juice. A day later, I drained and fried the potatoes, ending up with the most amazing French fries ever. The potatoes were seasoned from within with a garlicky tang from the pickle juice. Deep-frying can be an undertaking, so when I make this dish at home, I just slice the potatoes into rounds and pan-fry them on both sides in a cast iron skillet until they’re nice and crispy. I serve the potatoes with tehina augmented with harissa, the North African condiment based on dried chiles that’s a staple on the Israeli table. In my harissa, I use ground Aleppo pepper from Syria, which has a fruity flavor and is not screamingly hot, so you can appreciate the pepper’s earthy undertones. I thin the sauce with a little more pickle juice to cut through the richness and echo the flavor of the potatoes. I’ll bet there’s a jar in your fridge, with a lonely pickle or two bobbing in a sea of brine. This recipe is the perfect way to put those pickles out of their misery."
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Chermoula
Afro-Vegan by Bryant Terry is a mainstay vegan cookbook on our shelves at home. He researched traditional Southern cooking, going back to its roots in Africa and the Caribbean, but made the recipes vegan. The results are delicious! (Bonus: Every recipe has a song choice, too!) We especially love this recipe. Chermoula is a versatile marinade combining fresh herbs with dried spices, oils and citrus to create layers of flavor. It is used liberally in Algerian, Libyan, Moroccan and Tunisian cooking to flavor fish, seafood, meats and vegetables.
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