Day 21: Lentil Rissoles and Spring Vegetable Stir Fry with Herbed Butter
A croquette is a small fried roll. A rissole is a type of croquette. It’s usually made with sweet or savory ingredients. Here I initially sweated some minced onions and garlic in peanut oil, coriander, and cumin. I then added finely chopped carrots, lentils, and vegetable stock. The mixture is brought up to a boil, and then allowed to simmer until the lentils have gotten pulpy and soft. I allowed the mixture to cool, mixed in panko breadcrumbs, and then mashed it a bit. It is cooled in the fridge, dredged in flour and eggs, breaded in panko, and fried in peanut oil.
The stir fry is simply baby carrots, asparagus, green beans, snow peas, and bamboo shoots. It is then stir fried in hot olive and peanut oil. I then added a good amount of butter and three fourths, yes that was three fourths, a cup of fresh chopped herbs. The herb mixture is equal parts basil, chives, and parsley.
Day 19: Mushroom Moussaka and Beetroot Hummus with Whole Wheat Pitas
Moussaka is a cooked salad that originates from the Middle East. The variant shown here is the Greek style, comprised of several distinct layers of ingredients. Here I made the layers of a cooked mushroom, onion, and tomato mixture, roasted eggplants, and roasted potatoes. Traditionally there would be layer of minced meat, but I decided to have this meal be vegetarian to prove that I could make dishes that I enjoyed without meat.
I then layered the whole mixtures and then poured over it a parmesan cheese béchamel sauce. It then baked in the oven until it turns golden brown and then given a few minutes to come together outside the oven.
The beetroot hummus is simply the addition of cooked beets to the basic hummus recipe of chickpeas, lemon juice, garlic, tahini (sesame paste). I also added an onion cooked with cumin and a bit of vegetable stock for salting purposes and to help with consistency of the final dish. The beets give this variation on basic hummus a subtle sweet flavor that goes well with the pita and the moussaka,
Day 4: Broccoli/Zucchini with Parmesan Topping in a Cream Sauce and Lemon Glazed Carrots with Chopped Shallots/Sesame Seeds
Today’s meal is two vegetarian dishes. I softened the zucchini in the pan with garlic and made the roux with the zucchini in the pan. Liquid base for the sauce was heavy cream and chicken broth. The parboiled broccoli was then added and allowed to simmer, then the whole mixture is transfered to a baking pan, I then added Paresan cheese along with additional butter and baked until golden and bubbling.
I soaked the carrots for 15 minutes and then drained them. During this, I cooked the shallots in butter over low heat. Lemon juice and rind were added and allowed to combine. Then the carrots were added, seasoned, and cooked. Sesame seeds were then dry fried in order to release flavor. Glazed carrots was then transfered to a serving pan and had sesame seeds and parsley placed on top of it.
Q.E.D. Cooking vegetarian does not mean solely salads, bread, or pommes frites.
