vegetarian meals

Plov is a common dish throughout Central Asia and is the national dish of Uzbekistan. All plov contains rice and usually meat like lamb or beef. Here is a vegetarian version. I found a vegetarian recipe and modified it using the ingredients I already had. The original recipe used chickpeas but I had already cooked Peruano beans so used them.

1/2 large purple onion, coarsely chopped

1/2 fennel bulb, coarsely chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 cup kalamata olives, chopped

1 drop coriander essential oil

1 drop cumin essential oil

1 drop cilantro essential oil

Chili flakes (optional and amount to taste)

1 cup cooked Peruano beans

2 cups greens (I used spinach and arugula), coarsely chopped

1 heaping half cup of basmati rice, rinsed

butter or olive oil for sautéing

Heat the oil or butter in a heavy casserole dish. Add onions, garlic, and fennel. Saute until tender. Stir in the spices. Scatter the beans and olives on top of the onion mixture. Do not stir! Add about 1/4 to 1/3 cup water. Layer the greens on top of the beans and olives. Flatten the greens with a spoon. Do not stir! Let greens wilt then layer the drained rice on top. Pour in enough boiling water to just cover the rice. Cook on high heat until the liquid has boiled off. Poke holes in the rice to allow steam to escape. Cover pan with lid and turn off heat but leave pan on the burner. Let the rice steam for 20-30 minutes.

To serve, stir the contents and serve in large bowls. You can add extra fresh herbs and lemon if desired. I just served as is and found it delicious. You do not have to use essential oil but can use ground herbs or fresh. If using essential oil, use a safe brand for cooking. I used Edens Garden but have used others, e.g. Doterra.

Last night 12 people were at my house for dinner, including a friend who is Muslim so no pork. I created this dish in order to feed both my Muslim and vegetarian friends. You could use regular chorizo, but after trying soyrizo, I quit using anything else and even my Mexican friends love it. Tastes the same, but not so greasy so probably healthier.

I package soy chorizo, removed from casing

Enough small red potatoes to cover the bottom of a 13 X 9 casserole dish when thinly sliced

3 large poblano peppers, deseeded and sliced

1 medium purple onion, chopped

10 cherry tomatoes

2 cups half and half

4 TBS flour

1 TBS chili mild chili powder

Several TBS olive oil

Cover the bottom of the casserole with olive oil. Layer the sliced potatoes so that they totally cover the bottom of the dish. Remove the soy chorizo from its casing and crumble it over the potatoes. Layer the sliced poblanos over the chorizo. Sprinkle the chopped onions over the top of the peppers. Scatter the cherry tomatoes on top of the onions. In a blender, combine the half and half, the flour, and the chili powder. Pour evenly over the casserole. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees until the potatoes are tender. You may uncover the casserole and continue baking for the last ten to fifteen minutes if you would like the top a bit browned.

I served this with roasted vegetables seasoned with cumin and ground coriander and Egyptian basil:

Cover the bottom of a heavy casserole with olive oil. Place thinly sliced potatoes–I used purple ones–to cover the bottom of the pan. Continue layering your choice of vegetables, spices, and olive oil. Bake at 400 degrees until the potatoes on done, stirring occasionally. About ten minutes before the casserole is done, add kale leaves. The potatoes take longer to cook than any other vegetables I have ever used. Last night I used these vegetables: purple potatoes, yams, baby carrots, brussel sprouts, chopped onions, beets, kale, red jalapeños (seeded and halved), and whole garlic cloves. This is also good with garbanzo beans added just before the kale.

I was going to take photos but was too busy entertaining to take them.