Vegetable

Big quesadillas make a filling one-dish meal that is easily completed with a salad on the side. Here is the first of a trio of such fare.

Piled high with embellishments, this pizza is a good one for hearty appetites.

I’d love to be able to buy a good vegan pesto sauce for those times when I’m too lazy to make one, but so far, I haven’t found a brand that doesn’t contain cheese. No matter, once you get going, pesto is easy to make, and the one used on this pizza packs a nutritional punch with spinach. This pizza makes a splendid way to get lots of greens in one shot.

Swiss chard is a beloved kitchen-garden vegetable in Italian cuisine. Combined with white beans and tomatoes, this stick-to-your-ribs dish will satisfy the heartiest of appetites.

I’ve suggested in the box on page 141 that most of the pizza recipes in this chapter double easily if you need more servings, with the exception of this one. This is only because it would take an awfully long time to caramelize four large onions. Not that this can’t be done, but it wouldn’t be a particularly quick meal. However, if time is not an issue and you have a nice large pot for the onions, be my guest and make two of these amazingly delicious pizzas.

The simplicity of this Neapolitan recipe, named for ladies of the night, belies its luscious flavor. Use pitted olives to ease preparation. I especially like this dish made with whole wheat spaghettini.

Here’s a lovely, light pizza that’s perfect for a springtime meal.

Carbonara refers to a dish made with bacon. Here, a bacon substitute in the form of a delicious, smoky tempeh product is used. Look for Lightlife smoky tempeh strips, otherwise known as Fakin’ Bacon, in natural food stores and well-stocked supermarkets.

One of my favorite things about Paris—after the museums, the streetscapes, the Seine, the style, the beauty, and so on—is the green beans. Yes, you read that right. Parisian green beans are ubiquitous, and always served perfectly ripe and tender-crisp. Here at home, perfect green beans seem to be available only for a month or so in the summer. This dish is a nice way to highlight them during that brief window; however, I’m so fond of it that I use frozen green beans so I can make this regularly. I highly recommend using organic whole baby green beans, if you can find them; otherwise, French-cut beans will do.

Use slender asparagus and you won’t need to scrape the stalks. If you still believe that asparagus should be a harbinger of spring (even though it’s in the market nearly year-round now), make this dish a tradition by serving it every April or May.

The time for this recipe may stretch to forty minutes or so, due to preheating the oven and roasting the vegetables, but it’s one of my favorites, and I think it’s worth that tiny bit of extra time. I hope you will, too.

One evening not long ago, I had about one hour to make dinner for the family—and eat—between getting home from one activity and going out to another. I improvised based on what was in the fridge rather than following a recipe. This was the result; everyone liked this simple dish so much that I was compelled to compose a recipe for it, and have followed it many times since.

Chow fun is indeed fun chow when you’re in the mood for tasty Asian-style fare.

Here’s an offbeat way to present a stir-fry. Tofu-filled ravioli are like little dumplings in this dish. Do try to use hoisin sauce to finish the dish. It creates a nice brown glaze and adds just the right flavor kick to the mild ravioli.

Here’s one of my favorite uses for a terrific product, Tofurky sausage. The bold flavor is used to full advantage in this hearty Creole-flavored pasta dish. If you have more time, make a pan of vegan corn bread, it’s a wonderful addition to this meal.

A pleasing composition using a minimum of exotic ingredients, this traditional Asian dish becomes somewhat offbeat through the use of fresh tomatoes and basil.

Characteristic of some Southeast Asian cuisines is the overlapping of Asian and Indian influences. This is true of this pleasantly offbeat noodle dish, which is seasoned with both soy sauce and curry.

Here is a pleasing variation on this popular Thai noodle dish. Though the dish is more than fine without it, do try to use fresh lemongrass if possible, as it adds a subtle flavor and scent. Many supermarkets now carry this once-exotic item. But don’t worry if you can’t find it; I’ve made the recipe with and without, and it’s good either way.

Spicy Tofurky sausages make a bold statement in this easy lentil stew. If you can find beluga lentils, use them—they give this dish extra visual appeal.

Since my family loves lentils, I keep a few cans of organic canned lentils on hand to use when we want a meal with this nourishing legume in a hurry. To make this dish a little fancier, try using beluga lentils, as I’ve recommended in earlier recipes. These diminutive, gleaming black lentils contrast attractively with the spinach and dried tomatoes.