Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook Part 6

For some really good times, place a whole, peeled, unsliced pineapple on the outdoor grill. Lightly oil it and turn it occasionally to caramelize each side. This is especially a good idea if you have lots of hot, smoldering coals left over (after the main grilling) and don't want to waste them. Better than a stupid roasted marshmallow, if you ask us. It's fun to slice hot off the grill (use a big knife and pierce it with a fork so it doesn't fly off the cutting board), kind of like a big old holiday roast made just out of, you guessed it, pineapple.

Portobello Mushrooms

Who needs burgers? Portobellos are nature's own burger, big juicy mushrooms that just beg to be grilled and placed between a bun. You could go through a whole song and dance with balsamic vinegar and soy sauce, but this is just about the basics. A little olive oil and garlic lets the mushroom flavor s.h.i.+ne through.

GETTING THE STEM OFF A PORTOBELLO.

NOW, this is sort of an art, as many a portobello has been ruined by untrained hands that either rip or pull too hard or crush the delicate cap. So forgive us if this is just too much detail about how to remove a stem from a mushroom (but if you had seen all the carnage that we have you would understand our precautions). Place the portobello, stem side up, on a flat surface. Place your fingers gently on the underside just outside the stem, to secure it. Using your free hand (which should be your writing hand), place your fingers at the base of the stem and gently turn the cap inward. This may take a few turns until you feel it giving; it's sort of like gently jiggling your key in a lock. When the stem gives, you should be home free and can just gently turn until the stem comes off. You don't have to do this every time; once you get a feel for the portobello you will be able to just pull a stem off in the blink of an eye.

Prep: Remove stem (see tip). Wipe clean with a damp towel. Brush generously with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.

Grill: Place on the grill gill side down. Sprinkle with a little coa.r.s.e sea salt. Let the portobellos cook for about 10 minutes, then flip over and cook for another 5, brus.h.i.+ng with olive oil if they look dry. Depending on the heat of your grill and the size of your mushrooms, you may need to cook for another 5 to 10 minutes, flipping every so often. The mushrooms are ready when they are soft and dark. The center should be tender and release moisture when you press down with a spatula.

Tomatoes

We generally don't recommend grilling tomatoes, but we can recommend making cute little kebabs with firm, ripe cherry tomatoes and plenty of oil. These don't take very long, maybe only 2 to 3 minutes, tops, so don't go wandering over to finish off the last of the guacamole when these babies are on the grill.

Zucchini or Summer Squash

Zucchini really takes to the grill and rewards you with those perfect grill lines you see in magazines. For best results, use young to middle-aged squash, avoiding those really huge, old zucchini that are nothing but tough skin and lots of seeds.

Prep: Cut off the stems. Slice on a bias (angle) into just less than -inch slices. The reason for cutting on a bias is so that you get nice big slices that won't fall into the grill, but it also has the added benefit of being a nicer presentation. Brush with olive oil.

Grill: Cook one side for about 3 to 4 minutes. Check the bottom to see if your grill marks have appeared. When they have, brush with olive oil, flip over, and cook for a few minutes more. The squash should be tender but not completely falling apart. Remove from the grill and lightly salt.

Other Vegetables

Maybe someday you'll have the burning desire to grill a sweet potato or a rutabaga. And who are we to stop you? In general, it's helpful to keep in mind that whatever you put on the grill should ideally: (a) be completely cooked in fewer than 10 to 12 minutes, and (b) not fall apart when put under such intense heat. Generally, it helps to keep vegetables sliced less than inch. Root vegetables should be precooked-usually by boiling-until just tender but not cooked all the way, then sliced into -inch-thick pieces. Same applies to winter squash; just make sure not to overcook it before putting on the grill. Use plenty of oil to protect against sticking, and have ready a spatula if anything appears to be too fragile or soft to handle with tongs.

Kebab Advice MAYBE you didn't ask for it, but we've got it. Our basic kebabs generally consist of: peppers, whole mushrooms, onions, and zucchini. Prep the peppers by blanching them, then cut them into inch-thick slices. Chop the zucchini and onions into -inch slices and leave the mushroom whole. If you need to add cherry tomatoes, fine, but make separate little skewers just for them. They cook far faster than other vegetables and will end up falling off the skewers and into the fire before the other vegetables are done.

For heartier fare, add chunks of seitan or pressed tofu. Place it all into a plastic bag or container, coat with olive oil and a few pinches of coa.r.s.e sea salt, and squeeze a lemon over it. Or, use a marinade. For the professionally lazy, we'll even let you use your favorite bottled oil and vinegar dressing as a no-effort marinade. Let them sit for about 15 minutes, then place on skewers, alternating vegetables and seitan. Cook for 7 to 10 minutes, turning every few minutes and brus.h.i.+ng with oil. Drizzle with Miso Tahini dressing (page 93) for optimal yumminess.

So now that you have the basics of grilling down, it's time to serve these babies up. If you are going the sandwich route, it's a good idea to grill the bread as well-why not? Fire is free. If not using hamburger buns, we like to use chewy peasant bread. Simply brush with oil and lightly grill each side until faint grill marks start to appear. You can also opt for garlic bread. It's simple-just puree two cloves of garlic with cup of olive oil, brush onto bread, and grill. Once your bread is grilled, spread with Basil-Cilantro Pesto (page 214), pile on veggies, and enjoy!

You can also serve grilled veggies on top of a cold pasta or rice salad; the combination of hot and cold foods is the best thing in the whole world. Grill some extra vegetables and save the leftovers just for this or a dozen other reasons: to put on pizza, blend into hummus (page 67), sneak into the Roasted Eggplant and Spinach m.u.f.fuletta (page 100), finely dice and sprinkle into a bean soup, etc.

Roasting Veggies in the Oven Roasting simply means to cook something with indirect dry heat for a moderate amount of time. The wonderful thing about this method is that, whereas boiling leaches the flavor out of our food, roasting concentrates the flavor, as well as crisps and caramelizes the outside. Most any vegetable can be roasted and all that is needed is some oil, salt, and pepper. And of course, a little garlic never hurts. The other bonus is that the cook has to do very little work while the veggies are cooking. So, we often complete our meals with a hodgepodge of roasted veggies. This way, while the stove top might be seeing a lot of chaotic action, there is an oasis of serenity down below as our little friends do their thing and roast away.

The following are not so much recipes as guidelines for some of our favorite roasted vegetables. You'll notice, throughout the book, we demand that you serve something with roasted this or that, so we figured that it was only right that we let you know how to do it. First we give you the basic prep and cooking time, but you decide what kind of herbs and flavorings (if any) that you want to use. Go lightly with dried spices and add them before cooking. If using fresh herbs, toss them in about 5 minutes before the veggies are done cooking. We suggest that you use a 13 17-inch rimmed baking sheet for all of these recipes and always cook your veggies in a single layer so that they cook evenly and perfectly.

HOW TO PREPARE YOUR ROASTING PAN.

Baking parchment, often called "parchment paper," can be a baking sheet's best friend when roasting vegetables. It isn't completely necessary, but it does help to protect your sheet and to make sure that your veggies don't stick.

Asparagus

When roasted, asparagus's rich flavors get really concentrated. The entire vegetable achieves a certain succulent texture that only happens with roasting. You'll notice, throughout the book, that we ask you to serve lots of things with roasted asparagus, and that is not because we work for the National Asparagus Council, it is just because we love it that much. (On a side note, is the NAC hiring?) Oven temperature: 400F Prep: Remove the rough stem bottoms. Drizzle and coat the asparagus with olive oil, salt, and fresh black pepper. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. If you like, add minced garlic 5 minutes before the asparagus is done, and mix it in with tongs.

Roast: 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the size of the asparagus. The tips should be a bit crispy and the stems should be lightly browned and crinkly.

Complements: Tarragon, thyme, crushed fennel seeds, rosemary, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, or fresh lemon juice.

Fancy it up: Because we worry that you might not be eating enough capers, why not try tossing in a few tablespoons of capers along with the asparagus in the roasting pan?

Brussels Sprouts

This is the recipe that took Isa from nose-turner-upper to fork-digger-inner. Roasting Brussels sprouts brings out their nutty flavor.

Oven temperature: 400F Prep: Remove the rough k.n.o.bby stem; slice the sprouts in half lengthwise. Drizzle and coat with olive oil, salt, and fresh black pepper. Place cut side down on a baking sheet. If you like, add minced garlic 5 minutes before the Brussels are done and mix in with tongs.

Roast: 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the size of the sprouts. The cut side should be browned and crispy in places.

Complements: We prefer these plain and unadulterated.

Cauliflower

Roasting cauliflower is a popular way to serve up this vegetable in a variety of Mediterranean cuisines. Like Brussels sprouts, cauliflower has an aromatic nutty flavor when roasted, which makes sense since they are in the same family.

Oven temperature: 400F Prep: Slice head of cauliflower in half and remove leaves. Slice into bite-size chunks, drizzle and rub with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and fresh black pepper. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet.

Roast: Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, using tongs to turn them halfway through cooking.

Complements: After cooking, add fresh chopped parsley and drizzle with fresh lemon juice, if you wish.

Fancy it up: Make a yummy Indian side dish by adding a teaspoon each of crushed c.u.min and coriander seeds before cooking.

Eggplant

Oven-roasted eggplant is so versatile and dare we say "meaty" that you'll find a way to work it into pastas, sandwiches, curries, salads, and more. Especially nice when you're feeding a mixed crowd of meat- and plant-eaters. Simply slice the eggplant any way that you please (but keep the skin on). Cutting crosswise into -inch-thick rounds creates a good, all-purpose shape; -inch-thick lengthwise slices rule for hero-style sandwiches and layering in ca.s.seroles. We recommend salting eggplant before cooking it (See sidebar "To Salt or Not to Salt?" on page 27).

Oven temperature: 350F Prep: Remove the stems. Slice as described above, or cut into -inch cubes for use in a soup or salad. If you want to go with salting the eggplant, rub each slice with kosher salt and place in a colander; put the colander in the sink. Let sit for 20 to 30 minutes, allowing any excess liquid to sweat out. Rinse each slice and pat dry with a kitchen towel. Whether or not you salted the eggplant, rub the slices with olive oil and sprinkle them with fresh black pepper (if you salted them, there is no need for salt here; if not, sprinkle with salt now.) Place on a baking sheet.

Roast: 15 to 20 minutes. You may want to spray with a little oil intermittently to prevent the eggplant from drying out. The slices should be lightly browned.

Complements: Tarragon, thyme, crushed fennel seeds, rosemary, oregano, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, or fresh lemon juice. Or go in a Middle Eastern direction and sprinkle on ground c.u.min and paprika.

Fancy it up: Top roasted eggplant with lightly sauteed chopped garlic, sliced black olives, fresh parsley or dill, and drizzles of high-quality olive oil.

Whole Eggplant ROAST a whole eggplant in its skin? Are you mad? Mad about tender, melt-in-your-mouth eggplant, maybe. Take a small to medium-size eggplant, p.r.i.c.k little holes all over it with a fork, place it in a "cradle" of foil on a baking sheet, and bake it at 400F for 25 to 35 minutes, until it's collapsed and easily pierced with a fork. The resulting interior (don't eat the charred skin) is creamy, delicate, and delicious scooped away from the exterior and mashed with a little olive oil, lemon, salt, and a touch of c.u.min. Use as a dip with toasted pita triangles, cuc.u.mbers, and carrot spears.

Green Beans

If roasting a green bean sounds weird to you, then get ready to question everything you thought you knew and bite into a crisp 'n' chewy, yet tender 'n' roasty green bean. These are especially lovely tossed into a pasta or potato salad.

Oven temperature: 400F Prep: Trim the tops. Drizzle and coat with olive oil, salt, and fresh black pepper. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. If you like, add minced garlic 5 minutes before the beans are done, and mix it in with tongs.

Roast: 12 to 15 minutes Complements: We prefer these plain and unadulterated.

Roasting Garlic SOME articles from the '80s, such as stirrup pants and banana hair clips, are best left to lame theme parties and annoying "You know you're a child of . . ." e-mail spam. However, the wonderful roasted garlic was everywhere during that decade is here to stay, if we have anything to say about it. It's so mellow, sweet, and simple to make. There's no excuse not to work roasted garlic into everything from salad dressings to hummus.

If you can tease up some "mall hair," then you can make roasted garlic. Take one or more whole, unpeeled, and unseparated bulbs of garlic. With a heavy, sharp knife, slice off approximately inch of the entire top of the bulb, exposing the insides of the garlic cloves. Drizzle about 1 tablespoon of olive oil onto the top of the bulb, making sure the cut cloves are covered with oil and some oil sneaks into the s.p.a.ces between the cloves. Wrap tightly in foil and bake at 375F for 20 to 30 minutes, until the cloves are very soft and turned a deep golden color. For slightly caramelized cloves, unwrap the tops of the bulbs and let them roast for 8 to 10 additional minutes.

It may seem like a big waste to heat up the oven just to roast a few cloves of garlic. Sometimes we use our toaster ovens. Other times, if we know we're going to have the oven fired up for an hour or more (when making a ca.s.serole or roasting other veggies), we'll wrap up some garlic and sneak it into the oven even if we have no particular roasted garlic in mind, just to have it on hand. Roasted garlic, if stored in a tightly sealed container, should keep for about a week.

Peppers

Roasting peppers at home will make you feel like you're on a cooking show. A show so fabulous that you can film in your pajamas and n.o.body will say anything because you're famous for your breathtaking roasted peppers.

Also, roasted peppers are particularly perfect for placing on pizzas (say that 5 times fast).

How to Roast a Pepper on the Stove Top SOMETIMES you want just one roasted pepper. And you want it fast. The best way to go about this is roasting a whole, unsliced pepper directly on top of the stove, on a gas burner over high heat (DON'T use an electric burner; if that's all you have, use the oven method instead). Go ahead, the pepper can take it. Use tongs to rotate the pepper as its skin starts to blacken and blister. When about 75 percent of the pepper is done roasting, pick it up with the tongs and drop it into a paper bag or a large, heatproof bowl. Crimp the top of the bag or tightly cover the bowl with a dish or some plastic wrap. Allow the pepper to sit for at least 10 to 15 minutes. This step not only lets it cool enough to be handled but also allows the steam escaping from the pepper to loosen its skin. After it's cooled for a while, gently peel away as much of the skin as possible. It's okay if bits of charred skin remain on the pepper; they're full of flavor and have that exciting barbecued look. Slice, seed, and proceed as usual.

Oven temperature: 425F Prep: Cut the peppers in half lengthwise and remove the stem and seeds. Coat lightly with olive oil (a spray bottle works great for this) and place on a lightly greased baking sheet.

Roast: 20 to 25 minutes, until skin is dark brown in spots.

Note: Most of the time people remove the skin before eating, but that isn't exactly necessary if your peppers aren't charred beyond belief. We actually like the way the burnt parts taste. If you would like to remove the skin, place the peppers in a paper or plastic bag the moment you remove them from the oven. Close the bag, and this will steam the peppers. When they have cooled for about 30 minutes, the skins can be peeled away easily.