Category Archives: Meatless Main Dishes

Vegetarian, meatless main dishes, many of European extraction. See individual recipes in all sections for vegan or plant-based versions of original recipes.

Meatless Main Dishes

Vegetable Marrow as Mom Made It

Vegetable marrow is a large squash, oval in shape.  It was a common summer and fall-time dish in our family, prepared simply with onion and sour cream.

Ingredients for Vegetable Marrow as Mom Made It

1/2 onion, chopped fine
2 T butter or oil
1 t paprika
2 lb. vegetable marrow, cubed
Salt and white pepper
1/2 to 1 cup sour cream

Cook marrow in salted water until very tender. Drain and mash well.

Saute onion in butter or oil until soft. Add paprika and stir a minute. Mix with marrow.

Combine with sour cream, season, and reheat before serving.

vegetable marrow

noun

1.

a cucurbitaceous plant, Cucurbita pepo, probably native to America but widely cultivated for its oblong green striped fruit, which is eaten as a vegetable
2.

Also called (US) marrow squash. the fruit of this plant
Often shortened to marrow
“vegetable marrow”. Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. HarperCollins Publishers. 12 Apr. 2016. <Dictionary.com http://www.dictionary.com/browse/vegetable-marrow>.

 

Meatless Main Dishes

Hungarian Vegetable Marrow

Hungarian Vegetable Marrow (Tökfözelék)

Recipe from Az Inyesmester Szakacskonyve (The Expert’s Cookbook)

Ingredient for Hungarian Vegetable Marrow recipe

  • 5 lbs vegetable marrow
  • Salt
  • Vinegar
  • Lard or oil
  • Chopped dill
  • Paprika
  • Brown flour roué
  • Sour cream or buttermilk

Peel and grate vegetable marrow. Salt and sprinkle with vinegar. Let soak 1/2 hour. Squeeze out the moisture. Cook in a little lard or oil. Add chopped dill and a little paprika. When tender, prepare a browned flour roué and add to marrow. Cook until thickened. Add sour cream or buttermilk. Can add dill pickle juice for added flavor.

squash

A marrow is a vegetable, the mature fruit of certain Cucurbita pepo cultivars. The immature fruit of the same or similar cultivars is called courgette (in Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands and New Zealand) or zucchini (in North America, Australia, Germany and Austria). Like courgettes, marrows are oblong, green squash, but marrows have a firm rind and a neutral flavour (“overgrown when picked and insipid when cooked…”), making them useful as edible casings for mincemeat and other stuffings.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first mention of vegetable marrows dates to 1822, zucchini to 1929, and courgettes to 1931. Before the introduction of Cucurbita species from the New World, marrow signified the immature, edible fruits of Lagenaria, a cucurbit gourd of African origin widely grown since Antiquity for eating when immature and for drying as watertight receptacles when grown to maturity.

Marrow (vegetable). (2016, December 12). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 06:11, December 12, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Marrow_(vegetable)&oldid=754357847

Meatless Main Dishes

Eggplant Casserole

  • 1 large eggplant
  • 1 bunch spinach
  • 3-4 Italian tomatoes
  • 1/2 container cottage cheese
  • 1 cup grated mozzarella
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan
  • 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
  • 1 slice onion, minced
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 green pepper, thinly sliced
  • Olive oil
  • Oregano, fresh basil
  • Salt and pepper
  • Breadcrumbs
  • Parsley, chopped

Slice eggplant and salt. Let drain on paper towels for 15 to 30 minutes. Press to remove excess moisture.

Cook spinach for 5 minutes in salted water and drain. Sauté mushrooms, onion, garlic and green pepper lightly in olive oil. In ovenproof dish, layer eggplant, tomatoes, mushroom mix, cottage cheese and 3/4 cup of the mozzarella. Sprinkle basil and oregano on each layer. Season to taste. May add 1/4 cup thick white sauce if desired. Top with breadcrumbs, remainder of mozzarella and Parmesan. Place in 350ºF oven for about 20 minutes.

Meatless Main Dishes

Baked Noodles and Eggplant

A layered eggplant and noodle casserole one-dish meal.  Make it vegan with a couple of simple tweaks.

Eggplants

  • 3 large eggplants, sliced
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • Oil and butter
  • 1 14-oz. can tomatoes
  • 1-1/2 lb. spaghetti noodles
  • 1 tsp. dried oregano
  • 4 hard cooked eggs, sliced thinly
  • 2 oz. grated Parmesan

Sprinkle eggplants with salt and let sit in colander for 30 minutes. Drain and dry to remove bitter juices before using in the recipe below.

Fry onion in 2 T oil until soft. Add tomatoes, oregano, salt and pepper. Add a little water, if necessary, and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.

Fry the drained and dried eggplant slices in a little oil until very tender, turning once. Drain on paper towels.

Cook the pasta until just tender. Drain and mix with tomato sauce and 1 T butter.

Butter a large oven dish. Spread a layer of pasta and sauce over the bottom; cover with a layer of eggplant and one of sliced eggs, and sprinkle with 1/4 of the Parmesan cheese. Repeat all layers twice more. Cover with a thick layer of pasta and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake at 375º F for about 30 minutes or till golden.

Vegan Baked Noodles and Eggplant

To convert this into a vegan dish, use oil instead of butter to grease your oven dish. Slice 1-4″ thick rounds of baby zucchini and steam or sauté them in oil for a couple of minutes to soften, then use those rounds to replace the sliced egg in each layer. Replace the Parmesan cheese in the recipe with a faux-Parmesan blend made of coarsely ground raw cashews mixed with a little sea salt and nutritional yeast.


Meatless Main Dishes

Papatzul

A typical dish from the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, made with a wonderful creamy sauce of ground pumpkin seeds. Paptzules are similar to enchiladas in that they are filled and rolled tortillas smothered in a sauce that has chiles in it but is not necessarily very spicy.

Ingredients for Papatzul

  • 3 cups hulled pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
  • 6 serrano chiles
  • 1 sprig epazote (or 2 tsp dry)
  • 3 cups hot water
  • 24 corn tortillas
  • 12 hard cooked eggs

Pulverize the pepitas in a blender. Add seeded chiles and epazote and blend again. Place in a pan and add hot water gradually, stirring. Do not boil. Bring to a bare simmer and cook until sauce is like cream. Dip tortillas in sauce, fill with sliced or chopped eggs, roll, place in a baking dish and cover with remaining sauce. Place in oven until just heated through.

pumpkin seeds - Pepitas

Meatless Main Dishes

Cabbage with sour cream

1 cabbage, shredded
1 T wine vinegar
2 oz. fat
1 pint sour or double cream
1 large tomato
3 or 4 green peppers
2 tablespoons flour
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon caraway seeds

Cook the shredded cabbage in very little salted water with the quartered tomato, the seeded and sliced peppers, caraway seeds and seasoning. Cook till all vegetables are tender. Make a light roux with the flour and fat and mix it into the cooked vegetables. Stir in the cream and heat through before serving.

Meatless Main Dishes

Broccoli with Star Fruit

  • 3-1/2 lbs. broccoli
  • 2 starfruit, slightly green around ribs
  • 1/4 lb. butter
  • salt and pepper

Cut broccoli into flowerettes. Steam until just tender. Drain, plunge into ice water, and drain again.

Cut starfruit into thin slices and pop out the seeds carefully. In large pan, melt butter. Add broccoli. Season with salt and pepper and saute gently about 2 minutes.

Add starfruit and toss gently. Serves 8.

Starfruit
Wikipedia Photo. Author: pinay06
Meatless Main Dishes

Pesto Tortellini with Chard

Lighten up your pesto tortellini by combining it with a bed of lightly steamed Swiss chard.

  • 1 cup fresh basil leaves
  • 1/4 cup parsley
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 T toasted pine nuts
  • 2 large cloves garlic
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 T Parmesan cheese
  • 1 package fresh tortellini
  • 1 bunch Swiss chard
  • Parmesan cheese

Blend together basil, parsley, oil, 2 T Pine nuts, garlic and 1 T Parmesan to make the pesto sauce.

Chop chard slightly and steam till tender. Drain.

Cook tortellini in hot water until al dente and toss with pesto sauce.

Spread chard on plates, mound the pesto-dressed tortellini on top and sprinkle with the remaining pine nuts.

Serve with extra Parmesan on the side.

Tortellini

Meatless Main Dishes, Vegan Versions

Vegan Collard Rolls (aka Cabbage Rolls)

This recipe was inspired by Mom’s Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, which were a staple in our home when we were growing up. Now that I no longer eat animal products, this version made with beans and Portobello mushrooms, completely satisfies the urge for some of Mom’s home cooking, especially when topped off by rich Cashew Sour Cream. Just like the original Cabbage Rolls, they’re always better the next day!

Collard Greens for Stuffed Collard Rols

Ingredients for Vegan Collard Rolls (aka Cabbage Rolls)

  • 12 large collard leaves, stems trimmed, blanched
  • 2 cups cooked rice
  • 1 cup cooked black beans, drained
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1/2 cup chopped green or red pepper
  • 1/4 cup chopped celery
  • 2 Portobello mushrooms, finely diced
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 tsp sage
  • 2 T chopped chives
  • 1 T nutritional yeast (optional)
  • 2 tsp powdered kelp (optional)

Have ready the 12 trimmed and blanched collard leaves (you can use cabbage leaves if you’d prefer).

In a large bowl, mix together the cooked rice and beans.

In a skillet, fry the onion, peppers, and celery in a little olive oil until soft. Add to the rice/bean mixture along with the diced Portobello mushrooms Season with salt and pepper, the sage, chives, and optional nutritional yeast and kelp powder. Combine well. If it’s sticky, so much the better.

Set a collard leaf,, stem-end toward you, flat in front of you and heap a tablespoon or two of filling near the bottom edge. Roll forward, tucking the sides in as you roll, and finish rolling, leaving the final edge underneath the roll so the weight of it holds it closed.

Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce (below) on the bottom of a 9×13″ oven-proof dish and nestle the rolls together on top of the sauce so that they hold each other in place snuggly. Pour enough of the tomato sauce on top to cover the rolls and fill in some of the spaces. The sauce will keep your rolls moist.

Place in a pre-heated 350 F (180 C) oven for about 45 minutes, until much of the sauce is absorbed and bubbly.

Remove rolls carefully with a spatula onto serving plates and top with dollops of Cashew Sour Cream (below). Top with extra heated tomato sauce at the table if you’d like the rolls moister.

Seasoned Tomato Sauce:

  • 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 2 cups homemade or canned tomato sauce
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 cup water

Combine all ingredients over low to medium heat and cook for about 15 minutes to meld flavors.

Cashew Sour Cream

  • 1/2 cup soaked and drained raw cashews
  • 1/4 block (about 3 oz) silken tofu
  • 2 tsp lemon or lime juice
  • 2 tsp unseasoned rice vinegar
  • 2 T avocado oil or or 1/4 of a fresh avocado
  • sea salt to taste

Blend the cashews, tofu, lime/lemon juice, vinegar, avocado (or oil) and salt to taste in a small food processor or blender until smooth and fluffy. This will make a thick, stiff cream that will easily keep in the fridge (covered) for a couple of days should you have any left over.