Meatless Monday

It's time for another Meatless Monday. Here are six yummy vegetarian recipes to start your week off just right, including Chipotle Veggie Chili and Rumplemayer’s Hot Chocolate. Enjoy!

VEGETARIAN TORTILLA SOUP

This is from Alison Roman in The New York Times cooking email. Alison wrote, “This vegetarian version of tortilla soup is no less complex than its chicken counterpart, thanks to plenty of vegetables, spices and a secret ingredient: canned chipotles in adobo. Smoked and dried jalapeños softened in a vinegar-tomato mixture, these little powerhouses do much of the heavy lifting in this vegetarian soup, offering depth and a certain meatiness to an otherwise light and tangy broth.”

Yield: 4 servings; Time: 1 1/4 hours

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

For the Soup:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 jalapeño, seeds removed, finely chopped

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons chile powder

2 chipotles in adobo, finely chopped

1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and crushed

4 cups vegetable broth

2 cups corn kernels, fresh or frozen and thawed

For the Tortillas and Assembly:

2 cups vegetable oil

8 small corn tortillas, cut into 1/4-inch strips

Kosher salt

1 avocado, pitted and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

3/4 cup crumbled queso fresco or shredded Cheddar or Monterey jack

3/4 cup sour cream or crema

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 red or yellow onion, finely chopped

Lime wedges, for serving

Preparation

Heat oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and jalapeño and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened and translucent, 5 to 8 minutes. Add chile powder and stir to coat. Cook a minute or two to toast the spices, then add chipotles and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes start to caramelize a bit on the bottom of the pot, concentrating their flavor.

Add vegetable broth, corn and 2 cups of water. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to low. Simmer until flavors meld and broth tastes rich and flavorful, 15 to 20 minutes.

Heat oil in a large cast-iron or stainless-steel skillet or heavy-bottomed pot. Bring oil to 375 degrees and working in batches, fry tortilla strips until light golden brown and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and season with salt.

Place about 3/4 of the tortilla strips into broth and stir to submerge and soften for a few minutes. Divide soup among bowls and top with avocado, cheese, sour cream, cilantro, onion and remaining fried tortilla strips. Serve lime alongside for squeezing.

CHIPOTLE VEGGIE CHILI

This yummy recipe is from Morningstar Farms, and begins, “Chipotle peppers, packed in adobo sauce, kick up the flavor of this veggie-packed chili, making it perfect for serving before the big game.”

Prep Time: 15 min; Total Time: 50 min; Servings: 8

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup seeded and chopped red bell pepper

1 cup chopped carrots

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 can (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes

2 cups water

1 can (15 oz.) kidney beans, rinsed and drained

3 tablespoons finely chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

1 teaspoon dried basil leaves

1 package (12 oz.) Morningstar Farms® Meal Starters Grillers® Recipe Crumbles™

2 cups coarsely chopped zucchini

1/2 cup frozen whole corn kernels

Keebler® Club® Cornbread Cracker Bites Homestyle

In nonstick Dutch oven cook onion, bell pepper, carrots and garlic in hot oil until tender. Stir in cumin. Cook and stir for 1 minute more.

Stir in tomatoes, water, kidney beans, chipotle pepper and basil. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in MORNINGSTAR FARMS MEAL STARTERS GRILLERS RECIPE CRUMBLES, zucchini and corn. Return to boiling. Reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes more. Ladle into serving bowls. Serve topped with KEEBLER CLUB Cornbread Cracker Bites Homestyle.

LEMON-SPICE VISITING CAKE

This comes from Dorie Greenspan on The New York Times cooking emailing list. Dorie wrote, “Whether you pack this cake as a gift or have it ready when visitors come to you, the imperative to share is implicit in its name. The cake is built for comfort and durability – make it on Thursday or Friday and have it all weekend. And if it stales, toast it; the heat will intensify the lemon and spice deliciously. The cake is easy to make (no machines needed) and, like all spice cakes, better after a day’s rest. Giving it a swish of warmed marmalade when it comes out of the oven is optional. What shouldn't be passed up is what I call the ‘lemon trick’: Use your fingertips to rub the recipe’s lemon and sugar together until the sugar is moist and aromatic. This easy step transfers everything essential from the lemon to the cake. Think of it as aromatherapy for the cake and you.”

Yield: 10 servings; Time: 85 minutes.

This yumminess was featured in “A Cake You Can Take With You Anywhere” and can be viewed online here.

Ingredients

Butter and flour for the pan

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 large (or 2 small) lemons

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 cup heavy cream, at room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

5 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1/3 cup marmalade (for optional glaze)

1/2 teaspoon water (for optional glaze)

Preparation

Center a rack in the oven, and preheat it to 350. Butter an 8 1/2-inch loaf pan (Pyrex works well), dust with flour and tap out the excess. (For this cake, bakers’ spray isn’t as good as butter and flour.) Place on a baking sheet.

Whisk the 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, cardamom, ginger and salt together.

Put the sugar in a large bowl, and grate the zest of the lemon(s) over the sugar. Squeeze the lemon(s) to produce 3 tablespoons juice, and set this aside. Using your fingers, rub the sugar and zest together until the mixture is moist and aromatic. One at a time, add the eggs, whisking well after each. Whisk in the juice, followed by the heavy cream. Still using the whisk, gently stir the dry ingredients into the batter in two additions. Stir the vanilla into the melted butter, and then gradually blend the butter into the batter. The batter will be thick and have a beautiful sheen. Scrape it into the loaf pan.

Bake for 70 to 75 minutes (if the cake looks as if it’s getting too dark too quickly, tent it loosely with foil) or until a tester inserted deep into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer to a rack, let rest for 5 minutes and then carefully run a blunt knife between the sides of the cake and the pan. Invert onto the rack, and turn over. Glaze now, or cool to room temperature.

For the glaze: Bring the marmalade and water to a boil. Brush the glaze over the top of the warm cake, and allow to it to set for 2 hours. The glaze will remain slightly tacky.

When the cake is completely cool, wrap in plastic to store. If it’s glazed, wrap loosely on top.

HEAVENLY ICE CREAM CAKE WITH RASPBERRY COULIS

This comes from the January 2007 issue of Vegetarian Times, and begins, “Prepared angel food cakes from the supermarket bakery section are good items to have on hand for desserts. Before preparing this elaborate-looking recipe, freeze the cake completely. It slices easily with a serrated knife.” Serves 12.

To view this online, click here.

1 16-oz. angel food cake, frozen

1 10-oz. jar raspberry preserves

1/4 cup raspberry liqueur or orange juice

2 pints low-fat vanilla ice cream, softened, divided

1 10-oz. pkg. frozen raspberries in syrup, thawed

Cut cake into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Cover bottom of 9-inch springform pan with slices, cutting one or two slices as necessary to fill in gaps.

Combine raspberry preserves and liqueur in small saucepan over medium heat, and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, and simmer 5 minutes. Brush half of raspberry mixture over cake in pan. Spread 1 pint ice cream over cake, and smooth top. Arrange more cake slices over ice cream to cover completely. Spread remaining raspberry mixture over cake. Smooth remaining pint of ice cream over cake. Cover with plastic wrap, and freeze overnight. (Can be prepared up to 3 days in advance up to this point.)

Purée thawed raspberries and syrup in food processor until smooth. Strain into bowl.

Run knife around sides of springform pan. Release sides from cake. Slice into wedges, and top with raspberry coulis.

nutritional information Per SERVING: Calories: 273; Protein: 4 g; Total Fat: 1 g; Carbohydrates: 60 g; Cholesterol: 3 mg; Sodium: 319 mg; Fiber: 2 g; Sugar: 31 g

CHIPOTLE ASPARAGUS QUESADILLAS

This comes from the April/May 2014 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 34. It begins, “Canned chipotles in adobo sauce lend mellow, smoky heat to quesadillas. Leftover chipotles (there are usually four or five in a can) can be wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen for future use.” Serves 4 in 30 minutes or less.

To view this online, click here.

Quesadillas

1 lb. asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces (2 cups)

1 red bell pepper, sliced (1 cup)

1 medium onion, sliced (1 cup)

1 1/2 tsp. olive oil or vegetable oil

1 tsp. dried oregano

4 8-inch sprouted-grain tortillas

Chipotle Spread

3 Tbs. vegan mayonnaise

2 tsp. minced, drained chipotles in adobo sauce

1 Tbs. lime or lemon juice

Preheat oven to 425°F.

To make Quesadillas: Toss together asparagus, bell pepper, onion, oil, and oregano in large bowl. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Spread on large baking sheet, and roast 10 to 12 minutes, or until vegetables are tender and beginning to brown, stirring once or twice.

Meanwhile, to make Chipotle Spread: blend all ingredients in blender or food processor until smooth.

Spread 1 1/2 tsp. Chipotle Spread on one side of each tortilla, spreading all the way out to edges. Top with 2/3 cup filling on one half of each tortilla, then fold over tortillas, pressing edges together to enclose filling and form half-moons.

Coat large skillet with cooking spray, and heat over medium heat. Cook each quesadilla in skillet 2 to 3 minutes, turning once.

nutritional information Per Quesadilla: Calories: 273; Protein: 8 g; Total Fat: 13 g; Saturated Fat: 2 g; Carbohydrates: 32 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 235 mg; Fiber: 8 g; Sugar: 3 g; Vegan

RUMPLEMAYER’S HOT CHOCOLATE

This is from Molly O’Neill in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Molly wrote, “Hot chocolate is traceable to the Aztecs, who regarded the dark and bitter drink as a sacred brew. The hot cocoa that Columbus offered his patrons tasted “bitter, scummy and peppery,” according to Chantal Coady's account in “The Chocolate Companion,” which explains, no doubt, why they disliked it intensely. Sometime later, Cortez offered the same beverage to Charles V and his courtiers and succeeded in capturing their imagination with the addition, Ms. Coady writes, of some sugar and vanilla. This version, adapted from Rumplemayer's, a now-closed New York restaurant once known for its hot chocolate and pastries, falls into the latter camp; it is rich, sweet and smooth. It calls for real semisweet chocolate (we bet a mix of semisweet and bittersweet would be delightful, too) so there's none of the chalky aftertaste hot cocoa often leaves behind. A dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon, if you wish, take it over the top.”

Yield: 4 servings; Time: 2 minutes.

This was featured in “Food; Loco for Cocoa,” and can be viewed here.

Ingredients

4 cups milk

6 tablespoons sugar

7 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

1 cup heavy cream (optional)

Ground cinnamon, for garnish (optional)

Preparation

Combine the milk, sugar and chocolate in a large saucepan. Heat, stirring frequently, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture comes to a simmer.

Meanwhile, whip the heavy cream to soft peaks. Ladle the hot chocolate into 4 mugs, top with whipped cream and sprinkle lightly with ground cinnamon. Serve immediately.