Meatless Monday

It's time for another Meatless Monday. Here are six recipes to start your week off just right, including Chunky Pizza Soup and Tie-Dye Cheesecake. Enjoy!

CHICKPEA TIKKA MASALA

This is from the March 2014 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 24, and begins, “This mild veg version of an Indian restaurant favorite shows that Indian food doesn’t have to be ultra-spicy to be good.” Serves 4 in 30 minutes or less.

This can be viewed online here.

Ingredients

1 Tbs. vegetable oil

1/2 medium onion, diced

1 Tbs. garam masala

1 Tbs. tomato paste

2 tsp. grated fresh ginger

1 serrano chile, minced

2 15-oz. cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes

1/2 cup low-fat Greek-style yogurt

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Directions

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion, and sauté 5 minutes, or until softened. Add garam masala, tomato paste, ginger, and serrano chile, and season with salt, if desired. Sauté 1 minute more.

Stir in chickpeas and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in yogurt and cilantro.

nutritional information Per 1 1/2-cup serving: Calories: 328; Protein: 16 g; Total Fat: 9 g; Saturated Fat: 1 g; Carbohydrates: 52 g; Cholesterol: 2 mg; Sodium: 582 mg; Fiber: 5 g; Sugar: 11 g; Gluten-Free

TIE-DYE CHEESECAKE

This is from The Food Network, and begins, “This outrageous psychedelic cheesecake is an ode to all the tie-dye of the 1960s. Making the vibrant swirls is much easier to do than it looks; all you need is a wooden skewer – groovy!” Total: 10 hr 45 min; Active: 35 min; Yield: 12 servings; Level: Intermediate

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

Crust:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs (from about 18 whole crackers)

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

2 tablespoons sugar

Pinch fine salt

Filling:

Three 11.5-ounce containers whipped cream cheese

1 1/4 cups sugar

One 16-ounce container sour cream, at room temperature

1 cup heavy cream

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Neon blue, pink and purple food coloring

Yellow food coloring

Whipped cream, for serving

Directions

Special equipment: a 10-inch springform pan and a wooden skewer

Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F.

For the crust: Mix together the graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugar and salt and press into bottom of a 10-inch springform pan. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool completely. Wrap up the bottom and sides of pan with a large piece of foil and put in a large roasting pan.

For the filling: Beat the cream cheese and sugar, in a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the sour cream and mix until just combined. Add the heavy cream and mix until just combined. Mix in the eggs, by hand, 1 at time. Then mix in the vanilla, lemon juice, by hand as well, until just combined. (Overmixing can turn your cheesecake into a souffle.)

Using a ladle, divide the cheesecake batter into 4 separate bowls. Dye each a separate color; blue, pink, purple and yellow. Add enough food coloring so that the colors are very vibrant and intense.

Use an ice cream scoop or large spoon to drop spoonfuls of the batter onto the crust, alternating the colors, until all the batter has been scooped. Use a wooden skewer and drag it through the colors to marble them for tie-dye effect, making sure the skewer reaches down to the bottom of the pan. Transfer the pan to the roasting pan. Add enough hot water to come about halfway up the side of the springform pan.

Bake until the outside of the cake is set and the center is still slightly loose, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake in the oven for another hour. Remove the cheesecake from the roasting pan to a cooling rack. Run a knife around the edge and cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours.

Unmold the cheesecake and transfer to a serving plate or cake stand. Serve slices with a dollop of whipped cream.

NO CHURN ICE CREAM

This comes from GE Appliances’ email list. It begins, “No one will believe that this ultra-creamy ice cream is so easy to make. No fancy ice cream machine required.”

12 servings (6 cups total)

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients:

14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Pinch fine sea salt

2 cups heavy cream, chilled

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla and salt until thoroughly combined; set aside.

In a large metal bowl, whip the cream with a hand mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes. Fold about 1 cup of the whipped cream into the condensed milk mixture with a rubber spatula until combined, then fold the lightened mixture into the whipped cream until well blended.

Pour into a chilled 9-by-5-by-3-inch metal loaf pan, cover with plastic wrap and freeze until solid and scoopable, about 3-4 hours.

Chef’s Notes:

For best results, chill both the metal bowl and loaf pan before starting this recipe.

Try adding in additional ingredients after the ice cream has set for a few hours. Crushed up chocolate sandwich cookies, toasted nuts or chopped up candy bars are all great additions. Stir them in and place the ice cream back in the freezer until firm.

SUMMER RATATOUILLE WITH FARRO

This is from Martha Rose Schulman in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Martha wrote, “Ratatouille tastes best the day after you make it, and in the summer, you can serve it chilled or at room temperature, with a vinaigrette drizzled over the top. Here, it tops a pile of farro. Top it with a poached egg, or with crumbled feta or grated Parmesan.”

Yield: Serves 6; Time: 1 hour 15 minutes for the ratatouille 15 minutes for assembling the big bowls.

This was featured in “Just Add Farro”, and can be viewed online here.

Ingredients

For the Ratatouille

1 1/2 pounds eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Salt

3/4 pound (2 medium) onions, thinly sliced

3/4 pound mixed sweet peppers (red, yellow, green), cut into slices about 3/4 inch wide by 1 1/2 inches long

4 to 6 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 1/4 pounds zucchini, sliced about 1/2 inch thick (if very thick, cut in half lengthwise first)

1 pound tomatoes, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped

1 bay leaf

1 to 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 to 1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Freshly ground pepper

For the Vinaigrette

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar or 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar and 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Salt to taste

1 very small garlic clove, pureéd

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

For the Big Bowl

3 to 4 cups cooked farro or spelt

2 to 4 tablespoons slivered or chopped fresh basil, to taste

6 eggs, poached

2 ounces crumbled feta or freshly grated Parmesan

Preparation

For the Ratatouille

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place diced eggplant in a large, heavy, flameproof casserole. Toss with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and salt to taste. Place in hot oven and roast uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring from time to time, until eggplant is lightly browned and fragrant. Remove the casserole from the oven, cover tightly and allow eggplant to steam in the hot casserole while you pan-cook onions, peppers, and zucchini.

Meanwhile, heat a tablespoon of the remaining oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until just about tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in peppers and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until peppers have softened and smell fragrant, about 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in half the garlic and cook for another minute, then season with salt and pepper and transfer to casserole with eggplant. Heat remaining oil in the skillet and add zucchini. Cook, stirring often, until tender but still bright, about 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in remaining garlic for a minute, until fragrant, season to taste with salt and pepper, and transfer to casserole.

Add tomatoes to the casserole with bay leaf, thyme, oregano, and more salt and pepper to taste. Toss everything together and place over medium-low heat. When vegetables begin to sizzle, cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring often, for 30 to 45 minutes, until the mix is juicy and fragrant and the vegetables are thoroughly tender. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve warm or cold, preferably the next day.

For the Big Bowl

Whisk together ingredients for the vinaigrette.

To assemble the big bowl, spoon warm or room temperature farro or spelt into each bowl (1/2 cup to 3/4 cup, to taste). Top with a generous spoonful of ratatouille. Spoon a tablespoon of vinaigrette over the ratatouille and garnish with some of the basil. Top with a poached egg if desired and sprinkle with feta or Parmesan. Garnish with more basil and serve.

CHUNKY PIZZA SOUP

This comes from the infamous long-since-forgotten emailing list.

Ingredients

1 tb Oil, vegetable

1 Onion, chopped small

1/2 c Mushrooms, sliced

1/4 c Green peppers, slivered

1 c Tomatoes, undrained

1 c Stock, beef

1 c Pepperoni, thin sliced

1/2 ts Basil, dried

1 c Cheese, mozzarella shredded

Directions

Preheat oven broiler. Heat oil over medium heat, stirfry onion, mushroom and green pepper till soft, not browned. Add tomatoes, stock, pepperoni and basil, cook till heated through. Ladle soup into ovenproof bowls and sprinkle with cheese. Broil till cheese melts and is bubbly.

BANANA MUFFINS WITH TART LEMON ICING

This was on an old Weight Watcher's emailing list. Unfortunately, I no longer have a link to it, as WW has changed enough over the years. The points value is from when the email came out.

The recipe begins, “If the mouth-puckering lemon icing isn’t enough flavor for you, try adding 1/2 teaspoon each of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger to the flour mixture.”

POINTS® Value: 3; Servings: 18; Preparation Time: 15 min; Cooking Time: 30 min; Level of Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened, divided

1 large egg(s)

2 tsp vanilla extract, divided

2 cup all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup fat-free skim milk

4 large banana(s), ripe, mashed

1 cup powdered sugar

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 tsp lemon zest, strips, or more to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line 18 muffin holes with paper liners.

Place sugar and 5 tablespoons of butter in a large bowl; cream with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg and 1 teaspoon of vanilla; beat until thoroughly mixed.

In another large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add half of flour mixture to butter mixture; beat well with mixer. Add milk and remaining flour mixture; beat until batter is combined and then fold in mashed bananas.

Spoon batter into muffin liners about 3/4 full. Bake until muffins start to brown and a tester inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes. Allow muffins to cool in pan for about 2 minutes; remove to a wire rack and cool completely before icing.

Meanwhile, to make icing, combine powdered sugar, remaining tablespoon of butter, lemon juice, zest, and remaining teaspoon of vanilla in a medium bowl; beat with an electric mixer until creamy, about 1 to 2 minutes. Ice cooled muffins; cover and refrigerate any uneaten muffins. Yields 1 muffin per serving.