Meatless Monday

It's time for another Meatless Monday. Here are six vegetarian recipes to help you through the day, including Spring Pea & Asparagus Pasta Primavera and Cherry Smoothies. Enjoy!

ANYTIME BLACK FORREST BLIZZARD

This was in the September 2012 issue of Runner’s World, page 50. Contributing chef Pam Anderson comes up with quite a few really yummy recipes. This recipe starts off, “Plain Greek yogurt has roughly twice the protein and half the sugar of plan traditional yogurt. Cherries contain antioxidants that help reduce postrun inflammation. ‘To add crunch, stir in Famous Chocolate Wafers,’ says Anderson.”

I doubt that Pam is reading this, but if she is, all I can say is: Keep it up, please!

Ingredients

1 heaping cup frozen, dark sweet cherries

1 frozen banana, cut into chunks

1 C chocolate soymilk

1/4 C Greek yogurt

2 tsp honey or agave syrup

1/4 tsp almond extract

4 Famous Chocolate Wafers, crumbled

Preparation

Place all the ingredients – except the Famous Chocolate Wafers – in a blender; process until creamy smooth. Divide between two glasses. Top each with a portion of crumbled Famous Chocolate Wafers. Serves two.

Calories per serving: 273; Carbs: 54 g; Fiber: 4 g; Protein: 7 g; Fat: 4 g

CHERRY SMOOTHIE

This comes from Yishane Lee in the July 2012 issue of Runner’s World, page 48. I couldn’t find a link for it…

Ingredients

1 cup pitted cherries

3/4 cup plain yogurt

2 tablespoons honey

3/4 cup ice

Preparation

Place ingredients in blender and blend. Yum!

FENNEL AND TOMATO SOUP

This comes from page 28 of the January/February 2012 issue of Vegetarian Times. It begins, “Fennel and tomato pair nicely for an Italian-style tomato soup. Save fennel fronds to use as a garnish.” Serves 6 in 30 minutes or less.

To view this online, click here.

Note: The recipe originally calls for 2 Tbs. dry vermouth, dry white wine, or water. Since I don’t keep alcohol around the house - except for rubbing alcohol - I left the vermouth and/or white wine out of the recipe and substituted water.

Ingredients

3 Tbs. olive oil

1 large fennel bulb, diced (4 cups)

3 vegan Italian sausages, sliced into 1/2-inch-thick rounds (2 cups)

1 tsp. fennel seeds

2 Tbs. water

4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

1 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes, preferably San Marzano

3 Tbs. chopped fresh Italian parsley

Preparation

Heat oil in soup pot over medium heat. Add fennel, and sauté 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in sausages and fennel seeds, and cook 5 to 7 minutes, or until fennel seeds are slightly softened and bits of sausage are stuck to bottom of pan. Add vermouth, and cook 5 to 10 seconds to deglaze pan, scraping up any brown bits. Add broth, tomatoes, and parsley; cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

nutritional information Per 1 2/3-cup serving: Calories: 163; Protein: 6 g; Total Fat: 8 g; Saturated Fat: 2 g; Carbohydrates: 19 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 380 mg; Fiber: 5 g; Sugar: 2 g; Vegan

UPDATED POTATO SALAD

This comes from page 61 of the July/August 2011 issue of Vegetarian Times. It begins, “Plain yogurt and grainy mustard make a light, tangy sauce for potato salad. Serve slightly warm or chilled.” Serves 8 in 30 minutes or less.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

2 lb. fingerling potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces

1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt

1/4 cup whole-grain mustard

2 tsp. olive oil

1 small red bell pepper, diced (1 cup)

3 celery stalks, diced (1 cup)

1/2 small red onion, sliced (1/2 cup)

Preparation

Place potatoes in large saucepan, and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and cook 5 to 6 minutes, or until potatoes are tender, but not soft.

Meanwhile, whisk together yogurt, mustard, and olive oil in large bowl. Stir in red bell pepper, celery, and onion.

Drain potatoes, rinse under cold water, and drain again. Add potatoes to yogurt mixture, stirring to coat. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

nutritional information Per 1-cup serving: Calories: 134; Protein: 4 g; Total Fat: 2 g; Saturated Fat: less than 1 g; Carbohydrates: 24 g; Cholesterol: less than 1 mg; Sodium: 182 mg; Fiber: 2 g; Sugar: 3 g; Gluten-Free

ZUCCHINI PARMESAN

This comes from Martha Rose Schulman in The New York Times Cooking e-newsletter. Martha wrote, “This is a simple layered casserole with three elements: roasted zucchini, a really good homemade tomato sauce and Parmesan. Roasting, rather than frying the zucchini, allows you to cut down on olive oil and time.” Time: About 1 1/ 2 hours; Makes 6 servings.

To view this online, go to http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017523-zucchini-parmesan

Ingredients

For the Tomato Sauce:

2 to 2 1/2 pounds fresh ripe tomatoes

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

2 to 4 garlic cloves (to taste)

Salt and pepper

1/8 teaspoon sugar

2 sprigs fresh basil

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

For the Zucchini Parmesan:

2 to 2 1/4 pounds zucchini

Salt and pepper

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (pepperoncini), to taste

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Preparation

If you have a food mill, quarter tomatoes. If not, peel, seed and chop them. (See step 5.)

To make tomato sauce, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat and add onion. Cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute, and add tomatoes, salt, pepper, sugar and basil sprigs. Increase heat to medium-high. When tomatoes are bubbling briskly, stir and reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring often, until tomatoes have cooked down and are beginning to stick to pan, 15 to 25 minutes, depending on consistency. Remove basil sprigs; taste and adjust seasoning.

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment. Trim ends off zucchini and cut in half crosswise, then into lengthwise slices, about 1/4 to 1/3 inch thick. Season on both sides with salt and pepper and toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Arrange zucchini slices on baking sheets in one layer and sprinkle with red pepper flakes. Roast for 12 minutes, until lightly browned and easily pierced with a knife. Remove from oven and reduce heat to 375 degrees.

If using a food mill, put sauce through medium blade. If not, pulse sauce in a food processor fitted with steel blade until just coarsely puréed. Stir in chopped basil.

To assemble the dish, oil a 2-quart gratin with olive oil. Spread 1/4 cup tomato sauce over bottom of dish. Arrange a third of the zucchini in an even layer over tomato sauce. Spoon a third of remaining sauce over zucchini and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan. Repeat with 2 more layers, ending with 1/4 cup Parmesan. Drizzle on remaining tablespoon olive oil. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until bubbling and browned on the top and edges. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

SPRING PEA AND ASPARAGUS PASTA PRIMAVERA

This comes from John Mitzewich, who wrote for The Spruce Eats. John wrote, “‘Primavera’ means spring, and this easy pasta dish features two great spring vegetables - asparagus and peas. You can tweak this recipe by adding almost any vegetables you like.” The recipe originally called for either vegetable or chicken stock; I've kept the chicken stock out of this. Prep Time: 10 minutes; Cook Time: 10 minutes; Total Time: 20 minutes; Yield: 4 Servings

Unfortunately, the link I had for this no longer works. But this was so yummy, I wanted to make sure to give credit to John for coming up with this wonderful recipe.

Ingredients

8 oz dry pasta (tagliatelle, fettuccini, or linguini are recommended)

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup vegetable stock

1 cup heavy cream

1 bunch asparagus, cut in 2-inch slices

1 cup shelled green peas (may substitute frozen, thawed)

1 lemon, zested and juiced

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Preparation

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to directions. While the pasta is cooking prepare the sauce as follows.

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat, and add the garlic. Cook for 1 minute, being very careful not to brown. Add the stock, cream, lemon zest and turn heat up to high. When it begins to boil, add the vegetables and cook until the asparagus is tender-crisp, about 3 minutes.

Turn off heat.Drain the pasta (do not rinse), and add back to the pot. Pour in the sauce and mix to coat the pasta. Add the lemon juice, basil, Parmesan, salt and pepper. Toss again and serve immediately.