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I harbor a deep, dark food secret. Somewhere in the 1980s I was a vegetarian for a year. I did this after a childhood of growing up on chicken livers, fried chicken, oysters out of the shell, and terrifying creations from my non-cooking grandmother, including spaghetti with meatballs that included peanuts inside.
There was reasoning behind my decision to go vegetarian. When I was doing theater, my commitment was an effort to remain slender. It seemed like a good decision.
At that time being a vegetarian consisted of many, many cheese sandwiches, and these sandwiches were without all of the variations that are now possible with vegetarianism. I find the most interesting claim for this food preference is when someone that is vegetarian says they won’t eat anything with eyes; so they’ll eat an oyster but not a fish. I should also clarify that being vegetarian is not the same as being vegan. Vegans do not eat anything that comes from an animal, including dairy products; cheese is not an option for this strict diet.
There are many vegetarian restaurants in the mid-Atlantic region, and I’ve been to a few with excellent menu options. Three local places I would recommend for specific vegetarian menu items include: Lebanese Taverna, The Ambassador Dining Room, and Pazo.With several locations in the greater Baltimore/Washington region, Lebanese Taverna offers especially excellent hommos, baba ghannouge, tabouleh, and fattoush. The Ambassador Dining Room, near Johns Hopkins University Homewood Campus in Baltimore, has a cold potato and cauliflower snack, Vegetable Pakora, and Bengan Khas (a killer vegetarian eggplant dish), and a tart dish called Alu Chaat. Baltimore’s Pazo gives you the chance to be a creative, seasonal vegetarian. A few items I enjoy include Samfaina, a traditional Catalan stew of summer vegetables, Malloreddus alla Norma, which is a house-made pasta with eggplant, tomato, garlic, and pecorino, and the vegetable tasting of the season is always interesting.
Nowadays there are a lot more high-quality food options if you opt to try the vegetarian route. Here are a few choices you might enjoy at home:
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Grilled Asparagus with Romescu Sauce
Serves 4-6 as a side dish
Ingredients:
1 lb. asparagus
Salt to taste
For Romescu Sauce:
2 vine ripened Roma tomatoes, diced ¼ inch
(after removing core and pulp)
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. Pimenton (smoked Spanish paprika)
¼ cup sliced blanched almonds, oven roasted at 350ºF until golden brown
Method:
First, make the Romescu:
1. Season tomatoes with salt and a pinch of sugar if they need it.
2. Allow them to sit for about 10 minutes to allow the seasoning to permeate.
3. Combine with rest of ingredients.
To Prepare the Asparagus:
1. Bring a gallon of water to a boil in a pot large enough to hold it and the asparagus.
2. Season the water with salt. (It should taste like seawater when correctly seasoned.)
3. Snap the woody end off of the bottom of each spear of asparagus.
4. Trim each spear to the same length by lining up the tips and making one cut.
5. If the spears are particularly thick you may want to peel them.
6. Dissolve 3 tablespoons salt in 2 quarts of water. Add a few cups of ice.
7. Once the water has reached a rapid, rolling boil, add the asparagus and cook until color changes to bright green, normally about 1 minute. They will finish cooking on the grill so err on the side of undercooking.
8. Remove from boiling water and plunge immediately into salted ice water.
9. Remove asparagus from ice water once thoroughly chilled.
To Grill the Asparagus:
1. Prepare a hot grill.
2. Grill asparagus until warmed through but still crunchy if you like them that way. If not, continue grilling until they are as cooked as you want them to be.
3. Spoon prepared Romescu sauce over the asparagus and serve.
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Risotto Style Maccheroni & Cheese with Cauliflower
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 lb. maccheroni
1 qt. stock (chicken stock is better but you can substitute vegetable stock)
¼ lb butter
4-5 small shallots, diced small
¾ cup white wine
2 cups grated fontina cheese
2 tbsp. chopped Italian parsley
2 cups of cauliflower, cut small
Method:
1. In large pot, bring 1 quart of water to a boil and season with salt. Once it boils add the cauliflower. Cook until tender, drain, and let cool.
2. In another large pot melt butter over medium heat. Add shallots and cook until tender. Season with salt.
3. Add maccheroni to the pot. Begin to lightly toast the pasta. Add wine and cook down, stirring constantly.
4. Slowly add stock just to cover the pasta. Continue stirring, and add stock little by little, until it is gone.
5. Once the maccheroni is cooked “al dente,’’ fold in the cauliflower, parsley, and fontina cheese. Turn heat off. Serve.
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Thai Vegetable Stir Fry
Serves 4
Ingredients:
3 tbsp. peanut oil (to coat the wok)
1 tbsp. chopped garlic
4 tbsp. minced fresh ginger
1 stalk celery, julienned
1 medium eggplant sliced round ½ inch thick
10 leaves Swiss chard
Florettes from one head of broccoli rabe
1 dozen crimini mushrooms, quartered
2 tsp. Thai chili paste
¼ cup plum wine vinegar
Juice of half a lemon or lime
3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup chopped cilantro
Salt to taste
Method:
1. Heat the wok and coat with the peanut oil (you’ll want a nice heavy steel or iron wok).
2. Add the chopped garlic, then the minced fresh ginger.
3. Add the vegetables and stir for about a minute on high heat to develop some flavor and to caramelize.
4. Cover the wok at medium heat for 2 minutes to steam the Swiss chard and the broccoli rabe.
5. Season with salt.
6. Uncover and cook over high heat for 3 to 4 minutes moving the vegetables the entire time with a wooden spoon.
7. During the last minute season with 2 teaspoons Thai chili paste, ¼ cup plum wine vinegar and the juice of half a lemon or lime.
8. Once the greens are wilted and soft and the vegetables are caramelized, remove from heat and transfer everything into a large ceramic bowl.
9. Add the 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and the chopped cilantro.
10. Adjust seasoning with salt if needed.
Tony Foreman is a Contributing Editor for ChesapeakeHome. He is the founder, co-owner, and wine director of Charleston, Petit Louis Bistro, PAZO, and Cinghiale as well as a consultant for the retail wine stores BIN 604 and BIN 201 Wine Sellers. Tony is both chef and sommelier, holding a Sommelier Certificate from the Colmar School in France.(thecharlestongrp.com)
