Vegetables

Italy’s ciambotta is a ratatouille-like stew chock-full of veggies that makes for a hearty one-bowl meal with nary a trace of meat. We wanted to avoid the ill fate of most recipes, which end in mushy vegetables drowning in a weak broth. In order to optimize the texture of the zucchini and peppers, we employed the dry heat of a skillet. To address the broth, we embraced eggplant’s natural tendency to fall apart and cooked it until it completely assimilated into a thickened tomato-enriched sauce.

Yep. I'm making that claim and I'm sticking with it. This IS the BEST cauliflower pizza crust you will ever make. I've worked out the kinks from my previous cauliflower crust and from all other cauliflower crust posts I've read, and I'm confident that this pizza, this very one here, with a crust made out of a vegetable, is so damn delicious that you won't even think twice about the whole crust being made out of a vegetable thing. And yes, you can slice it and pick it up like a real piece of pizza.  

If you've somehow missed that kale chips are a "thing," with recipes flooding cooking sites and packages of commercially made chips now turning up even in ordinary supermarkets, trust us: Tossing torn leaves of kale with oil and salt and baking them until crispy is a worthwhile endeavor. The slightly browned leaves take on a nutty, sweet taste and a pleasing, brittle texture.

This soup is incredibly easy to make. Simply sauté the onion, carrots, garlic, and ginger with the spices, toss it all in a blender with the rest of the ingredients and blend until creamy bliss results. The warm ginger and spices bring a little heat and intrigue to the soup, and the coconut milk adds to the creamy flavor and texture, making this soup taste decadent and full of depth.

You smash half the chickpeas in this recipe to make a spread, sort of a warm rustic hummus enhanced with garlic cumin and hot pepper, along with a liberal drizzle of olive oil. You can use either freshly cooked dried beans or canned chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans), though freshly cooked is always preferable. Tuck some into a pita for a vegetarian sandwich or serve as a dip to eat with bread and olives; a dollop of minty yogurt and a drizzle of tahini sauce make nice additions.

The recipes here is vegetarian and nearly vegan. It doesn't rely on either animal products or heavy carbs as belly-filling crutches, but instead allow the vegetables themselves to become centerpieces. A whole head of cauliflower boiled and then roasted until gloriously browned. And yes, they can be main courses.  The cauliflower could just as easily accompany larger dishes, but its supple textures and rich sauce — romesco — help them register as meaty and filling.

I first ate a whole tandoori cauliflower many years ago at an Indian restaurant back in Toronto. I clearly remember the server setting the giant platter down on our table, a big, auburn vegetable head in the center surrounded by pickled onions, herbs and chutneys. There was almost something majestic about how it was presented, and it made us all feel like royalty.

The curried vegetables will heat quickly in a skillet, then drop a few eggs in little wells in the vegetables until the whites just set. The dish is reminiscent of Middle Eastern shakshuka. Use toasted naan to scoop up sauce and golden runny yolks.

On a blustery evening, a pot full of well-seasoned vegetables is a satisfying meal. This saucy curry includes chunks of potato, squash, cauliflower, carrots, and green beans, with a handful of chickpeas. What makes the dish delectable are the aromatics — onion, garlic, ginger, chile pepper, and plenty of warm spices. Yes, you can easily reach for a jar of curry powder, but the stew will taste fresher and brighter if you mix coriander, cumin, turmeric, and cinnamon to create a blend of your own. Heat the spices in oil so the flavors toast and mellow.