Vietnamese Spring Rolls

You certainly can make a wide variety of fillings; here are two common versions – shrimp and pork. Enough for 12 servings each.

Shrimp:
1 oz bean thread rice vermicelli
6 large spring roll rice wrapper
18 large cooked shrimp, sliced in half lengthwise
3 green onions, sliced thinly, lengthwise
½ cucumber, seeded and cut into thin matchsticks
½ cup shredded carrot
½ red pepper, thinly sliced
1 ripe avocado, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
handful cilantro leaves (or Italian flat-leaf parsley)
handful bean, alfalfa or other sprouts

Soak the bean thread in cold water until hydrated and softened. Drain well. Dip the spring roll wrapper in a large bowl of cold water for 20-30 seconds, drain and lay out on a clean work surface. Place three shrimp halves on the wrapper just below the center towards you. Top with one sixth of each of the remaining ingredients. Pull wrapper edge closest to you up over ingredients. Fold left and right sides over and then roll tightly. Slice roll in half on a bias. Servie with dipping sauce.

Pork:
1 lb boneless pork country spare ribs, cut in half lengthwise
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp chili sauce with garlic
6 large spring roll rice wrapper
18 large cooked shrimp, sliced in half lengthwise
3 green onions, sliced thinly, lengthwise
½ cucumber, seeded and cut into thin matchsticks
½ cup shredded carrot
½ red pepper, thinly sliced
1 ripe avocado, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
handful cilantro leaves (or Italian flat-leaf parsley)
handful bean, alfalfa or other sprouts

Place the pork in a small soup pot with just enough water to cover. Add the soy sauce, sesame oil and chili paste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for five minutes, until the pork is just cooked through. Remove the pork to a plate and place in the refrigerator to cool. Reserve the broth for a nice Asian soup. When cool, slice pork thinly.

Soak the bean thread in cold water until hydrated and softened. Drain well. Dip the spring roll wrapper in a large bowl of cold water for 20-30 seconds, drain and lay out on a clean work surface. Place one sixth of the pork slices on the wrapper just below the center towards you. Top with one sixth of each of the remaining ingredients. Pull wrapper edge closest to you up over ingredients. Fold left and right sides over and then roll tightly. Slice roll in half on a bias. Serve with dipping sauce.

Spring Roll Dipping Sauces

Hoisin dipping sauce
¼ cup hoisin sauce
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp seasoned rice wine vinegar
1 tsp chili paste with garlic
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced

Whisk together ingredients until smooth. Add a bit f water if necessary to adjust to desired consistency for dipping.

Lime dipping sauce
Juice of 1-2 limes, ¼ cup
2 Tbsp Nam Pla, Thai fish sauce
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp chili paste with garlic
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green onion, minced

Whisk together ingredients until smooth. Add a bit f water if necessary to adjust to desired consistency for dipping.

Peanut dipping sauce
¼ cup peanut butter
2 Tbsp soy sauce
juice of 1 lime
1 tsp sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp chili paste with garlic
1 tsp sugar
1-3 Tbsp water (depending on peanut butter used)

Whisk together ingredients until smooth. Add a bit f water if necessary to adjust to desired consistency for dipping.

Asian Spring Roll Soup

This is a fantastic ‘leftover soup’ – a great way to use the braising liquid from making pork spring rolls. It also uses up any spring rolls leftover.

Leftover broth from making pork spring rolls
1 brick firm tofu, cubed, or 1 cup leftover chicken or pork or a mix of both
1 cup leftover veggies
1 cup cooked rice
1-2 cups chicken broth, as needed
2 leftover Vietnamese spring roll fillings (wrapper discarded)

Mix everything together in a soup pot and heat through.

Indian Pilau with Beans

1 recipe Indian Rice Pilau
4 cups chopped veggies such as broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and zucchini
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can pinto or pink beans, rinsed and drained

In a large non-stick skillet, sauté the veggies until crisp-tender. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Toss in the beans and heat through. Fold rice into veggies and heat through.

Serves 8.

Indian Rice Pilau

1½ cups basmati rice
6 cardamom cloves
1-2 cinnamon sticks
1 star anise
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds

2¾ cups water
1 tsp salt
½ tsp turmeric

In a medium pot, sauté first 6 ingredients with 1-2 Tbsp canola oil, stirring constantly. When most of the rice turns from translucent to white add the water and bring to a boil. Add the turmeric and salt, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to rest covered for another 5 minutes. During this resting period I like to put a clean tea towel under the pot cover – this seems to absorb a lot of moisture making the rice kernels firm and individual.

Carefully remove the cinnamon, star anise and all the cardamom cloves (count them!). They should all be resting on the surface of the rice. Fluff the rice and serve.

Sundried Tomato Pesto Aioli

2 Tbsp real mayonnaise
2 Tbsp light sour cream or Greek Yogurt
2 tsp. sundried tomato pesto
1 rounded Tbsp India relish
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 tsp dried dill weed
dash salt
dash cayenne pepper

Whisk together all ingredients.

Tofu Scaloppini Over Edamame Succotash Pilaf

1 brick extra firm tofu, drained

marinade:
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried, crushed rosemary
2 garlic cloves, minced (or 1 tsp garlic powder)
1 tsp onion powder
½ tsp salt
lots of freshly ground pepper
¼ cup olive oil

Edamame Succotash Pilaf:
1 cup rice
1 Tbsp red organic quinoa
1¾ cup water
1 10-oz. pkg frozen edamame succotash (I like Trader Joe’s), defrosted

Slice the tofu into four thin scaloppini. Lay on a clean kitchen towel and cover with another towel. Put a cutting board over the tofu and weigh down with a can or two of canned food. This will drain the tofu well to absorb the marinade best.

Mix the marinade ingredients together and pour into a 13x9 dish. Let the tofu marinate for as long as you can – a full 24 hours in the ‘fridge would be great, but at least half an hour.Meanwhile, in a medium pot, toast the rice and quinoa in a bit of canola oil for about 2-3 minutes until you smell a nutty fragrance. Add the water and a pinch of salt, bring to a boil, stir, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Gently sprinkle the succotash on top of the rice and recover pot. Let the succotash steam over the rice, off the heat until ready to use.

After marinating, dredge the tofu slices in the breadcrumbs. If they have dried out after sitting, turn them several times or spray them with a bit of oil – they need to have a sheen to hold the breadcrumbs. Heat about ¼ inch canola or peanut oil in a skillet until shimmering. Brown two tofu slices at a time on each side, just until crispy. Set first slices on a paper towel while cooking second batch.

Fluff the pilaf and serve on plates. Top with a slice of tofu. Serve with a sundried tomato pesto aioli or a remoulade sauce.

Rice with Lamb, Eggplant and Pimenton

1 cup short grain brown rice
1 lb ground lamb
1 sweet potato, diced ¼-inch
1 yellow pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 Tbsp pimenton smoked hot paprika

Toast rice in 1 tablespoon canola oil in a small pot, stirring constantly for about 2-3 minutes, until you smell a nutty fragrance. Add water, cover and simmer for 20 minutes as you prepare the remainder of the dish.

In a non-stick skillet, sauté the sweet potato in a bit of olive oil, until browned and just softened, about 10 minutes. Set aside. In the same skillet, sauté the pepper and onion until softened and beginning to brown, about 6-8 minutes. Set aside with potato. In the same skillet, sauté the eggplant until browned. Remove to the bowl. Finally, in same skillet, sauté the lamb, crumbing as you go, until well browned. Remove any accumulated fat. Add the garlic, cumin and pimenton, and cook another 2-3 minutes until the garlic and cumin are fragrant.

When the rice is cooked, return the vegetables to the lamb, fluff the rice and fold gently into the lamb mixture. Transfer to a serving dish and top with minced cilantro.

Super Bowl Nacho Casserole

Making this classic Super Bowl type dish made me a bit queasy, having just finished reading Barbra Kingsolver's Animal Vegetable Miracle - a MUST READ. But I found beautiful VT grass-fed ground beef at a local co-op when visiting family in VT - so I went for it.
2 lb ground beef
1 can black beans, drained
1 can pinto beans, drained
1 can diced tomatoes
2 onions, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 carrot, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
2 Tbsp pimenton (smoked paprika)
1 Tbsp chili powder
corn tortilla chips
1 lb grated cheddar or Monterrey Jack

Preheat oven to 375F. In a large skillet, brown the beef well, removing any accumulating water as you go to a bowl. Add the cumin, chili powder and pimenton and cook another minute. Remove beef to a bowl. In same skillet, sauté the onion, pepper and carrot in a bit of canola oil, until the veggies are softened and beginning to caramelize, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Return the beef, any liquid removed during sautéing and the tomatoes to the skillet and heat through. Salt and pepper to taste.

Spray a large 9x13 casserole with oil and cover the bottom with a layer of chips. Cover chips with half the meat mixture and half the cheese. Cover the cheese layer with another layer of chips, meat and cheese. Bake for 20-30 minutes until bubbly. Top with spoonfuls of salsa.

Roasted Pasta Primavera Alfredo

½ butternut squash (about 2 cups), cut into matchsticks
3 small carrots, cut into matchsticks
1 leek, cleaned and cut into matchsticks
1 large shallot sliced thinly
4-6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 large handful small whole green beans, trimmed
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried rosemary
salt and pepper to taste

Sauce:
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp olive oil
¼ cup flour
2½ cup milk
½ cup dry white wine
2 tsp Maille Provencal mustard
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp dried dill weed
fresh ground pepper
6 strokes nutmeg on a microplane (about 1/8 tsp)

1 lb whole grain linguini, cut in half
1 can Cannellini beans, rinsed & drained

Preheat oven to 375F. Toss together first 9 ingredients in a bowl and turn out onto one or two jelly roll pans. Don’t crowd the veggies, so that they brown well. Roast in oven for 15-20 minutes, turning once.

Meanwhile bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta. Cook pasta until al-dente, then drain. Prepare sauce in a medium saucepan by frying the flour in the oil and butter for 2-3 minutes, until bubbly and nutty smelling. Whisk in the remaining sauce ingredients and heat until sauce bubbles and thickens. Add the beans, stir, cover and remove from heat.

When veggies, sauce and pasta are cooked, toss the pasta in a large bowl with the sauce. Top with the roasted veggies.

Tofu Veggie Hoisin Stir Fry

1 pkg extra firm tofu
1 red pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
3 cups broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 cup snow peas
3 cloves garlic, minced
½-inch fresh ginger, minced

Sauce:
2 Tbsp Hoisin sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp soy sauce
¼ cup pale dry sherry
½ tsp chili paste with garlic

1 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp cold water

While cutting the veggies, drain the tofu and wrap in a clean tea towel. Weigh down with a large can of tomatoes to extract as much moisture as possible. Meanwhile whisk together the sauce ingredients.

Stir fry the tofu in about 2 Tbsp canola oil, shaking often, until starting to brown. Remove to a bowl with a paper towel. Salt to taste. Next in the wok, stir-fry the peppers for about 2 minutes with a bit of canola oil. Add the broccoli and continue stir frying until the broccoli begins to glisten, heat through and soften a bit – about 3 minutes. Add snow peas and stir fry another 2 minutes. Remove veggies to a bowl.

Add a small amount of canola oil to the wok and add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring constantly for about a minute. Add sauce and heat to bubbling on high heat. In a very small bowl, whisk together the corn starch and water. With brisk stirring, drizzle in a bit of the cornstarch mixture – only enough to just thicken the sauce. Return all the veggies and tofu to the wok and reheat everything through. Serve topped with sesame seeds on steamed short grain brown rice, for example.