Vegetables as Meat

Home economists used to suggest that we plan menus by deciding on a main course of meat, fish or poultry and then designing the rest of the meal around it. But these days, doctors tell us we should eat many more vegetables than we do. So if beautiful, nutritious broccoli, snow-white mushrooms, shiny purple eggplants or brilliant sweet red peppers are featured in the market, why not start with them?

I have always liked the Chinese style of serving rice with a variety of accompanying dishes, rather than thinking in terms of a main course of meat and one or two side dishes. Or you can prepare one or more vegetable dishes and serve them with pasta, rice or another grain. With this approach, a meal can be nutritious, colorful and satisfying. Often you will find you either don’t need meat at all or end up eating it in smaller amounts.

For diversity in menus, try the exotic and newer vegetables--the many varieties of squash, the baby vegetables, the wild mushrooms, the Chinese greens. It’s not unusual now to find vegetables that were unknown to us several years ago, such as broccoflower, sugar-snap peas and sweet dumpling squash. This is true not only at farmers’ markets but also at regular produce markets and supermarkets.

To make it easier to include vegetables in menus, markets now provide many cut and cleaned vegetables for convenience. There are broccoli florets, sliced mushrooms, washed spinach, shredded cabbage and other ready-to-cook vegetables from both the produce section and the salad bar section. Ready-washed salad greens make preparing salad a delight--you just put the greens you want in the bowl and sprinkle them lightly with a small amount of dressing.

One easy way to incorporate more vegetables in your diet is to cook enough for two meals at one time. Most vegetables can be cooked ahead; even green vegetables can be reheated easily. You can always heat the second portion of vegetables with a small amount of tomato sauce or sprinkle it with herb- or garlic-scented olive oil, vinaigrette or a little salsa. You can add the vegetables to soups, meat or bean stews or vegetable medleys. Or turn the extra vegetables into a new dish. Make them into salads, soups or purees, or toss them with rice pilaf, tortellini or other types of pasta.

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With so many possibilities, you can easily make vegetables into the most exciting part of the meal.

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My friend Somchit Singchalee, a Thai chef in Paris, taught me how to make this dish. She used this as a basic Thai red curry recipe for all sorts of vegetables--squash, eggplant, even potatoes. For this dish we sometimes bought tiny Thai green eggplants that looked like large peas. But our common large eggplants work just fine. This curry is very rich, and so I like to serve it in small portions with Thai jasmine rice and another simple dish such as grilled chicken breasts or a quick spinach salad.

Most of the ingredients for this curry are available in good supermarkets. My local market in Santa Monica often has the Thai chili paste, canned coconut milk and even the fish sauce, which is occasionally labeled “Thai seasoning sauce.” You can also buy these ingredients in Asian specialty shops.

THAI MUSHROOM AND RED CHILI CURRY

2 tablespoons oil

1/2 pound large fresh mushrooms, halved

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

1 medium shallot, chopped

2 medium cloves garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon Thai red chili paste

1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk

2 teaspoons sugar

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon Thai fish sauce (nam pla)

1 small eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 sweet red pepper, cut into strips

1/2 cup shelled fresh or frozen peas

1 (15-ounce) can baby corn, rinsed and halved

1/2 cup small Thai or Italian basil leaves, optional, plus basil sprigs for garnish

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in saute pan over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, salt and pepper to taste and saute 4 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to bowl.

Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil and heat over low heat. Add shallot and garlic and saute 1 minute. Stir in chili paste, then 1 1/4 cups coconut milk and bring to boil. Simmer over low heat 5 minutes, stirring often. Add sugar and 2 tablespoons fish sauce.

Add eggplant and red pepper strips. Bring to boil. Cover and simmer, stirring often, about 15 minutes or until tender. Add remaining coconut milk and bring to boil.

Add mushrooms, peas and corn. Cover and simmer 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender. (Curry can be kept, covered, 2 days in refrigerator. Reheat in covered pan.) If sauce is too thick, gradually stir in 1 or 2 tablespoons water. Add remaining 1 teaspoon fish sauce, or more to taste. Remove from heat and stir in basil leaves. Taste and adjust seasonings. Garnish with basil sprigs. Makes 4 to 5 main-course servings.

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I first tasted this soup when it was cooked by a friend’s teen-age guest from Mexico City, who knew how to cook only one thing--tortilla soup. We thought it sounded like a strange dish, but it turned out to be delicious. The soup is made in different ways throughout Mexico. It might contain only tomatoes and onion, or it might have zucchini, carrots, chiles or sweet peppers. I like to add corn for its taste and texture and because it complements the corn tortillas. I also stir raw tomatoes and cilantro into the finished soup for a fresh touch.

Many versions of this soup call for cheese, such as crumbled Mexican queso fresco or shredded Monterey Jack. You can serve cheese separately if you like, but I prefer the soup without it; it’s lighter and still flavorful. You can also accompany the soup with avocado slices.

In the interest of lightness I have tried making the soup with toasted tortillas instead of fried ones, but the results are disappointing. If you don’t wish to fry the tortillas, use 2 or 3 cups packaged tortilla strips instead; some are now available without oil or without salt.

TOMATO AND CORN TORTILLA SOUP

6 corn tortillas, preferably stale

5 tablespoons oil

1 1/4 pounds ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped, or 1 (28-ounce) can plum tomatoes, drained and chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 long mild green chiles, diced small

2 large cloves garlic, minced

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock or mixed broth and water

1 ear corn, kernels removed, or 1 cup frozen kernels

1/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon coarsely chopped cilantro

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

Pure ground chile or cayenne pepper

If tortillas are not stale, let stand about 30 minutes unwrapped in 1 layer until dry. Cut tortillas in half, then cut each half into 1/4-inch-wide strips.

Heat 1/4 cup oil in heavy, medium saute pan over medium-high heat. Test with 1 tortilla strip, when oil is hot enough, it should bubble around strip. Add 1/2 of strips to pan and fry 2 to 3 minutes or until slightly darker and firmer but not crisp. Do not brown and do not stir too often or strips will break up. Remove pan from heat and quickly transfer tortilla strips with slotted spoon to paper towels. Reheat oil slightly, add remaining strips and fry them. Remove to paper towels.

Set aside 3/4 cup chopped tomatoes for finishing soup. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in large saucepan. Add onion and chiles and saute over medium heat 5 minutes or until light-brown. Add garlic and saute 30 seconds. Add stock and remaining tomatoes and bring to boil. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Add corn and simmer 5 to 10 minutes or until corn is tender.

Just before serving, reheat soup if necessary. Add reserved 3/4 cup chopped tomatoes, 1/3 cup cilantro, salt, pepper and ground chile to taste. Serve soup sprinkled with tortilla strips and remaining 1 teaspoon chopped cilantro. Makes 4 appetizer servings.

Note : If fresh green chiles are not available, substitute 1 cup diced green peppers or canned mild green chiles.