Holiday Vegetating

These days it seems like everybody has food issues. And like most things that simmer just below the surface, they become more of a problem around the holidays when people get together to share a meal.

If you are feeding a crowd this Thanksgiving, there’s a good chance you’ll have at least one vegetarian at your table. Unfortunately, there is more than one kind of vegetarian, and just knowing that someone avoids meat doesn’t give you much information. You need to know whom you’re feeding.

There are the usual categories of vegetarians: Lacto-ovo vegetarians include dairy products and eggs in their diets; vegans do not. And some people who call themselves vegetarians eat poultry or fish. Ask to be sure.

In my years of vegetarian cooking and eating, I’ve come across all sorts of vegetarian eaters and have divided them mentally into my own classifications. These profiles, though not foolproof, should help you feed everybody this Thursday and keep our national food holiday from becoming the food-issue holiday.

The Zealous Vegetarian

In the culture of zealous vegetarianism, what goes in is less important then what’s kept out. With an enthusiasm that some might mistake for an eating disorder, this vegetarian adheres to a strict diet that might exclude sugars, fat or inorganically grown produce in addition to meat products. This is the Ken Starr of vegetarianism: determined, fervent, sanctimonious. His or her puritanical virtues of restraint and self-control tend to have an unnerving effect on meat eaters, inspiring them to avowals like, “I hardly ever eat red meat these days.” The zealous vegetarian rarely dines out, preferring to steam or pressure-cook his or her own meals. It is a common misconception that all vegetarians fit into this category.

The Retro-Vegetarian

Like platform sneakers, metal lunch boxes and Scooby Doo, soy meat substitutes are hip again. This creative, free-spirited vegetarian brings back experimentation with soy products and obscure grains like kashi and quinoa in a thoroughly modern fashion. The difference between the retro-vegetarian and the zealous vegetarian is largely a matter of style. Though the zealous vegetarian tends to be humorless about his or her restricted diet, the retro-vegetarian manages to give fringe eating habits a certain panache. This vegetarian actually likes food and enjoys pushing the envelope with dishes like seitan “lamb” sandwiches on pita bread, pasta shells stuffed with tofu “ricotta” and rice milk ice cream. He or she eagerly patronizes restaurants and markets offering this type of fare. This is the person who drinks decaffeinated soy milk lattes and orders the “vegetarian pork” at a Chinese restaurant.

The Junk-Food Vegetarian

Whatever this person’s motives for avoiding meat, health is not foremost among them. A paradoxical freak of nature, this is the vegetarian who hates vegetables or at least has a long list of ones he or she won’t touch. The junk-food vegetarian could not tell you anything about complete or complementary proteins and will usually seek out a piece of fruit only just in time to avoid coming down with scurvy. Processed foods are not the anathema to this vegetarian that they are to the zealous vegetarian. This is the person who will wash nacho cheese tortilla chips down with a martini and call it dinner and who will be surprised and irritated to discover that a vegetarian diet must exclude marshmallows and miniature frosted doughnuts because they contain horse hooves and beef fat, respectively. Unmoved by the sight of a juicy steak, this vegetarian might be caught looking longingly at a corn dog on its way from the freezer to the microwave. Amazingly, these vegetarians often seem to be in robust health.

The Accidental Vegetarian

This is the rare person who exemplifies moderation in his or her diet, and probably in other areas of life as well. Often a many-year veteran of meatless eating, the accidental vegetarian has relaxed his or her idealism to the point that he no longer remembers why he stopped eating meat. Most likely he fell into a kind of de facto vegetarianism at some point because the person he shared most of his meals with was vegetarian. This is the vegetarian most likely to be a gourmet cook and to dine out often. He or she probably likes spicy and ethnic foods and looks to cuisines, such as Indian and Indonesian, which emphasize vegetables end grains over meat. A real plate-is-half-full kind of person, the accidental vegetarian is not hung up on what he can’t eat because there are so many things that he can.

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If cooking Thanksgiving dinner is nerve-racking enough without worrying about reducing your guests to dietary stereotypes, a couple of good recipes for vegetarian main dishes to serve this Thanksgiving might calm you down. The recipes are suitable for most vegetarians but they contain either milk, butter or eggs and so won’t work for vegans. They probably won’t be much of a hit with raw vegetarians, who don’t eat cooked food. But for most vegetarians, whether Accidental, Junk-Food or Retro, they should make great eating. They might even convert a few of the meat eaters at the table.

Pumpkin and Chanterelle Mushroom Tamales

Active Work Time: 2 hours 15 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 5 hours * Vegetarian

The filling and the masa can be made a day ahead. The masa used here is made with masa harina, essentially masa flour. But you can also purchase fresh masa from a tortilleria or Latino grocery store. If you do, be sure to buy “unprepared masa,” which is sold with the Spanish names “masa sin preparada,” “masa molida” or “masa refregada.” Do not buy “masa preparada,” which has been mixed with lard or meat broth as well as baking powder or salt. Note that unprepared masa needs to be mixed with oil or vegetable shortening to make it smooth enough to be spread on tamale husks. Pureed chipotles in adobo sauce are sold canned in most markets.

FILLING

1 small pumpkin, about 2 1/2 pounds

3 tablespoons olive oil

Salt, pepper

1/2 pound chanterelle mushrooms

2 leeks, white and pale green parts only, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/3 cup white wine

2 teaspoons pureed chipotles in adobo sauce

* Peel and seed pumpkin and chop into 1/2-inch cubes. Toss with 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Roast on baking sheet at 400 degrees until just tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

* Clean mushrooms with damp cloth and slice. Set aside.

* Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Add leeks and garlic and cook until leeks are soft, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Put in bowl and set aside.

* Heat 2 more teaspoons olive oil over high heat in same skillet. Add sliced mushrooms and cook until tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Add white wine and cook, stirring frequently, until liquid has cooked away. Season to taste with salt.

* Return roasted pumpkin and leeks to skillet and cook over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes, stirring to combine. Stir in chipotle puree and taste for seasoning. Filling will taste less spicy after steaming in tamale. Cool to room temperature.

MASA

2 1/4 cups hot water

1/2 cups masa harina

1 cup (2 sticks) cold butter, cut in small pieces

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/3 cups milk

2 teaspoons salt

* Stir hot water into masa harina and mix to form dough. Cool.

* Using electric mixer, beat butter and baking powder until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add masa harina about 1/4 cup at a time, beating well between additions. Stop mixer and scrape down sides of bowl several times. Continue to beat, slowly adding milk and salt. Beat well until combined, about 15 minutes. Chill at least 1 hour.

FILLING AND STEAMING

24 corn husks, plus extra for lining pan and tying tamales

* Soak corn husks in pot of boiling water until soft and pliable, about 30 minutes, or overnight in cool water. Use large husks to wrap tamales and save smaller husks to tear into strips for tying ends of tamales and for lining bottom of steamer.

* Pat corn husk dry and place on work surface with narrow end at bottom. Place generous 1/4 cup Masa in center of husk and spread into 4-inch square, making sure to leave border around masa, with widest border at bottom. Place heaping tablespoon of Filling in strip down center of square of masa. Fold husk in half lengthwise, bringing 2 long edges together and enclosing filling. Roll edges of husk in same direction around masa. Fold up bottom narrow part of husk to close opening and tie strip of husk around tamale to hold folded flap. Top end will remain open.

* Tamales can be steamed in rice cooker or in stockpot with steaming rack set inside. Make sure enough water is in pot or steamer to provide continuous steam for 1 hour. Have some simmering water on hand in case you need to add more water to steamer.

* Line steaming rack with extra corn husks. Stand tamales upright on folded ends on rack. Use extra husks or loosely crumpled foil to fill in any spaces so tamales stay upright. Lay few more husks over top of tamales. Cover and steam over medium heat, about 1 hour. Let tamales stand few minutes to cool before serving. Arrange on platter to serve.

24 servings. Each serving:

122 calories; 334 mg sodium; 22 mg cholesterol; 10 grams fat; 7 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams protein; 0.75 gram fiber.

Sweet Potato Galette

Active Work Time: 30 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 1 hour 10 minutes * Vegetarian

Select potatoes that are uniform in shape and size to make this tasty dish.

2 pounds Yukon Gold or Yellow Finn potatoes

4 pounds sweet potatoes

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter

Salt, pepper

Apple-Fennel Compote, optional

Creme frai^che, optional

* Peel yellow potatoes and sweet potatoes and cut into thin slices, about 1/16 inch. Cover yellow potatoes in cold water until ready to use to keep from turning brown.

* Melt 5 tablespoons butter in 12-inch skillet and remove from heat.

* Melt remaining butter in separate pan.

* Arrange single layer of sweet potato slices over melted butter on bottom of first skillet. Use most uniform slices for bottom layer. Start in center of skillet and make overlapping, concentric circles, reversing direction of each circle until bottom of skillet is covered. Brush with extra melted butter and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.

* Repeat with layer of yellow potatoes, and brush with melted butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Continue to make alternating layers of sweet potatoes and yellow potatoes until skillet is full.

* Place potato skillet over medium-high heat and cook until sizzling. Continue to cook 5 minutes, shaking skillet occasionally to discourage sticking.

* Cover potatoes with foil and bake at 450 degrees until potatoes are cooked through, about 30 minutes. Test for doneness with skewer or paring knife. Remove foil and use spatula to press down potatoes, compacting layers. Bake uncovered 10 more minutes.

* Remove from oven and carefully pour off excess butter in skillet. Place large plate or platter over skillet and turn upside down, replacing slices that fall off. Cut in wedges and serve with Apple-Fennel Compote and creme frai^che.

15 to 16 servings: Each of 16 servings, without Compote or creme frai^che:

248 calories; 132 mg sodium; 25 mg cholesterol; 10 grams fat; 38 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams protein; 1.22 grams fiber.

Apple-Fennel Compote

Active Work Time: 20 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 40 minutes * Vegetarian

Use red or green apples, or a combination. Choose a variety suitable for pies that doesn’t break down when cooking. Gala, Jonathan and Pippin are a few good choices.

2 small bulbs fennel

6 baking apples

1 tablespoon butter

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

3/4 cup orange juice

1 cinnamon stick

10 to 12 peppercorns

1 to 2 tablespoons Pernod

* Cut fennel into thin slices.

* Peel, core and slice apples.

* Heat butter and olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat and cook fennel until softened, about 5 minutes. Add apples and cook several more minutes. Add vinegar, orange juice, peppercorns and cinnamon stick. Lower heat and simmer until apples are tender but not mushy, 15 to 20 minutes. Season to taste with Pernod.

8 servings. Each serving:

112 calories; 26 mg sodium; 4 mg cholesterol; 4 grams fat; 19 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0.54 gram fiber.

Mushroom Pot Pie

Active Work Time: 50 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 1 hour 25 minutes * Vegetarian

Use a mixture of flavorful wild and domestic mushrooms like brown criminis, porcinis and shiitakes. Avoid portabello mushrooms; they will turn the filling black unless you trim off the gills.

CRUST

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

1 egg yolk

5 tablespoons ice water

* Combine flour and salt in food processor or mixing bowl.

* Process or cut in butter with pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

* Beat egg yolk with water and add to flour and salt. Pulse or mix just until dough starts to come together, being careful not to overwork. Turn out onto work surface and gather dough into ball. Flatten into disk and wrap in plastic wrap and chill 1 hour.

FILLING

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, sliced

2 shallots, chopped

Salt, pepper

1 3/4 pounds mixed mushrooms

4 cloves garlic, minced

2/3 cup red wine

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon flour

1 1/2 cups low-salt vegetable broth, heated

8 to 10 sprigs thyme

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon milk

* Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Cook onion and shallots until soft and just starting to brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and put in mixing bowl. Heat another tablespoon oil over high heat in same skillet. Saute mushrooms until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 to 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add wine and cook, stirring frequently, until liquid has cooked away. As mushrooms cook, use wooden spoon or spatula to scrape up any browned bits of mushroom stuck to skillet. Add mushrooms to onions and combine.

* Make roux by melting 1 tablespoon butter and stirring in 1 tablespoon flour. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in hot vegetable broth. Bring to simmer and cook until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir sauce into mushroom mixture, adding thyme leaves and parsley. Taste for seasoning and cool to room temperature.

* Roll out pastry on lightly floured board into 11-inch circle. Spoon mushroom mixture into 9-inch shallow ceramic casserole or pie dish. Top with pastry, pinching edges to seal and trim away extra crust, leaving slight overhang around edge of dish. Cut few vents in crust for steam to escape. Brush with beaten egg yolk and 1 tablespoon milk. Bake at 375 degrees until crust is golden brown, about 45 minutes.

4 to 6 servings. Each of 6 servings:

389 calories; 685 mg sodium; 138 mg cholesterol; 25 grams fat; 32 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams protein; 1.11 grams fiber.