Basil Roasted Veggies & Couscous

The roasting gives the veggies in this dish a wonderful rich flavor, not to mention beautiful with all the gorgeous colors. And couscous is a nice change from rice and pasta all the time. It also makes for great (and lots of) leftovers, which I am very much looking forward to tomorrow. :)

Basil Roasted Veggies & Couscous

Feel free to roast whatever veggies you like best, or whatever is in season at the time. This would also be good on the side dish of a nice roasted chicken.
Makes 4-6 servings.

INGREDIENTS
2 Tbs minced fresh basil
2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
2 garlic gloves, crushed
2 medium zucchini, cut into 1” slices
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1” pieces
1 medium yellow pepper, cut into 1” pieces
1 medium red onion, cut into 8 wedges
1 (8oz) package mushrooms
3 cups hot cooked couscous
3 oz. basil-flavored goat cheese, crumbled (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 425ËšF.

Combine basil, vinegar, oil, salt, and garlic in large bowl. Stir well. Add vegetables and toss well to coat. Arrange vegetables in a single layer in a shallow roasting pan. bake for 35 minutes or until tender and browned, stirring occasionally.

Spoon roasted vegetables over couscous and top with cheese. Sprinkle with pepper. Garnish with fresh basic sprigs, if desired.

Gyros with Roasted Veggies and Tzatziki

Something you never thought you could make… well, you can. This is proof. Gyros. Complete with authentic gyro meat, ala Alton Brown (who else?). And you know what, they were pretty darn good! Though the recipe was a bit ridiculous (who drains onions and yogurt?)… um, no thanks. We drained the veggies for a few minutes, and didn’t even attempt to drain the yogurt. So what if we’re lazy? It was still good! A great leftover meal too.

We also added some roasted veggies. We just seasoned some zucchini and eggplant with the same spices as went into the gyro meat, and roasted them with a bit of olive oil. It adds a bit more substance to the gyro instead of just lamb, which is nice.

Gyros with Roasted Veggies and Tzatziki

Makes 6-8 servings. Recipe from Alton Brown.

INGREDIENTS
1 medium onion, finely chopped or shredded
2 pounds ground lamb
1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
1 tablespoon dried marjoram
1 tablespoon dried ground rosemary
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Tzatziki Sauce:
16 ounces plain yogurt
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
Pinch kosher salt
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
5 to 6 mint leaves, finely minced

DIRECTIONS
Process the onion in a food processor for 10 to 15 seconds and turn out into the center of a tea towel. Gather up the ends of the towel and squeeze until almost all of the juice is removed. Discard juice.

Return the onion to the food processor and add the lamb, garlic, marjoram, rosemary, salt, and pepper and process until it is a fine paste, approximately 1 minute. Stop the processor as needed to scrape down sides of bowl.

For Tzatziki sauce, place the yogurt in a tea towel, gather up the edges, suspend over a bowl, and drain for 2 hours in the refrigerator (or just dump it in the bowl). Place the chopped cucumber in a tea towel and squeeze to remove the liquid; discard liquid. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the drained yogurt, cucumber, salt, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and mint. Serve as a sauce for gyros. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Place the lamb mixture into a loaf pan, making sure to press into the sides of the pan. Place the loaf pan into a water bath and bake for 60 to 75 minutes or until the mixture reaches 165 to 170 degrees F. Remove from the oven and drain off any fat. Place the loaf pan on a cooling rack and place a brick wrapped in aluminum foil directly on the surface of the meat and allow to sit for 15 to 20 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 175 degrees F. Slice and serve on pita bread with tzatziki sauce, chopped onion, tomatoes and feta cheese.

Penne with Pistachio Arugula Pesto and Balsamic Glazed Veggies

Found this recipe while perusing the wonderfully fantastic food blog,VeganYumYum. I’m usually not a huge fan of Arugula, too bitter for my tastes, but paired with the pistachio and miso is just perfect.

Penne with Pistachio Arugula Pesto and Balsamic Glazed Veggies

Makes 2 servings. Recipe from VeganYumYum.

INGREDIENTS
8 stalks broccolini (try to find it if you can… it really is so much better than regular broccoli!)
2 yellow squash
2 cups dry penne
2 Tbs olive oil
pepper
1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 pinch salt

For Pesto:
1/2 cup roasted, unsalted pistachios
2 tbs sweet white miso (which we couldn’t find… we used a miso salad dressing)
1 pinch salt
2 cups arugula
4-5 Tbs olive oil
pepper

DIRECTIONS
Start heating pasta water. Place pistachios in the bowl of a food processor with salt and miso and pulse 4 times for 1 second per pulse. Roughly chop arugula and add it to the top. Drizzle in olive oil. Do not finish processing until pasta is completed.

Cook your pasta. A few minutes before pasta is finished, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a sauté pan until over medium until fairly hot but not smoking. Trim any dry ends off the broccolini but leave a long stalk. Add it to the hot pan with a pinch of salt. Let cook on one side for 1-2 minutes, or until browned, then turn with tongs to cook another side. When broccolini is bright green and tender crisp, turn off heat and add vinegar, tossing vigorously to coat.

Cut squash in half. Heat another few tablespoons of olive oil, and add squash, face down, to pan. Let cook, without moving, for a few minutes, or until brown and caramelized. Turn and let cook on other side for a few minutes, or until tender. Finish with a dash of balsamic vinegar.

Blend the pesto until well combined, but you should still be able to see chunks of pistachios and arugula.

Drain and toss pasta with pesto (you’ll have some left over). Plate and layer broccolini and squash on top. Serve immediately.

Stir Fry Veggies and Noodles with Soy Lime Dipping Sauce

This is a pretty involved recipe, but the results are well worth it. The cookbook we used for this had each part of the recipe in a different area of the book, so flipping back and forth probably made it seem more difficult than it really was. I’ve combined it all into one place to make it easier for you!

The dish has a delicious, earthy flavor, mainly due to the shiitake mushrooms. I wouldn’t recommend substituting any other mushrooms in their place, as this flavor is so distinct and so delicious. I’m sure either dried or fresh ones would work just fine! We used the dried, which honestly are amazing, how they just come back to life in minutes.

Vermicelli rice noodles are one of the hardest things to cook. This was really the first time we did it right. The key, we think, is not to overcook them at all. Even leave them undercooked if you need to. It’s better than the goopy, sticky mess they become when cooked to long.

Complicated or not, if you’re up for it, this dish is well worth it! The photo does not do the flavor justice.

Stir Fry Veggies and Noodles with Soy Lime Dipping Sauce

Makes 4 servings. Recipe from Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table.

INGREDIENTS
Noodles:
2/3 lb. small dried rice vermicelli
2 cups shredded red- or green-leaf lettuce
1 1/2 cups bean sprouts
1/3 cucumber, seeded and cut into matchsticks
1/3 cup fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
1/3 cup Asian basil leaves, roughly chopped

Stir Fry:
6 ounces tofu
1 carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
8 dried Chinese black (shiitake) mushrooms, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes, then drained, stemmed, and sliced.
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 cup chopped roasted peanuts

Dipping Sauce:
1 clove garlic
2 fresh Thai bird chilies
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice with pulp
1/4 cup water, or to taste

DIRECTIONS
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add the vermicelli and stir gently to loosen them. Cook until the noodles are whit and soft but still slightly resilient, about 4 minutes. Do not overcook! Drain and rinse under cold running water. Gently fluff the noodles and set them aside for at least 30 minutes. Noodles should be dry before servings.

Gently toss together lettuce, bean sprouts, cucumbers, mint, and basil. Divide the salad mixture among 4 bowls. Top each with 1/4 of the rice noodles.

Cut the tofu slab into 3 or 4 manageable pieces and press with a dish towel to remove excess water. Heat 2-3 tablespoons oil in a nonstick pan over moderate heat. Add tofu in one layer and cook, turning once, until golden, about 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels, and then cut into 1/4 inch thick strips.

Blanch carrots in boiling water for 1 minute. Rinse and set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large pan over high heat. Add the onion and garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Add the mushrooms, soy sauce, sugar, and coconut milk. Stir, then reduce the heat slightly and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the tofu and carrot and cook until all the ingredients are hot, 2-3 minutes. Add a little water if the pan gets too dry.

To make dipping sauce, place garlic, chilies, and sugar in a mortar and pound into a paste. Alternatively, you may chop the garlic and chilies by hand as finely as possible. Transfer to a small bowl and add the soy sauce, lime juice, and water. Stir until well blended.

Divide the vegetable topping among the 4 bowls of noodles. Garnish each with chopped peanuts and drizzle with soy-lime dipping sauce.