vie a la table

Right now, I’m in a nutrition class.  We talk about how nutrients work with our bodies and how to create a menu around a specific persons needs and requests.  One of the projects is to create 3 different meals (3 meals, 3 courses each) – one for a vegan, one for an ovo-lacto vegetarian, and one for a non-vegetarian.  We have to pick recipes, work out the nutrition information to make sure it is balanced, create plate designs for each course and create a menu for each meal.

I started brainstorming some ideas and knew that I wanted to do my own recipes (we’re encouraged to find recipes online and in cookbooks for this project) and just manage it all myself.  It really embodies why I came to do this and why I’m excited to go to school every day (well… most days).  I was able to bounce ideas off kris and we came up with 3 courses (appetizer, main dish, and dessert) that I think are really well balanced and appropriate.  I spent all evening cooking each course and kris photographed; it was just so satisfying knowing that I can come up with meals that work well together, taste great, look great and are appropriate.

My ‘restaurant’ is greek, so I’ll have a greek vegan meal, ovo meal and non-veg meal.  By the way, I’m taking name suggestions for my restaurant.  Here are the vegan courses:

The first course is an appetizer.  I wanted to make some simple cous-cous with shallots, garlic and fresh parsley, and top it with just a bit of chopped, roasted peppers.  I really wanted the bright reds and yellows from the bell peppers, and the bright green from a (moderately spicy) cubanelle pepper to contrast with the light yellow of the cous-cous.  After brainstorming with Kris, we decided that it needed to be a little bit less of a side dish, and more of an appetizer.  So we settled with toasting some bread, and plating it with a bit of cous-cous at the tip of the bread, and some of the pepper salsa sitting just next to the cous-cous.  This way, it’s more of a bread-topper than a side dish and I think It worked really well.

The first thing was to roast the peppers with just a bit of olive oil.  Once those were done, i put in the sliced bread (on a bias, to get maximum length).

Meanwhile, some shallots and garlic were sautéing and some vegetable broth was simmering for the cous-cous.  I chopped the peppers into small pieces and stirred them with some oil, parsley salt and pepper.

When the cous-cous was done, i added a bit of parsley before fluffing it.  The hardest part was arranging them on the plate, trying to keep everything in its place while keeping things clean.  The final verdict: excellent!

Next on the list was the main dish.  Being a vegan dish, this is a vegetable rich meal.  Since I need to find a way to get vital carbs, proteins, fats and fiber in, while keeping a ‘greek’ trend, rice and beans were appropriate.  Greek recipes often call for stuffed veggies filled with rice, and I thought I would flip that around.  Let’s stuff an eggplant with large chunks of vegetables (give it a hearty feel) and lay it on a bed of rice.  Kris suggested a wild rice mix for better nutrients and we decided to grill the eggplant to give it some attractive markings.

Since the rice needed about 45 mins to cook, I started on the pilaf.  Diced onions and slivered garlic, toast the rice for a minute or two before jumping into the vegetable broth.

Next – more veggie roasting!  I sliced some zucchini and tomato, squared some peppers and red onion and roasted them with some salt and pepper.

We heated some white beans (contrast of color) to add to the stuffing.  I halved an eggplant and scooped out the pulp before setting it on the grill for just a few seconds.  When the veggies were almost done, i took them out and filled each eggplant half with some beans and the medley.  Back into the oven it went, just to cook the eggplant a bit more.  Once finished, I scooped the rice onto the plate and placed the eggplant ‘boat’ into the middle, finishing it with a shock of bright green parsley.

The verdict: Not too bad!  I think there are some things I’d change.  I would’ve roasted the tomatoes less so they’d keep their shape.  Kris and I also talked about organizing this completely different.  Making a white bean puree for the bottom, then a circular disc of rice, a round slice of eggplant and the veggies on top.  That would give it a different feel altogether.  One thing that MADE this dish, was the flavor of the beans with all the vegetables.

The final dish is a dessert.  What’s more greek than Baklava?  The trick to this is making it vegan.  Baklava is made with phyllo dough (puff pastry) and is layered with LOTS of butter.  Good thing Kris and I have made a lot of vegan friends over the years, because we knew of a vegan butter that has GREAT melting capabilities.

I melted the butter on the stove since we don’t have a microwave, and chopped the pecans in a coffee grinder.  Adding some cinnamon and sugar, I was ready to go to work.  I layered the dough with butter and mixture between each sheet.

Topped it with some more coarsely chopped nuts, the Baklava baked away.  Once finished, we placed two on a plate and finished the dish with a drizzle of Agave nectar.

The verdict: although slightly overcooked, the Baklava had a pretty fantastic taste.  A+ will make again!

I’m glad I’m here, doing what I’m doing.  It brings me excitement and joy and I love it.

(for those of you reading on facebook, click ‘view original post’ to see all the fantastic photos!)

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food, kris, photos, school, wil by wil