With some aging broccoli and cauliflower in the fridge, I was looking for some good recipes to make use of what was left. So, last night I tried two new recipes and both were quite good.
The first was a side dish, Sicilian-Style Broccoli, from The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen, a book I got earlier this week. It started by frying a little garlic and crushed red pepper in olive oil, then adding some vegetable broth (the asceptically packaged broth is great for this use), and cooking the broccoli in it with a little seasoning and some plumped currants (drop the currants in warm water for 10 minutes, and then drain) until the liquid had evaporated. Before serving, I topped it with some toasted pine nuts. It was a nice melding of flavors and textures, especially for a side dish, and was easy enough to warrant repeating. All in all, a great way to finish off the broccoli.
The main dish was from Quick Vegetarian Pleasures, a book which I used last week for a simply awesome baked couscous recipe with spinach, tomatoes, (soy) cheese, and pine nuts. Last night’s dish was linguine with cauliflower and a great creamy tomato sauce with nutmeg (a nice little kick). The sauce called for low-fat milk, or combination of low-fat milk and cream. However, I veganized the dish simply by replacing the low-fat milk with low-fat soy milk (Super G brand, about 5% DV fat and 3% DV sat fat) and a dash of arrowroot (as a thickener). The sauce could have used just a tad more seasoning, but it still tasted great and made good lunch leftovers today.
