Unemployed Shepherd's Pie

Shepard's pie always tastes comforting and hearty to me. Plus I love that's it's cheap and easy to make. And this vegetarian recipe is also healthy!


Unemployed Shepherd's Pie
Vegetarian Times 2008 Reader Recipe 2nd Place Winner


8 Servings

6 cups peeled, cubed potatoes
¼ cup low-fat milk
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
¼ cup plus 2 Tbs. olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped (1 cup)
2 15-oz. cans diced organic tomatoes with liquid
2 large eggplants, peeled and chopped (1½ lb.)
1 Tbs. Simply Organic Parsley
1 tsp. Simply Organic Basil
1 tsp. Simply Organic Garlic Flakes
1 tsp. sea salt
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup dried breadcrumbs
2 large eggs, beaten
1 green bell pepper, sliced very thin
1 small zucchini, sliced very thin
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper, optional

1. Place potatoes in large pot, cover with water, bring to a boil, and cook 10 to 15 minutes, or until soft. Drain, and mash with milk and butter. Season with salt and pepper, and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, and sauté 5 minutes, or until beginning to soften. Stir in tomatoes, eggplants, parsley, basil, garlic flakes, and sea salt; season with pepper. Simmer 20 minutes, or until vegetables are soft. Remove from heat, and stir in Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, and eggs. Spread potato mixture over top, banking up sides a bit.
3. Heat remaining 2 Tbs. oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add green bell pepper and zucchini, and sauté 7 to 10 minutes, or until just tender.
4. Fill center of mashed potatoes with sautéed bell pepper and zucchini, and sprinkle with black pepper, if desired. Bake 20 minutes, or until heated through. (Baking will take less time if mashed potatoes are hot at time of assembly.)

PER SERVING: Calories 342, Protein 9g, Total fat 16.5g, Carbs 41g, Cholesterol 65mg, Sodium 409mg, Fiber 6g, Sugars 9g

Delicata Squash Stuffed with Curried Wild Rice

mmmm....winter squash, wild rice, and curry. tastes like Fall.

Delicata Squash Stuffed with Curried Wild Rice
Vegetarian Times Issue: November 1, 2003   p.61

6 Servings

3 delicata squash, halved and seeded
2 Tbs. butter or margarine
1/2 cup minced onion
2 tsp. curry powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped cashews
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and minced
1 cup cooked wild rice
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1/3 cup mango chutney

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Place squash halves cut side down on baking sheet. Bake about 20 minutes, just until squash is not quite cooked through. Remove from oven, and set aside until second baking.
3. Heat butter in large saucepan over medium heat, and add onions. Sauté onions until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add curry, cayenne, black pepper and cinnamon, and toss well. Add raisins, cashews and apples, and continue cooking until apples are soft. Add rice, yogurt and chutney, and toss well.
4. Divide curried vegetables equally between squash halves. Bake squash 25 minutes, or until squash is tender and stuffing is heated through.

Nutritional Information
Per SERVING: Calories 260, Protein 6g, Total fat 10g, Carbs 43g, Cholesterol 10mg, Sodium 55mg, Fiber 5g, Sugars 24g

Roasted Figs with Goat Cheese and Honey

There's something so delicious about the earthy, subtle taste of figs. But because they're so rarely eaten, they always bring a touch of class to any meal.

Quartered and wrapped in prosciutto, then fried till crisp makes for a lovely appetizer.

Poached in a red wine sauce makes for a fancy dessert.

But my favorite way to eat it is roasted with goat cheese and honey. This recipe serves 10:

Ingredients
10 fresh figs
1/3 cup honey
1/3 goat cheese, softened (can be substituted with marscapone cheese)

Simply cut each fig into quarters, but stopping about 1/2 inch from the bottom to leave the base intact.
Gently pry open the figs and roast in a well oiled pan at 425° for 9 minutes, until softened.
Spoon about a teaspoon of cheese into the center of each fig and roast for another 3 minutes.  Put the figs on a plate and drizzle with your favorite locally produced honey.

Want to make it a more savory? Simply mix the goat cheese with a few dashes of black pepper before adding it to the figs.

Or want to make it sweeter? Use marscapone.

Yum!

Linguine with Sunflower Pesto

Sunflower seeds also taste like summer to me. And this sunflower pesto is satisfyingly delicious and healthy!

Linguine with Sunflower Pesto
Vegetarian Times Issue: March 1, 2001   p.52

4 Servings

2 cups fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup hulled sunflower seeds, plus more for garnish
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup olive oil, or more as needed
12 oz. linguine

1. In food processor, combine basil, sunflower seeds, garlic, salt and freshly ground pepper and process until coarsely ground. With machine running, add oil in slow, steady stream through feed tube, processing until well blended.
2. Bring large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add linguine, stirring to prevent sticking. Cook linguine until just tender, about 10 minutes. Drain well.
3. Transfer linguine to large, shallow bowl. Add pesto, salt to taste and a little additional olive oil and toss to coat. Serve hot.

Nutritional Information
Per SERVING: Calories 347, Protein 8g, Total fat 23g, Carbs 28g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 269mg, Fiber 3g, Sugars 0g