Vegetarian Mofongo

Two weeks ago I was in Puerto Rico for a few days. It was difficult for me because I am a vegetarian who doesn’t eat fish and generally, the food in PR is very heavy on the meat or fish. We had been warned not to eat fresh vegetables because they would have been washed in local water that the delicate bellies of Canadians might not be able to tolerate. While there, I heard of several incidents of people throwing caution to the wind and ending up in their bathrooms for hours on end. 

If the vegetables and fruit had a peel on them and the peel was removed, they were considered safe. So I existed on cucumbers (peeled), oatmeal, protein bars that I brought from home, melon, and bananas. By the end of the 5 days my stomach was a mess.

On the last night of the trip, we ate in a restaurant on the resort grounds and it was the first meal that everyone really enjoyed. I was a bit put off when I first looked at the menu because again, it was full of meat and fish. I spotted some rice and beans so I ordered that, but was informed that the beans actually had pork in them. I asked the very patient waiter if there was anything at all on the menu that I could possible eat. He responded with one word: mofongo. 

Mofongo is essentially fried plantain with garlic. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mofongo It has a texture not unlike potato, and the flavour is mellow and basically takes on the flavours of whatever it is cooked with. I had never had plantain before because I always assumed it would be sweet like bananas. I could not imagine something as sweet as a banana in a savoury dish, but plantain is not really sweet at all. Traditional mofongo contains pork (what a surprise), but the waiter assured me that the chef could make a true vegetarian mofongo for me. I decided that it would be good to try a traditional Puerto Rican dish at least once before leaving town, so I ordered it. It arrived in the form of a tower. The tower was hollow and inside was filled with overcooked and slightly bland vegetables. Aside from those vegetables, it was delicious.

Here is a photo of my Puerto Rican mofongo (apologies for the blurriness):

As soon as I returned to Toronto I did some research on mofongo recipes. One of my thoughts on the version I ate in PR was that it was a bit dry. The waiter explained to me that if I had ordered the meat or fish version, it would have come with a sauce. Because the veggie version was made specifically for me (and one other colleague who is also a vegetarian), there was no sauce. I decided that for my mofongo I would add caramelized onions since they make everything better. I also figured the oil from the cooking of the onions would add some moisture to the dish. 

I also topped my mofongo with sautéed veggies, but for my version, I added water to the pan near the end of cooking to make the veggies saucier (almost like a broth). This worked well but for the next time, I think I will make a separate veggie broth to just ladle over the entire plate before serving. My husband, who is not a vegetarian, ate his mofongo with au jus on top (he happened to be making a pot roast at the same time and so he took a ladle of the jus and used that to moisten the mofongo. He had two helpings.)

I got my eldest son to try to mofongo and he thought it was pretty good. This leads me to believe that I could form the mofongo mash into French-fry shapes, “batter” them with egg whites, and double bake them to make them like crispy French fries. This will be my next recipe test so stay tuned for that.

In the meantime, here is how I made my mofongo. The recipe I used as inspiration was from http://suite101.com/article/adventurous-cooking-vegetarian-mofongo-a105334 . My only comment on this web recipe would be that the instructions were not 100% clear. Hopefully my instructions below will be easier to follow.

Ingredients:

This recipe will make 4 – 5 mofongo patties. Enough for a side dish for 3 – 4 people, or a main dish for 2 people. 

2 green plantains, peeled and sliced (note that you have to use a paring knife to remove the peel – it doesn’t come off cleanly as with a banana because the fruit is unripe)

½ tsp salt

2 cups cold water

2 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole

1 medium sweet onion, diced

Olive oil (or vegetable oil) for frying the plantain

Salt and pepper

Yellow, red, orange peppers (your choice), sliced thinly

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 carrot, sliced thinly

1 clove garlic, crushed

Feel free to add additional veggies if you have them on hand (perhaps zucchini, mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.)

Water

Vegetable bouillon cube (if you opt for the veggie broth on top)

Method:

Soak the plantains in 2 cups cold water and ½ tsp salt for 15 minutes. Drain in a colander and pat dry with paper towel.

Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan at medium high heat and add the diced onions and whole garlic. After about 5 minutes, add the sliced, soaked, drained plantain. Fry the plantain on each side until golden brown (about 10 minutes).

Remove from heat and let cool for a couple of minutes. Pour the contents of the pan onto a chopping board and roughly chop it all up. Thank you to my husband who did this for me.

Transfer to a bowl and use a potato masher to mash it all together.  Add water or broth to make the mixture easier to handle - it will be dry.

Note: if you have a mortar and pestle large enough for the mofongo, you can skip the chopping and mashing and go directly to the mortar and pestle.

You can eat the mofongo now, or you can fry or bake it again to crisp up the outside. Before you crisp it up, make your sauté of veggies.

Heat some more oil in a pan (or use cooking spray). Sauté the onions and garlic for about 2 minutes at medium high heat, then add the celery and carrots and sauté for another 2 minutes or so. Finally, add the peppers and other veggies. Near the end of the cooking add about a cup of water to deglaze the pan and make a bit of broth. Add some salt and pepper and other herbs if desired. I didn't add any wine but I suppose you could to add deeper flavour.

Use a vegetable bouillon cube and some boiling water to make an additional broth on the side. Do not add this broth to the veggies as it will make vegetable soup which is not really what you are going for.

To crisp up the mofongo, the recipe I consulted (website above) suggested making small balls of the mixture, flattening the ball into a patty, and either frying it in the same pan or putting it in the oven on a greased cookie sheet (250 degrees for 5 minutes). I opted for the cookie sheet/oven option but found there was no way this was going to crisp up in a 250 degree oven. I ended up raising the rack and broiling at 500 degrees for 1 minute per side. 

These are my mofongo patties before being baked.

Place the mofongo patties on a plate, top with the sautéed veggies and broth. Serve while hot. If you are serving as a side dish, you can top it with whatever sauce you are serving with your main.

Enjoy!

Roasted Cauliflower

Cauliflower is not everyone’s favourite. But in my opinion, it’s underrated. It doesn’t really have a lot of flavour on its own, which means that you can add flavour easily – we’ve all heard of mashed cauliflower substituting in for mashed potatoes, and how parents puree cauliflower and then hide it in macaroni and cheese without their kids even knowing. Consider it a blank canvas.

It’s not the healthiest vegetable, the vegetables that are healthier are generally brighter in colour (think leafy green, or broccoli), but it’s definitely not unhealthy. I did a quick search online to see what the nutritional content is. Here’s what I found:

½ cup (1”pieces), boiled and drained: calories 14, fat 0g, carbohydrates 3g, fibre 1 g, sugars 1g, protein 1g, vitamin C 46% of your daily allowance, calcium 1% of your daily allowance, and iron 1%. Cauliflower fills you up too so if you’re watching what you eat, fill up on this instead of bread.

I personally like roasting my cauliflower which gives it a nice, nutty flavour. There are many different spices and flavours you can add to it before you roast it – try sesame oil and chilli peppers for a spicy option, or cumin and turmeric for an earthy, Indian-influenced side dish. You can cut it into florets if you’d like individual bite-sized pieces, or mash it up and serve it like a hash. In all recipes you need oil or some kind to encourage the browning, but you don’t need a lot.

My friend Saro gave me his recipe, which I have modified slightly for this blog (I added the onions and garlic for an extra flavour boost). Here it is. I’d love to hear your suggestions for other versions of roasted cauliflower so I can expand my recipe book!

Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower

Olive oil – about 3 – 5 tbsp

Salt and pepper

Parmesan cheese (freshly grated, to taste – I used about 1/3 cup)

Panko or other breadcrumbs (about 1/3 cup)

1 large sweet onion, sliced thin

3 cloves garlic, crushed

Grapeseed oil – about 2 tbsp

 

Cut the green leaves and stems off the bottom of the cauliflower. Do not cut into florets. 

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and place the entire head of cauliflower in the pot. Blanch (boil) for about 4 minutes, then flip the cauliflower over to blanch the other side (4 minutes). If your pot is larger than mine, you might not need to do the flip over. So just blanch for about 7 minutes. Remove from the pot and drain in a strainer. If you want to, you can save the water and use it for soup. Or you can toss it.

Place the entire head of cauliflower onto a baking sheet. Drizzle 3 – 5 tbsp olive oil over it, and grind some fresh salt and pepper on top. Place it in the oven at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes. Pull it out and flip it over. Bake for another 20 minutes.

While the cauliflower is roasting, slice your onions and crush your garlic. Heat the grapeseed oil in a sauté pan and put the onions in. Leave the heat on high for about 1 – 2 minutes or until the onions start to brown around the edges. Reduce the heat to low and let the onions cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for another 5 – 10 minutes until nicely caramelized. Set aside.

 

Now, remove the baking tray from the oven, mash the cauliflower using a potato masher.

 

Sprinkle with half the parmesan cheese. Then sprinkle the panko on top. Cover with the rest of the parmesan and some more freshly ground black pepper. Taste it – if it needs salt, add a tad.

 

Raise the oven rack to the second from the top level in your oven. Pop the cauliflower back in the oven, this time on broil (500 degrees).  Leave it in there for 10 minutes. Remove the baking tray and spoon onto plates.

Serve with the onions and garlic on top as a garnish. 

Adding toasted slivered almonds or pine nuts would also add some nice texture (and nutritional value!).

Then send me a note and tell me I just changed your life.

Classic Vegetable Soup

I haven’t posted in a while. We’ve had a hard summer and the desire to post has just not been there. I am looking forward to forgetting all about this summer so it’s nice that Mother Nature is cooperating. The air is getting cooler. Our central air conditioning unit broke (again) last week and we haven’t felt the urgency to get it fixed. The past few mornings I have sent my kids to camp with hoodies on, and in the evening the breeze picks up and I enjoy the sight of the curtains billowing about the windowsills.

Logically, as it cools down outside, we feel the need to warm up inside. What better way to  accomplish that than with a piping hot delicious homemade soup?

Soup time is one of my favourite times of year, largely because The King of Soup starts to make some of his masterpieces again. The KoS is quite open to suggestions so I find myself browsing through cookbooks and websites, and proposing new options weekly. This process works well for me.

Even though I love when The KoS cooks, I also enjoy making soup myself. It doesn’t have to be fancy, it’s not technical, and you can generally combine many things that are already in your refrigerator and end up with something quite yummy.

This recipe came from my head, and was not prepared by The KoS. It’s a classic vegetable soup with some extra protein in the form of chick peas. And it was delicious.

Ingredients:

2 large carrots, sliced

2 large stalks celery, sliced

1 large onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed (14 oz can) (or you could use lentils)

1 large can diced tomatoes (or take fresh tomatoes and pulse them a few times in the food processor)

A couple of handfuls of green beans, cut into 1 inch sections

Any other vegetables you want to add! (try zucchini, sweet potato or squash, peppers...)

Herbs (a combination of fresh and dried works well – try dried oregano, fresh basil, fresh parsley, or whatever else you’d like)

Salt and pepper to taste

Vegetable oil (2 tbsp should do the trick)

Vegetable stock cubes reconstituted with boiling water, or homemade stock

Method:

In a large stock pot, heat 1 tbsp of the oil. When hot, reduce the heat to medium-high and add the onions. Saute for about 5 minutes until translucent.

Add the rest of the oil and the celery and carrots and sauté for another 2 – 3 minutes. Add the garlic.

Add the chick peas and sauté for 1 minute. 

Then add the tomatoes and the dried herbs.

Finally add the beans and whichever other veggies you have decided to use. Add the stock (liquid should just cover veggies). You don’t want too much liquid because you won’t be letting this soup simmer too long or the vegetables will overcook.

If you have decided to use sweet potatoes, cube them and par-boil them first for about 10 minutes before adding them to the soup. If you have decided to try squash, add an extra layer of deliciousness by roasting the squash in the oven (in cubes) for 10 – 15 minutes prior to adding it to the soup. 

Add your fresh herbs and the salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with parmesan cheese, homemade bread, biscuits, or whatever else makes you feel happy and cosy inside. I made Challah and toasted it nicely. Yummy.