VEGETARIAN FEAST

Not everyone feasted on turkey for Thanksgiving. To honor one guest who is vegetarian and another who eschews gluten and dairy, we came up with a menu that everyone could eat. Charlotte made her famous sweet potato soufflé (subbing in coconut milk). Paola made crisp broccoli. Jesse did a knockout salad (and brought us fresh cranberries from the US). Peter brought baked apples with a native American berry sauce, with no added sugar. There was non-alcoholic sparkling cider for the teetotalers and a good Rioja tinto for the rest of us.

I brought the main course, an impressive stuffed pumpkin. It’s a festive dish, just what is needed for the holiday season to come.

My "birds," just out of the oven--two halves of a big pumpkin with a savory vegetarian stuffing. 

Stuffed Pumpkin (vegetarian, gluten- and dairy-free)
Calabaza Rellena (vegetariana, sin gluten, sin lacteos)

Stuffing ingredients, from top left; celery, chickpeas, gluten-free bread, leeks, sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, pistachios, raisins, eggs, tofu, garlic, carrots, black olives, piquillo peppers, and, in the center, pearl millet, a gluten-free grain.

The stuffing mixture can be freely varied in both ingredients as well as quantities. Quinoa instead of millet; kidney beans instead of chickpeas; walnuts in place of pistachios. If you want a vegan version, omit the eggs. If you want a loaf that can be sliced, use more eggs.

Millet is a grain nobody thinks about. It reminds me of cous cous or bulgur, but is gluten-free.

I used traditional turkey-stuffing herbs—thyme and sage—but middle eastern spices can be used instead. Smoked pimentón adds a “meatiness” to the stuffing (tofu mixed with pimentón reminds me of chorizo). Season generously to give the stuffing some punch.

No great big pumpkins? Stuff several smaller squashes or bell peppers. Or, just bake the stuffing in a casserole or loaf pan.

Gravy, made with vegetarian stock.

You will need some well-flavored vegetarian stock to moisten the stuffing mixture and to make gravy (there’s a gravy recipe here ) to accompany it. A yogurt-based sauce would also be a good accompaniment. Whole-berry cranberry sauce is divine as a side.

 I’ve added a variety of extras to the basics, so that every bite has a crunch or a pop of flavor—nuts, olives, raisins, sun-dried tomatoes (soaked in water, then chopped). Some others to try: truffles, maybe, or fermented black garlic; dried apricots or dates; cranberries; capers or pickles; pine nuts or hazelnuts.

Rather than hollow out the pumpkin from the top, I cut it in half. After removing seeds and scooping out much of the flesh with a melon-ball cutter, I had two halves in which to heap the stuffing. It is easier to pre-bake the shells and then scoop out the flesh.

I gave the food processor a real workout! I used it to chop the onions, celery and mushrooms, to crumble the tofu and to coarsely grind the chickpeas.

Prepare and season each of the ingredients for the stuffing separately. If you’re doing this in advance, store them refrigerated, but bring them to room temperature before continuing. Mix all of them together right before stuffing and baking the squash.

This recipe serves 8 as a main course. It’s also appropriate as a side with roast turkey, chicken, pork or lamb.

Just out of the oven, in the late afternoon sunshine--stuffed pumpkin halves with crispy topping.

We carved the first half crosswise, so everyone got a slice of pumpkin (with rind, but, hey, no bones!) and stuffing. For seconds, we scooped the stuffing right out of the shell. 

1 large pumpkin or squash
Olive oil (about 1 cup total)
Salt

1 cup pearl millet
2 cups boiling water

2 cups chopped leeks and/or onions
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 pound mushrooms, coarsely chopped
Thyme, fresh or dried
Sage, crushed
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup medium-dry Sherry

1 (15.5-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

12 ounces firm tofu
1 teaspoon smoked pimentón (paprika), plus additional to garnish

3 eggs, beaten

8 slices gluten-free bread, toasted and cut in cubes

¾ cup pistachios
¼ cup seedless raisins
¼ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
¼ cup pitted black olives
1-2 cups vegetable stock (recipe follows)

2 carrots, cooked and quartered lengthwise
3 piquillo red peppers (from a can), cut in strips

Pumpkin balls to garnish (optional)
Arugula or other greens to garnish (optional)
Gravy or sauce to accompany the stuffed pumpkin

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Cut the pumpkin in half. Scoop out and discard the seeds. Brush the flesh with oil. Place the halves, cut-side down, on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast the pumpkin 15 minutes. Turn cut-side up and bake 10 minutes more. The flesh should be just beginning to soften, but still firm.

Use melon ball cutter to scoop out flesh. 

Remove the pumpkin from the oven. (Turn off the oven until ready to finish the dish.) When it has partially cooled, scoop out the flesh using a melon ball cutter or spoon, leaving about 1 ½ inches of flesh on sides and bottom. Turn the pumpkin shells upside down to drain. (Save the pumpkin balls to make a garnish for the platter, if desired.)

Cook the millet: Add it to boiling water with 1 teaspoon salt. Cook until tender and water is absorbed, about 18 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon of oil. Fluff the grains and set aside.

Sauté the vegetables: Heat 1/3 cup oil in a large skillet. Add the leeks/onions and celery. Sauté them until softened, 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté 5 minutes. Season the vegetables with thyme, sage, pepper and ½ teaspoon salt. Add the Sherry and simmer until the alcohol is cooked off, 3 minutes.

For the chickpeas: Coarsely chop the drained chickpeas in a food processor.

 Mix the chickpeas with the sautéed vegetables. Cook 2 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat.

For the tofu: Coarsely chop the tofu in a processor with 1 tablespoon oil,  ½ teaspoon salt and the pimentón. Combine the tofu with the sautéed vegetables and chickpeas.

Place the eggs in a large mixing bowl. Stir the cooked millet into the eggs and mix well. Add the sautéed vegetable mixture. Add half of the bread cubes and toss them to combine with the stuffing mixture. Mix in the pistachios, raisins, olives and sun-dried tomatoes. Add enough of the stock to moisten the stuffing, about 1 cup. Taste the mixture and add additional salt, pepper, pimentón or herbs, as needed. Be generous with the seasoning.

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Spoon stuffing mixture into pumpkin shells

Place the pumpkin halves on a rimmed baking sheet. Partially fill them with stuffing mixture, pressing it down. Lay skinny strips of carrot and piquillo peppers on top. Cover with remaining stuffing mixture.

Place remaining bread cubes in a small bowl. Moisten them with 2 tablespoons of stock. Toss them with 2 tablespoons oil. Press the cubes into the tops of the pumpkin halves. Sprinkle tops with pimentón.

Bake the stuffed pumpkin until the stuffing is set, 1 hour. If the top hasn’t browned, turn up the oven temperature and allow the topping to brown.

To serve, place the stuffed pumpkin halves on one or two platters. Garnish with (sautéed) pumpkin balls and arugula leaves. Serve hot or room temperature. Accompany with gravy or sauce.

Pumpkin balls scooped from the shell can be sautéed in oil, seasoned with salt, pepper and lemon juice and used to garnish the platter of the finished dish. Or, serve them as a salad.

My big pumpkin--stuffed, it makes a main course for 8 persons.

Vegetarian Stock
Caldo Vegetariano

With no meat, poultry or bones for flavor, the stock needs double the quantity of aromatic vegetables and herbs. Roasting some of the vegetables first intensifies their color and flavor. Seaweed such as kombu adds a umami punch to the basic stock. (I used the cooked kombu blended with olives, garlic and olive oil to make a tapenade-type dip.)Use minimal salt in the stock, as the liquid will reduce considerably. More salt can be added when using the stock for gravy or sauces.

2 onions
5 plum tomatoes
½ pound mushrooms
Olive oil
Sherry, white or red wine (optional)
12 cups water
2 tablespoons vinegar
½ ounce kombu (seaweed)
2 stalks celery, quartered
4 carrots, quartered
2 leeks, quartered
1 turnip, quartered
½ lemon
2 bay leaves
3 cloves
10 peppercorns
Bouquet garni (parsley, thyme, etc.)
Salt

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Place the onions, tomatoes and mushrooms on a baking sheet. Drizzle them with oil. Roast the vegetables, turning them occasionally, until they are well-browned, about 45 minutes.

Remove the vegetables from the oven and place them in a large soup pot along with any drippings in the baking sheet. (If desired, use a little Sherry or wine to deglaze the baking sheet.) Add the water to the soup pot with vinegar, kombu, celery, carrots, leeks, turnip, lemon, bay, cloves, pepper and bouquet garni. Add 2 teaspoons of salt.

Bring the water to a boil. Skim off any froth that rises to the top. Reduce heat, cover the pot and simmer 45 minutes. Uncover the pot and cook the stock 30 minutes more.

Strain the stock, pressing hard on the solids to extract all the juices. Discard the kombu,
 vegetables, lemon, herbs and spices.

Allow the stock to cool, then refrigerate (or freeze) until needed.

More festive vegetarian recipes:
Upside-Down Cake with Rice and Mushrooms.
Millet and Carrot Pilaf. 
Chard and Cheese Pie.
Brown Rice Paella with Vegetables.
Fideo Noodles with Tofu and Vegetables.

TURKEY: YOU SAY, ROAST; I SAY, STEW

I won’t be roasting a turkey for Thanksgiving this year. For the upcoming holiday I´m making a main dish for guests who include one vegetarian and another who is gluten- and dairy-intolerant. 

I’ve got nothing against turkey! In fact, I eat lots of it, year-round. But, I like my turkey in parts—boneless breast, marinated in adobo, roasted and thinly sliced for “lunchmeat” and salads; drumsticks simmered until the meat is falling off the bones, to shred for enchiladas; thighs cut into cutlets, for breading like veal piccata.

This week I’m using turkey thigh meat cut in chunks to make an Andalusian stew. The traditional recipe, with typical spicing of saffron, pepper, cinnamon, cloves and cumin, is made with veal or beef. All I’ve done is substitute turkey—and cut the cooking time in half.

A savory stew with Andalusian spices. This version is made with turkey.

Potatoes, carrots and squash cook with the meat.

Serve the stew with bread for dunking in the gravy.

Andalusian Stew with Turkey
Estofado Andaluz con Pavo

Often this stew is made by simply combining all the ingredients—including the olive oil—in a stew pot and simmering them until done. Another version calls for the onions and meat to sofreir—fry—before adding the other ingredients and cooking liquid. 

The potatoes can be stewed with the meat or cut as for fries, fried separately and added to the stew at the end of cooking. Seasonal vegetables can be incorporated in the basic stew. I’ve used squash. Artichokes, green beans, peas, fava beans are also typical. 

Seasonal vegetables go into this stew.

In Andalusian home cooking, of which this stew is typical, the wine used in cooking would be the local village wine, usually a vino generoso, a medium-dry, slightly oxidized white wine. Sherry is the best substitute, but a not-too-acidic white wine can be used instead. 

If you like, thicken the sauce/gravy of the stew with a little flour mixed in water or stale bread mashed to a paste. In any case, serve the stew with bread for dunking in the savory gravy.

Serves 4-6.

Turkey thighs cut into chunks for stewing.

2 pounds boneless turkey, such as thighs
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup olive oil
2 medium onions, sliced
1 green bell pepper, cut in strips
2 medium tomatoes, peeled and cut in eighths
2 carrots, cut in thick slices crosswise
½ cup medium Sherry or white wine
1 cup turkey or chicken stock
½ teaspoon saffron threads
10 peppercorns
2 cloves
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ cup water
1 head garlic, charred
1 bay leaf
2-inch cinnamon stick
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut in chunks
12 ounces pumpkin or squash, cut in chunks
Chopped parsley, to garnish

Cut the turkey into chunks of about 2 inches. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Heat the oil in a cazuela or heavy stew pot. Add the sliced onions and let them brown slowly, 8 minutes. Add the pieces of turkey and sauté a few minutes. Add the strips of pepper, tomatoes and carrots. Add the Sherry and cook on high heat until the alcohol cooks off. Stir in the turkey stock.

Char-roast head of garlic.

To char-roast a head of garlic: Spear the whole head of garlic on a fork and hold it over a gas flame (protect hands) or place it under broiler. Roast, turning, until the outer skin of the garlic is blackened and charred. Peel the individual cloves. They will be only slightly softened. Either add them whole to the stew or crush the garlics to a paste in a mortar.

 In a mortar crush the saffron with the peppercorns, cloves and cumin. If desired, crush the charred and peeled cloves of garlic too. Stir in the water. Add the spices to the stew. Add peeled garlic cloves if they were not crushed with the spices plus the bay leaf, cinnamon and cut-up potatoes. Cook, covered, 20 minutes.

Add the pieces of squash to the pot. Cook until turkey, potatoes and squash are tender, 20 minutes more.

Serve the stew garnished with chopped parsley.

More recipes with turkey:
Turkey Breast Roulade with Spinach-Walnut Stuffing.
Turkey Meatballs in Gazpachuelo Soup.
Marinated Turkey Breast.
Turkey and Watermelon Salad.

Another Andalusian stew:
Andalusian Style Braised Tongue.

ART INSPIRES DINNER

On November 19 the Museo Nacional del Prado, Spain’s national art museum, marks its bicentennial. It’s been a year-long series of events and special exhibitions to celebrate the occasion. 

The commemoration of the Prado and some of its masterpieces (Goya, El Greco, Velázquez, Hieronymus Bosch, Sorolla---) inspired at least one chef to create a special dinner menu featuring dishes inspired by the paintings. José Luque, executive chef at the Westin Palace Hotel, Madrid, served the special menu at the Restaurante La Rotonda at the Palace during several months.

According to notes on the menu, the dishes were imagined as creating a dialogue between the art of painting and the culinary arts, translating the emotion and beauty of the selection of masterpieces into flavor, aroma, texture and color on the plates.

Here’s the menu by Chef José Luque and its links to the paintings from the Prado.

Sorolla's "Boys on the Beach." (Museo Nacional del Prado

Mediterranean red shrimp carpaccio, as created by Chef José Luque of the Westin Palace, Madrid.

Aperitif: Sparkling sangría with aromatic flavors from the vineyard. (The Drunkards or The Feast of Bacchus by Velázquez.)

Starter: Mediterranean red shrimp carpaccio, seaweed, coastal citrus with extra virgin olive oil emulsion. (Boys on the Beach by Sorolla.)

Fish course: Sea bass fillet, pil pil sauce, on a bed of potato. (The Naked Maja, by Goya.)

Main course: Gola, moussaka, ouzo (beef moussaka in a pastry crust). (The Nobleman with His Hand on His Chest, by El Greco.)

Pre-dessert: Sugar and cocoa “cotton floss.” (Agnus Dei, by Zurburán.)

Dessert: Chocolate textures, fruit, flowers, crunchy rocks. (The Garden of Earthly Delights, by Bosch.)

The Naked Maja, by Goya. (Museo Nacional del Prado.)

The naked sea bass, dish created by Chef José Luque.

"The inspiration for this recipe arose from the contemplation of the luminosity and sensuality of the body of the naked woman portrayed in Francisco de Goya’s work. Chef José Luque has “undressed” a sea bass of its skin and placed it upon a bed of potato, bringing to mind the settee on which the master painter from Aragon represented his Naked Maja. A light, garlic, infused sauce completes the tribute to a masterpiece which allowed Goya to deal with the traditional image of a reclining Venus in a modern way." (Menu notes special menu commemorating the Prado Museum bicentennial, Westin Palace, Madrid.)

I love it! The naked Maja as fish! I had to give it a try.

The Naked Sea Bass
La Lubina Desnuda

This is my interpretation of the dish created by Chef José Luque. (I did not have his recipe.) I placed the fish on a bed of spinach, which reminded me of the green velvet divan in the original painting. I couldn't figure out what the chef used for the maja's hair. I used strands of seaweed. 

Serves 4.

4 (6-ounce) skinless sea bass fillets
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
2 medium potatoes
Spinach leaves (optional)
½ cup pil pil sauce, warmed
Seaweed spaghetti, rehydrated by soaking for 15 minutes 

Sprinkle the fish with salt and pepper and allow to come to room temperature.

Cook potatoes in boiling, salted water until tender. Peel them, cut in thick slices, brush with olive oil and keep warm.

Preheat oven to 425ºF.

Place ¼ cup oil in a baking pan large enough to hold the fillets in one layer. Heat the pan in the oven for 3 minutes. Lay the fish fillets in the oil and roast them until the flesh just flakes, about 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and keep the fish warm.

If using spinach, blanch the whole leaves by dipping them in boiling water. Drain well and spread the leaves on plates.

Place slices of potato on the plates. Nap them with pil pil sauce. Arrange sea bass fillets sensuously on the potato “cushions”. Spoon a little sauce over the fish. Garnish with strands of seaweed spaghetti. If desired, scatter some of reserved fried garlic from the pil pil sauce on top of the fish.

My rendition of the sea bass fillet with pil pil sauce.

Pil Pil Garlic Sauce
Salsa Pil Pil

I’ve made cod with pil pil sauce many times. It entails swirling warm oil into the gelatinous juices from the cod skin.  But this time, perhaps because it was such a small quantity, the sauce did not emulsify. Consulting “Chef Google,” I discovered the truco of whisking the sauce with a small strainer. Yes, as in “tea strainer”. It works.

8 ounces salt cod with skin, cut into 4 pieces and desalted
4 cloves garlic, sliced crosswise
Chile
½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Remove cod from the water in which it soaked. Rinse the cod and very gently squeeze out excess water.

Heat the oil in a small skillet. Add the sliced garlic and chile and fry until garlic is just golden, 30 seconds. Skim out the garlic and chile and reserve them. Carefully pour the oil in the pan into a heat-proof measuring cup. 

Return ¼ cup of the oil to the skillet. Place the pieces of cod in the oil, skin side down and cook 2 minutes, shaking the pan so the skin doesn't stick. Very carefully turn the pieces of cod, skin side up. Cook 3 minutes more. Remove the pieces of cod from the pan. (If the sauce is to be used with the sea bass, save the cod for another use.)

Place the pan over a very low heat. Use a small strainer to very gradually whisk in the remaining warm oil. Continue whisking with the strainer until the oil emulsifies and the sauce is as thick as mayonnaise. 

Serve the sauce spooned over fish or vegetables. Sprinkle with the fried garlic.

The Westin Palace Hotel, Madrid.

Recipes with seaweed.

The real pil pil recipe: Salt Cod with Garlic Pil Pil Sauce.