Meatless Monday- 1/6
Happy first #meatlessmonday of 2020! This year’s all about making goals and crushing them, so I hope #meatlessmonday is on that list! We’ll explore home cooked food that appeals to vegetarians and meat lovers alike.
Green Beans with Almonds
A twist to the classic side, this dish incorporates the rich taste of almonds, parmesan, and lemon to brighten up your palette.
What you’ll need:
4 cups vegetable broth
1 pound green beans, trimmed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large shallot, minced
1 tablespoon fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup marcona almonds
1 tablespoon parmesan cheese grated (optional)
1 lemon for serving
How to:
1) Bring a large pot of vegetable broth to a rolling boil. Add the green beans, and cook until bright green but still firm, about 4 minutes.
2) Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and shallots then cook until fragrant.
3) Add the green beans with seasoning to taste to the skillet with the garlic and cook until tender.
4) Sprinkle with grated parmesan and remove from heat.
5) Add marcona almonds and toast them until golden brown, about 5-6 minutes. Remove from heat and add on top of the green beans.
6) Serve with more parmesan cheese, parsley, and fresh lemon wedges, if desired.
Vegetarian Meatloaf
This protein packed meat alternative will have you second guessing if this is really meat free or not.
What you’ll need:
Lentil loaf:
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 onion, minced
1 cup minced fresh mushrooms
1 cup minced celery
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup brown lentils
1/3 cup water
3 tablespoons ground flax seed
Gravy:
2 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet or Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Dry seasonings to taste
How to:
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease loaf pan.
2) Combine 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth and lentils in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover saucepan, and simmer until all the liquid is absorbed and lentils are tender, 20 to 30 minutes.
3) Mix 1/3 cup water and ground flax seed together in a bowl; set aside until thickened, at least 10 minutes.
4) Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat; cook and stir onion, mushrooms, celery, and garlic until soft.
5) Mash lentils and mix vegetables, breadcrumbs, flour, basil, black pepper, salt, and onion powder until well combined. Press lentil mixture into the prepared loaf pan.
6) Bake loaf in the preheated oven for 35 minutes.
7) While loaf is baking, place broth, butter, Kitchen Bouquet, and dry seasonings into a saucepan and bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Lower heat to a simmer.
8) In a small bowl, stir together the water and cornstarch until smooth. Slowly add into saucepan and continue to cook for about 3-4 minutes.
9) Serve lentil loaf with gravy and sides.
Garlic Overload Mashed Potatoes
It’s no secret I love garlic. Oh, and I love potatoes too. This dish amps up the garlic and is perfect with the above items.
What you’ll need:
Roasted garlic:
3 heads garlic
6 teaspoons olive oil
Garlic chips:
1 cup vegetable oil
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced crosswise
Kosher salt
Mashed potatoes:
4 pounds red or russet potatoes, peeled
2 cups heavy cream
4 dried bay leaves
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary, plus more for garnish
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, plus more for garnish
Kosher salt and black pepper
¾ cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cut into small cubes, plus more for serving
How to:
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2) In a large pot, bring water to a rapid boil with salt. Add in potatoes and boil for about 15 minutes until tender. Drain water.
3) For roasted garlic: Put whole garlic on its side and cut off the top 1/4 portion at the pointed end. Place individually in aluminum foil cut-side up, and drizzle each head with olive oil. Pull up the surrounding aluminum foil and crimp tightly to seal. Transfer to the oven and roast until the garlic is softened and caramelized, 40 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the size of the heads. Set aside to cool.
4) Add the cream, bay leaves, rosemary and thyme to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high, about 5 minutes.
5) Strain the mixture, discarding the solids, and rinse out the saucepan. Return the infused cream to the saucepan and season to taste.
6) Mix potatoes with the herbed cream and cubed butter. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves from two heads into the potato mixture, discarding the skins, and mash until creamy.
7) Season to taste and add more roasted garlic, if desired.
8) Transfer mashed potatoes to a serving bowl, dot with a generous pat of butter and sprinkle with rosemary, thyme and black pepper. Top with garlic chips and serve along side the meatloaf and green beans.