Posts Tagged ‘vegetarian dish’

Bufala Mozzarella Salad: A Quick Vegetarian Fix

Thursday, January 19th, 2012

More and more people are going vegetarian these days mainly because of health reasons, I am presupposing. I can’t see any reason aside from what I just mentioned, why these health freaks steer away from juicy steaks, crispy chicken and cholesterolific hamburgers. On second thought, it might be also a belief, but, who knows?

What is more perplexing is when vegetarians go a step further and become vegan, which means that not only do they not eat animals, but they don’t eat animal products as well such as dairy or eggs.

What? No Dairy which means no cheese? Well, how can I live without cheese– the essence of my existence? Well almost. Didn’t I have my first food from my mother’s milk, just like the bull’s had theirs from their mother’s milk as well. And if there is more than enough milk from the bull, they make it into Bufala Mozzarella which by the way, I have a recipe to share and it’s called: Bufala Mozzarella Salad.

  • ¼ c. olive oil
  • ½ cup red wine vinegar
  • 2 tsp. Salt
  • 1 tbsp. Dried basil
  • ½ tsp. Pepper
  • ¼ tsp. Dried oregano
  • 1 round ball buffalla cut into cubes or crumbled

Mix the above and marinade the Bufala Mozzarella in the mixture for an hour or more. Then mix it with the following veggies.

  • 20 pcs. Grape tomatoes or 6 Roma tomatoes quartered
  • 1 small cucumber sliced
  • 1 small red pepper sliced
  • 1 small green pepper, sliced
  • 1 small red onion, sliced
  • Greek olives (optional)

Prepare the vegetables and place in a serving bowl. Add the marinated Bufala Mozzarella Cheese to the vegetables above. Toss well and serve.

Vegetarians or vegans can do away with cheese substitutions in the form of other plant products derived from grains which processed, could be made to look like cheese. Thus even with the above recipe, this can be modified and if one is vegan, they just do away with the cheese component. Crumbled tofu could be a substitute for the above recipe. However every original recipe is always best with original ingredients.

Anyway, back for as long as I can remember, vegans didn’t become such the moment they were born. Can you imagine giving a newborn baby carrot juice or soy milk. It’s possible though, but generally, we all started with mother’s milk, which to every infant is the best food ever. And speaking about the best cheese, it’s found in only in the gourmet cheese shop online, the Ideal Cheese Shop. And you don’t want to miss that.

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A Gruyere-Rich Vegetarian Gourmet Dish

Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

There is more to preparing a vegetarian dish especially if you want to impress as well as connect.  And often times when it’s a hit, they always come back to the chef asking for the recipes.  So without further ado, here is one dish that will surely delight not only the pickiest of vegetarians, but can impress even a celebrity gourmand. Of course, with the Gruyere, you could never go wrong.

 
Mushroom, butternut squash and Gruyere Tart
 
  • One 1 ½  pound butternut squash-peeled seeded and cut into ½ inch squares
  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 2 TBSP unsalted butter
  • 1 large shallot, thinly sliced
  • 1 pound assorted mushrooms, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 1 tsp. Sherry vinegar
  • ¼ freshly grated vinegar
  • all purpose flour for dusting
  • 14 ounces chilled all butter puff pastry
  • 2 large eggs
  • ¼ cup crème fraiche
  • ¼ pound shredded Gruyere
  • 2 tsps. Chopped thyme
 
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spread the squash on a baking sheet and toss with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Bake for 25 minutes, until just tender.  Transfer to a bowl.  Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees
 
Meanwhile in a skillet, melt the butter in the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Add the shallot and cook over moderate heat, stirring until softened.  Add the mushrooms, cover and cook, stirring, until tender, about 7 minutes.  Season with salt and black pepper and remove from the heat.  Toss with the vinegar and nutmeg and add to the squash.
 
Line a baking sheet with parchment.  On a floured work surface, roll the puff pastry out to 12 ½ by 14 ½ inches.  Using a knife, trim the pastry to 12 by 14 inches.  Transfer to the baking sheet and prick the pastry with a fork all over except for a ½ inch border.  Bake the pastry for 20 minutes, until golden; pierce with a fork if it puffs during baking.  Cool.
 
Stir the egg yolks, crème fraiche, Gruyere, thyme ½ tsp of  salt and ¼ tsp of pepper into the mushrooms and squash.  Spread the mixture on the pastry inside the border.  Bake for 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted.  Cut into squares and serve.
 
Sometimes, there are ingredients that are quite intimidating especially for a simple cook, yet in reality it is just words that make it so complicated.  Crème fraiche can be substituted for heavy cream or  any sour cream and that butternut squash can be substituted with  a regular squash if the former is not in season.  Or sometimes, if you are an adventurous cook, you could use whatever favorite vegetable there is that is similar to a butternut squash. 
 
But the one ingredient that cannot be substituted is the gruyere, where only the best comes from the Ideal Cheese Shop.  There is no comparison with those found in other shops.  So whatever you decide, get the other ingredients elsewhere, but the Gruyere can only be bought at the best cheese shop online, the Ideal Cheese Shop.

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