Main-course recipes, vegetable-based

Credit: Janette Watson

 

This page is for recipes that are good with a variety of accompaniments. Admittedly, some pasta dishes are fine with rice, quinoa or another starch; equally some might choose to make a pilaf with barley, but I have (somewhat arbitrarily) decided that these recipes should have their own pages. However, there are quite a few recipes that I make that I eat with a variety of accompaniments. The most versatile seems to be chilli sin carne, which I eat with kumara (sweet potatoes), or polenta, or pasta or rice. I suspect it would also go very well with baked potatoes or mashed, for that matter. I simply haven’t ever tried the combination.

 

I’ve seen a number of vegetarian cookery books which have separate chapters on legume-based and vegetable-based recipes. However, this in itself is somewhat ambiguous: if, for example, the chickpeas and the mushrooms are equally important, does the recipe come under the heading of legumes or vegetables? Legumes are, anyway, vegetables, so I’ve decided that any recipes that aren’t seitan based; pastry based, rice based, pasta based or Indian recipes will end up on this page. As I suspect most people will go simply to the Index or tags, it’s probably ultimately irrelevant!I suggest that you also look at Curries for cooks or Vegetable side dishes for more ideas.  (The addition of a cup or so of beans will turn many side dishes into a full meal!)

If you feel that there’s a better way to arrange things, please let me know in the comments.

Chilli sin carne

This is one of the first recipes I ever cooked and it was pretty exotic for an English girl in the mid 70s!. Nowadays, in one form or another, it’s a standard for both omnivores and vegetarians.People make all sort of punning and witty names for the vegetarian version, but surely chilli sin carne is the obvious version - chilli without meat!  I have tweaked the recipe over the years and now have something that everyone seems to really enjoy. Full of flavour, with a nice lift of chilli, warming and filling, it is wonderfully welcome on a cold, damp evening. Moreover this recipe is one that can be cooked in just about any conditions at sea – and I have done so. You can eat it with bread, rice, pasta, polenta, potatoes sweet or otherwise and no doubt many other things.

If you aren’t used to ‛spicy’ foods, ie, chilli, you might want to go easy on the chilli flakes. If you like more spice, swop out the flakes for cayenne pepper.

Everyone, I’m sure, has their own version of this dish and mine is less authentic than most. The bulgur wheat makes a fine substitute for mince, while keeping the dish looking similar. I add some cocoa, which darkens the sauce and adds what I fondly believe to be ‘that South American touch’. In defence of my creation, I will say that everyone seems to enjoy it.

Chilli sin carne

Pizza

 

  Pizza must be one of the most popular dishes on the planet and while it is difficult to make it to the standards of the best pizzas ashore, even in a simple galley, you can certainly make something very acceptable and considerably more appetising than some of the pizzas I have bought. I've found that I get excellent results from cooking them in my frying pan, which is also a lot more economical on fuel than cooking a pizza in the oven; however, this does limit its size. You also need a first-class quality pan for pizza, because they have to get very hot. I recommend that you used one made of cast metal, ideally with vertical sides, ie a skillet. Cast-iron pans are relatively inexpensive, if you shop around, and often available second hand. Personally, I prefer cast alloy, but they are a considerable investment. If you don’t have an oven, your frying pan will constantly be used as a substitute, so one of good quality is an investment that is well worth while for oven-free cooks.

If you do have an oven, there's no need for any special equipment, although a rolling pin is nice to have. Nor do you have to roll out the dough into a perfect circle; indeed, if you simply roll it out to fit your baking sheet, you will be able to make a larger pizza and make best use of your oven.  I can see nothing unattractive in the ‘rustic’ appearance of a near rectangle. Even when I had an oven, I found I got the best results from partly pre-cooking the dough. I'm pleased to be able to report than an Italian sailor I met, told me that his mother always made them like this, so I reckon that I am not alone in finding that it’s simply not possible to have a standard oven retain its heat sufficiently for the sort base that you get at the local pizzeria. If you're fanatical about pizza, I suppose you could buy a pizza stone to put in your oven, but it would be a nuisance to store safely and I suspect it would be more trouble than it's worth, on a boat.  Whether using the oven or a frying pan, I suggest that you pre-cook it and flip it over before adding the topping. That way it both rises and cooks properly.

The following recipe makes a base for a 230 mm (9 in) frying pan. I have to admit that when I make it for myself, I usually manage to get through two-thirds of it, but I’m not a delicate feeder. I prefer not to have too thick a base, but if you are feeding two hearty appetites, you can make more dough for a thicker and more substantial base, make two smaller pizzas (cooking the second while eating the first) or invest in a larger frying pan! Just keep the proportions of the dough ingredients the same.

Pizza 

Swiss chard with white beans

 

It is often difficult to lay hands on the actual beans called for in a recipe, so I'm trying to remember  to use the phrase 'white beans' in the title, while suggesting what would be ideal, in the text.

This recipe is quick to make and when eaten with bread as intended, would make a substantial starter for four, or a good lunch or light dinner for two. If you use canned beans, which speeds the whole process up substantially, it would also make a good snack with something like large crackers or Melba toast, to give to visitors who have lingered until sundowners.  The combination of bread, beans and Swiss chard make for a pretty well-rounded meal nutritionally.

 

I first made this when I had no appetite and little enthusiasm for cooking, but had a large bunch of chard looking at me.  As it soon yellows, it had be to be eaten up!  I slightly altered the recipe to what is shown below, and ate it on the previous day's naan bread (= ½ cup flour), reheated on the toaster, rather than the recommended sourdough.  It was still was surprisingly good; indeed, I ate more of it than I'd anticipated.  Although the original called for cannelini beans, I can only buy them canned and as I prefer to cook my own legumes, I used haricot beans. However, using canned beans would make this meal almost ‘instant’.

 

Although the stems are a little more sturdy, the leaves of chard tend to disappear like spinach, when heated, so you will want at least six large leaves of chard and possibly more. 

Swiss chard with white beans