Give me your unusual, spicy, delicious vegetable recipes please.

Cafe Society
1

I’m not vegetarian but I don’t eat much meat and eat tons of vegetables. Plus I like cooking and spicy foods. I have a regular Thursday night pot luck get-together with friends where we bring yummy things we’ve cooked (or we cook them in situ) and eat a lot.

I’m the one who always brings the weird veggie dishes. :slight_smile: I’ve been in an Indian/curry/Thai rut for a while and need more ideas!

To start, I’ll share some favourites; recipes that tend to be eaten right up.
Carrot rice. Except I use store-bought Thai peanut sauce instead of crushed peanuts and spices. I can eat this cold the day after and it’s awesome. Usually, there’s none left when I bring it somewhere.

Dry okra curry.
Absolutely non-slimy, crunchy, spicy and delicious. I don’t tell people it’s okra. :slight_smile:

Roasted root vegetables. Easy and also gets gobbled up. Beets, parsnips, potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips, carrots, rutabagas, whatever. Shake in a bag with olive oil and whatever spices you have on hand. A good all-in-one spice is McCormick’s Jamaican Jerk spice but salt and pepper, or salt, pepper and rosemary, or red pepper and curry powder, or… is just as good. Roast 40-60 minutes.

Your turn!

2

I love these Nut Butter Crusted Roasted Parsnip Fries.

3

Oh my. That recipe is SO saved!

4

There’s a dish I had in Egypt called koshary (spelling varies, natch) that could be spiced up pretty high, I expect.

5

Momofuku’s Vinegar Pickles

I make these every so often and love them served with spicy food.
For brine:
1 cup very hot tap water
1/2 cup rice-wine vinegar
6 tbsp sugar
2 1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp coriander seeds
For veggies:
2 lbs whole baby carrots, scrubbed, peeled, and trimmed
3 bulbs fennel

Instructions:
Pack carrots (for larger ones, cut them length-wise, so they are snack size) and fennel (core and cut into 1/8-inch strips) into mason jars or 1-qt plastic containers, cover with brine, close lid, and refrigerate. They’ll be ready in four days. Most will keep for up to a month.

6

Sorry, I don’t know what happened to the link that was supposed to be there:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/egyptian-koshari/

7

Ooooh, I’ll hafta try the carrot rice - that looks good!

The last time I made butternut squash soup it came out so thick that I wound up using it as a dip, like hummus. (Peel, cube, and roast squash with olive oil and seasoning until golden-brown at edges, purree with broth. I usually throw some quartered onions onto the roasting pan when the squash is about half-done, along with a whole foil-wrapped garlic head, and add those as well.)

8

kayaker, I saved this as well. I adore pickled food and it’s been way too long since I did any home canning or pickling.

Kneadtoknow, definitely a keeper. I’ve spent time in Egypt, love middle eastern cuisine generally and this looks easy, cheap and very tasty!
**
purplehorseshoe**, I have two big-ass squashes given to me by neighbors. Soup seems like a great option. I’m assuming it freezes well?

9

If you scroll down on this page there is a Indian cauliflower recipe that I absolutely love.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/42672439/ns/today-food/t/vijs-home-lamb-popsicles-cauliflower-steak/

I know you said you did a lot of Indian food, but I still had to share this one.

10

Two recipes I got from my Indian friend (I almost hesitate to call them recipes because they’re so simple):

Turmeric eggplant:

Slice an eggplant in half lengthwise, and then into half-rounds about 1/4 thick. Sprinkle with turmeric and a little bit of water. Toss to coat. Heat olive oil in a skillet. Fry eggplant rounds until they are done, about 10 minutes on each side. Drain on a paper towel. Salt to taste.

Salad with kefir dressing:

Toss cherry tomatoes, diced cucumber, and chopped cilantro with plain kefir. Eat.

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Frozen Corn.
Corn oil.

Add salt, pepper and Chipolte to taste as you go.

Cook on medium to high heat until the corn caramelizes.

12

Follow this recipe for Slow Cooker Chicken Mahkni, but do not add chicken.

Instead, add chick peas and/or sturdy vegetables, such as green beans or carrots.

Nom.

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The other day, I made a heavily-modified version of this chili recipe for the crock pot. I put in the onion, garlic, chili powder, and cumin like the recipe says, but not much else. Instead, I used a 28-oz. can of crushed tomatoes, a can of pinto beans, a can of kidney beans, a can of black beans, and four finely-chopped habanero peppers to give it spice. Screw the zucchini and bell peppers–those don’t belong in chili.

14

I love chili, too! This is currently my favorite chili, made with sweet potatoes and black beans. Double it and freeze it for later. It’s wonderful! I use minced chipotle in adobo sauce instead of dried chili.

15

Sichuan cuisine is good for some spicy vegetables. Look around for Sichuan green beans (those often contain pork, though), and eggplant.

Here’s one for green beans.

Here’s one for eggplant (substitute vegetable broth for chicken broth.)

16

Many Georgian dishes, although they’re not hot, have a pleasantly spicy taste. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like spinach or beet pkhali.

If you’re interested, there are lots of delicious vegetable recipes in Darra Goldstein’s The Georgian Feast - highly recommended.

Also from the former Soviet Union, Korean carrot salad. You can use the same style of spicy marinade with raw green beans.

And if you’re looking for something to make with friends, dumplings can be a fun activity. You may need to tweak the spicing for a bit more oomph but this is a mushroom dumpling recipe that goes down well with most people I know.

17

I’ve made this both with and without the chicken. If you omit the chicken, also omit all but 2 TBSP of the oil. It’s a version of African peanut soup.

Chicken, Peanut and Yam Stew

2 pounds chicken meat, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tsp salt
1 15 oz. can whole tomatoes in juice
¼ cup water
2 TBSP tomato paste
¼ cup peanut oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced and mashed into paste with 1 tsp salt
1-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
½ cup smooth peanut butter at room temperature
1-3/4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
1 lb sweet potato or yam, cut into 1 inch chunks

Sprinkle chicken with salt and let stand for 30 minutes.

Pulse tomatoes with juices in a food processor until finely chopped.

Stir water into tomato paste in a small bowl until smooth.

Pat chicken dry. Heat oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high until hot, then brown chicken. Remove from pan. Pour off excess oil, leaving about 2 TBSP, then add onion and cook over medium heat until lightly golden, about 2-3 minutes. Add the chicken, tomatoes, tomato paste mixture, garlic paste and cayenne to pan (or use a pot, if needed).

Whisk together peanut butter and one cup broth in a bowl until smooth, then add to chicken along with remaining ¾ cup broth, stirring to combine well. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, about 30 minutes. Add yam chunks and simmer until tender, about 10-12 minutes. Serve over rice, if desired.

18

These are SOOOO good! I mixed up a batch and roasted a few. Really good - I’m going to try these with other veggies; carrots, potatoes, etc. I just used crunchy peanut butter. I’m taking the rest tonight to cook for the group. :slight_smile:
I do love peanut butter. Will definitely try Chefguy’s stew. I’m thinking that one would be best with the chicken.

All recipes have been saved in my recipe folder. :slight_smile:

19

The chicken is good as a filler when feeding a lot of people. It really doesn’t add much to the dish other than texture and more protein.

20

One of my favorite low-cal go-tos:

Cooked white rice
Some frozen broccoli/cauliflower mix

Toss with a little olive oil, cayenne pepper and five spice powder.