Groundnut Stew

In Africa, groundnut stew can range from thin and soupy to a very thick porridge-like consistency. In this recipe, I designed it to be eaten with injera, so I opted for a very thick consistency, as you’ll be scooping it up and eating with your hands. But if you will be eating it with utensils, adding additional water to stretch the soup farther and serving over rice is perfectly fine.

This recipe is more a basic suggestion than a firm recipe. Optional additions to this recipe also include chicken (for you meat eaters), sweet potatoes that have been baked and cubed, and hard-boiled eggs that are peeled and cut in half then added to the finished stew. You can also serve over rice or with another starch, like kenkey if you don't want to go the injera route. It's all good. 

Prep time: 1/2 cocktail

2 TBSP oil

½ cup onion, very finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 bunch collard greens (beet greens, chard, spinach, or other greens), shredded (optional)

2 tsp red chili flakes (or more if you like it hot)

¾ cup water

1-2 tomatoes, chopped

¼ cup peanut butter (use only all natural peanut butter with no added sugar or oils)

¾ tsp salt (more or less to taste—depending on how much your PB has)

Salt and pepper to taste

Handful of coarsely chopped peanuts

In wok or large frying pan heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic and a good bit of fresh ground black pepper, sauté until onions become a bit transparent, about 3-5 minutes. Add greens, chili flakes, and water, stir occasionally until greens begin to become tender. Stir in tomatoes and peanut butter. Reduce heat to medium-low. Continue stirring a couple minutes until everything is well mixed, add salt to taste. Adding a handful of peanuts to add some extra texture to this dish is also optional at this point.

Recipe: City, O' City Udon Noodle Bowl

The best vegetarian restaurant in Denver is called City, O' City. Literally everything on the menu is phenomenal. Go! But the best thing they serve is their udon noodle bowl. It's so good, I acquired a minor obsession with imitating it. So I brought to-go orders of the soup home to hone my own recipe. The result is a replica so close that I wouldn't be able to tell the difference in a blind tasting. Unfortunately, you have to go to the restaurant itself to engage in sarcastic banter with smug hipsters. I couldn't seem to recreate that part at home.

Prep time: 2 cocktails

250 grams (8 ounces) dry Udon noodles

A 6-inch square sheet of kombu (available at any Asian grocer)

1 1/2" piece of ginger cut into a few thin wheels

5 TBSP soy sauce
3 TBSP rice cooking wine

3 TBSP light brown sugar

1 tsp salt

3 TBSP untoasted sesame oil

3 tsp rice vinegar

2 large scallions, chopped

3-5 shitake or crimini mushrooms, sliced

3 TBSP corn starch

Handful of cubed silken tofu, optional

Handful of veggies sautéed in a bit of untoasted sesame oil and a dash of soy sauce, optional (fennel, shredded carrots, chopped napa cabbage, and sliced celery are all great)

A raw egg, optional

Combine the kombu, ginger and 4 cups of cold water in a pot (if kombu won't fit in your pot cut it into a few pieces with kitchen shears. Turn the heat to high and warm the water to the point just before it starts to boil. Remove from heat and immediately remove the kombu. Let sit 3-4 minutes, then fish out the ginger. Now this cool for about 15 minutes.

As the stock cools, prepare the udon noodles. Fill a pot with cold water and the noodles. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally and boil until the noodles are at eating texture. Immediately drain and run under cold water until the noodles are cold. Set noodles aside.

Returning to the kombu liquid, put it back on medium-high heat, add soy sauce, rice wine, brown sugar, salt, sesame oil, rice vinegar, mushrooms, and scallions. Bring it to a boil and boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

As soon as you do this, whisk the cornstarch in 1/4 cup water until totally dissolved. Stir this into the soup. Now stir in noodles and sautéed veggies and/or tofu if you're using. Serve with the raw egg floating in the soup, if you want that as well.

Caponata: The Culinary Equivalent of Celebrity Sex Pics

This is another recipe I have unabashedly stolen (and improved upon) from an unnamed restaurant I once worked at. Like stolen celebrity sex pics and 100-year-old Irish drinking songs, this recipe is just too good not to be in out there in the public domain. So by stealing this recipe and posting it, it's basically an act of selfless community service I'm performing. You'll thank me later.

If you're unfamiliar, caponata--which is somewhat similar to ratatouille--is a classic Sicilian condiment. However, caponata is zingier thanks to the addition of olives, vinegar and capers. It can be enjoyed as a delicious cold appetizer spread that’s great on crackers or bread, it can be used as a vegan spread for sandwiches. You can even toss it warm with hot pasta and warm brie cheese for an amazingly decadent dinner.  Note that this is a pretty huge (party-size) portion. You may want to halve this if not feeding a football team.

Prep time: 3 cocktails

1 large eggplant

2/3 cup olive oil, divided

1 medium onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 celery stalk, chopped

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts, chopped

1/2 tsp cayenne (or a bit more to taste)

1/3 cup carrots, diced finely

1/2 cup canned tomato sauce (or 4 tomatoes pureed and cooked down with a bit of salt)

1 cup Kalamata olives, chopped

3 TBSP sugar

1.5 TBSP capers

1/3 cups red wine vinegar

2 tsp Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped finely

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350.

Peel eggplant, then dice into ¼-inch cubes. Toss with 1/4 cup olive oil and spread on a cookie sheet and place in oven. Roast until soft (about 20 minutes). Remove from oven.

Heat a large pan, Dutch oven, or wok over medium high heat. Add remaining oil. When oil is hot, add eggplant, carrot, onion, garlic, and celery and sauté, stirring frequently until onion becomes transparent—about 10 minutes. Now add all other ingredients EXCEPT pine nuts and parsley and continue cooking over medium heat, stirring frequently. Cook until vegetables begin to break down a bit and most of the excess liquid has cooked off, stirring frequently. This can take some time—30 minutes to 1 hour in most cases, but it can vary depending on how juicy your veggies are. Just don’t cook everything into a total paste. Add parsley when the mixture is about done and sauté for 2 more minutes.

Remove from heat and toss in pine nuts. Salt and pepper to taste. Add enough salt to balance out the sugar and other flavors.

Ridiculous Tofu Stroganoff

This recipe makes me happier than Vladimr Putin wrestling a bear with his shirt off! It's the height of vegetarian comfort food: elegant, balanced, rich. It's not something I'd eat every day... but I could. A meal fit for a Czar. Serve with vodka and liberal amounts of government suppression!

Prep time: 3 cocktails

Tofu:
2 TBSP vegetable oil
14 ounces extra-firm tofu, cut into 3/4" cubes
2 TBSP soy sauce
1 TBSP miso paste
1 TBSP Worcestershire
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup juice (apple, orange, pineapple are all fine options)

Sauce:
1 TBSP vegetable oil or butter
1 large onion, chopped
8 ounces crimini mushrooms, slices
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 TBSP brown sugar
2 TBSP tomato paste
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup veggie stock, store-bought or homemade
2 tsp dijon
scant 2 tsp lemon juice
1 TBSP soy sauce
1 cup sour cream (don't use nonfat)
1/3 tsp dill
1/3 tsp thyme
Black pepper

Other stuff:
8 ounces dried egg noodles or rotini
Finely minced Italian parsley or paprika for garnish, optional

Prepare noodles and set aside.

Once your noodles are started, get going on the tofu. Heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add tofu cubes and fry, flipping the tofu around with a spatula almost constantly until tofu is browned but not burned, about 10 minutes. Add all the remaining ingredients for the tofu. Continue stirring until all the liquid is absorbed/evaporated, about 4 minutes. Remove, transfer to a plate and put in the freezer until the cubes are cold (but not frozen).

Now time for the sauce. In a large dutch oven heat your 1 TBSP oil or butter over medium heat. Add onion and mushrooms and saute--covered--for 5 minutes.  Remove the lid and increase to medium-high and saute until the liquids have cooked off and the veggies are starting to brown, about 6-10 more minutes. Add garlic and brown sugar. Stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomato paste and cook another minute or two.

At this point you should have some stuff starting to stick to the bottom of the pan. Deglaze your pan with the white wine. and simmer for 3 minutes until it's mostly evaporated.

Stir in stock, dijon, lemon juice, soy sauce, sour cream, dill, and thyme. Simmer until you've about reached your desired thickness. Grind some black pepper and stir in along with your cooked noodles. Remove from heat and stir in tofu just enough so it's well distributed but no more. Garnish with parsley or paprika. Done!