Vegetarian

To achieve stir-fried asparagus with a flavorful browned exterior and a crisp-tender texture, we had to start with a hot pan and only stir the asparagus occasionally. This allowed the vegetables to char and caramelize. To ensure that the vegetables cooked evenly, we diluted the sauce with water. This diluted sauce created a small amount of steam, cooking the spears through, before evaporating and leaving behind a flavorful glaze.

To achieve a sauce for our penne alla vodka recipe with the right balance of sweet, tangy, spicy, and creamy, we pureed half the tomatoes (which helped the sauce cling nicely to the pasta) and cut the rest into chunks. For sweetness, we added sautéed minced onions. We found we needed a liberal amount of vodka to cut through the richness and add zing to the sauce, but we had to add it to the tomatoes early on to allow the alcohol to mostly (but not completely) cook off and prevent a boozy flavor.

We first toast the spheres in oil to bring out their nuttiness. We then cook the couscous in a measured amount of water that is soaked up during cooking. This absorption method produces more evenly cooked results than boiling the couscous.

The warm couscous can be tossed with butter or extra-virgin olive oil and salt and pepper for a side dish or cooled and used in a salad. If you’re making a salad, transfer the couscous to a rimmed baking sheet and let it cool completely, about 15 minutes. Our favorite brand of Israeli couscous is Roland.

For great-tasting, cohesive burgers, we start by grinding tortilla chips in the food processor. We then pulse the beans with the chips so the beans maintain some texture. Eggs, and flour, which contains sticky amylopectin, help to hold the burger mix together. To keep the preparation simple, we add no-cook seasonings that bolster the Latin American flavor of the burgers. Letting the mixture sit in the refrigerator for an hour gives the starches time to soak up moisture from the egg, so the patties are easier to shape. 

Dried beans cooked from scratch have a more uniform texture than most canned beans (some of which tend to get mushed in the can). Also, you can control what gets added to the beans (particularly salt). And they cost much less than canned beans. A 16-ounce bag of dried beans yields roughly 5 or 6 cups of cooked beans, while a 15-ounce can of cooked beans yields roughly 1½ cups. Finally, homemade beans freeze beautifully, so why not make a big batch on the weekend and use it in recipes later in the week?

But there are a few things to keep in mind regarding dried beans.

This recipe is healthy comfort food made with simple ingredients that you probably already have on hand. Vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, just everything.

Stop right there. Ummm what is this? Sweet potato noodles? CASHEW SAUCE?  First of all, y-u-m. Secondly, it’s true. I’m going fake-vegan-rogue on you today.

Cooking healthy (and tasty) meals can be easy, even for a first-year student. Check out Bonnie Stern's recipe for this rice bowl with grilled tofu, sweet potatoes and peanut sauce. 

Sometimes the simplest recipes get overcomplicated as more and more versions are made. For this carrot-ginger soup, we decided to go back to the basics. With a combination of cooked carrots and carrot juice, we were able to get well-rounded, fresh carrot flavor. Using a mixture of ginger products, we were able to get bright, refreshing ginger flavor with a moderate kick of heat. Finally, for a smooth texture without the fuss of straining, we added a touch of baking soda to help break down the carrots and ginger, producing a silken creamy result. 

 

Butternut squash makes a wonderful substitute for pasta thanks to its structure. This simple dish allows the squash noodles to shine in a Sage Brown Butter sauce. Ready in less than 30 minutes, this makes a wonderful cool weather side or main dish.

Butternut squash is great for spiralizing. It produces firm noodles which can be roasted and added to most any sauce as one would prepare pasta. It roasts in about 5-7 minutes and once combined with a sauce is ready within 10 minutes.

Homemade Sweet Potato Curly Fries with Chipotle Lime Aioli are a healthier spin off the classic sweet potato fry. Crispy, sweet, spicy and irresistible!