Venturing Into The World Of Vegetarian Restaurant Dishes
Many meat lovers would never cook vegetarian food – let alone eat in a vegetarian restaurant. Most of them anticipate that the food will be bland and tasting strongly of soy. The truth is that many vegetarian restaurant dishes are indescribably good and even your everyday carnivore will enjoy them. One such example is the ratatouille, a French vegetable casserole. Here are a few samples of dishes that are served in vegetarian restaurants. Each of them is simply so delicious the subject of meat becomes moot and academic.
Bok Choy with Tofu and Mushrooms
This incredibly simple vegetable dish is healthy, easy to prepare and just plain mouth-wateringly good. You start by washing and soaking dried mushrooms (do this the night before if possible), slicing a cup of onions and a bunch of leeks, separating the white part from the green. Blanch your bok choy and vertically slice each plant into halves or quarters depending on the size. Sautee the onions, add the mushrooms which you cut into slivers or halves. Season with soy sauce then, add some fried tofu (you can get this already fried in Asian stores), and add the bok choy and the green onion stems. Just before turning off the stove, season with sesame oil and oyster sauce (look for a vegetarian version in Asian stores). Serve immediately and voila! No one is going to look for meat in this dish.
Onion and Oatmeal Patties with Chili Sauce
Mince two cups of onions and sauté in olive oil. Once the onions are done, turn of f the fire and add chopped parsley, salt, pepper and a touch of oregano. Add 1 cup of oatmeal and 3 large eggs. Mix till everything sticks together, fry till golden brown and serve with chili sauce and cucumber-pineapple salad. Into the patties you can also add carrots by dicing these finely and sautéing them with the onions. Vegetarian restaurant dishes like this are often served with a fancier presentation than plain patties, in sticks or croquette-like ovals.
Baked Eggplant and Mushroom
Peel and grill eggplants. Slice 3 cups of mushrooms finely and sauté with lots of onions. Make a béchamel type sauce by melting a good butter substitute (a cup) and flour (about ¾ cup) then add a cup of milk. Season with garlic salt and cook till mixture coats the spoon. Layer the eggplants and the mushrooms alternately with sauce in between. Top with sauce, sprinkle with cheese than bake till bubbly. This is fantastic served with garlic bread and a zesty salad of lettuce and tomatoes. If you plan to cook this dish, you can cook it the way most restaurants do: baked in individual bowls and garnished with toasted pine nuts.
Creamy Pasta
Not surprisingly, pastas are among the most sought after vegetarian restaurant dishes because of all the dishes that commonly grace family tables, the pasta is the easiest one to turn into a vegetarian delight. An easy pasta casserole is this creamy pasta to which you can add the vegetables you like. Oven roast broccoli, spinach, red and green peppers and mushrooms. After you have cooked your linguini or penne, sauté the vegetables, add some cream and tomato paste, put the pasta in and top with mozzarella. Bake till bubbly. This is wonderful served with garlic flavored bread sticks and salad.
Desserts Galore
If you are one of those people who need dessert to end your meal then try some vegetarian desserts. There is actually a wide range of choices for desserts that don’t require you to use animal products. Lychees with gelatin and almond syrup, a dessert often served in many Chinese restaurants, is one example. Fruit sorbets are another example. Pears poached in wine are a sophisticated alternative. Believe it or not, there are even quite a good number of vegetarian chocolate cake recipes so do go ahead and try your hand at creating vegetarian dishes in your own kitchen.
