Creole-Style Vegetarian Jambalaya

 Bansko Region

 Vegetable hotch-potch

 Addictive Sweet Potato Burritos

 Quick Vegetarian Spaghetti

 Barbeque Seitan and Black Bean Burritos

 Caramelized Tomatoes

 Corn Pie

 Ozpacho

 Vegetarian Garlic Soup With Cilantro Dumplings

1/2 cup olive oil
2 cups yellow onions, small dice
1 cup red onions, small dice
1 cup bell peppers, small dice
1 cup celery, small dice
2 cups eggplant, diced
1 cup yellow squash, diced
1 cup zucchini, diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons minced shallots
3 cups chopped tomatoes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, to taste (optional)
2 teaspoons Creole seasoning , to taste
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
3 bay leaves
4 cups long grain rice
1 cup tomato paste
8 cups vegetable stock
1 cup chopped green onions

Method
 

Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onions, shallots, bell peppers and garlic and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the eggplant, squash, and zucchini, and saute until they're tender, ahother 5 minutes or so. Add the tomatoes. Season with salt, Creole seasoning and additional cayenne if desired. Add the bay leave, then add the rice and stir for 2 to 3 minutes.
If you're making this Creole-style, heat the tomato paste in a non-stick pan and stir, making sure it doesn't stick or burn, until the sugars in the paste begin to caramelize, and the paste begins to turn a deep mahogany color. Deglaze with some of the stock, stir and combine thoroughly, then add the tomato paste to the rest of the stock and stir until well-blended.

Add the vegetable stock/tomato mixture, stir and cover. Cook for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed. Do not stir the jambalaya while it's cooking. Remove from heat and let stand for 2-3 minutes. Add the green onions and mix thoroughly.

Garnish with some fresh long chives, and serve with a salad and good beer.

 500g brined sheep's cheese,
 2-3 tomatoes,
2-3 peppers,
5 eggs,
3.5 oz butter,
half a tsp paprika.

Method

Place the crumbled cheese into a butter-lined saucepan. Top with the finely cut peppers, grated or sliced tomatoes and butter. Cover with a lid and stew for some 15min. Beat the eggs in a cupful of water, pour over the dish, cover and cook until a yellow crust is formed. Serve with paprika. 

Vegetable hotch-potch

 3-4 onions
4-5 tomatoes
 5-6 peppers
 1-2 aubergines
 4-5 potatoes,
 3.5 oz okra
 3.5 oz  French beans (green beans)
1 tsp paprika
parsley
2/3 cup sunflower oil
 salt.

Method

Brown the chopped onions in oil and some water, place in baking dish. Add the finely cut peppers, tomatoes, French beans, aubergines, paprika, salt and some water. When tender, add the potatoes cut into circles and  some more warm water. Bake in moderate oven. Sprinkle with finely chopped parsley before serving. 

Addictive Sweet Potato Burritos

3 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups cooked kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups water
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
4 teaspoons prepared mustard
pinch cayenne
3 tablespoons soy sauce
4 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
12 (10 inch) flour tortillas, warmed
8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese, omit for vegan burritos

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).  Heat oil in a medium skillet. Saute onion and garlic until soft. Add the beans and mash. Gradually stir in the water and heat until warm. Remove from the heat and stir in the chili powder, cumin, mustard, cayenne pepper and soy sauce. Divide bean mixture and mashed sweet potatoes evenly between the warm flour tortillas. Top with cheese. Fold up tortillas burrito style. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 12 minutes.
Makes 12 burritos 

Quick Vegetarian Spaghetti

1 (16 ounce) package of spaghetti
2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 cup broccoli florets
1 (15.25 ounce) whole kernel corn
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup fresh sliced mushrooms

Method

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil, add spaghetti and return water to a boil. Cook until spaghetti is al dente; drain well. Mix broccoli, corn, mushroom, carrots and sauce together in large sauce pot. Cook on medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes or until vegetables are soft (not too soft). Stir occasionally to keep sauce from sticking. Serve sauce over spaghetti.
Makes 7 servings 

Barbeque Seitan and Black Bean Burritos

2 cups water
1 cup white rice
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
5 green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 habanero chiles, minced ( or to taste )
1 red or yellow bell pepper, chopped
3/4 pound seitan
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained
1 (16 ounce) can diced tomatoes
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 (18 ounce) bottle spicy barbecue sauce
10 (10 inch) flour tortillas
1 1/2 cups white rice

Method

In a medium sauce pan bring 2 cups lightly salted water to a boil. Add the white rice. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until rice is tender.  In a large saucepan (wok pans also work well) heat oil over medium-high and saute yellow onion, green onions, garlic, habeneros, and bell pepper until onions become translucent. Add seitan and saute another 5 minutes. Add black beans and tomatoes. Heat through.  In a medium size mixing bowl combine heated mixture with cooked rice, cilantro, and 1 cup barbecue sauce.
 Lay tortillas on flat surface. Spoon about 3/4 cup of filling onto each tortilla's center. Wrap tortilla so that mixture is captured on the inside . In a casserole dish pour barbecue sauce to coat the dish's bottom. Place burritos in dish and pour more barbecue sauce on top of them. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven for 35 minutes.
Makes 10 burritos 

Caramelized Tomatoes

6 medium firm tomatoes
3 slices egg bread
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
4 tbsp brown sugar

Method

Cut a thin slice from the top of each tomato. Scoop out most but not all of the pulp. Set pulp aside. Sprinkle tomato cavities with salt. Toast the bread slightly to keep it firm and give it color; cut into small cubes. Spoon butter over cubes of toast and sprinkle with brown sugar. Add 1/2 of the pulp you set aside to toast cubes quickly and fill tomatoes with mixture. Place in greased baking pan and bake uncovered at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes.

Corn Pie

 1 tbsp sugar
 1 1/2 tbsp sifted flour
 1/2 lb. anchor cheese (grated)
 1 tin of corn (drained)
 1/2 tin of evaporated milk
 1 egg
 1 onion (finely chopped)
 1/2 sweet pepper (finely chopped)
 1 tbsp butter

Method

Melt butter in pan and add flour, stir to avoid lumps Add milk stirring gradually to avoid lmups, then add grated cheese Add corn and sugar, put in onion Add egg last to hold ingredients together.
Bake in oven at 50 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes

Ozpacho

An Australian version of a Spanish classic

1 medium cucumber
1 (825gram/29oz approx.)can of tomatoes
2 slices bread
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp paprika
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves( or parsley or mint)
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2-1 cup cold water
1 (330 gram/11oz) can of sweet corn
1/2 a bell pepper (any color) finely chopped

Method

Peel the cucumber and cut the flesh from the seeds. Discard the seeds and dice the flesh. Set aside. Strain the canned tomatoes and reserve the juice only. Remove the crust from the bread slices. Place the slices in a bowl. Pour about half the reserved strained tomato juice over the bread and leave to soak. Peel the garlic and put into a blender, crush the garlic. Add the coriander,paprika,basil leaves (washed) and black pepper. Blend well. Add the bread, tomato puree and lemon juice. Slowly add the olive oil, mixing constantly. Pour this mixture into a chilled serving bowl. Add the remainder of the strained tomato juice, the cucumber flesh and enough cold water to make a thickish consistency. Drain the juice from the canned corn and add the corn to the bowl. Wash and cut the bell pepper, remove the seeds. Finely chop one half of the bell pepper. Add this to the bowl. Cover and place in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve. Allow 4 hours for all the flavors to mingle.

Soup
 2 heads of garlic, peeled and minced
 or pressed
 8 cups water
 3 celery stalks, finely chopped
 3 carrots cut into 1 inch pieces
 1 T dried parsley or finely chopped
 fresh
 1 tsp. dried basil
 1 bay leaf
 salt & pepper to taste
 
 

 Dumplings
 (Makes about 24 small dumplings)
 1 1/3 cup flour
 1/2 tsp. salt
 2 tsp. baking powder
 1/4 tsp. black pepper
 1 beaten egg
 1 1/2 T vegetable oil
 1/3 cup milk
 2 T chopped fresh cilantro

Method

1. Add all soup ingredients together and simmer for about thirty minutes. 2. While soup is simmering, prepare dumplings. Mix dry ingredients together. Add remaining ingredients and mix into a stiff batter. Drop batter into boiling soup about 1/2 teaspoon full at a time. When dumplings float (which should only take a minute or so), they are cooked and your soup is ready to be served.