Sweet Potato Quesadillas

We love to eat dairy-free a few times a week, and this is one of the most delicious ways we have found to do that. The baked sweet potato takes the place of the cheese, and really, it's shocking how creamy and rich it becomes when served this way.

(This, like many of our recipes in the past few days, is an older idea revisited with a renewed palate and way more hours in the kitchen. We strive to not only come up with new ideas, but to give you the best versions of all of our ideas -- the stuff you want to make all the time and recipes that work out just right every time you use them. The dishes we've been highlighting are our go-to's, and we're oven the moon that we think we might've figured out how to make them even better!)

Sweet Potato Quesadillas

1 large sweet potato (baked in a 350-degree oven for 1 hour)
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper (to taste)
1 medium portobello (1 1/2 cups sliced)
1 medium red pepper (1 cup sliced)
1/2 white onion (1 1/4 sliced)
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 tablespoons canola oil (more for grilling quesadillas)
4 10-inch, whole-wheat tortillas (like Whole Foods 365 brand)
Guacamole and Mexican hot sauce (to serve)

Peel the baked sweet potato, place it into a medium bowl, mash it with a fork, season with salt and pepper, and set aside. In a large bowl toss together the portobello, pepper, onion, lime juice, chili powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Get a large frying pan screaming hot over high heat. Add the 2 tablespoons of canola, wait for it to shimmer, and then add the vegetable mixture. Cook 5 to 6 minutes while stirring often until onions begin to brown and most of the liquid the vegetables released during cooking has evaporated. Place vegetables back into the bowl and set aside.

Rinse out the large frying pan and place it over medium heat. Assemble the quesadillas by first dividing the sweet potato mixture between the 4 tortillas, then dividing the vegetable mixture. Add enough oil to the pan to lightly coat the bottom. Fold quesadillas in half and cook both sides until the outside is nice and crisp. You will need to do this in two batches. Serve with guacamole and your favorite Mexican hot sauce. (Serves 4 as an appetizer and 2 as a main course.)

Chipotle Elote

It's time for Makeover Week here at The Chubby Vegetarian. You see, we've been at this a little while, and so many of our favorite recipes from the blog need an update. We did this with all of our Southern recipes for our book, The Southern Vegetarian (are you aware that it's available now for pre-order? ;), and now it's time to take a look at some of our more eclectic offerings. 


This incredible dish gets a ton of extra flavor from a homemade chipotle aioli rather than just the usual  plain old mayonnaise. Best of all, it's simple to do -- especially if you use organic frozen corn, which is the best corn you can get here in Memphis at the end of winter. This is the perfect thing to shake off the winter blahs and prepare yourself for the impending spring.  

Chipotle Elote

1 clove garlic (peeled)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
Juice from 1/2 lime
1 to 2 chipotle chilis from a can
1 teaspoon cane sugar (like Whole Foods 365 brand)
1 cup finely crumbled cotija (use the food processor)
10 half-ears of corn (like Whole Foods 365 brand; defrosted)

Into the work bowl of your food processor, mini-prep, or immersion blender cup, add the garlic, mayo, lime juice, chipotle, and sugar. Blend until smooth. Set aside. 

Turn the broiler of your oven on high. Place the corn on a baking sheet and place under the broiler for about 10 minutes (turn the corn every 3 minutes) or until the sugars begin to caramelize. Remove from the oven and skewer one end with a bamboo skewer. Brush each with the mayo mixture and sprinkle with the cheese. Serve warm. Serves 5 as a side.

Dosas + Simple Sambar & Cilantro Raita

I'm not much for hyperbole, so I'll just give it to you straight: this is the greatest victory ever to have happened here on earth, or possibly anywhere during our lifetime, or maybe ever. What, you may be asking yourself, is he talking about? I'm talking about making an entire batch of dosas, fermented Indian rice crepes, at home without one of them sticking to the pan and burning to bits. 

Let me explain. About 11 years ago, I fell in love with dosas. I loved them so much that I wanted to learn how to make them in my own home. With a little guidance from my friend Sharon and a lot of help from Krishna I got there, sort of. I could make the batter without a problem, and I could get a few of the dosas to turn out without sticking and burning...but most of them would be a mess. They would either stick to the pan, or I would add too much oil and end up with a greasy mess. It was so frustrating, and it felt like a horrible failure.  

So, being able to to make a successful batch of dosas feels wonderful. I'll bet I make them way more often now. HERE is my dosa recipe; read it first!

Here are my 8 foolproof tips for cooking a dosa at home:

 1. This is important! Place 2 tablespoons of oil into a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet and leave it to soak in overnight. I got this genius tip HERE.

2. Use medium heat; the cast-iron pan shouldn't be smoking.

3. In a small bowl place 2 tablespoons of canola oil and a folded-up paper towel. Wipe the cast-iron pan with the oil-soaked towel between cooking each dosa.

4. Use a cold, very smooth, well-fermented dosa batter.

5. Use a metal ladle, pour about 1/4 cup in the center of the cast iron pan like you're making a pancake, and then push the batter outward in concentric circles.

6. Keep your eye on the edges and the thinnest parts of the dosa. Once they start to turn a deep brown, the dosa is ready to be removed.

7. Use a butter knife or offset spatula to loosen the edges of the dosa, and using your fingers, peel the dosa from the skillet.

8. If you're making dosas for more than a few people, make them ahead. Stack them when they're cooked and store them in the fridge. They actually reheat nicely in a dry skillet.

Simple Sambar

Sambar is a pungent broth for dipping dosas and idli. Use a boxed broth or stock to save time.

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth (like Whole Foods 365 brand)
1/2 teaspoon black mustard seed
1 tablespoon green cardamom
2 cloves garlic
1 medium celery rib (sliced)
1 medium carrot (sliced)

In a medium pot bring the broth, mustard, cardamom, garlic, celery, and carrot to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.

Cilantro Raita

1 cup 2% Greek yogurt
1 cup  roughly chopped English cucumber
1 cup fresh cilantro
juice from 1/2 lime
1  medium jalapeño (stem removed)
1/2 teaspoon cane sugar
Kosher salt to taste

Into the work bowl of your food processor, add the yogurt, cucumber, cilantro, lime juice, jalapeño, sugar, and salt. Blend until mostly smooth. Serve as a condiment with any curry.

Cornmeal Blueberry Pancakes

Having pancakes for a relaxed weekend breakfast can be a point of contention around here because one of us prefers things on the savory tip, and the other longs for anything that resembles dessert that can be eaten in the morning. Here's a pleasant compromise: a little savory meshed with the sweet. The cornmeal offers a surprising crunch -- especially around the edges of the pancake -- and some much-needed complexity to what would (arguably!) be just a regular old starch and sugar bomb. We have never had pancakes like this before, but this peacemaker's going into regular rotation now. 

Cornmeal Blueberry Pancakes

1/3 cup flour (more if needed)
3/4 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoons cane sugar (like Whole Foods 365 brand)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon canola oil (like Whole Foods 365 brand)
1 egg
1/2  teaspoon vanilla
unsalted butter (like Whole Foods 365 brand)
1 pint fresh blueberries
maple syrup

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking soda, and salt. In a small bowl, mix together the buttermilk, canola, egg, and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and allow the batter to rest for 10 minutes. (Add more flour if needed to make it the consistency of a thin pancake batter.)

Heat a non-stick griddle to medium, and add enough butter to cover griddle in a thin layer. Spoon out about 1/8 cup of the batter and drop 8 to 10 blueberries onto each pancake. Cook 3 minutes or until top bubbles, turn, and cook for another 2 minutes or until cooked through. Repeat. Serve topped with a little butter, maple syrup and any leftover blueberries. (Makes 8 to 10 pancakes.)

Vegetarian Kimchi + Korean BBQ Sliders (update)

(We have been making our own kimchi for a while now. We even made some using turnips in place of the cabbage. The recipe below has been updated to reflect a few improvements including the addition of our own Vegetarian Fish Sauce and instructions on fermenting the kimchi on the countertop for a few days prior to use. This is a great recipe that we use all the time. We hope that you will try your hand at making your own kimchi in your home. 2/22/13)

I got a hot tip about how to make delicious kimchi from Sue, the owner of Kwik Check, a great sandwich shop on Madison Avenue here in Memphis. She told me that the reason their kimchi is so good is that they use a ground-up Korean pear in each batch as a sweet element to balance out the bitterness of the cabbage. Brilliant! But where in the heck was I going to find a Korean pear? Sue disappeared into the kitchen and re-emerged with a larger-than-softball sized fruit that had a golden skin. She was willing to let me have it if I wanted to try my hand at making kimchi.

There was one more hurdle to jump before I could make my own kimchi: I needed some Korean red chili powder. I found some at the Asian Market on Summer at White Station and at the Winchester Farmer's Market. The bright red powder was in a huge bag at a cost of $10, but it didn't look like I had much of a choice. (Seriously -- e-mail me if you want some chili powder.) In the end, I was really glad that I shelled out for it because it made my kimchi taste authentic.

At home, I sliced into the fruit to see what it tasted like before I ground it into a chili paste. I would describe the texture as a cross between a crunchy apple and a Bartlett pear. The flavor was similar to honeysuckle on a summer's day. If you can't find a Korean pear, an asian pear would likely be a good substitute. Use this kimchi on rice, in soups, folded into a quesadilla, or on my Korean BBQ sliders.

Vegetarian Kimchi

1 large head of napa cabbage
1/4 cup Kosher or pickling salt
2 to 3 inch piece of ginger
1 small bulb garlic (about 10 cloves, peeled)
1 large Korean pear (peeled, cut away from core)
1/2 cup Korean red chili powder
1/4 cup Vegetarian Fish Sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup daikon radish (shredded using a julienne peeler)
1 cup carrot (shredded using a julienne peeler)
Sriracha hot sauce (to taste)

Wash cabbage and chop into 1-inch pieces. Place cabbage into a large bowl and toss it with salt. Allow the cabbage and salt mixture to sit for at least an hour and a half.

While you are waiting, you can make the chili paste. Place the ginger, garlic, pear, chili powder, Vegetarian Fish Sauce, and sugar into a food processor. Blend until smooth; you may need to add a few tablespoons of water to get it going. Set mixture aside.

Now fill the large bowl with the cabbage in it full of cold water and rinse the salt off of the cabbage. Do this twice. Squeeze as much moisture out of the cabbage as you can using your hands. In a large bowl, toss the cabbage together with the garlic/ginger/chili paste and the carrots and radish until every component is throughly coated with the red paste. Taste for seasoning and add salt and Sriracha if needed. It should be about as salty as a dill pickle and as spicy as you can handle it.

Place into 2 quart jars by pushing the ingredients and packing them down tight so that the liquid rests on the top. Leave about an inch of space at the top of the jar. Add a few tablespoons of water to the top if needed to submerge cabbage. You may use it just like it is or ferment it for a more authentic taste.

To ferment the kimchi, loosely screw the top on the jars and place jars on the countertop for 3 to 4 days. During this time you will notice some bubbling. This is a natural process called lactic fermentation, a method of food preservation used before refrigeration that results in a lemony flavor almost like Sprite, the soft drink. At the end of the fermentation period, screw the lids on the jars and place in the fridge. Kimchi will last 6 weeks as long as the cabbage stays below the liquid level.

Makes about 2 quarts

Korean BBQ Sliders (Makes 6)

1 tablespoon each of soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, sesame oil (mixed)
3 green onions (thinly sliced)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large portobello mushroom cap (thinly sliced)
6 slider buns
mayo
Vegetarian Kimchi
half of an English cucumber (sliced longways using a vegetable peeler)

Get a frying pan screaming hot, and add the vegetable oil. Once it starts smoking, add the sliced mushrooms and cook for about a minute or until they start to brown. Turn the mushrooms in the pan and add the soy sauce mixture and the green onions. Continually move the mixture around for a few seconds then remove from heat. Divide mushrooms among the buns, and top with about a tablespoon of kimchi and a few slices of cucumber. Add mayo if you like. Serve immediately.

Baked Cinnamon French Toast

Do you remember having cinnamon toast as a kid? What a vice that was. Bread, butter, cinnamon, and sugar for breakfast! This dish combines that wonderfulness with the heartiness of French toast. You can make it ahead and not even worry a bit about standing over the stove and wondering if it's gonna get cold.

Not wanting to waste any egg, which usually is par for the course when making French toast, we skipped the griddle and put all the ingredients into one pan. Seriously, in no more than 10 minutes, it's baking in the oven, and the whole house smells cinnamon-y.

Baked Cinnamon French Toast

2 tablespoons cane sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk (like Whole Foods 365 brand)
zest of one orange
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
6 slices rustic whole wheat bread
1 tablespoon unsalted butter (like Whole Foods 365 brand)
2 bananas (diced)
maple syrup (to serve)


In a small bowl mix the sugar and cinnamon. Set aside. In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, zest, vanilla, salt, and 1/2 of the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Shingle the bread into a 6 x 9 casserole dish. Pour the egg mixture over the bread, top with the remaining cinnamon and sugar mixture, and dot it with the butter.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. This will give the bread enough time to soak up the egg mixture. Once the oven is preheated, cover the dish with foil and place into the oven for 20 minutes, uncover, and return the dish to the oven for another 10 minutes. Serve hot with bananas and warm maple syrup. (Serves 4.)

Baked Arancini with Smoked Provolone

*Happy, happy Valentine's Day! Hope you are making a really great dinner for (or even better, with) your sweetheart tonight.*

We were first introduced to the arancini years ago by our good friend (and frequent contributor of great food ideas) Michael Hughes. Once again, we ran into this delectable little dish at Napa Café when our buddy Rick Saviori helped us figure out the courses for our summer/farmers' market wine dinner last year. It's like a fancier cheese stick -- how could you go wrong with that? Usually fried, arancini may be just as good when it's baked, which we tried out and absolutely loved this week. 

Baked Arancini with Smoked Provolone

1 cup risotto or sushi rice
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Plenty of cracked black pepper
Zest of 1 Lemon
1/4 cup minced parsley
3 cups warm vegetable broth (like Whole Foods 365 Brand)
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups panko bread crumbs (divided)
3 ounces smoked provolone cheese (cut into 1/2 inch cubes)
6 teaspoons olive oil (like Whole Foods 365 Brand)
Warm tomato sauce (to serve)
Parmesan cheese (to garnish)

Into a medium pot over medium heat, add the rice, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, black pepper, lemon zest, parsley, and about 1 cup of the broth. Stir to incorporate. Cook, uncovered, for 6 to 8 minutes; stir occasionally to make sure the bottom doesn't scorch. Add another cup of broth, stir, and cook another 6 to 8 minutes. Finally, add the last of the broth, stir and cook another 6 to 8 minutes or until the rice is tender and has absorbed most of the liquid. Cover and allow mixture to cool completely. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking pan with parchment. Once cool, add one beaten egg and 1/4 cup of the panko bread crumbs. Stir to incorporate. Set up two bowls: one with the remaining egg beaten with 2 tablespoons of water, and the other with the remaining cup of panko breadcrumbs. Using a 1/4-cup ice cream scoop, scoop out a portion of the rice mixture, place a cube of cheese into the middle, and then roll it into a round ball completely enclosing the cheese. Dip the ball into the egg, roll it in the panko to coat, and place onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. Drizzle each ball with about 1 teaspoon of olive oil and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve with your favorite tomato sauce. (Makes 10 to 12 arancini. Serves 4.)