Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook Part 87

3 cups water

1 cup TVP chunks (not granules or crumbles)

1 cup frozen or canned and drained lima beans (green peas are fine if you hate lima beans, hater)

1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed (1 cups)

PREHEAT A large soup pot over medium heat. Saute the onions in the oil until translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic, tarragon, caraway seeds, salt, and pepper. Saute until the garlic is fragrant, about a minute more.

Deglaze the pot with the red wine. Add the bay leaves, lentil, carrots, potatoes, tomato sauce, water, and TVP chunks. Mix together. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, until the potatoes and carrot are tender.

Add the lima and kidney beans and cook until heated through. Serve like crazy. Ess gezunterhait.

PLANTAIN AND PINTO STEW WITH PARSNIP CHIPS.

SERVES 4.

TIME: 45 MINUTES.

In NYC, plantains abound in the supermarkets and we're always looking for new ways to use them. This is a spicy and flavorful yet delicate stew. Use fresh tomatoes instead of canned so that you don't get a concentrated flavor that overpowers the plantains. Choose plantains that are ripe yellow and flecked with black yet not completely blackened. The parsnip chips are optional but yummy!

1 recipe parsnip chips (recipe follows)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 large white onion, chopped finely

1 yellow pepper, chopped finely

3 jalapenos, seeded and chopped finely

3 cloves garlic, minced

8 plum tomatoes, diced

cup cooking sherry (any cooking wine will do, or sub vegetable broth)

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground c.u.min

1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

2 ripe plantains, peeled, sliced in half lengthwise, and sliced into -inch pieces

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

IN A soup pot over medium heat, saute the onions, peppers, jalapenos, and garlic in the oil for 5 to 7 minutes, until the vegetables are softened. Add the tomatoes, sherry, salt, and c.u.min. Cover and bring to a simmer; let simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are cooked and broken down.

Add the pinto beans and plantains. Cover and simmer for another 20 to 25 minutes. The plantains should be soft and sweet. Add the cilantro and mix in so that it wilts.

Ladle into bowls and stick a few plantain chips into each bowl, like spears.

PARSNIP CHIPS.

If you like sweet potato fries, you will like these. There are only two ingredients here, but sprinkling them with ground c.u.min is yummy, too. For parsnip fries, just cut them into -inch-thick slices instead of -inch and bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes.

1 pound parsnips (2 medium-size)

2 teaspoons or so peanut oil

PREHEAT THE oven to 400F.

Peel the parsnips and slice them lengthwise. Place them cut side down and slice into -inch-thick strips, or as close to that as you can get them.

Line them in a single layer on a baking sheet and drizzle with oil. Toss them around and try to get the oil over all of them, add a little more oil if necessary.

Bake for 15 minutes, then flip them (use tongs for this). Bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes. The parsnips should be flecked with black and dark brown. If some are thinner than others, they will cook faster, obviously; remove the skinny ones from the baking sheet as they finish baking.

Sprinkle with salt and serve.

PUMPKIN SAAG.

SERVES 4 TO 6.

TIME: 1 HOURS.

Saag is Hindi for a curry that's made of greens-in this case, we use spinach. Baked pumpkin works as a flavorful backdrop to make this a healthier-than-usual saag (it's typically loaded with lots of ghee and cream or coconut cream). Masala complements the pumpkin nicely because of its autumnal blend of cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom. What we're going for here is mushy in a good way, with just a little bit of chunky pumpkin bites thrown in. Serve with basmati rice and some sort of chutney (page 212) and flat bread (page 222).

Roast the pumpkin a day in advance so that you can throw this together the next day. Just wrap the baked pumpkin in plastic wrap, refrigerate, and you'll be good to go.

3 pounds sugar pumpkin

3 tablespoons peanut oil

1 large white onion, diced finely