Vegans do it without animal products.

December 13, 2007 10:11 AM

I need some tried and true delicious vegan recipes.

I am going to an office party tomorrow and I'd some really yummy recipes for vegan stuff. I'm an omnivore so I'm a bit at sea trying to suss out which recipes will be really truly delish. I can't decide if I want appetizery stuff, entree type stuff or desserty type stuff so whatever you know, please send it my way. I already reviewed the existing AskMe threads and do have some potential contenders but I would like a few more options, especially since I haven't decided what "genre" of food to bring yet.

posted by sneakin to food & drink (13 comments total)

Here area couple vegan cupcake recipes. I've had them, and they were excellent.
posted by me3dia at 10:23 AM on December 13, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

I've been really hooked on a version of bruschetta that a Tuscan friend recently made me. It's very easy, but leaves a powerful lingering garlic taste.

A loaf of bread, sliced thick and broiled on both sides till crisp on the surface.

A big piled of steamed kale, cooled to room temperature.

Peeled garlic cloves.

Extra virgin olive oil.

Rub the garlic on a piece of bread. Put a small pile of kale on your slice. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil.

This dish is dead simple, but I've rarely had something so fundamentally enjoyable. The chewy bread, the nutty kale, the spicy garlic. It really is extraordinary.
posted by OmieWise at 10:27 AM on December 13, 2007

I've recommended them before and can't recommend them enough: Fauxstess Cupcakes, by the same person me3dia linked to. Awesome by any standards, vegan or not.
posted by Metroid Baby at 10:29 AM on December 13, 2007

I love Jennifer at Vegan Lunch Box. Her recipes are wonderful, even for omnivores.

I'm sure any of the recipes found here (another of her blogs) would work no matter what you decide.
posted by cooker girl at 10:43 AM on December 13, 2007

Though not a vegan myself, I'm a huge fan of roasted vegetables. Go get some red potatoes, carrots, onions, and red and green peppers. Chop it all up into big chunks. Pour it into a pan. Pour olive oil over it. Sprinkle rosemary leaves over it all. Dice up a whole mess of garlic and throw that in there. Shake some salt on it. Mix it all up so the olive oil and seasonings cover everything. Cook it on 500 for 20 to 30 minutes. It makes a colorful, healthy, and delicious side dish.
posted by Help, I can't stop talking! at 10:52 AM on December 13, 2007

Simplest is best. Slice several unpeeled potatoes crossways about 1" thick. Do the same for several peeled onions and a couple of bell peppers (seeds removed). Line a roasting pan with foil and put in the veggies and a whole head of garlic, unpeeled. Sprinkle generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper, pour over plenty of olive oil and roast at 350 until a fork goes easily into everything and the mix is a bit browned on top. Remove the head of garlic and let it cool until you can handle it, and then squeeze the cloves out of their sheaths and scatter over each serving. Sprinkle with capers, olives, toasted almonds and chopped fresh herbs.

This is a rich, very filling mixture that provides a platform for everything else you put on the plate.
posted by KRS at 11:00 AM on December 13, 2007

Vegans, like every other human out there, can't go wrong with hummus. It's simple to make a pretty basic one, and not much harder to make less-basic one. Here's how I do it:

- Three 15-20 oz cans of chickpeas/garbanzo beans (I usually use nice big Progresso ocans)
- About 11 ounces of tahini (I usually get a 16-ounce jar, and use 2/3 of the tahini in there)
- About half a cup of finely chopped fresh parsley. Use more if you really dig parsley. (PROTIP: I really dig parsley)

- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 2/3 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup water
- Five cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1) Put the chickpeas, tahini, and parsley in a food processor, and pulse it a little bit, to get this party started.
2) Throw all the other ingredients into a big bowl or cup or something, and mix together.
3) Slowly add that liquid into the food processor, letting it all blend with first three ingredients.
4) Food-process that until it's crazy-smooth.

Refrigerate. You can eat it right away, but it's best if you let it sit for at least a night, for the garlic to meld with the other ingredients. Serve with veggies or crackers or whatever you like. I actually tend to dip pieces of cooked chicken in mine to have as a snack, but that's because I like surprising juxtapositions.
posted by Greg Nog at 11:26 AM on December 13, 2007

I <3 some vegan gravy on vegan corn muffins/bread. Spicy roasted potatoes, eggplant crostini, fresca salsa, spinach rolls, and chocolate fondu were big hits at my last parties. By hits I mean that the non-vegan people wanted to eat them and leave nothing for the vegans. I also like sauteed asparagus and fricken (fake chicken) nuggests.
posted by a robot made out of meat at 11:39 AM on December 13, 2007

The following are all tried and potluck dishes. I suppose they are vegetarian/vegan, although I've never even bothered to think of them that way. Basically, to me they are "dishes"--even after 20 years (on and off) of eating meat, I still think of vegetarian as the default. Dishes with meat in them are "meat dishes".

Pastas are expected at potlucks, and you can easily whip up a sauce that it both tasty and vegan.
Salads are also excellent, and you win points for every novelty item you add, such as toasted nuts, dried or fresh fruits, sprouts, croutons, etc.
Tofu gets a bad rap as being flavorless. I personally like the flavor on its own with just a splash of soy sauce and some green onions, but for a potluck a thick stew is an excellent choice--basically, saute onions and garlic, then add cubed vegetables like carrots, potatoes, peas, tomatoes, parsnips (add a wonderful sweetness) 20 minutes before it is "done" add the tofu (extra firm, frozen then thawed is best for stews).
Vegetables on their own, with salt, pepper, a bit of garlic and maybe one ofther ingredient are an excellent potluck offering. Some good combinations include broccoli with toasted almonds, brussel sprouts with raisins (don't knock it till you've tried it), winter squash with apple juice (omit the garlic and pepper), cabbage with onions (and caraway seeds)...

Some of these are probably better for hippy potlucks than office parties, I guess. But still so delicious.

Frankly, although I now do enjoy the odd meat dish from time to time now, I'm at a loss to understand why people don't know how to cook vegetarian or vegan dishes. It's pretty simple. Just make food that doesn't have any meat or dairy in it. That's most food. For non-vegan it's pretty much just chicken, beef, pig, fish, eggs, and milk. Just make dishes with everything else.
posted by Deathalicious at 11:50 AM on December 13, 2007

Copied and pasted from here, a yummy vegan entree, orange coconut curry with grilled vegetables - yields 4 to 5 servings. It's good with cooked rice.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra olive oil for roasting the vegetables
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons curry powder
1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate
1 can coconut milk
salt to taste
About 4 to 5 cups sliced vegetables such as asparagus, red or yellow bell peppers, zucchini, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, fennel, green beans, broccoli, etc.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F while you slice the vegetables to a thickness of about a half inch. In a bowl, toss the vegetables with a little salt and olive oil to coat lightly. Place on baking sheets in a single layer, and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the vegetables start to brown. Vegetables should be tender, succulent, and some of them should be lightly browned. Set the veggies aside while you make the sauce.

Heat the 1 tablespoon of oil in a sautee pan. Add the seeds and saute for 1-3 minutes until they pop. Add the onion and saute over low/medium heat until translucent. Add the curry powder and continue to saute for another minute. Add the orange juice and coconut milk, and simmer for another 5 minutes. Do not overcook. Season with salt to taste.

Arrange grilled or roasted vegetables on a plate, and pour the sauce over them.

My personal variations from the recipe: I doubled it to serve a hungry group and used a full can of orange juice concentrate - about 1.5 cups, instead of the one that would be called for. It was a huge hit.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 11:54 AM on December 13, 2007

Easy samosas

Fry some onions with a little oil, add 1 heaped teaspoon of turmeric and 1 heaped teaspoon of garam masala spice mix. Mix in some cooked peas and cooked, chopped potato (about 1cm cubed size, zapped in a microwave). Coat the peas and potato with the spice mix. Then just get some filo pastry and make the samosas. Take 1 sheet of filo folded over, fill with the peas/potato mix and then fold into a triangle parcel. Brush with oil and bake until brown (or deep fry for a minute each). Serve either hot or cold with ketchup.
posted by gatchaman at 11:57 AM on December 13, 2007

This may be a bit much for an office party, but it is delish (though I have only made vegetarian versions, not the prescribed vegan version, and I sub zuke for the mushrooms):

Vegan Seitan Tetrazzini
posted by tr33hggr at 12:22 PM on December 13, 2007

Thirding the cupcakes that were mentioned above. This soup is also really great.
posted by davar at 4:04 PM on December 13, 2007