The Veggie, the videoWe interrupt this month of Summer Veggie Bingo cards with some news: The Veggie now has a video series. Every few months, I set out to address a smattering of reader questions by matching their hyper-specific requests with tried-and-true recipes that fit the quandary or occasion. Over the years, a handful of recurring characters have emerged: the holidays, the miscellany within a C.S.A. box, the hard-to-please partner. One reader described her never-ending quest to get her carnivore husband to “enjoy meatless meals.” Another, a vegetarian about to move in with her “anti-vegetable” boyfriend, hoped to find common ground at the dinner table. In these emails, words like “satisfying,” “filling” and “meat-and-potatoes” come up time and again. I’ve addressed inquiries like these intermittently, but their persistence is deserving of far more real estate. So we’re bringing this question — what do I make for my meat-and-potatoes partner? — to the small/medium/large-but-not-big screen. In our new video series, I’ll take frequent vegetarian cooking dilemmas like this one, as recounted to me by readers, and hunt for answers in The New York Times Cooking database and studio kitchen. Consider it a Veggie hotline.
For this first episode, I went Orna Guralnik mode: These recipes might just save your relationship. In my quest to fill and satisfy, I cooked through the maitake au poivre adapted by Florence Fabricant from Café Chelsea in New York; Superiority Burger’s crispy fried tofu sandwich adapted by Alexa Weibel; and Alexa’s vegetarian mushroom shawarma pitas. They are each delicious, and some of my favorite recipes in the NYT Cooking database. But you needn’t take my word for it. We brought onto set a professed meat-and-potatoes guy to prove me right, or wrong, or both. You’ll want to see where he lands after the taste test. You must believe me when I say that, despite its marinating and dredging and frying process, the crispy fried tofu sandwich is one of the most straightforward fried sandwich recipes I’ve ever had the pleasure of making and eating. Do not fear the fry! (And if that appeals, you may also like Kay Chun’s Nashville-style hot tofu sliders.) Superiority Burger’s Crispy Fried Tofu SandwichThe shawarma is plenty satisfying, too, especially if you make extra of the seasoned mushrooms and onions, which I’ve easily doubled for friends before, as well as for my video guest. The texture of sliced and roasted portobello caps, particularly when folded up in a saucy pita, is enough to give you pause. Pretty meaty! Of the three recipes, it is the most prepared for your weeknight rotation, coming in at a cool 25 minutes. Other letter-writers have expressed interest in a vegetarian take on the actual meat-and-potatoes format, for which the maitake au poivre is just one answer. Alongside baked or mashed potatoes and sautéed spinach, that’s a meal I’d be thrilled to break out the steak knives for. Café Chelsea’s approach achieves savory depth by fortifying the au poivre sauce with a mushroom stock, but for a simpler approach with ample umami, take a look at Ali Slagle’s portobello “steak” au poivre. Try any one of recipes in the video and see how they stack up in your home. But they are only three of many that may mend dinnertime disagreements. There were several recipes on the cutting-room floor of this episode, including Samantha Seneviratne’s five-star vegetarian shepherd’s pie, full of lentils, mushrooms, peas and more vegetables, and topped with mashed potatoes, of course. Just as filling would be Melissa Clark’s vegetarian tamale pie, packed with plenty of hearty beans and topped with a cheesy, tender cornbread crust. They are both proof positive of what legumes do best in meat’s absence: add heft and protein (and fiber!) and provide a vehicle for satisfying, meaty flavors. We’ve got more episodes to come! Keep an eye out for the second one next month. And I’ll see you next week with our final Summer Veggie Bingo card.
Vegetarian Mushroom Shawarma Pitas
Maitake au Poivre
Vegetarian Tamale PieEmail us at theveggie@nytimes.com. Newsletters are archived here. Reach out to my colleagues at cookingcare@nytimes.com if you have questions about your account.
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