Meatless Monday: What’s for dinner?
May 18th, 2009
Our inaugural Meatless Monday last week went swimmingly at first, but the following day, my husband implored me to make a dish for this week’s MM dinner that’s not quite so, um, beany (sorry, honey). Happy to oblige, I started off this morning by scouring the recipe books. I’m a big believer that if you’re going to eat vegetarian, you should stick to cuisine that is inherently meatless; I’m not a big fan of the fake meat products that so many of my veggie friends rely on. After all, there are cultures around the globe whose diet is either completely or largely vegetarian, and the staples of those cuisines have evolved over thousands of years, sustaining people’s appetites and nutritional needs all the while. Who do you trust more as a resource for a truly healthy and delicious vegetarian meal? Is it the Indians, with their creamy dals and gloriously chewy naans; the Italians, with their decadent risottos and heart-warming minestrone; or Kraft Foods, with its wheat-gluten and soy-filled Boca Burgers and Chik’n Patties? You get the point.
I’m craving Italian, and we’re having company over for dinner tonight, so I’ll be making what I think is the ultimate meatless crowd-pleaser: eggplant parmigiana (recipe courtesy of Mario Batali).
Ingredients
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for oiling the baking sheet
2 large eggplant, about 2 pounds
Salt and pepper
2 cups basic tomato sauce, recipe follows
1 bunch fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
1 pound fresh mozzarella, sliced 1/8-inch thick
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs, lightly toasted under broiler
Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Using some extra-virgin olive oil, oil a baking sheet.
Slice each eggplant into 6 pieces about 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick. Lightly season each disk with salt and pepper and place on the oiled sheet. Bake the eggplant at 450 degrees F until the slices begin turning deep brown on top, about 12-15 minutes. Remove the eggplants from the oven. Remove the slices from the baking sheet and place them on a plate to cool.
Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees F. In an 8 by 12-inch brownie pan, place the 4 largest eggplant slice evenly spaced apart. Over each slice, spread 1/4 cup of tomato sauce and sprinkle with a teaspoon of basil. Place one slice of mozzarella over each and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon grated Parmigiano. Place the smaller slices of eggplant over each of the disks and repeat with tomato sauce, basil, and the 2 cheeses. Repeat the layering again until all the ingredients are used.
Sprinkle the toasted bread crumbs over the top of the eggplant dish, and bake uncovered until the cheese is melts and the tops turn light brown, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately.
Basic tomato sauce:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 Spanish onion, 1/4-inch dice
4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves, or 1 tablespoon dried
1/2 medium carrot, finely grated
2 (28-ounce) cans peeled whole tomatoes, crushed by hand and juices reserved
Salt
In a 3-quart saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft and light golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the thyme and carrot and cook 5 minutes more, until the carrot is quite soft. Add the tomatoes and juice and bring to a boil, stirring often. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes until as thick as hot cereal. Season with salt and serve. This sauce holds 1 week in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer.
Yield: 4 cups
No time to make the sauce from scratch? Substitute your favorite jarred/canned version. Gluten-free? Pick up a package of gluten-free bread crumbs (I’m partial to the Four Sisters and a Brother brand). Watching your weight? Cut the amount of cheese by a third and use half the amount of bread crumbs. Serve with a crispy salad. Buono appetito!
–Jennifer Grayson
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January 25th, 2010 at 2:11 pm
I’ve been told that Chinese Buddhists have been making soy-based meat substitutes for a long time. My mom has recipes that have been passed down for ‘vegetarian chicken’ (tightly rolled tofu skin, chewy and faintly meat-like in texture) and other soy-based foods meant to mimic the shape, texture, or taste of meat (to varying degrees of success).
My vegetarianism was motivated primarily by the close friendships I’ve had with animals, not because I hated the taste of meat. On the occasions I do miss the taste, meat substitutes (I heart Quorn!) fill in a gap without the accompanying guilt. It’s a compromise. I can see why people who are vegetarian for environmental reasons wouldn’t have the same hang up about occasionally eating grass-fed or organic meat when they really crave it.
I wonder if anyone’s done a comparison of the health and environmental impacts of fake meat products vs. real meat?
January 25th, 2010 at 2:54 pm
I have yet to come across a comprehensive environmental analysis of fake meat products versus real meat, although that’s a really interesting idea, Jennifer. If you’re going to compare the impact of factory-farmed meat to a Boca burger, even with its GM soy, I’d have to guess that the Boca burger would win, hands down. However, if you’re comparing buying grass-fed organic beef from a local rancher at your farmers market with a Boca burger, then I just don’t know. If you’re an animal-rights activist who doesn’t believe that human beings should eat meat at all, then the choice is clear. But if you’re interested in the issue from a purely environmental perspective? I personally would rather put money into the hands of my local farmers who are helping to put natural fertilizers back into the soil than line the pockets of Monsanto by eating a Boca burger.
You bring up an important point about the tradition of Chinese Buddhists making soy-based meat substitutes. I would point out, however, that there’s a difference between occasionally supplementing your vegetarian diet with Buddhist ‘vegetarian chicken’ and eating Morningstar Farms bacon for breakfast, a Quorn turk’y burger for lunch, and a Boca chick’n stir fry for dinner every day of the week. Processed food in large quantities — even if it’s veggie-based — isn’t good for your health. Maybe that’s why even vegetarian icon Mollie Katzen is experimenting with meat again:
http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/why-vegetarians-are-eating-meat
January 25th, 2010 at 3:36 pm
No argument from me about processed foods. I’ve also read the arguments for ethical meat eating and would be delighted if a majority of people switched over from their current habits.
But as someone whose best friend for 12 years was of the feline persuasion, I have a visceral reaction to the thought of eating anything I could have been friends with — or, for that matter, anything that looks like what I look like inside. I don’t consider myself a PETA-type activist; these are simply my personal convictions. I have to admit, I do feel a bit dismayed to hear that Katzen has gone off vegetarianism!
Incidentally, have you read Jonathan Safron Foer’s Eating Animals? I think it’s an engaging and surprisingly non-confrontational look at the issues involved in eating meat.
January 25th, 2010 at 4:47 pm
I completely respect and admire your personal convictions. Thanks for having such an open dialogue with me here!
Haven’t read Eating Animals yet, but I did place a hold for a copy at my local library (hasn’t come in yet, though — evidently a lot of other people placed holds, too!).
February 4th, 2010 at 11:43 am
I am not a vegetarian but I do not like the taste of meat – I prefer veggies so I seldom eat meat. But I live with carnivores and we will eat meat but with a ton of veggies. For reasons posted here, (http://www.ecokaren.com/2010/01/eczema-and-foods/) we have not eaten red meat for awhile now. And no one misses it. But when we used to eat red meat, we used to buy them only grass-fed, for all the right reasons.
My grandmother was a Buddhist and I remember hiking up to the temples in the mountains in Korea, before dawn, to pay respect to our elders who have passed, on their birthdays, memorials and holidays. And in those early mornings, after the ceremonies, the monks would cook us our breakfasts. All they gave us was vegetables and rice. And let me tell you, I still remember how delicious those meals were. Why? because they were WHOLE foods….vegetables they picked from their garden, and rice they recently bartered with the local rice farmers. They were not processed, fake anything….just pure, whole, unadulterated, and fresh vegetables.
Becoming vegetarians seem like a good idea. But if you substitute your meat cravings with fake meats, I don’t see how that’s good for your body, nutritionally. Go with whole foods. You can’t go wrong.
February 4th, 2010 at 1:56 pm
Sound advice, Karen. And thank you for sharing the wonderful story about your grandmother with us. It’s true: Some of the best meals I’ve ever had have been the simplest ones. It’s all about quality of ingredients.