• Blog
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Tips & Tools
  • International LOVE
  • Love Notes
  • Shop
  • Powered by MSI Media Group

Engaging stories of love, joy, comfort and friendship with proven scrumptious, healthy recipes, we celebrate LOVE as the secret ingredient for wonderful food!

Vegetarian Delight

February 11, 2014 by Mary 11 Comments

Vegetarian delight finished dish - baby spinach, beans and roasted vegetables topped toasted pine nuts and goat cheese.

Once on week I make a meatless meal, much to the disconcertion of my husband. He hates them. He knows, intellectually, it’s a good idea but the complaints beforehand, egads, it drives me crazy!! But I soldier on, try to ignore him and cook up something, with LOVE. You probably know by now that I love salads, but salads are not very inviting with all this cold weather we’re having here on the East Coast. And raw foods are very good for you. So I made up this Vegetarian Delight with warm beans and roasted veggies, including the tomatoes, on a base of raw baby spinach leaves.

By golly, he loved it! He kept on talking about it – even the next morning! BINGO, I know something is really good if he’s still talking about the next morning AND it’s meatless too! This is packed full of nutrients, delicious with the contrasts of the cool baby spinach leaves and the warm roasted vegetables, even on a frigid winter night. The roasted shallots and crushed garlic cloves were a brilliant addition providing bursts of flavor, complementing the sweet parsnips while the warm, slightly roasted tomatoes provided the right acidity. The Midnight Moon goat cheese is a wonderful splurge, but not really necessary if you are a true vegetarian. We loved this dinner and it’s going to be repeated often in our household.

Truly, I just made this with the vegetables I had on hand. You can try your own combination but I will say that this blend was really yummy. I hope you’ll try it and it makes your recipe regulars too.

VEGETARIAN DELIGHT serves 2

2 large handfuls of baby spinach leaves – about 4 – 5 oz., washed and spun dry
1 – 15 oz. can cannellini beans, drained, rinsed and drained again
1 Italian eggplant, cut in 3/4” slices, roasted
1 parsnip, peeled and cut into julienned strips
1 zucchini, cut into 1/4” slices
2 shallots, peeled and quartered
1/2 of a poblano pepper, cut into 1/4” strips
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tomato from the vine, cut into 6 or 8 wedges
3 grape tomatoes, cut in half
Sherry vinaigrette
Midnight Moon hard goat cheese, cut into small strips
Toasted pine nuts

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Slick a cookie sheet or flat roasting pan with peanut oil. Arrange eggplant slices on the sheet, salt with fine sea salt and fresh ground pepper.

On another rimmed baking sheet, toss parsnips, zucchini, shallots, poblano pepper and garlic with 2 tbs. olive oil, salt and pepper.
Vegetarian delight made up of roasted parsnips, shallots, zucchini, garlic and tomatoes.

Roast the eggplant on the bottom rack of your oven for 20 – 25 minutes, until nicely browned on the bottom while you roast the other vegetables on the top rack at the same time. Roast the top mixed vegetables for 20 minutes, then add the tomatoes and toss and roast for 5 – 10 minutes longer, until all the vegetables are fork tender. Toast the pine nuts in a separate pan for 5 – 10 minutes until lightly browned.
Midnight Moon goat cheese.

Meanwhile, make your dressing, prepare the cheese and warm the beans in the microwave for a minute on high.

Vegetarian delight - baby spinach leaves and warm cannellini beans.

Assemble your salads. Place the spinach leaves on the plate, top with the warm beans (you may not use all of them – save them for tomorrow’s lunch), remove the eggplant slices with a metal spatula so you don’t loose the lovely browned bottom.

Vegetarian delight of baby spinach leaves, warm cannellini beans and roasted eggplant slices.Place 4 eggplant slices on each salad, browned side up. Toss the other vegetables and place a nice amount on top. (You probably won’t use all of these either). Drizzle dressing over all and top with cheese and pine nuts. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Vegetarian Delight, just before drizzling dressing and topping with toasted pine nuts.

Vegetarian Delight, just before drizzling the dressing and topping with toasted pine nuts

Related

You might also like:

  • My eggplant tart.Eggplant Tarts Make a Great Tuscan Starter Dish
  • Get Dressed Sesame Sensation Roasted Eggplant Noodles - finished dish in a white soup bowl.Get Dressed Sesame Sensation Roasted Eggplant Noodles
  • The Wine Co. RayZyn's packages in 3 flavors.Warm Farro Salad with RayZyn’s
  • Roasted butternut squash dip with Home Cook's Pantry Za'atar on a platter with crudites.Roasted Butternut Squash and Red Onion Dip with Home Cook’s Pantry Za’atar
  • Chopped Maple Sugar & Sea Salt Superseedz on asparagus with chopped basil.Asparagus with Maple Sugar & Sea Salt SUPERSEEDZ & Fresh Basil

Filed Under: Dinner, Salads, Vegetables Tagged With: baby spinach with warm beans and roasted vegetables, dinner salads, salads for a cold winter night, vegetarian, vegetarian delight, vegetarian dinner

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Security check- *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  1. Jovina Coughlin says

    February 11, 2014 at 4:24 PM

    Good thing you wrote down the ingredients for your blog. You won’t be like like me, then, and cook from what is on hand and then forget what I did.
    This was a very creative way to cook these ingredients and the plate looks very appetizing. It is no wonder your husband liked this dish. Hopefully, now, he will be more accepting of “meatless monday”. My daughter-in-law would love this dish – anything with eggplant.
    Jovina Coughlin recently posted…Need A Chocolate Fix?My Profile

    Reply
    • Mary Frances says

      February 11, 2014 at 4:27 PM

      I LOVE eggplant too. The key, Jovina, is to take pictures as you go so you can see what you did because god knows, I can’t remember!!

      Reply
  2. apuginthekitchen says

    February 11, 2014 at 6:04 PM

    Now thats a really hearty salad, it’s the type of salad you can eat in the dead of winter and you won’t miss the bowl of stew or soup. I can really see why your husband loved this, everything is just wonderful together.
    apuginthekitchen recently posted…Valentines Day – The Basics: First Course – Part 1 Leek And Potato Soup And VariationsMy Profile

    Reply
    • Mary Frances says

      February 12, 2014 at 12:07 AM

      Yes Suzanne – it was really hearty!! How is your finger?

      Reply
  3. Maureen | Orgasmic Chef says

    February 11, 2014 at 11:16 PM

    This would be a lovely dish for these warm days we’re still having. Not quite ready to give summer back yet. Hope you don’t mind. 🙂
    Maureen | Orgasmic Chef recently posted…Chocolate TrufflesMy Profile

    Reply
    • Mary Frances says

      February 11, 2014 at 11:58 PM

      Do I mind???? I’m just freaking jealous. We have another big snow storm headed here on Thursday, up to 10 inches with ice pellets. Doesn’t that just sound lovely?

      Reply
  4. ela@GrayApron says

    February 12, 2014 at 1:38 AM

    I’m very much into roasting vegetables this Winter. This is a fantastic salad for this time of the year. It has all the things I like…:) ela
    ela@GrayApron recently posted…Giada’s incredible cookies. Version 3.My Profile

    Reply
    • Mary Frances says

      March 5, 2014 at 11:57 PM

      Ela! I have been roasting EVERYTHING – sugar snap peas tonight with fennel and red pepper, 425 degrees, 15 minutes, done! Delicious!!!

      Reply
  5. yummychunklet says

    February 12, 2014 at 1:23 PM

    Tasty and healthy!
    yummychunklet recently posted…Puff Pastry StromboliMy Profile

    Reply
    • Mary Frances says

      March 5, 2014 at 11:58 PM

      Definitely!! Thank you!

      Reply
  6. Daleen Wilson says

    February 13, 2014 at 2:19 PM

    between your photographs, your mouthwatering words……you inspire.
    This vegetarian family thanks you with a huge HUG!
    Thanks so much for sharing the goodness.
    Daleen Wilson recently posted…celebrating 100My Profile

    Reply

Join 32k+ followers!


Never miss out on a recipe!

Subscribe to receive new posts via email:

Mary Frances

Mary Frances

Spread love through cooking.

Summer Favorites

Easy Cheesy Sautéed Squash The Best Potato Salad Super Quick Chicken and Summer Vegetables Stir-fry Chimichurri-ed Wilted Endives with Walnuts Chilled Curried Zucchini Soup with Apple Garnish Best Strawberry and Rhubarb Crisp to make now!

Categories

  • Appetizers
  • Breakfast
  • Brunch
  • Cocktails
  • Contest
  • Cookies
  • Cookware and tools
  • Desserts
  • Dinner
  • Events
  • First Course
  • Fish
  • Food Responsibility
  • Guest Post
  • Lunch
  • Meat
  • Pasta
  • Poultry
  • Products for sale
  • Salads
  • Sauces
  • Sides
  • Soups
  • Tea time
  • Travel
  • Vegetables

Pages

Blog
About
Recipes
Tips and Tools
International Love
Love Notes
Shop
Mary's secret ingredients

Blogs We Love

  • 1840 Farm
  • A Pug in the Kitchen
  • Cottage Grove House
  • Food, Photography & France
  • Food52
  • From the Bartolini Kitchens
  • Go Bake Yourself
  • Hotly Spiced
  • Jovina Cooks Italian
  • Lavender and Lime
  • Orgasmic Chef
  • Smitten Kitchen
  • Sophie's Foodie Files
  • Steven’s Wine and Food Pairings
  • That Skinny Chick Can Bake
  • The Pioneer Woman
  • The Squishy Monster
  • Tips on Food and Drinks
  • Yummy Chunklet
  • LOVE - the secret ingredient


  • GET IN TOUCH
  • E mary@lovethesecretingredient.com

· All Rights Reserved ·© 2016 Love- the secret ingredient. All rights reserved. Disclaimer | Privacy Policy Disclosure Policy Terms & Conditions