VEGAN LOW COUNTRY BOIL

Let’s start by acknowledging that I never intended for my dish to be vegan. I was trying to find a recipe that I could adjust to suit everyone’s taste. We had grilled a beautiful coil of Sweet Italian Chicken Sausage on the grill and decided to use half of it in a shrimp boil. I adjusted the ingredient list to include unsalted butter and chose not to include the broccoli and green beans in this go round. We put the corn and potatoes on to boil and started on the cajun butter sauce. Once the sauce was blended I added the sausage for a little warm up and extra flavor. We waited for the potatoes to become perfectly tender, removed the veggies and tossed in some shrimp to cook for a few minutes. It all came together in a big bowl for a delicious and surprisingly easy meal.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 16-20 cups water
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 crab boil seasoning in a bag like Zatarain’s
• 1 lemon quartered
• 1 yellow onion peeled and quartered
• 4 ears corn on the cob shucked and cut into halves or thirds
• 2-3 lbs baby potatoes washed
• 1 large head broccoli cut into florets
• 1 lb fresh green beans trimmed

Ingredients (Cajun Butter Sauce):

• 3/4 cup vegan butter
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1-2 tsp Cajun seasoning
• 3/4 cup vegetable stock
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• salt to taste if needed

Directions:

The Boil

1. Add the water, salt, crab boil seasoning bag, lemon quarters, and onion quarters to a very large pot. I use a 20-quart pot.
2. Bring the pot to a boil.
3. Add the corn and potatoes into the pot. Be super careful so you don’t splash boiling water on yourself. I wear long oven mitts to protect my hands/arms.
4. Bring the pot back to a boil. This takes 5-10 minutes. Boil for about 8-12 minutes or until the potatoes are almost fork-tender. (In the meantime, you can prep the butter sauce and the sausage.)
5. Add in the broccoli and green beans. Continue to boil until all veggies are tender.
6. Drain the pot carefully into a large colander.

Cajun Butter Sauce

• In a small saucepan, melt the vegan butter on low-medium heat. Add in the garlic powder, onion powder, Old Bay seasoning, paprika, and Cajun seasoning.
• Let the butter come to a simmer for about 1 minute, whisking to make sure it doesn’t burn.
• Whisk in the vegetable stock. Bring to a simmer again and then remove from the heat. Stir in the lemon juice.

Sausage

• Cut the sausage links lengthwise, then into thirds or quarters.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add in the sausage and saute until browned.

~ KarissasVeganKitchen.com ~

CARAMELIZED BROCCOLI WITH GARLIC

This is the first time that we’ve prepared broccoli in this manner, and I want to say it is a WINNER!! So easy that the hubs was able to do it with very little coaching from the sidelines. A very nice fresh take on a favorite veggie that brings the flavor to a different level. Worth giving this one a try!

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 heads of broccoli (1 1/4 pounds total), stems peeled and heads halved lengthwise
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• Pinch of crushed red pepper
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions:

1. In a large, deep skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the broccoli, cut side down, cover and cook over moderate heat until richly browned on the bottom, about 8 minutes.
2. Add the water, cover and cook until the broccoli is just tender and the water has evaporated, about 7 minutes.
3. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil along with the garlic and the crushed red pepper and cook uncovered until the garlic is golden brown, about 3 minutes.
4. Season the broccoli with salt and black pepper, drizzle with the lemon juice and serve.

~ FoodAndWine.com ~

RISOTTO CAKES

I chose this recipe as a follow up to the Corn Risotto recipe. I love to give a Leftover Upgrade by taking a dish and recreating it to serve again. I was a mile ahead with the risotto I had on hand. It already contained the corn and Parmesan so it was an easy fix. I completed the meal with fried eggs and Blistered Cherry Tomatoes. Breakfast For Dinner!!

Yield: 12 Cakes

Ingredients:

• 3 cups leftover risotto from Roasted Garlic and Mushroom Risotto recipe
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed
• 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup canola oil

Directions:

1. In a large bowl add the leftover risotto, eggs, corn, bread crumbs, and Parmesan and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Mix to combine well. Form into 12 balls about the size of a walnut, then flatten into patties and arrange on a baking sheet.
2. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the patties and cook until they are golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove the patties from the oil to a baking sheet lined with a brown bag or paper towels to drain the excess oil. Transfer to a serving tray and serve hot.

~ FoodNetwork.com ~