Lenten-Fast Recipes That Don't Sacrifice Taste

(Bloomberg View) -- For those of us from the Catholic or Orthodox traditions, Lent has begun. (And with it, for the Catholics, the eternal annual cycle of Orthodox and Jewish friends making fun of the Catholic definition of a “fast,” which consists of … one meal and two snacks.) That means meals to make without meat -- and depending on the strictness of the abstinence your tradition requires, possibly also dairy products as well. Readers have already been discussing Lenten dinner ideas in the comments here.

Fortunately, this is a column I am very qualified to write, having been a vegetarian and even a vegan. I will therefore offer some suggestions for meatless, and even dairy-and-eggless, recipes for those who are observing a Lenten fast this year.

However, with apologies to the mackerel-snappers among my readership, we're going to be light on fish ideas. That's because your humble correspondent despises the taste of cooked fish. I'm including a few, but only one of them is actual cooked fish. Sorry, but my experience is limited, so my repertoire is, too.

Nor am I going to give you endless pasta possibilities. You know how to combine cheese, tomato sauce and pasta to make something delicious. And I have belabored readers before with my ideas about macaroni and cheese. Instead we'll look at other alternatives: seafood, beans, eggs and mushrooms. The object is to make things so delicious you hardly notice you're fasting. Which kind of misses the point, I guess, but … well, anyway, onward.

Megan's Favorite Sandwich

We'll start with an easy one: A pesto-mushroom. Only I'm not going to give you a pesto recipe, because Marcella Hazan has perfected pesto; variation is unnecessary deviation from the ideal. Orthodox readers should substitute olive oil for the butter, and sprinkle in brewer's yeast to taste in order to mimic that tangy, cheesy flavor you're missing from the loss of the Parmesan. (Start with a tablespoon and fiddle until you like the flavor.)

Once you've made pesto, it's a great addition to sandwiches and pizza, as well as pasta. My favorite hot sandwich is just as delicious vegan as vegetarian.

• 4 portobello mushroom, sliced ¼ inch thick
• 1 tablespoon butter or oil, more as needed
• 6 roasted red peppers, sliced thin (available in the “Italian foods” section of your grocery store)
• Enough pesto to spread thick on the bread
• 8 slices seeded rye bread
• 4 slices of mozzarella cheese (optional)

1. Toast the bread.
2. Sauté the mushrooms with garlic over medium-high heat.
3. Spread pesto on toast.
4. Top with mushroom and roasted red pepper slices.
5. If you want, top with cheese and put, open-faced, under broiler until the cheese melts
6. Enjoy!

Salmon Tartare With Avocado-Wasabi Ice Cream

This is a little fussy for everyday family food; it's a dinner-party appetizer. It's expensive, too. On the other hand, a little goes a long way, and everything can be made in advance except chopping the fish (which should be made same day). Serve in little cups with shredded iceberg lettuce, which adds a lovely crunch. I love this dish, because it has the highest WOW-to-actual-labor ratio of anything in my repertoire.

Tartare:

• ½ teaspoon peppercorns, cracked/crushed
• ¼ - ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon avocado oil
• ½ teaspoon Asian sesame oil
• ¾ teaspoon minced or grated ginger (pickled, prepared or fresh)
• 1 small clove garlic (optional)
• About 1 teaspoon each of fresh chives and fresh cilantro (leaves only)
• A dash or two of Tabasco, or hot chili oil, to taste
• The juice of one lemon
• 5-6 ounces sashimi-grade salmon

Place everything EXCEPT THE FISH into a blender or food processor. (I include all caps because someone to whom I gave the recipe threw the fish in too, making a sort of Asian gefilte fish. Said it tasted okay, however.) Process until smooth.

Cut the fish into quarter-inch chunks. Toss with dressing. Can be served immediately or left in the fridge for up to an hour and a half.

Serve over ice cream:

• 3 medium avocados
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon or lime juice
• 1 ½ cup milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ½ cup sugar
• Wasabi to taste (tart with half a teaspoon and work up by the quarter-teaspoon. Remember two things: you want it to be an accent, not completely overpowering, and it will taste less strong when it is frozen. So my advice is to get it to the point where you want it, then add another quarter teaspoon. I usually end up using about 1 ½ - 3 teaspoons, depending on the strength of the wasabi)

1. Peel and pit the avocados, then put the meat in the blender with the other ingredients, including a half teaspoon of wasabi. Puree thoroughly.
2. Taste mixture and whisk in extra wasabi to taste. Refrigerate at least four hours, preferably overnight. Freeze in ice cream freezer according to manufacturer's instructions. (It will freeze relatively quickly, so check it regularly.)

Slow-Cooker Garlic Shrimp

Shrimp, I hear you cry. In the slow cooker, I hear you cry. Are you mad?

Aye, but there's a method to my madness. This is a very short cook, with almost no active time. It's incredibly easy to throw in as soon as you arrive home from work; dinner will be on the table an hour later. It's not ideal for people with small children who need to eat as soon as their parents walk in the door, but older households will enjoy it on Fridays, or any day.

• ⅓ cup oil (olive oil preferred unless forbidden)
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 1½ teaspoons Aleppo pepper (or ½ teaspoon apiece of smoked paprika and red pepper flakes)
• 1 pound peeled and deveined shrimp (frozen is fine, but thaw them first)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil and spices in the slow cooker on high for half an hour. Add shrimp and cook for around 30 minutes, stirring once every 10 minutes. Serve over pasta, with bread, or in any other way that seems delicious. Recipe can be increased, but don't layer the shrimp three deep, as they won't cook properly.

Fish en Papillote With Lemon Sauce

On the rare occasions when I cook fish, this is what I make. I don't eat it, mind you; I just cook it and let someone else enjoy. It always gets excellent reviews. I have made the packets in the morning and served at night, if you want to eat quickly after coming in the door, or are advance-prepping for a dinner party. The poor man's version of this just uses foil packets.

First: watch this tutorial.

Then assemble, for each packet:

• 1 6-ounce fish filet (I generally use tilapia or orange roughy)
• 1 slice of lemon
• 1 smashed clove of garlic
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• ½ shallot, sliced thin (optional)
• 1 thin pat of butter or drizzle of olive oil

To cook:

1. Preheat oven to 450 F.
2. Assemble packets.
3. Brush packets with melted butter or olive oil.
4. Bake eight to 10 minutes, until packets puff.

Serve with lemon sauce:

• ¾ cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• Zest of one lemon
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• Chopped parsley for garnish

1. While fish is cooking, make a roux: Melt the butter, then add flour, and cook together until golden brown.
2. Add in cream and zest, whisking continuously.
3. Cook for two minutes until sauce starts to thicken.
4. Add juice, whisking continuously. Pour into serving bowl and float chopped parsley in sauce for color.

Lentils du Puy With Egg

Obviously, if you're forbidden eggs, omit the egg. Otherwise, this is vegan, and delicious. However, note that it uses French green lentils -- aka lentils du Puy -- not the brown ones you're familiar with from the grocery store. I buy mine in bulk from Amazon.

Most of the year, I start this with 4 ounces of pancetta. But it's delicious without it; if you want that smoky flavor, add a chopped up roasted red pepper.

• 1 cup lentils du Puy
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 1 cup white wine
• several sprigs of Thyme
• 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
• 1 ½ teaspoon Aleppo pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 teaspoon of Maldon sea salt
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Something under the juice of half that lemon

1. Microwave stock, thyme and bay leaf two minutes on high, stir in wine, and let steep.
2. Sauté carrots and onion together in butter until softened.
3. Add herbes de Provence, Aleppo pepper, liquid and lentils, and simmer 30 minutes.
4. Add zest and lemon juice and simmer until done, 10-15 minutes more.
5. Salt and pepper to taste.
6. Serve with poached or fried eggs in the soup, and a hearty bread.

Shakshuka

Shakshuka is tomato sauce with eggs cooked in it. Traditionally a breakfast dish, it is also an awesome dinner -- and, since the tomato sauce can be made ahead, an incredibly quick one.

However, it is spicy. And my middle-aged heartburn will not take it. So I make my own harissa, from this recipe, omitting the chiles.

I could go to the trouble of retyping Yotam Ottolenghi's terrific recipe, with minor modifications. But it seems easier to just point you to his recipe, and the recipe for homemade harissa for those who don't have access to a Middle Eastern grocer -- or whose acid reflux precludes ultra-spicy meals.

Chickpea Tagine

Now I'm going to point you to my own recipes, already published here on Bloomberg. This was the first vegetarian recipe that my meatitarian husband affirmatively requested as a dinner entree. It's kid-friendly, not too spicy, and delicious with rice or bread.

Mongolian Tofu

I know, I know. Tofu. Gross. Au contraire, ma frère; tofu is delicious as long as you stop thinking about it as a meat substitute. Tofu is an excellent sauce vehicle; it has no flavor of its own, and its texture is pleasant if prepared properly. And it's dirt cheap and super-fast to cook.

The secret to good tofu is threefold: First, freeze it. Second, press it. Third, cook it separately from the other ingredients to get it crispy. Once you've done that, this dish couldn't be easier.

• 1 block extra-firm tofu
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil (available in the international section of your supermarket)
• ½ teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• ½ cup soy sauce
• ½ cup water
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 green onion, chopped

1. Freeze the tofu: Just stick the container in the freezer. This changes the texture to make it absorb the sauce better. Thaw before using
2. Press the tofu: Wrap the thawed block of tofu in a lot of paper towels. (We're not talking one dainty layer. You're absorbing the excess liquid from the tofu.) Place wrapped tofu on a plate, and place another plate on top. Weight down with a couple of 28-ounce cans. Change paper towels 10 minutes in, and repeat.
3. Cut tofu into ½-inch cubes.
4. Toss tofu with cornstarch.
5. Sauté tofu in vegetable oil until brown. Remove from pan.
6. Add all other ingredients, stir to combine. Cook on high heat until sauce has thickened, about 10 minutes. Toss tofu back in and cook until everything is warmed through, about two minutes.
7. Serve with rice.

Vegan Chocolate Pie

Those of you who are just giving up meat don't need to worry about dessert. But what about those who are giving up dairy and eggs, too? Vegan bakers have manfully struggled with this problem, and frankly, their struggles have not availed all that much. There's a reason they're so darn skinny.

However, do not despair! I have some good news. There are tasty vegan desserts, and you can make them. They're even easy -- like this pie, which couldn't be simpler. I have brought this to parties and seen it disappear, with no one knowing that they were eating a vegan dessert.

• 1 recipe vegan chocolate cookie crust
• 12 ounces silken tofu
• 2 cups vegan chocolate chips (available from Amazon)
• ½ cup almond milk (or coconut milk if you're dealing with a nut allergy)

1. Melt the chocolate chips
2. Pop melted chocolate in the blender with the tofu and almond milk
3. Pour the result in the fridge for at least four hours

Apple Strudel

I have more good news on the dessert front: Pepperidge Farm frozen puff pastry sheets are vegan. That means you can make easy vegan desserts that are pretty much indistinguishable from non-vegan desserts. I'm partial to raspberry turnovers, but they're not in season during Lent, so we'll go with an easy apple.

• 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and very thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar (white sugar also works fine)
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• a pinch of nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons golden raisins
• 1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, thawed

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Combine all ingredients except the pastry.
3. Roll the pastry out to a 16- by 12-inch rectangle.
4. Place the apple mixture on the bottom half of the pastry sheet, leaving a one-inch edge all around. By “half” I mean starting from the short side -- so you should end up with a 10- by 7-inch rectangle of apple, not 14 inches by five.
5. Roll up the pastry like a jelly roll.
6. Place it on a baking sheet, seam side down. Tuck ends under to seal.
7. Cut four slits in the top to allow steam to escape. Bake 35 minutes, or until golden brown.

Pears Poached in Wine

A traditional dessert, easy and delicious. Can be made ahead. You can do it with red, as well, but I like white, and a little gentle spice

• 4 pears, peeled and cored and cut in half
• 1 bottle of Riesling
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp dried ginger
• 1 cup water
• ¼ cup honey
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 vanilla bean

1. Combine wine, water, honey, sugar and spices in a 4-quart pan. Bring to a simmer.
2. Split vanilla bean and scrape seeds into the mixture. Add vanilla bean and pears.
3. Simmer until pears are just tender, turning 15 minutes in to ensure even cooking.
4. Remove pears. Boil down syrup to make one cup.
5. Can be served warm or cold, and will last for several days; store pears in syrup if keeping.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Megan McArdle is a Bloomberg View columnist. She wrote for the Daily Beast, Newsweek, the Atlantic and the Economist and founded the blog Asymmetrical Information. She is the author of "“The Up Side of Down: Why Failing Well Is the Key to Success.”

To contact the author of this story: Megan McArdle at mmcardle3@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tracy Walsh at twalsh67@bloomberg.net.

For more columns from Bloomberg View, visit http://www.bloomberg.com/view.

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