Side Dish Recipes

This is an elegant looking, although time consuming dish. You'll need an equal amount, (by weight), of the three vegetables, after trimming. Figure on four to six ounces per person.

Vinegared sushi rice (sushi-meshi): short-grain rice cooked with kombu and dressed with a rice vinegar, mirin, and sugar seasoning. The essential base for sushi, chirashi, and temaki.

Warm porcini soup turned into a silky, airy foam: porcini and portobello cooked down with white wine and cream, blended smooth, strained, then charged in an iSi whipper for a cloud-light mushroom espuma.

Stir-fried vegetables with brown rice, mushrooms, bean sprouts, and garlic. A quick vegan side dish that comes together in 25 minutes with pantry staples.

Octopus and celery salad, a light Venetian classic of tender boiled octopus tossed with crisp raw celery, fruity olive oil, and bright lemon. A clean, low-fat seafood salad to serve with fresh bread.

Cheddar mashed potatoes made creamy with buttery Yukon Golds, tangy buttermilk, and extra-sharp cheddar melted right into the mash. Fresh chives add a green oniony bite to this lighter comfort-food side.

Authentic Indian roti made with just whole wheat chapati flour and water, cooked on a hot cast-iron griddle and puffed directly over an open flame. Two-ingredient vegan flatbread.

Chilled green pea soup blends sweet frozen peas with thyme, onion, and minute tapioca for a velvety low-fat, low-calorie soup that works hot or cold. The tapioca thickens without flour or cream. Five minutes of standing time, twenty minutes total cook.

Easy and tasty. Serve it with some delicious summer BBQ, arrange the salad over a bed of fresh greens to get some veggie boost.

Classic gazpacho, the chilled Spanish salad soup, with fresh tomatoes, cucumber, green pepper, olive oil and white wine vinegar. No cooking required, just blend and chill.

Fresh vegetable gazpacho with tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, and bell peppers. Quick cold Spanish soup ready in 10 minutes, perfect for summer lunches.

Light mixed bean salad with green beans, broad beans, kidney beans, and firm tofu tossed in lemon juice and served with a fresh herb fromage frais dressing. A low-fat vegetarian side dish ready in 15 minutes.

Oven-baked potato disks tossed in chili-infused olive oil with paprika and garlic powder. Festive red and green chili peppers flavor the oil overnight for subtle heat.

Quick vegetable curry simmers potato and frozen mixed vegetables in a spiced tomato sauce built from bloomed curry powder and tomato paste. A budget-friendly, vegan weeknight dinner in about 35 minutes.

Quinoa with shiitake gravy: dried shiitakes simmered with their soaking liquid and shoyu, thickened with kudzu into a clear, silky glaze. Vegan, 84 calories per serving, ready in an hour.

Indian carrot salad with cumin, cinnamon, lime juice, and garlic, served chilled and garnished with wheat sprouts. A light, spiced vegetarian side dish.