After making a scrumptious ratatouille sandwich, I couldn't get the tasty French dish out of my mind. This time, I opted to serve the cooked vegetables in a more traditional way: in a classic French crepe. Considering the prep work, ratatouille is a time-consuming dish, but once the veggies are cooking it's pretty fast and effortless. For the ratatouille, it's important to use your largest pan Read more

In many vegetarian recipes, mushrooms are used similarly to meat. They're marinated, grilled, sautéed, broiled, and turned into burgers. Like mushrooms, eggplant is an incredibly versatile vegetable that can be prepared using many culinary techniques. In this recipe, thick-cut eggplant steaks are coated with a garlic balsamic vinaigrette. Served with a hearty mixture of garbanzos, roasted red Read more

Fresh eggplant is the star in this delicious vegetarian pasta. The purple vegetable is pan-fried and seasoned with dried oregano. The sauteed eggplant acts as the base of the thick, tomato-y pasta sauce. A handful of aromatic basil and a liberal dusting of Italian cheese finishes off the pasta. This scrumptious dish is like eating a bowl of summer. To learn the technique, read more Read more

When piled high on a plate, a salad of grilled veggies is just as hearty as a slab of steak. Grilling the vegetables is a great way to bring out their full, rich flavor. This salad is packed with thickly cut zucchini, eggplants, and peppers. A quick lemon vinaigrette adds a tart freshness and a sprinkling of goat cheese adds a lush creaminess. Serve with a cold beer and a chunk of grilled, Read more

Traditionally, a ragu is a slow cooked meat heavy sauce; the meat is cooked for several hours until it falls off the bone and the sauce is thick. However, a rapid variation is simple to make in under 30 minutes. Ground lamb cooks quickly and is effortlessly flavored with fennel seed, oregano, and red wine. A ribbed pasta like rigatoni or penne is a great choice as the hearty sauce has something Read more

Making a filling, flavorful, and delicious soup doesn't have to take hours. Instead, if you use alternative cooking methods to speed up the elements of the soup — in this case, fine chopping and broiling the vegetables — your soup can be finished in a quick 30 minutes. Toasted Indian spices make this dish an exotic and exciting vegetarian meal. Serve with crisped pita and a chilled, dry Read more