Welcome to Sara Moulton.com/Weeknight Meals, the companion web site to my new public television series, Sara's Weeknight Meals. The new show is based on my last cookbook, Sara's Secrets for Weeknight Meals, and it's all about getting quick tasty meals on the table during the work week. This show is about vegetable main dishes. These meatless but intensely-flavored entrees should appeal to vegetarians and carnivores alike. They fill a whole chapter and are certainly among my favorite recipes in the book. They are quick to make, the ingredients are inexpensive, and none requires too much else to round out a meal.

First Recipe:
Grilled Shiitake, Sweet Potato, and Eggplant Kabobs, Sara's Secrets for Weeknight Meals, page 220 (recipe follows).
Recommended Side Dishes: Herbed Pea Medley, Sara's Secrets for Weeknight Meals, page 37 and Simple Boiled Rice, Sara's Secrets for Weeknight Meals, page 40.
Recommended Wine Pairing: Riesling or Chardonnay.

Second Recipe:
Giant Stuffed Mushrooms, Sara's Secrets for Weeknight Meals, page 218 (recipe follows).
Recommended Side Dishes: Sautéed Beets with Balsamic Vinegar, Sara's Secrets for Weeknight Meals, page 305 or a tossed green salad with tomatoes.
Recommended Wine Pairing: Pinot Noir or Chardonnay.

Grilled Shiitake, Sweet Potato, and Eggplant Kabobs
Makes 4 servings
Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Total preparation time: 50 minutes including marinating time

Shiitake mushrooms, sweet potatoes, and eggplant are all very "meaty" vegetables. Similarly, there's a creaminess to Sesame Miso Sauce, although it contains no cream. Put them together and you've got a very filling dish. Tasty, too, of course. Grilling these vegetables as kabobs brings out their natural sugars. (You can broil them if you don't have a grill or grill pan.)

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup rice wine or dry sherry
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger (use a Microplane)
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 large sweet potato (about 12 ounces)
2 small Asian eggplants (about 10 ounces), sliced crosswise 1/3-inch thick
16 large shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps quartered or 32 smaller shiitake caps, stems discarded and caps halved
1 recipe Sesame Miso Sauce (recipe follows)

Combine the soy sauce, wine, 3 tablespoons water, the sugar, ginger, and sesame oil in a small saucepan; heat over medium heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Let cool slightly.

Peel the sweet potato and cut crosswise into 1/3-inch thick slices. Cut the slices into quarters or halves so that they are roughly the same size as the eggplant slices. Steam the sweet potato slices in a steamer set over boiling water for 6 to 7 minutes or until they are just al dente.

Alternate the sweet potato, eggplant, and mushrooms on eight 8- inch metal skewers. Place the skewers in one layer in a shallow baking pan. Pour the marinade over them and marinate them at room temperature, turning a few times, for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the Sesame Miso Sauce.

Preheat the grill or a grill pan. Grill the kabobs, turning frequently, 4 to 5 minutes or until the vegetables are tender and slightly golden. Serve with the Sesame Miso Sauce on the side.


Sesame Miso Sauce
Makes about 1 cup

Combine 3 tablespoons water with 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons seasoned rice wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons red or white miso, 2 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger (use a Microplane), 1 1/2 tablespoons well stirred-tahini or 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil, and 1 tablespoon sugar, and 1 tablespoon rice wine or dry sherry in a blender and blend until smooth. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. May be kept for up to 5 days; shake before using.



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Giant Stuffed Mushrooms
Makes 4 servings
Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Total preparation time: 25 minutes

When I was growing up, one of the more exotic items in my mom's culinary repertoire was stuffed mushrooms. She would make them with cultivated white mushrooms, which were considered very elegant at the time, and stuff them simply with chopped up mushrooms, onions, and bread crumbs. She usually served them as a side dish, which seemed a little over the top to me.
 They were substantial, which is why I thought to do a large version, using portobellos, here in the vegetarian chapter. Portobello mushrooms are one of the meatiest mushrooms, with a great taste as well. I used three of my mom's ingredients for the stuffing - onion, mushrooms, and bread - and then added some green beans, pesto, and cheese. You can use store-bought pesto if you want to speed up the process, but this is a pretty quick recipe anyway.

4 portobello mushrooms (4- to 5-ounces each), cleaned, stems removed and reserved, and gills scraped out and discarded
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 pound green beans, trimmed and sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
1 recipe Parsley Pesto (see below)
1 plain English muffin, finely chopped
Kosher salt and freshly milled black pepper
4 ounces Muenster cheese (cut into 4 slices)

Discard a thin slice from the root end of the mushroom stems; chop the remaining stems. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over high heat until hot. Reduce the heat to medium; add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the mushroom stems and green beans and cook, stirring occasionally, until both are just tender, about 8 minutes. Transfer the bean mixture to a small bowl; reserve the skillet. Stir the pesto, English muffin, and salt and pepper to taste into the bean mixture.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in the same skillet until hot. Reduce the heat to medium and add the mushroom caps, open side down. Cook, covered, 5 minutes. Turn the caps over and divide the bean mixture among them; cook, covered, 5 minutes. Top each mushroom with a slice of cheese, remove from the heat, and set aside, covered, just until the cheese melts, about 1 minute. Serve immediately.

Parsley Pesto
Makes 1 1/4 cups
Hands-on time: 5 minutes
Total preparation time: 5 minutes

This recipe has all the elements of traditional pesto with a couple of crucial substitutions - parsley instead of basil and walnuts instead of pine nuts. Still, it goes wherever a basil pesto would. Toss it with cooked spaghetti or linguine. Use it as a topping for roast chicken or for pizza, as a sauce for sautéed or grilled fish or as a filling for baked mushrooms.

3 cups packed rinsed and dried fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs
1/2 cup walnut pieces
1 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, coarsely grated (about 1/3 cup)
2 garlic cloves, sliced (about 2 teaspoons)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly milled black pepper

Combine the parsley, walnuts, cheese, and garlic in a food processor fitted with the chopping blade. Process until finely chopped. With the processor running, gradually add the oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Rice vinegar and rice wine vinegar are less acidic than red or white wine vinegars and add a subtle flavor to sauces, salad dressings, or marinades.

Japanese eggplants have fewer seeds and are less bitter than Mediterranean eggplants. They are also smaller and easy to handle. Despite rumors to the contrary about the larger Mediterranean eggplants, there is no such thing as male and female eggplants. (It has been alleged that female eggplants have more seeds which makes the eggplant bitter) When the Mediterranean eggplants stay too long on the vine and get too big, they can develop too many seeds and become bitter but that has nothing to do with sex.

Shiitake mushrooms have a much lower water content than other mushrooms. Their stems are so dry and tough they can't be used in recipes. However, save them in the freezer and use them to infuse a stock with flavor.

Always check the rind when buying parmesan cheese. Parmigiano-Reggiano has its name right on the rind and although it may seem a bit pricy, a little goes a long way, so use the real thing. By the way when you have grated the cheese all the way down to the rind, don't throw the rind out. You can add it to soups and stews for a je ne sais quoi added boost of flavor.

Choose a pinot noir when serving a mushroom dish. Both have an earthy quality that makes them a good pair.

Steaming is a fast and fat-free way to cook any vegetable. Whether you choose, a collapsible steamer (like I used in college), a bamboo steamer like the one I use on this show, or an electric countertop steamer pretty much depends upon the space you have to store it and how much you want to spend for it. The collapsible steamer is available wherever kitchen tools are sold, the bamboo steamer and a selection of stovetop and electric steamers are available at Williams Sonoma.

There is a difference between Rice Vinegar and Rice Wine Vinegar. Rice vinegar is made by fermenting rice. Rice wine vinegar is made from the lees left over when making Rice Wine.

Miso, also known as bean paste, is a staple of Japanese cuisine made from salted and fermented soybeans and a grain, usually rice or barley. It has a creamy consistency, much like peanut butter, and comes in a wide variety of flavors and colors. The lighter-colored versions are used in more delicate soups and sauces, and the darker-colored varieties give body and flavor to heavier dishes. You can find it packaged in tubs, jars, and tubes in Asian stores and increasingly at the supermarket. It will keep for several months in the fridge. For years I experienced miso only in Japanese restaurants in the ubiquitous miso soup, but now it has become a staple in my pantry.