Vegetarian Cooking Series-Part 3-Appetizers and First Courses

Published June 4th, 2008

For those of you who are just joining this series about vegetarian cooking, you can read Part 1-Introduction to get started.

Most of us could probably think of some appetizers or first courses that don’t involve meat, but maybe not anything too exciting. This post is going to cater to giving you some creative and healthy ideas that will really step up the level of sophistication for everyone you are entertaining, while providing delicious and healthy vegetarian food you’ll all enjoy!

I’ve included suggestions for mostly vegetarians here, but some of these ideas can be modified if the person you are entertaining is vegan (doesn’t eat dairy or eggs either). Just a note, I’m not one of those cooks who measures things (except for when baking is involved), so I’ve given you suggestions for combinations and ingredients, and you can pretty much add however much you want of the fillings in these suggestions to taste. If you need/want specific quantities, you can do a web search for some of these appetizers and get the proportions in which you add the ingredients. I’ve started to take pictures of my dishes, and in the future I will include them as well as pay attention to how much of everything I’m using to put up some real recipes.

Appetizers and Hors D’oevres

Mini quiche

You can make these easily by buying the small pre-made tart shells from your grocer’s freezer. Make sure to get the unsweetened ones, and ones that are made with vegetable shortening rather than lard. There’s tons of great combinations possible here, but teeny tiny bits of broccoli, finely chopped mushroom, and cheddar cheese are often a real crowd pleaser! I usually add a little bit of full cream or sour cream to the mixture and put some cheddar both in the filling and on top to make it extra yummy! I’ve also made them with chopped up portobello mushrooms and Swiss cheese. The only real tip I have is that you may want to partially bake the tart shells before adding the filling to make sure that they get cooked perfectly.

Spreads and dips

Some popular vegetarian spreads are hummus (chickpea and tahini spread), baba ganouji (a creamy roasted eggplant spread), roasted red pepper and feta cheese, and tapenade (a minced kalamata or black olive spread that usually contains garlic, parsley, and sometimes lemon juice). You can either look up a suitable recipe for any of these spreads, or you can buy them your first time. In Canada, a couple of brands that make good versions of these dips are Summer Fresh and President’s Choice. I usually serve these with pita bread warmed in the oven in foil, and then cut into wedges, but you could also serve some cut up veggies with them.

Mini grilled-cheese sandwiches

Yes, you heard me correctly–genius! I usually pick up a skinny loaf of french bread for this slice into thin rounds and make these mini grilled cheese sandwiches with Gruyere cheese, but you can use any cheese you like. You can cook these in a pan, or they’re even easier if you have a panini press. If you have a vegan coming over, these can also be made with soy cheese slices that come in flavours like Swiss cheese.

Triscuit bites

Again, anything goes here, but I love putting a square of jalapeno Havarti in the centre of each cracker, then top with one basil leaf, and finally a slice of cherry tomato on top. These look very fancy, are super easy to make, and the combination is very yummy. You can substitute vegan cheese here too if need be.

Phyllo pastries

Once again, so many possibilities here, but I LOVE phyllo dough for these three reasons: 1) It’s very inexpensive, 2) It’s already made and in your grocer’s freezer, and 3) It’s dead easy to use–don’t believe what you read–you can’t mess it up–all you need is a brush! Spanakopita (spinach, feta cheese, garlic, and scallions) is one of my favourites, but you can read more about how to make it and other phyllo creations in Phyllo the Magic Dough.

Served First Courses

Soups

You can never really go wrong with serving soup as a first course. One nutritious and sophisticated option includes a butternut squash soup (you can use cream or not for this, but all you really need is to blend the squash, use a vegetable stock base, and whatever herbs and spices you like). Other options include parsnip soup, broccoli and cheddar, or even the timeless French-onion soup–just make sure to use an onion or other vegetable soup as a base instead of beef broth!

Salads

I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how to make a salad, but I can tell you how vegetarians and vegans sometimes amp up their salads if you’re looking for some ideas. As far as greens go, you can try trading in the romaine or iceberg lettuce for some simple mesculin mix, arugala, or some baby spinach. As far as toppings, you can try putting some alfalfa sprouts or pea shoots on top, and finishing things of with some nuts or seeds. Some suggestions include pecans, slivered or sliced almonds, sesame seeds, or walnuts. You can toast them first or not. They are a bit healthier if you leave them raw, but I really like the taste of the nuts toasted. Watch them carefully in the oven as they burn easily! If you have someone that eats dairy, you can also consider topping with goat cheese, feta cheese or blue cheese crumbles.

Goat cheese with grilled veggies

This is one of my favourite first courses because it gets everyone interacting as they put the food together themselves. I buy a log of either herbed or peppercorn covered goat cheese, drizzle a bit of oilve oil onto a small piece of foil, put the goat cheese in the middle, and wrap it up. Slice up bite sized chunks of red and green bell pepper, red onion, and green or yellow zucchini, and marinate it in a bag with some olive oil, minced garlic, and oregano. When you’re ready, throw the marinated veggies and wrapped up goat cheese onto the George Foreman Grill or outdoor grill/barbecue. When they’re done, serve with warmed pita bread wedges and green grapes. Each person spreads some goat cheese on the bread and puts whatever veggie they want on top–everyone loves this!

Stay tuned next week this time for Part 4 in this series tackling the vegetarian main course options!
Read the rest in this series:
Vegetarian Cooking Series-Part 1-Intro
Vegetarian Cooking Series-Part 2-Pub and Casual foods
Vegetarian Cooking Series-Part 4-Main Course Options
Vegetarian Cooking Series-Part 5-The Holiday Feast