Vegetarian Recipes from The Backstage Gourmet

edited by P.J. Grimes

Spanish Spinach, Avocado & Grapefruit Salad With Caceres Citrus Vinaigrette
by Steve Pickell

Salad
• 2 lbs fresh spinach leaves
• 3-4 large ripe avocados
• 4 large grapefruits

Vinaigrette
• 3 T oil (vegetable, peanut, extra-virgin olive, sesame, or safflower)
• 1 T vinegar (red or white wine, balsamic, tarragon, or cider)
• 6 T citrus juice (grapefruit, orange, lemon, or lime)
• 1 T chopped fresh herbs (basil, oregano, or rosemary)
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp dry mustard
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly-ground black pepper

Combine all vinaigrette ingredients in a blender and whip or blenderize until smooth; set vinaigrette aside. Next, slice avocados and section grapefruit. In a bowl, toss together the avocado and grapefruit sections (this will prevent the avocado from browning). In another bowl, toss the spinach leaves with the vinaigrette (use only enough vinaigrette to coat the leaves slightly). Arrange the spinach on chilled plates. Top it with the avocado and grapefruit. Drizzle additional vinaigrette on the avocado/grapefruit mixture.

Pasta Yucatan
by Jorge Rosental

•Fettuccine (white or spinach; although any thickness of pasta works for this dish, fettuccine is my favorite; some prefer angel hair pasta)
•1 habanero chile (or to taste)
•4 large tomatoes (Roma tomatoes are best)
•2 bell peppers (1 yellow and 1 orange)
• 6-8 cloves fresh garlic
•1/4-1/2 C coarsely-chopped fresh basil
•Juice of 2 limes
•1/4 C gold tequila (do not use clear tequila)
•2 tsp olive oil
•1/2 tsp salt
•Sour cream (optional)
•Freshly-grated Romano cheese (garnish)

Finely chop habanero Chile and coarsely chop tomatoes, garlic, basil, and bell peppers (habanero peppers are extremely spicy, so use caution when handling, don’t touch your eyes, and wash your hands when done). Marinate habanero peppers for at least 6 hours in lime juice, tequila, and half of the salt. Heat up the frying pan until the oil begins to smoke. Add habanero Chile, garlic, and basil. Sauté until garlic begins to brown. Add tomatoes and bell pepper. Cook for approximately 30 minutes, stirring often. For a creamy sauce, add some sour cream. About 10 to 15 minutes before the sauce is done, prepare pasta. When ready to serve, pour sauce over pasta. Top with Romano cheese.

Dessert Fajitas
by Beany MacGregor

• 2 oz apples
• 2 oz fresh pineapple
• 1 oz orange segments or mango
• 2 oz fresh strawberries
• 1 oz fresh raspberries
• 1 oz fresh blueberries
• 1/2 large banana
• 1 oz red seedless grapes
• 1/4 C brown sugar
• 2 T dark rum
• 1 T banana liqueur
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 4 T butter

Condiments
• Cinnamon tortillas (6" each)
• White chocolate shavings (to taste)
• Dark chocolate shavings (to taste)
• Chopped roasted peanuts (to taste)
• Vanilla ice cream (to taste)

Dice apple and pineapple into 1“ pieces (if using mango instead of oranges, dice it into 1" pieces). Halve lengthwise grapes and strawberries. Cut the banana into 1/2" slices. Sauté apple, pineapple and grapes in butter on medium or medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add lemon juice, vanilla, sugar, and cinnamon. Cook until sugar is melted. Add rum and banana liqueur. Toss well. Add banana and orange/mango and cook 1 minute. Add remaining berries and toss. Pour onto heated sizzle plate and serve immediately. Top with condiment(s) of choice. Other fruits and berries can be used in season, as can other condiments, such as almonds and candy bar pieces.

Chef Biographies

Steve Pickell is Executive Chef at Thornton Winery’s Café Champagne where, with his expertise, the café has been honored with consecutive gold awards for contemporary cuisine from the Southern California Restaurant Writer’s Association. Beautiful Thornton Winery, located in Temecula, California, is home of the renowned annual Summer “Champagne Jazz” series. About the inspiration for this recipe, Steve writes, "As we leave south from Talavera de la Reina down the road 50 miles, we turn right onto the windy roads into the mountains of Extremadura. From there, we enter the town of Caceres, after a two-hour journey. Caceres is situated not far from the headwaters of the Tagus Tejo River, which flows westward to Lisbon, Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean. It is in these headwaters where the water comes to nourish the citrus and avocado groves of Casar de Caceres. Grapefruit, oranges, lemons, and limes are plentiful and are used in many recipes of the region."

Jorge Rosental is often heralded as one of San Diego’s most innovative bass players. Among other things, he collaborated with performance artist Rachael Rosenthal (no relation) in her “Five Uneasy Pieces and Then Some” at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, California. Jorge began his professional career in 1987 when he auditioned and toured with the Bonita Vista Music Machine, an internationally acclaimed show pop choir. He obtained a Bachelors degree in communication with a focus on popular culture and mass media from the University of California, San Diego. “Habanero chiles are my favorite chiles. They are bold with fruity tones, and are found in the Yucatán region of Mexico. Their fiery taste combines with just about any dish. A housekeeper my parents employed while we lived in Mexico taught me to marinate the chiles in lime juice and tequila to bring out the fruit tones in the taste. I created this dish in my kitchen a few years ago, and it’s a favorite with all of my friends. The yellow and orange peppers accent the chiles. The garlic, basil, and tomatoes balance the dish.”

Beany MacGregor, Planet Hollywood’s Corporate Executive Chef, is a multi-award-winning chef and consultant who has opened restaurants and designed kitchens all over the world. As a top consultant, he has worked on projects for TWA, Rivers Restaurant at the New Orleans World Fair, and Cannon’s in New Orleans, along with others, including overseeing all of top restaurant entrepreneur Robert Earl’s many restaurant ventures, such as the Hard Rock Café and Official All Star Café. About this recipe, Beany writes;“The intent behind this item was to create a dessert that was both exciting (eye appeal) and tasty and big enough to share. Fajitas have always been a popular item on our Planet Hollywood menu, so we thought why not create a dessert fajita. Everyone loves fruit, and this was the perfect opportunity to introduce a fruit-type dessert. The main flavorings in the cooked fruits are brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and rum and banana liqueur. They are quickly sautéed and served sizzling with different fruit flavor tortillas along with sweet condiments.”