No meat, please, it’s Lent

By Anna Weaver | Hawaii Catholic Herald

From piping hot and healthy carrot soup to sinfully delicious New York cheesecake, an array of meatless dishes greeted diocesan office workers at noon on Feb. 7 in the chancery’s fifth floor conference room. The event was the annual Hawaii Catholic Herald Lenten luncheon, featuring cuisine created without even a hint of chicken stock or a bacon bit.

All the gorging was for a noble cause — to present Hawaii Catholic Herald readers with some new, and rediscovered, recipes to get them through the Fridays of the 40 days without ever having to eat a McDonald’s Filet-o-Fish.

This year our contributors, all diocesan employees, made a wide range of dishes including fish prepared a couple of ways, fried green tomatoes, an Italian appetizer, spinach quiche, and minestrone soup. Rounding out the lunch were macaroni and cheese, several pies from Sunnyside Bakery in Wahiawa, and Safeway sourdough and French bread.

Here are the recipes.

Spinach Quiche

Contributed by Mary Duddy | Diocesan Tribunal Office

2 cups (8 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese

2 tbs. flour

1 10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, cooked, well-drained

1 cup milk

2 eggs, beaten

½ tsp. salt

1 9” pie shell

Toss cheese with flour. Add spinach, milk, eggs and salt. Mix well. Pour into pie shell. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

Minestrone Soup

Contributed by Lori Gress | Diocesan Tribunal Office.

(Adapted from “From a Monastery Kitchen” by Brother Victor-Antoine d’Avila-Latourrette)

4 potatoes

2 large sweet onions

2 celery stalks

1 cup baby carrots

1 cup green beans, cut in pieces

3 qt. water

1 cup navy beans, soaked overnight

1 cup macaroni

1 cup dry white wine

Olive oil to taste, one cup or more

tarragon, salt and pepper to taste

grated Parmesan cheese

Wash vegetables and peel the potatoes and onions. Cut into pieces. Pour water into a large pan and add beans and all of the vegetables except the onions. Cook slowly over medium heat for about one hour. Sauté the onions in a few tablespoons of oil until golden and save. After an hour of cooking, add the onions, macaroni, wine, olive oil, tarragon, salt and pepper. Cook for another 15 minutes. Cover pan and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve the minestrone hot with grated Parmesan cheese. Makes 6-8 servings.

Crostini Piccanti

Contributed by Sharon Chiarucci | Office for Welcoming Parish

(Adapted from Biba Caggiano’s “Trattoria Cooking”)

2 cups loosely packed shredded Italian bread with crust

¼ cup red wine vinegar

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tbs. tomato paste diluted in ½ cup water

½ cup finely minced fresh tomatoes

¼ cup finely minced red onion

2 tbs. chopped fresh parsley

3 tbs. capers, drained and rinsed

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Salt to taste

Pinch of dried red pepper flakes

20½ inch slices of toasted Italian bread

Place the shredded bread in a bowl with the vinegar and soak for 10 minutes. Squeeze the bread to remove the excess vinegar. Wipe the bowl clean and return the bread to the bowl with the olive oil, tomato paste, tomatoes, onion, parsley and garlic. Season with salt and red pepper. Mix well and use as a spread over the bread. Makes 20 crostini.

New York Cheesecake

Contributed by Ann Hannan | Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace

4 large cream cheese

4 eggs

1¾ cup of sugar

Juice of a lemon

2 tbs. vanilla

Graham cracker crust

1½ cups crumbled graham crackers

¼ cup of sugar

¾ stick of butter

Mix graham cracker crust ingredients and press in a soufflé dish to form a crust. Mix eggs, vanilla and lemon juice together and throw in cream cheese. Pour cream cheese batter over graham cracker crust. Place soufflé dish in a pan of boiling water and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Let cool completely in oven. Transfer to a plate and pour on topping of choice.

Carrot Ginger Soup

Contributed by Bill Burton | Diocesan Business Office

2 tbs. extra virgin olive oil

2 large onions, roughly chopped

6 sticks celery, roughly chopped

4 lbs. carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

3-inch knob fresh ginger, grated and finely chopped

1-2 tsp. cinnamon (optional)

1 tsp. cloves (optional)

½ tsp. black pepper, freshly ground, coarse

¼ cup butter

5 14-16 oz. cans vegetable stock

2 pints half-and-half or 1 small container plain fat-free yogurt and 2 cups low-fat milk

Salt to taste

Heat oil in large soup pot over medium heat, add onions and cook until translucent. Add celery, garlic, carrots and ginger, adding water if necessary to prevent sticking, stirring occasionally. You can cover to speed the process. Add seasonings and more water to prevent sticking. Cook until very tender. Pull off heat. Using a stick blender or food processor blend until smooth adding vegetable stock as you go. Add half-and-half. Return to low to medium low heat. Do not allow to boil. Salt and pepper to taste.

Garlic Mayo Baked Fish

Contributed by Diane Leong for Patrick Downes | Hawaii Catholic Herald

6-8 pieces mahimahi or other fish

1 cup Best Foods mayonnaise

3 tbs. Kikkoman shoyu

3 garlic cloves finely chopped

Pepper to taste

Mix mayonnaise, shoyu, garlic and pepper. Brush mixture on both sides of the fish. Bake at 350 degrees for about a half hour until fish springs back at the touch. Don’t cook too long or the fish will be dry. Sprinkle with lemon juice if desired when serving.

Fish Cake and Cucumber Salad

Contributed by Stephanie Jardine for Patrick Downes | Hawaii Catholic Herald

3 Japanese cucumbers

2 packages Japanese deep-fried fishcake with burdock

2 packages uzumaki or kamaboko (steamed fish cake)

1 lb. imitation crab

1 medium Maui onion (or small bunch green onions) chopped

3 tsp. Hawaiian salt

1 tbs. roasted sesame seeds

1/3 cup sesame oil

Cut up cucumbers, both kinds of fishcake and crab into bite-sized pieces. Mix with onions, salt, sesame seeds and sesame oil. Chill overnight. Serve as a pupu or side salad.

Hal’s Veggie Crab Dip

Contributed by Stephanie Jardine for Patrick Downes | Hawaii Catholic Herald

1 package frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and squeezed dry

1 16 oz. sour cream

1 cup mayonnaise

1 package Knorr’s vegetable soup recipe mix

8 oz. imitation crab, chopped

Mix all ingredients. Chill in refrigerator for at least two hours. Serve on crackers or bread.

Imagination Salad with Multigrain Pasta

Contributed by Paulette Gomes | Diocesan Services Office

10-12 romaine lettuce leaves, julienned

5-6 mini sweet peppers (yellow, red, orange)

3-4 fresh roma or plum tomatoes

1 Japanese cucumber

1/3 cup red onion, quartered and thinly sliced

¼ cup fresh Chinese parsley (cilantro), julienned

½ box Barilla multi-grain rotelle pasta

½ cup fresh corn removed from cob or frozen corn

1 can frijoles negros (black beans), rinsed and drained well

½ cup pepperjack cheese, cut into small cubes

½ carton fresh radish sprouts, roots removed, for garnish

Papaya seed dressing, red wine vinegar with olive oil spritz, or other favorite salad dressing

Cook pasta according to directions on box. Drain well and cool. If using frozen corn, rinse in cold water and drain well. Wash and dry all vegetables. Remove stem and seeds from peppers; slice into thin rings. Cut tomatoes lengthwise into quarters; slice crosswise into thirds. Slice cucumber lengthwise into quarters and crosswise into smaller pieces. Combine all vegetables together in a large salad bowl and toss. Garnish with radish sprouts arranged in a ring. Serve chilled with favorite salad dressing. Try other types of vegetables and fruits … use your imagination!

Steamed Mullet

Contributed by Donna Aquino | Hawaii Catholic Herald

1 mullet, medium/large size, cleaned and scaled

2 tbs. black bean sauce

2 tbs. oyster sauce

1 tbs. garlic, minced

6 strips ginger ¼ inch by 1 inch

¼ onion, sliced

½ cup mayonnaise

1 cup bean sprouts

1 tbs. garlic, minced

½ tsp. pepper & salt each

Parsley and green onion garnish

Take cleaned fish and slice 3 slits on each side, put ginger strips into each one. Mix together black bean sauce, oyster sauce and garlic, and rub on outside of fish. Lay fish on foil-covered pan. Mix together onion, mayonnaise, bean sprouts, garlic, pepper and salt. Stuff mixture into belly of fish. Put into steamer and steam for 20-25 minutes. Garnish with parsley and green onions.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Contributed by Shaina Caporoz | Hawaii Catholic Herald

5 large green tomatoes, hard in texture

3 cups flour

2 tbs. Old Bay Seasoning

1 tsp. garlic salt

vegetable oil for frying

10-inch frying pan

Slice the green tomatoes, then place tomatoes on paper towels. In a pan, mix 3 cups flour with Old Bay Seasoning and garlic salt. Roll green tomato slices in the flour mixture. Heat 1 cup vegetable oil in frying pan. Wait until it sizzles then place tomatoes in oil. Fry until golden.

Veggie Pinwheels

Contributed by Anna Weaver | Hawaii Catholic Herald

(Adapted from Hidden Valley Ranch recipe)

2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened

1 pkg. Ranch powdered salad dressing mix

2 green onions, minced

4 (12-inch) flour tortillas

½ cup diced pepper (red or yellow)

½ cup diced celery

1 can chopped black olives, drained

Mix first 3 ingredients. Spread on tortillas. Sprinkle on remaining ingredients. Then roll and wrap tightly. Chill 2 hours. Cut off roll ends. Cut rolls into 1 inch slices.