Revisiting Red Sage: at a guest's request, one of the nation's finest restaurants recreates a vegetarian masterpiece - includes recipes - Recipe Redux

Vegetarian Times, Oct, 1996 by Arin O'Brien

You've been there. You're going out to dinner with non-vegetarian family or friends. You have your fingers crossed that there'll be something else on the menu besides salad and baked potatoes. And sometimes, you find yourself pleasantly surprised. A reader recounts one of chose times.

My husband and I were visiting Washington, D.C., for business and a family visit. Both of us enjoy Southwestern cuisine, and here was the perfect opportunity to visit Mark Miller's Red Sage restaurant. We arrived early to enjoy drinks and pore over the menu while waiting for our table. I ordered the dish with the obvious sounding name, Vegetarian Platter; my husband ordered, well, something else. When the plates arrived, my husband (the omnivore) said he thought I got the better end of the deal.

The platter was artfully comprised of six elements: emerald green steamed spinach, spicy corn flan with jalapenos, sweet potato pureed with goat cheese and some kind of nut, spaghetti squash with chopped tomatoes and peppers, blue-corn flautas with mushrooms and finally, a tamale filled with grilled vegetables whose smoky overtones were beyond description (and beyond guessing how to reproduce it).

I write this not just to alert veggie diners to a great meal when in the nation's capital but to make a plea. I write to request that VEGETARIAN TIMES interview the creator of this masterpiece and obtain the recipes for this glorious meal so all your readers can share this delightful meal even if they can't made it to D.C. I'll keep my fingers crossed. Thanks!

--K.F. Covington, La.

You can uncross chose fingers, K.F., and pick up a fork to enjoy a wonderful Southwestern vegetarian plate designed for Vegetarian Times by Red Sage Executive Chef Jeffery Olssen.

For simplicity's sake and due to space limitations, we were not able to bring you a plate with all six elements, but we have created a plate of three elements, including the wonderfully smoky tamale that you so enjoyed during your visit to Red Sage.

For readers interested in more recipes from Red Sage or Mark Miller's other landmark restaurant, Santa Fe's Coyote Cafe, check out his books, The Greot Salsa Book, The Great Chile Book, Coyote Cafe, Coyote Pantry and Mark Miller's Indian Market Cookbook, all published by Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, Calif.

In the meantime, enjoy the following three dishes adapted from recipes provided by Red Sage.

Chili-Fried Green Tomatillos

TOMATILLOS, or Mexican green tomatoes, are similar to tomatoes but are smaller and have a delightful lemon-herb flavor. They are covered with a papery husk that must be removed. SALSA VERDE or green salsa often is made with TOMATILLOS, which are usually available all year in Mexican markets and supermarkets.

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal 1/4 cup flour 1 1/2 Tbs. fresh basil, minced 1 1/2 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese 1 tsp. hot chili powder, chili flakes or crumbled dried chili 1/2 tsp. each salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 eggs, beaten 2 Tbs. water 6 tomatillos (see glossary, p. 134) or 4 medium green tomatoes, thickly sliced Flour for dredging 1/4 cup olive oil, divided

IN MEDIUM BOWL, stir together cornmeal, flour, basil, cheese chili powder, salt and pepper until well blended. In separate bowl, beat together eggs and water.

Setting up assembly-line style, dust tomatillo or tomato slices lightly with flour, pass through egg dip, then coat with cornmeal mixture, coating lightly but evenly.

Heat griddle or saute pan over medium-high heat. Add just enough oil to prevent slices from sticking. Saute slices, reducing heat if necessary and adding oil as needed between batches. Cook until golden brown around edges, about 2 minutes. Turn and brown other side. Blot with paper towel before serving. Makes 6 servings of about 3 slices each.

PER SERVING: 140 CAL.; 5G PROT.; 5G TOTAL FAT (1G SAT. FAT); 19G CARB.; 56MG CHOL.; 220MG SOD.; 2G FIBER. OVO-LACTO

Pumpkin and Apple Risotto

This dish is hot and sweet at the same time. The heat is packed by half a Scotch bonnet chili, reputedly one of the hottest. The chili is closely related to the habanero, which can be substituted.

2 cups baked pumpkin. pureed (see page 42 for instructions) 2 cups unfiltered apple cider or apple juice 2 Tbs. olive oil, divided 2 cups Arborio rice (see glossary, p.134) 2 1/2 to 3 cups hot water, divided 1/2 cup chopped onion 1/2 cup apple, peeled. seeded and diced 1/4 cup roasted red bell pepper, peeled, seeded and diced 1/2 Scotch bonnet chili, seeded and minced or 1 tsp. bottled hot sauce (see note) 1/4 cup roasted poblano chili, peeled, seeded and diced 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp. ground allspice (see glossary, p. 134) 2 Tbs. minced fresh marjoram or 1 tsp. dried 1 tsp. salt 3/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper 1/4 cup shelled pumpkin seeds (see glossary. p. 134)

PLACE 1 CUP pumpkin puree in saucepan with cider or juice. Bring to a simmer; cook until hot, about 2 minutes. Set aside, keep warm.

In separate saucepan, heat half of oil over medium-low heat. Add rice; saute until each grain is coated with oil. Stir in 2 cups hot water; bring to simmer. Continue cooking and stirring until most of the water is absorbed. Add pumpkin-cider mixture 1/4 cup at a time, alternating with remaining hot water, stirring and cooking slowly between each addition until liquid is absorbed and rice is al dense, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat; keep warm.