Here they are! This year's top ten vegetarian recipes on About.com, according to youare the top 10 most popular recipes of 2010, according to you and according to web traffic from all over the world. If you've been wondering what everyone else has searching for, cooking up and eating this year, here it is! Missed last year's picks? Check out the Top Ten Vegetarian Recipes of 2010, or the Top 10 Vegetarian Recipes of 2009, or go way back to the Top Ten of 2008!
1. Homemade Lentil Soup
Here it is, the most popular recipe of the year, according to you: lentil soup! Incidentally, this lentil soup recipe is also one of the highest rated vegetarian recipes, with over 20 five-star reviews. Everyone really seems to love lentil soup, and this recipe is one of the best. It's a simple recipe - lentils, onions, carrots, and a few spices, and perhaps that's why everyone loves it so much. It's not pretentious, it just get's the job done, and you can vary the ingredients without worry. This lentil soup was #10 last year, and it's #1 this year.
2. Chana Masala
Holding still in the second spot, this recipe has long been a favorite. It's a great one-dish meal, when served alongside rice or another grain, and it's one of my regular vegetarian dinner stand-bys, since it's so quick and easy. If you think it won't be filling enough, just toss in a handful of diced tofu to fry up in the mix.
3. Tofu scramble
Tofu scramble means so many things, to so many vegans. It's at once a muse, hangover cure, greasy spoon stand-by, and, for many, it's the first vegan meal or tofu dish new vegans make on their own. No wonder the global internet population finds it so helpful. Heck, even Oprah has a tofu scramble recipe! And you know, if it's good enough for Oprah...
4. Chocolate Fudge Brownies
I'm not quite sure why these brownies made it this far in the top ten best vegetarian recipes this year, but they did! Perhaps it's because there's nothing particularly striking about them that they're so popular. When you just want some nice chewy homemade brownies, nothing fancy, this is a good, reliable place to start.
5. Crispy Fried Tofu
In the picture, I paired my tofu with broccoli, and, if I recall correctly, I slurped up some wide Asian noodles in sauce along with the broccoli and tofu, but this standard crispy tofu can go in just about anything from stir-fries to salads, to curries. You can serve it as an appetizer with a dipping sauce - perhaps a plum sauce or a sweet chili sauce. One guest reviewer said, "They remind me of chicken fingers, but better!" I couldn't agree more. These are savory, addicting and deliciously crunchy.
