Vegetarian fish, two ways

One reason why I'm a flexitarian instead of a vegetarian is that I don't want to give up the chance to try native dishes that use animal products. I'm also not ready to completely forgo the fruits of the ocean--after all, seafood has always been one of my favorite foods.

My first experience with vegetarian seafood was terrible. When I was in college, a vegetarian friend and I discovered a place that was exclusively vegetarian, and served mock seafood alongside the usual mock ham, chicken, and beef. Intrigued by this, I ordered the vegetarian honey walnut shrimp. While the candied walnuts were wonderful, the shrimp was entirely flavorless, rubbery, and most definitely an unacceptable substitute. This made me wary of vegetarian seafood options until I tried some of Vegefarm's products.

Vegefarm makes a wide array of vegetarian meat substitutes of usually good quality. I've tried their salmon filet, shrimp, and cod filet. Remarkably, the filet had the texture of just-cooked salmon, yet none of the fishiness that people commonly dislike. I, however, love tasting the ocean in my seafood. The cod filet was decidedly more fishy, whereas the shrimp had flavor and a firmer texture, with more of the toothfeel that you would expect from actual shrimp.

Now for the recipes!
The first one, vegetarian salmon in a wine reduction sauce, was inspired by our trip through Western Europe. After enjoying many fine Spanish and French wines, we decided to use up the half-drunk bottles of wine that we had opened before our trip. They had been sitting in my refrigerator for about a month, and surprisingly were still usable, if not in prime condition.

1 salmon steak filet (about 6 ounces)
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
1-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 zucchini, cut in half and sliced
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup red wine
1-3 tsp flour (optional)

Heat a pan over medium heat. Add 1 tsp olive oil. When hot, saute garlic until fragrant, about 30 sec. Add onion and saute until transparent. Add zucchini and tomatoes and cook until zucchini become translucent. Turn heat to medium-low and add red wine. Add flour to thicken sauce, if desired. Place salmon filet over vegetables and cover pan. Cook for 10 minutes, or until filet is heated through. Serve vegetables on top of filet.

After joining a CSA, we have the convenient problem of using up the vegetables we get every week. In a bid to clear space in the fridge for next week's vegetables, we baked some cod filets over a mirepoix of leeks, celery, and carrot.

6 cod filets, each about the size of a deck of cards
olive oil (about a tablespoon)
vinegar (about a teaspoon)
herbs (e.g. thyme, rosemary, oregano)
salt and pepper
1 medium carrot or 2 small carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch sticks
1-2 stalks celery, cut horizontally into crescents
1 leek, cut into disks
3-5 cloves garlic, minced

Preheat oven to 375F. Mix olive oil, vinegar, and some of the seasonings together and brush a pan lightly with the mixture. Place veggies in the pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast veggies in the oven for about 10 minutes. Brush cod filets with remaining olive oil mixture and place on top of veggies. Roast until cod filets are heated through and carrots are soft, about 10-15 minutes. Let rest a minute before eating. Serve filets on top of a bed of veggies.