Shepherd's Pie

This is a recipe for Shepherd's Pie.  Shepherd's pie is easy to make, but it is a little bit long.  The end result is well worth it, however!  Enjoy!


SHEPHERD'S PIE


Time: 1 Hour 30 min     |      Servings: 6     |      Difficulty: Low


Ingredients
2 lb potatoes, preferred kind (quartered if large)
1/4 cup Earth Balance
1/2 bunch chives, chopped
1/4 cup non-dairy milk, more if needed
1/2 tablespoon Horseradish (optional)


1 lb favourite protein (I recommend seitan or tempeh), pulsed/ground
1 lb mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 onions, diced
1 large tomato, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 cup frozen vegetable mix, preffered kind
3 cloves garlic, finely diced
2 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup white wine (optional)
1 tablespoon vegetarian worcestire sauce
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon marmite
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried poultry seasoning
2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed into 2 tablespoons cold water
2-3 tablespoons oil


PreparationPreheat oven to 500 degrees F.


Begin with placing cut potatoes in pot of water.  Bring to a boil and simmer until potatoes are soft, about 30 minutes.


Meanwhile, in an dutch oven (or oven-friendly pot) heat oil on medium-high and add mushrooms and saute until they shrink and release their juices, about 10 minutes.  Add all vegetables and fry until translucent, about 10 minutes.  Add protein and continue cooking until juices begin to evaporate, about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. 


Increase heat to high, and add wine to deglaze pan, if using.  Add broth, marmite, spices and tomato paste and stir to combine.  Once boiling, add cornstarch mixture and stir.  When thick and bubble turn off heat and place aside.


Potatoes should be done.  Drain and mash with Earth Balance, chives, horseradish and milk - adding salt if necessary.

Spread potatoes on top of filling, and bake in oven until the top is golden brown, about 20 minutes.  Serve and enjoy.

Not-Chicken Salad

This salad is best with home-made seitan, and is unbelievably delicious!  Eat it as is, or throw it in a sandwich.  You definitely don't have to use seitan  - tempeh, tofu, and even faux chicken will work great too.  However, if you do use tofu, I recommend using fried tofu for a heartier texture.  This recipe is SSS for any lazy night!  Enjoy!


Not-Chicken Salad

Time:  15 Minutes      |      Servings:  4      |      Difficulty:     Low

Ingredients

1 recipe prepared seitan,  cubed (about 3 cups)
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1/4 cup shredded carrot
1 bunch green onion, sliced thinly
1/4 cup non-dairy sour cream
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Preparation

Combine all ingredients in bowl.  Serve.

Suggestion:  Even better if chilled in the fridge for 30 minutes or more.

Easy 4 Step Seitan

Personally, there is no greater protein in the veggie world than seitan!  Why you ask?  Well, because it's high in protein, low in fat and just plain yummy.  For more information on it, check out my previous post about seitan.

Nothing beats homemade seitan.  But, I'll be honest - when the thought first occurred to me to make it, I was pretty intimated.  It sounded like something that would be long and tedious to make.  Would it even really be worth it?  All the other prepared seitan I bought at stores were well, pretty gross.  Needless to say, I was totally WRONG.  Homemade seitan is leaps and bounds better than store bought seitan.

I make triple to quadruple batches on the weekend, place 4 cutlets in 1 Ziploc bag, pour some cooking liquid in the bag and freeze it.  I use it throughout the week in all my recipes.  It's just wonderful.  There's not much else I can say other than I truly recommend you give homemade seitan a go!


Easy 4 Step Seitan

Time:  1.5 Hr      |      Servings:  8       |      Difficulty:  Low


Ingredients

1 1/2 cups vital wheat gluten flour
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1 1/4 cup cold vegetable broth
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon Marmite or Vegemite
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
2 cloves garlic, pressed or grated on a microplane grater
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon tomato paste (optional)

10 cups water
2 vegetable bouillon cubes
1/4 cup soy sauce



Preparation

Okay - making seitan is as easy as 1-2-3-4.

1.  In a large bowl, mix together gluten flour and nutritional yeast.

2.  In a separate bowl, mix together veg broth, soy sauce, marmite, poultry seasoning, garlic, lemon zest and tomato paste, if using.

3.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and combine, knead dough for about 3 minutes until a spongy, very elastic dough is formed.  Allow to rest for 5 minutes.

4.  Roll out seitan and cut into 4 pieces.  This may be difficult - but using a sharp knife will be helpful!  Add to a pot with water, soy sauce and bouillon cubes.  Bring everything to a boil and turn down to a gentle simmer.  Simmer for 1 hour , turning occasionally.

That's it!  Enjoy in any recipe!



Suggestions:
- Seitan is lacking the amino acid lysine - to make your protein complete, eat with pulses (ie, beans, legumes)

Agave-Garlic Marinated Smoked Tofu with Peanuty Pasta Salad

Not much to say other than YUM!  I apologize for there being no picture this time.


Agave-Garlic Marinated Grilled Cutlets with Peanuty Pasta Salad

Time: 45 Min      |      Yield: 4 Servings      |      Difficulty: Low

Marinated Tofu:
1 Pack smoked tofu, sliced into 4
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 low sodium vegetable broth
3-5 cloves garlic, mashed
1 teaspoon agave syrup
1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce (or more if you like it super spicy)
1 tablespoon preferred vegetable oil

Pasta Salad:
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup low sodium vegetable broth
1/4 cup tablespoons rice vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 ½ tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon oriental sesame oil
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1/2 tablespoon hot pepper, like Serrano, or 1/4 tablespoon Sriracha
12 oz (3/4 lb) rigatoni or any short pasta on hand
1 large orange bell pepper, cut into matchstick-size strips (or grated)
1 large carrot, grated
1/2 cup very thinly sliced onion
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped salted peanuts
2 tablespoons lime juice (optional) or to taste

Begin with turning on BBQ to medium-high heat, and boiling salted water to cook pasta.

Mix all ingredients for marinade in a large bowl and add smoked tofu.  Let sit for about 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, for the salad, combine all ingredients except pasta and vegetables in a bowl to make peanut sauce. Once pasta is done, allow to cool and combine all remaining ingredients.

Grill marinated tofu until well done, continuously basting in marinade, no more than 5-7 minutes each side.

Serve with Pasta Salad.

BBQ Baked Veg Cutlets

There's nothing more satisfying than making something from scratch; when you make something from a box, you can never have that soul-satisfying ability to say "I made that!”

This recipe uses the cutlet recipe I previously posted along with a recipe for some home-made Maple BBQ Sauce that I made up on a whim because I was feeling too lazy to go to the store and buy some. If you have an empty Heinz ketchup bottle hanging around, I highly recommend cleaning it out and pouring your BBQ sauce into it. The recipe makes about ¾ of a bottle (which is more than you will need) and this way you can pour as needed. You must wait until the BBQ is totally cool before bottling it.

Enjoy this recipe with mashed potatoes, grilled vegetables, or anything else your heart desires. The picture you see here is of a cutlet with "Eazy Mac & Cheeze" - a recipe that I am still perfecting and will post as soon as it's ready! Take care!


This recipe makes 8 cutlets/servings; if 8 servings are too many, simply half the recipe. Actually, you can half almost all the recipes here if you need to (except for baked goods)!

BBQ Baked Veg Cutlets

Time: 1 Hour | Yield: 8 Servings | Difficulty: Low

For Cutlets:
2 Cups Vital Wheat Gluten
1 Block Extra Firm Tofu
¼ cup Soy Sauce
1-2 tablespoons Marmite*
1 tablespoon Garlic Powder
1 tablespoon Onion Powder
1 tablespoon Nutritional Yeast
1 teaspoon Black Pepper
1 teaspoon Thyme, dried
1 teaspoon Sage, dried
1 cup water, or more if needed

For Maple BBQ Sauce:
1 small (5.5 oz) can tomato paste
1 cup ketchup
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup maple syrup
1/3 cup red wine vinegar (add more if you like more tang)
4-5 dashes of liquid smoke*
1 tablespoon Earth Balance buttery spread
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup water


Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In food processor, add all ingredients for cutlet except gluten. Blend until the tofu becomes a thick but still pour-able paste, adding more water if necessary. Taste the paste and season more if necessary. Please note that if it tastes too strong, it’s probably perfect. Once you add the gluten, the flavours will diminish significantly. So you want to have enough oomph in the paste to withstand the addition of gluten.

In a large bowl, pour the tofu mixture and add the gluten. Mix well, and when it becomes a non-sticky dough begin to knead, flouring the counter if necessary. It will probably be so well incorporated you won’t need flour to knead it.

Knead for about 10 minutes, or until the dough becomes very elastic. Let sit for another 5-10 minutes.

While the cutlet mixture is resting, heat water in a sauce pan on medium and add tomato paste. Once dissolved, add all remaining ingredients for the BBQ sauce and stire until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Place aside to cool.

Cut in cutlet dough in half, and from each half make 4 cutlets, using your hands to stretch and pound them flat.

Using a sauce brush, brush bbq sauce on all cutlets, both sides, and place on a greased baking sheet. You may need two baking sheets if making all 8 cutlets. Bake in oven for 30 minutes, turning every 10-15 minutes and basting with additional BBQ sauce. Serve.




VARIATIONS:
- add molasses instead of maple syrup to BBQ sauce
- grill the cutlets after baking, if desired
- you can sub any form of pureed bean for tofu, at any time

The Ultimate Vegan Cutlet!

I humbly offer my recipe to the long traditions of cutlet recipes. What I love about this recipe is that it is the best of both worlds: it includes tofu and gluten (Seitan), meaning not only does it hold well texture-wise, it also absorbs the flavours it marinades it. Using an array of herbs and spices, this recipe transforms the generally accepted as bland tofu and gluten into powerful a culinary constituent! It is a cinch to make and I hope you find it as useful as I have.

Note:  If 8 Cutlets (Servings) are too many, this recipe can easily be halved or quartered. 

Veg Cutlet

Time: 1 Hour | Yield: 8 Servings (Cutlets) | Difficulty: Low

Ingredients:
2 Cups Vital Wheat Gluten
1 Block Extra Firm Tofu
¼ cup Soy Sauce
1-2 tablespoons Marmite*
1 tablespoon Garlic Powder
1 tablespoon Onion Powder
1 tablespoon Nutritional Yeast
1 teaspoon Black Pepper
1 teaspoon Thyme, dried
1 teaspoon Sage, dried
1 cup water, or more if needed
2 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Celsius.

In food processor, add all ingredients except gluten. Blend until the tofu becomes a thick, but still pour-able, paste. Taste the paste and season more if necessary. Please note that if it tastes too strong, it’s probably perfect. Once you add the gluten, the flavours will diminish significantly. So you want to have enough oomph in the paste to withstand the addition of gluten.

In a large bowl, pour the tofu mixture and add the gluten. Mix well, and when it becomes a dry-ish dough (not sticky to touch) begin to knead, flouring the counter if necessary.
Knead for about 10 minutes, or until the dough becomes very elastic. Let sit for another 5-10 minutes.

Cut in half, and from each half make 4 cutlets, using your hands to stretch and pound flat.

Coat cutlets with olive oil and place on a baking sheet.  Bake cutlets in oven, turning once, for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
VARIATIONS:
-     You can replace the tofu with 1.5 cups of any kind of pureed bean (I recommend chickpeas or navy beans); make as normal.
-     Instead of oil, you can use any sauce you prefer and bake these as normal.  Make sure to grease the baking sheet.  BBQ recipe to follow.


*Marmite can be found in most normal grocery stores. I usually find it in the baking aisle, near the spices. If you cannot find Marmite, use Vegemite - and if you cannot find that, sub the Marmite for extra soy sauce.

Food Facts: Seitan

Seitan... to be honest I find most people (Vegan or otherwise) don’t really know what Seitan is, but have probably tried it at some point. It is popular in Asian (particularly Chinese, and even Buddhist) cuisine under the pseudonym of “mock duck”.

What is Seitan? Seitan is the protein (gluten) of wheat. It is an ancient, natural food that is an excellent analogue to meat (particularly beef). Traditionally, Seitan is made by making dough and running it under a stream of water until all the sugars (starch, carbs) wash away and all that is left is the gooey, stringy protein known as gluten.

Seitan is a phenomenal source of protein with about 31 grams of protein per 4 oz serving. Beef has about 36 per 4 oz serving so it's a great comparable. Isn’t that awesome!?

While meat is slightly higher in protein, it also contains nasty additions like saturated fat, cholesterol… and bad karma (ok judgement call on me, you certainly don’t have to agree). Seitan on the other hand is zero fat, and has no cholesterol or saturated fat. It has a few carbs in there, but it comes from flour so this is to be expected.

The downside to Seitan is that it is not a complete protein, like soy, for example. That being said, as with other sources of plant proteins – this fact is hardly an issue as long as you eat a varied diet of legumes and leafy greens!

Of course, a warning: if you are allergic to gluten (celiac) then please do not eat Seitan! I suppose this is obvious, but I understand that the awesome-ness of gluten is tempting to try!

So, what does gluten taste like? Firstly, the texture is chewy and a slightly tough; like overcooked meat. You need a sharp or serrated knife to cut through it easily (especially raw). The flavour, (which is always subjective) to me, is pretty bland but slightly yeast-y? Even nutty. The blandness is good for incorporating it into meals - although it is definitely more flavourful than tofu.

My opinion is that home-made Seitan is much better than store-bought. This may sound gross but I personally feel like store-bought is reminiscent to dog food. So I never eat store bought Seitan plain. When I am in a jam, I grind it in the food processor and make it into a “veef” – which is my version of veg ground beef. Recipes to come!

I hope you enjoyed the info on Seitan and encourage you to try it and see for yourself. Happy Cooking!



References:

http://www.essortment.com/all/whatisseitan_rkgb.htm
http://www.vegan-nutritionista.com/vegan-protein.html
http://www.archure.net/salus/protein.html