This meal takes a little more planning ahead than the previous few I've posted here but, it's one of my favorites and I think you definitely will not be disappointed with the results!!
Broiled Tempeh + (vegan) Mashed Potatoes AND Steamed Broccoli!!
That's like 3 for the price of one!! Like I said this is one that takes a little planning ahead so it's perfect for a special occasion you know that's coming up ahead of time (a birthday or anniversary) or that day off from work you've been looking forward to all week (like I said the meal takes planning, that DOESN'T mean its hard!) or in this case I made it for my girlfriend who was flying back home to the bay after a vacation with her family. And as such this meals completely vegan on its own but I can show you where you'll be able to substitute a couple of items depending on what you have! okay let's get started...
So first off, "what the heck is tempeh?" Tempeh (pronounced "tem-pey")is a natural (originally from Indonesia) fermentation process of soy beans that forms them into a nice cake for a awesome hearty meat-substitute-y goodness... (How's that for a definition eh? I should be writing dictionaries...) You can find it at your local health food market like Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Sprouts or similar places, usually right next to the tofu section (them bean products gotta stick together right?)
There's a few different brands and things but usually they look something like this...
(this was the first time I used the Trader Joe's brand and it was quite nummy, I have no complaints)
So this first part is all the things you need to prepare the previous night or if you can't do it a night ahead of time you're gonna want to do it in the morning when you get up so the tempeh gets a lot of time to soak up the yummy marinade you're gonna make...
first thing is you gotta cut your tempeh 'loaf' into whatever shape you want the end product to look like I like to do triangles like below but do whatever works for you, also on a side note this recipe (the broiled tempeh) would be an excellent and creative burger alternative, different from your usual veggie burgers for sure, you'd just have to cut it into a square patty size :)
The thing about tempeh is that it has a naturally bitter taste to it before you prepare it so to combat this you're going to need to boil it in a little bit of water for about 10 minutes on each side of it. So if your tempeh had ankles you'd put it in a frying pan with the water up to it's ankles like so...
Then put the stove on high and the water to a boil and let it boil for about 10 minutes then flip the tempeh pieces and give it another 10 minutes
When you've given both sides a go in the 'jacuzzi of love' the water level will be down (and possibly gross looking/tasting) and your little tempeh guys will be beefed up and fat with love like so...
Now while you're letting the tempeh boil for a little while is the best time to prepare your MARINADE OF AWESOMENESS. There's a lot of different ways to make a marinade and even pre-packaged ones you can buy at the store but if you ask me (which, I mean... who's blog are you reading right now?) this is the perfect time to flex those creative muscles of your own and get a little experimenting in under your belt!
As you can see pretty much anything you want to throw in your marinade can be awesome from sauces, whole onions, garlic, ketchup, spices pretty much whatever you think is going to add to the flavor of your meat substitute soy-patty!
I will say that a personal favorite of mine is the A1 Steak sauce (especially since this is a broiled meat-like recipe) I'd save the excess amounts of soy or teriyaki sauces till you want to do an asian stir-fry or something, and I'd say don't forget the spices! Salt, peppers, paprika all that stuffs gonna soften your 'meat' nicely and make it that much more delicious when dinner rolls around! When you're done don't forget to stir well and you'll have an nice black lagoon (minus the creature) like so...
Theres a couple of different ways you can get let your foods sit in a marinade I know some people who put them in a bowl or container and then add enough water to the marinade so that it sits completely engulfed over night, but the thing that's always worked for me is to get a giant plate with a rim and then lay out your food and put marinade over the top of it and if you can't spare the counter space all day (or you have cats!) you can just put some Seran wrap over the top and just put it in the fridge all night or day. You're gonna want to flip them a couple times on each side throughout the process if possible so that both sides get to be just as awesome tasting! You're gonna want to marinade for at least a couple hours and more like 8 hours or over night for best taste!
OKAY now on the everyone's favorite part... POTATOES!
My girlfriend and I are huge fans of mashed potatoes, probably one of the greatest things on earth and making them from scratch isn't too difficult either! (Just don't eat them too often otherwise you won't be able to keep up your sexy veg form :D) Just repeat after me "SPECIAL OCCASIONS." Now on to the good stuff...
This part may be a little vague on exactly amounts and ratios because A) it's kind of a preference/eye-balling it thing and B) because my girlfriend and I love it so much we make A LOT of mashed potatoes haha... (and even then it doesn't sit for too long haha)
So how many potatoes you choose to prepare is your call, how much mashed potatoes do you want?
Peel x-amounts of large brown potatoes (is there a name for them?) You can get a giant bag of them for (lol...) dirt cheap at probably any market, at any time of the year...
Once you've got a large pile of peeled potatoes that meets your fancy you can cube them (usually into like 4ths) and drop them into boiling water and let them COOK!
Let them boil there for a good 20-30 minutes until they easily break in half with a poke of the fork!
Then while they're still really hot you're going to want to drain the water and then put the potatoes immediately in a large bowl and if you've got a food processer or mixer this is is where you're gonna want to blend the potatoes or if you're kool like me (and poor like me) you're gonna have to mash, mix and blend the potatoes by hand! (put on a sweet song and just have fun with it!)
add some soy milk (or rice milk) and non-dairy butter to smooth it out (cause dairy products are lame, and highly overrated) My favorite butter alternative is Earth Balance and you can find it at the above mentioned heath food stores... http://www.earthbalancenatural.com/ but I must warn you, one you try it you may never go back it's so damn good!
Go back and stir/mash it for another 5 minutes or so and then go back and add more butter and milk and repeat untill you have a texture you like and salt+pepper to taste and you're all set!
Then to balance out your meal you need some GREENS! And what better than my favorite some steamed BROCCOLI!!
Talk about easy, you just have to get some fresh broccoli from your local market or even better your local Farmer's Market! Put it in a pan with water up to it's ankles and a little bit of either olive oil or earth balance and blast it on high with a top over it
Now whats gonna happen is that little amount of water in there will boil and turn into steam (magic!) and with your cover on it it will steam the veggies and after 10 minutes or so you'll know when they're done cause they're BRIGHT green! This means they're awesomely ready but if you like your veggies a little soggy-er you can leave them in a little longer! (it's all about what you like... you're the chef! duh.)
NOW BACK TO THE DRAMATIC CONCLUSION OF THE TEMPEH AWESOMENESS.
No joke this next part is so simple you're gonna wish you've known this recipe for years... You just preheat your oven to the 'BROIL' setting on the dial and let it heat up then put the nicely marinated tempeh pieces on a baking sheet (preferably something with a lip)and then save that marinade and just drip it on top of the pieces which are laid out on the pan... then pop it in the oven for only like 10-15 minutes this will cook the tempeh super fast and give it that burger-like broiled texture! Then pull it out again, flip the pieces to get the other sides and drizzle some more marinade on top... and give it another 10 and you're all set! It may not look that pretty (that's the broccoli's job) but oh boy does it taste GOOD.
INGREDIENTS:
-Tempeh packages, (1 package is good for about two people)
-Various Sauces/spices (your choice!)
-Large Brown Potatoes
-Soy or Rice Milk
-Non-dairy butter or Earth Balance
-BROCCOLI
-and Salt+Pepper to taste!
(how freaking easy is that?!!)
And the last step? ENJOY! :D
Okay hope you have as much fun cooking or reading this as I had writing it, I hope to be more active in the future (the goal is at least one recipe a week!)
So until then eat up and See you guys soon!
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