September 19, 2014September 18, 2014 by betsy

Vegan “Go Bean” Burgers with Green Chili “Cream Cheese” Topping–A Tofutti Exclusive

Yield: 4 burgers

I love developing recipes, like these “Go Bean” green-themed burgers, exclusively for Tofutti Brands, Inc!

These simple, delicious and nutritious Mexican-spiced patties hold together beautifully and their pleasantly chewy texture is the perfect counterpoint to their spicy-tart Green Chili “Cream Cheese” Topping made with Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese.

Lima beans may sound odd for a bean burger–though you can use whatever bean you prefer–but I had some fresh ones on hand from our farmer’s market; and they are, in fact, what spawned the whole “green” approach: butter lettuce instead of a bun, a thick slice of green tomato, the Green Chili “Cream Cheese” Topping with lime zest, and a garnish of fresh lime.

And about that topping: it’s delicious on these burgers, but it would be fabulous on an old shoe…it’s that good! Your beef burger-eating friends will be green with envy!

Note that Tofutti makes two types of Better Than Cream Cheese and Better Than Sour Cream, one with transfat and one without, each in its own color carton. So read the nutrition information to make sure you purchase the one you prefer.

1 3/4 cup fresh cooked lima beans (or 1-15.5 ounce can of your favorite bean, rinsed and drained)

1/3 cup walnuts (or your favorite nut)

1/3 cup uncooked oatmeal

1/3 cup vital wheat gluten

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon Liquid Aminos or soy sauce

1/4 cup olive oil, divided

Optional: 1 tablespoon water

4 toasted hamburger buns or 4 butter lettuce leaves

4 slices green tomato

Green Chili-“Cream Cheese” Topping (recipe follows)

Optional Garnish: lime zest and/or thin slices of lime

Place all ingredients, except tomato, topping, and bun–using only 1 of the tablespoons olive oil and optional water–in a food processor and pulse until mixture is well combined. Then run motor for a few seconds until mixture holds together; avoid over processing. Shape mixture into 4 patties about 3/4-inch thick. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high in a large cast iron skillet. Add patties and cook 5 minutes or until golden brown, adding another tablespoon of oil and swirling around pan if needed halfway through. Flip, add remaining tablespoon of oil, swirl, and cook another 5 minutes to brown remaining side. Place each patty on a bun or lettuce leaf, top with a slice of tomato and 1/4 of the sauce, and serve immediately. Garnish, if desired, with lime zest and/or thin slices of lime.

Green Chili-“Cream Cheese” Topping

8 ounces Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese

1 can chopped green chilies, drained

Zest of 1 small lime

In a small bowl, heat cream cheese for about a minute in the microwave or until very soft and stir-able. Add green chilies, salt and pepper, and stir to combine.

September 16, 2014September 14, 2014 by betsy

Vegan Fresh Ginger, Anise, Golden Tomato, and Red Bell Pepper Jam

Yield: approximately 1 1/2 cups

This savory jam shimmers like jewels. Enjoy it alone or with vegan cheese spread or cream cheese on toasted bread as a simple but striking crostini, inside a wrap for a burst of flavor, or dabbed atop all manner of cooked vegetables or proteins. It is most beautiful, though, served in a glass dish where it can really sparkle.

1 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, slivered

1/2 of a large red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and diced

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 large clove garlic, minced

1 pint golden grape or pear tomatoes

1 teaspoon turbinado sugar

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon anise seed

1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated

Heat oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high. Add onion, bell pepper, salt and pepper, and saute, stirring, for approximately 3 minutes or until softened. Add garlic and saute for another 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften and break down, about 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and cook, stirring frequently, another 5 or so minutes until tomatoes break down further, and most of moisture has cooked off, creating a thick, pulpy, very textured, and beautifully colored jam. Check for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Reduce heat at any point if cooking too fast.

September 12, 2014September 10, 2014 by betsy

Vegan Middle Eastern Pomegranate and Eggplant Melange–An Invited Guest Post for Tofutti

I always love the opportunity to develop recipes for Tofutti, and you can find the original post here.

Yield: 6 servings

This versatile Middle Eastern-inspired mash-up is equally addicting as a creamy dip, stuffed in a pita or baked pepper, or piled atop a grilled flatbread. Heck, it is delicious just heated and eaten with a spoon as I’ve done every day this week for my school lunches!

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small yellow onion (or 1/2 of a medium), diced

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 medium eggplant, stemmed and diced

1 large clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup red wine (a Merlot is nice)

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Optional: 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses or tamarind syrup (available at Middle Eastern/Mediterranean markets)

4 Roma tomatoes, diced

1/2 cup Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese

1/4 cup Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream

Optional: 1 tablespoon tahini (sesame paste; available on the international aisle of grocery stores)

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon mild curry powder

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained

Zest of 1 large lemon

Optional garnish: olives, fruit (fresh or dried), fresh herbs, nuts, etc.

Heat olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high. Add onion and a pinch of salt and sauté, stirring frequently, until onion is softened, about 3 minutes. Add eggplant, garlic, and another pinch of salt plus a pinch of pepper, and sauté, still stirring frequently, until some color develops, about 3 minutes. Add wine, balsamic vinegar, and optional molasses or syrup, and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 7 minutes or until eggplant is fairly soft. Mash firmly with a potato masher. Stir in tomatoes and cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes. Mash the mixture again. Add Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese , Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream, and optional tahini, and cook, stirring, until melted and completely combined. Stir in all remaining ingredients until heated through and flavors are well-combined. Check for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Serve as a dip, stuffed in a pita or baked pepper, or piled atop a grilled flatbread. Garnish, if desired, with olives, fruit (fresh or dried), fresh herbs, nuts, etc.

September 9, 2014September 6, 2014 by betsy

Layered Vegan Eggplant Tart with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Yield: 6-4.5 inch tarts

Our farmer’s market still has local eggplant, and I hope yours does, because you will not want to wait until next summer to savor these simply beautiful and delicious tarts. They were another of my contributions to our annual Julia Child Birthday Bash in August. Everyone loved them and I’m sure Julia herself would have approved!

The recipe is one I adapted from TheFoodDiaries.com. It calls for either spreading the cooked shells with mustard or pesto. I didn’t read it carefully and used both and LOVED it: Different, but subtle, and not weird at all. The mustard provides a nice little unexpected zing. I hope you agree!

1 recipe Press-In Tart crust (recipe follows)

1 recipe Roasted Red Pepper Sauce (recipe Follows)

1 approximately 12-inch long Japanese eggplant, cut into 24 1/4-inch slices, oiled and baked on an oiled baking sheet at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes or until softened

2 tablespoons Dijon or stone-ground mustard

2 generous tablespoons vegan pesto (homemade, preferred)

Pinch sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Garnish: 6 sprigs fresh basil

To assemble, spread each cooked tart crust with 1 teaspoon mustard followed by 1 teaspoon pesto and 1/12 of the sauce. Arrange about 4 slices of baked eggplant on top of the sauce, add a pinch sea salt, and then top with another 1/12 of sauce, allowing eggplant to show around the edges. Sprinkle with just a hint of salt and pepper and bake for 15 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool enough to remove sides of tart pans without burning yourself and serve warm. Or, allow the tarts to cool completely, remove sides, and serve room temperature. Garnish with fresh basil sprigs.

Press-In Tart Crust:

Ever since I found this recipe at www.steptalk.org, it has been my go-to crust for everything! It is so easy, never-fail, requires no rolling, and is quite flavorful.

2 cups flour (unbleached all-purpose, white whole wheat, or whole wheat)

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons sugar

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cup canola oil

3 tablespoons unsweetened soymilk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. Make a well in the center, and pour in oil and soymilk. Whisk together just until combined. Divide dough evenly among six 5-inch tart shells with removable bottoms, and press evenly onto bottom and around edges. I like to break the dough into pieces and distribute it around the bottom of the tart pan so that maintaining an even crust is much easier. Use a drinking glass to assest with the pressing if desired. Bake 10-12 minutes and remove to a wire rack. While tart shells bake, make sauce.

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

2 large red bell peppers, halved lengthwise, stemmed, seeded, broiled until charred, and skin removed

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium red onion, diced

Sea salt

1 large clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Heat olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high. Add onion and a pinch of sea salt and sauté about 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until softened. Add garlic and sauté, stirring, for about 1 minute. Place peppers, onion mixture, and balsamic mixture in the bowl of a food process, and process until fairly smooth. Check for salt and adjust if necessary.

September 6, 2014September 6, 2014 by betsy

Vegan White Bean, Caramelized Onion, Fresh Fig, and Red Pepper Relish Tart

Yield: 8 servings

I am so ashamed that my last post was on August 26–good grief! But, alas, as you may know, I am a high school art teacher, and the beginning of school is almost all-consuming (pun intended!).

The first day of our pre-service week was Monday, August 25, so I’m actually surprised I was even able to make one post that week. Last week was the first week of school with the kids back, so it was very packed.

The pre-service week is never my favorite–and this year’s was particularly stressful with a lot of major policy changes and a lot of resulting contention–but I love it when the students return.

Today’s recipe is a delicious and beautiful one I made for one of my contributions to this year’s iteration of our annual Julia Child Birthday Bash on August 15. It was a big hit. I noticed figs still available at the Farmer’s Market this morning, so I hope you can still get them where you live and create your own hit!

1 press-in tart crust (recipe follows)

1-15.5 ounce can cannelini or other white beans, rinsed and drained

Optional: 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

1/4 cup water + 2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, slivered

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 large clove garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons fresh whole sage leaves (if leaves are large, slice into 1/4-inch slivers)

Fresh figs, halved (the number depends on the size; mine were tiny and I used about 13 small figs about the size of large grapes)

1/4 cup prepared red pepper relish (I used Braswell’s brand)

Optional garnish: sprig of fresh sage leaves

While crust bakes, puree in a food processor beans, optional nutritional yeast, and water. Set aside. Heat olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high, add onion, sea salt and pepper to taste, garlic, and sugar, and saute, stirring frequently for about 5 to 7 minutes or until caramelized. Saute a few minutes longer if a deeper color and flavor is desired. Stir in sage leaves during the last minute or two. Spread bean puree evenly on bottom of crust, evenly distribute caramelized onion over the top, arrange figs in a pleasing design, nestling them into the onions, and then dot teaspoons of the relish between the figs. Return to oven and bake about 15 minutes to heat through. Remove from oven to a wire rack. Cool just enough to remove sides of pan without burning yourself if serving warm. Or cool completely, remove sides, and serve at room temperature. Garnish with fresh sage leaves if desired.

Press-In Tart Crust:

Ever since I found this recipe at www.steptalk.org, it has been my go-to crust for everything! It is so easy, never-fail, requires no rolling, and is quite flavorful.

1 1/2 cups flour (unbleached all-purpose, white whole wheat, or whole wheat)

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 cup canola oil

2 tablespoons unsweetened soymilk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. Make a well in the center, and pour in oil and soymilk. Whisk together just until combined. Transfer dough to an 11-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, and press evenly onto bottom and around edges. I like to break the dough into pieces and distribute it around the bottom of the tart pan so that maintaining an even crust is much easier. Use a drinking glass to assest with the pressing if desired. Bake 10-12 minutes and remove to a wire rack.