Made this tonight for the big game in addition to some other dips. We saw this recipe on the same site as the Seitan Piccata from the Vegetarian Times. We made a few changes, but it tasted really good! I’ve never had pâté but that’s probably because it’s usually spreadable liver of some animal or something. I never thought it could be made vegetarian! I’m not even sure this is really a pâté, but it tasted good which is what mattered.

One change we did was instead of baking the cashews, we just dry roasted them in a pan on the stove. I MIGHT have kept my eye off them too long – whoops – but it didn’t make the pâté taste bad or anything. The other change was that we didn’t use vegan margarine. We used normal unsalted butter. The recipe also called for curry powder but I don’t have any of that in the house. I just had garam masala so I figured that would be OK and it worked great actually!

Lastly, the original recipe called for 4 cups of sliced mushrooms since it served 12. We didn’t need nearly that much, so we just cut down on certain ingredients so it didn’t make quite as much.

The end result was really good! I’m glad we tried it. We paired ours with cracked pepper crckers, carrots, celery and pretzel thins.

Back in the olden days when I ate meat, chicken piccata was a dish I ordered if it was on a menu at a restaurant. I have an absolutely love of capers. Any recipe that is vegetarian with capers will always get my vote. Why didn’t I think we should try making this with tofu? This recipe is ridiculously easy to make, too!

Here’s what you need:
•1/2 block of firm tofu (see below for preparation)
•All-purpose flour, for dredging
•Olive oil (4 tablespoons total, more or less)
•3 medium shallots, minced
•2 tablespoons capers, drained
•1/2 cup white wine (we used a dry Pinot Grigio)
•1/2 cup vegetable broth (I was hoping for low sodium, but they were out)
•2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
•2 tablespoons butter
•1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced
•1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
•Salt to taste (I doubt you’ll need any – see below)
•1/2 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped

We had a lot of leftover sauce since we only made half the tofu, but that’s OK. You can reduce any portion of the recipe if you want. I didn’t want to skimp on flavors though ;)

Start by standing up the tofu block and then cutting in half, length-wise. Store the other half for a future recipe. Then cut that half into half.
Take two pieces of paper towel, put a piece of tofu between them, and press. You want to drain as much liquid out of the tofu as possible. Plus, this will help thin the tofu so it will crisp up better. Once you’ve done that, cut each tofu in half, diagonally so you’ll end up with four tofu triangles total.

Put a few tablespoons of all-purpose flour on a plate, dredge the tofu and shake off the excess.
Heat up 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan over high heat. Let the tofu cook for 3-4 minutes on each side. Once you’ve done this for all the pieces, transfer to a plate lined with paper towel. We actually put them on some aluminum foil and put them into the oven to keep warm at 300°F.

This image shows one half that we cut into two more pieces

In the same pan, add more oil (about another 1 to 2 tablespoons) and heat up the shallots, garlic and capers and sauté for 1 or 2 minutes stirring frequently. Then whisk in the lemon juice and wine and let it cook for 3 to 5 minutes.

Add the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for 1 or 2 minutes. Whisk in the parsley, butter (you could use nonhydrogenated vegan margarine to make this vegan) and pepper. If we had low-sodium broth, I would say you might need to add 1/2 teaspoon or so of salt. However, since the capers and the broth are so salty, taste the sauce first and then use your judgment if you need more salt or not.

We served it up with some wild rice, poured the sauce over the tofu and nommed it up!

This was so delicious! Patting the tofu completely dry gave it a meatier texture. The capers were crisp and salty, and the wine and lemon together made for a wonderful fresh taste.

Now, I will say that I was a little conflicted about the amount of parsley. Ina Garten loves her parsley, but I think it’s kind of a garbage herb. For me, it’s used for garnish and sprinkling on a plate and not a main flavor of a dish. But even I can admit that when it warmed up, it did smell fresh. I probably would use less next time though.

Happy eating :)

We found a recipe online for Tofu Marsala and it actually turned out really well! This was the recipe we followed the basic concept from. We didn’t use a whole block of tofu since we were using leftovers, but we made the sauce the same amount. I could have had that sauce entirely on its own, it was so good!

Here’s what you need!
•1 block of firm tofu (we used half a block) – cut into long rectangles about 1/2 inch thick. We actually made our 1 inch thick and it seemed to work fine
•1/4 cup all purpose flour
•1/4 cup corn starch
•1/4 teaspoon S&P each
•1/2 cup dry marsala wine
•1 cup vegetable broth (we used low sodium)
•8 oz. Cremini or Baby ‘Bella mushrooms, sliced (just a small container at the store)
•2 medium shallots, minced
•2-4 tablespoon of olive oil (more or less depending)
•1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves (not ground)
•1 tablespoon tomato paste
•2 additional teaspoons corn starch (this will be used as a thickener to the sauce, separate from the 1/4 cup earlier)

First preheat your oven to 300F

Then we prepared our ingredients. We minced up the shallots and put them in a bowl. Then with a damp paper towel, we wiped off the mushrooms, took the stalks off, then sliced them up and put them in a bowl. Then we took the leftover tofu we had (half a block) and just it in half so we had two 1-inch pieces. It was kind of thick, but it was all good.

In a separate bowl mix the flour, corn starch and salt and pepper. Rinse the tofu and pat it dry. Then dredge it in the dry mixture and shake off the excess.

Heat up some oil (about 2-3 tablespoons) in a large skillet over medium high (our stupid stove required it to be high :P) heat. Once it’s hot, put the tofu into the pan and let it cook on all sides until golden brown (about 3-5 minutes. Ours took about 5-7 minutes since we wanted it extra crispy). Transfer it to a baking dish and put it in the oven to keep warm. This was good we did this because I think it helped cook the tofu a bit more since ours was thicker than suggested.

In the same skillet, reduce the heat (if you need to) add more oil if needed (another tablespoon) and add the shallots and dried thyme leaves. Stir them constantly until they’re soft (about 2-4 minutes). Add in the mushrooms and stirring frequently, cook them until they’re tender and lightly brown (ours took about 5-8 minutes).

Then add in the marsala wine. The smell is unbelievable when it hits the pan. It’s a kind of a sour, pungent smell, but it smells so wonderful with the shallots and mushrooms! Stir and let the pan come to a simmer so the wine can reduce.

In a 2-cup measuring cup (one of those Pyrex thingies) measure out the two teaspoons of corn starch, the tomato paste and the vegetable broth and whisk. This creates a sort of slurry or thickening agent. Once you’ve whisked it, add it to the pan, stirring the mushrooms as you do. Let this sauce reduce and thicken.

We served it up with some store bought vegetable risotto, took the tofu out the oven and spooned the sauce over it.

There are definitely things we would change. While this was ridiculously delicious, I think next time we’re going to try it with tempeh or seitan. Both have more flavor from the get-go than tofu does. I mean, the great thing about tofu is that it will taste like what ever your flavor with it, but we wanted some kind of flavor from the beginning. We also think we’re going to mix in some herbs with the dredging mixture. And also use eggs and breadcrumbs for a more substantial crust. I think this recipe is technically vegan, but I think if we could create a better crust, it would be even more yummy.

But like I said, it was delicious!! Definitely give it a try and if you find some other way to serve it up, come back and share it! I’m just glad we have another recipe we can make to get some good protein!

What are some of your favorite recipes where you substitute the meat with tofu, seitan or tempeh?

France isn’t exactly a country that caters to vegetarians, but we were able to find plenty of food to satiate our palate. One of the best meals, that we still talk about two weeks later, is the salade chevre chaud aka warm goat cheese salad. We had a lot of this salad at various cafes in Paris, but one cafe near our hotel served it best. Le Bosquet cafe on the Ave. Bosquet in the 7th district made THE best warm goat cheese salad we had while we were there! In fact, we went there twice just for this salad.

I’ll have an entire post about the food we had during our honeymoon (and yes, the food alone warrants its own blog post lol) but for now, here’s the goat cheese salad we tried to recreate here.

It’s not exactly how the cafe made it, but we came pretty darn close. It was crispy, creamy, fresh and full of flavor!

It was also super easy to make! It brought us back to that cafe on our last day in Paris before we went to the next stop. It makes me remember the 7th district and how badly I would live there ;)

So I can’t be the only person who has memories of the food they eat on vacation. What about you?

Warm Goat Cheese Salad:
•One round piece of goat cheese, cut long ways (to make two rounds)
•Two slices french bread
•Mesclun salad mix
•2 tablespoons honey
•1 tablespoon olive oil
Salad Dressing:
•1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
•2 teaspoons lemon or lime juice
•S&P to taste
•1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
•2-3 tablespoons olive oils whisked in

Preheat oven to 350. Toast the two slices of French bread in the toaster (but not to darken them). When they pop up, place them on a baking sheet and drizzle a little honey and olive oil on each piece. Place one round of goat cheese on each slice of bread. Drizzle the rest of the honey on top of the goat cheese. Bake in the oven for 5-10 minutes or until the cheese starts to melt and the bread it nice and toasty.
In the mean time, add the mustard, red wine vinegar and lemon or lime juice to a bowl and mix it up. Then whisk in 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. You can make this dressing as salty or mustard-y as you like. Toss the salad mix with the dressing. You may not have to use all if it. Use enough to dress the mesclun but don’t soak it or it will be too soggy.
Place some salad mix on each plate. When the bread and cheese are done, place one piece on each salad. Drizzle honey on over the top and serve!

]]> http://notaleaf.com/2011/10/17/back-in-paris/feed/ 4 http://notaleaf.com/2010/09/15/baked-samosas/ http://notaleaf.com/2010/09/15/baked-samosas/#comments Wed, 15 Sep 2010 23:49:29 +0000 Aparna B. http://notaleaf.com/?p=2308

I love samosas. They’re probably my favorite appetizer in all of Indian cuisine. And while they’re so delicious, they’re also oily because they’re usually deep fried. I knew there had to be a way to make them so they weren’t as unhealthy and when I saw my new favorite Food Network star prepare them with puff pastry, I knew I had to try it!

I considered using phyllo dough, but the problem I have with that is that it’s too delicate and I thought it might be too hard to roll up. That and they’d be TOO flaky and I’m not big on the flaky. I’m not the biggest fan of Spanikopita, so puff pastry it is!

It took some time to make, but it was well worth it.

Here’s what you’ll need:
•2 sheets puff pastry – let them thaw completely
•2-3 Russet potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
•1/4 cup frozen peas
•1 teaspoon garam masala
•1 teaspoon cumin seeds
•1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
•1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
•1/2 teaspoon chili powder
•1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
•1/2 tablespoon ginger, grated
•2 tablespoons water
•2 tablespoons olive oil
•Salt to taste

Cut, peel and boil the potatoes until fork tender, then drain them. Return them to the pot and mash them a little. Heat up olive oil in a large, deep skillet and wait for it to heat up. Add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and red pepper flakes and let them heat up in the oil. Add the potatoes and stir well. Add the turmeric, garam masala, chili powder and salt. Grate the ginger over top, then stir and if it looks too dry, you can add the water. Let it cook about 5-8 minutes and then add the frozen peas.

Preheat the oven to 425ºF and spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray.

Once the potato filling has cooled a bit, you’re ready to build the samosas! Roll out one puff pastry sheet and then using a medium-size bowl (about 6 inches in diameter) cut a circle into the pastry sheet. Then cut the circle in half so you have two semi-circles.

Lay one of the semi-circles down so the curved part is nearest you. Water the edges of the puff pastry with your finger (this will help seal it). Take about a tablespoon or so of filling and place in the center of the circle-half. Grab one end and fold it over and then the other end and fold it over that, so it forms a little triangle. Grab the bottom and fold it up so it will help seal it. Seal all the edges and using a fork or your fingers, crimp them so they stay shut.

Continue doing this until you get about 8-10 samosas. You can brush them with an egg wash (1 beaten egg with 1 tablespoon of water), sprinkle with salt on top and then bake for 15 minutes at 425ºF. After 15 minutes, reduce the heat to 375º and bake another 5 minutes.

Serve hot with your favorite chutney (mint and coriander, or tamarind chutneys are my favorite), or eat it plain! Bottom line, is that it’s flaky but not overwhelming, and extremely flavorful and delicious!