Happy Monday, food lovers! How are you? I hope life has been treating you kindly since we last talked about food.
One of the thing I’ve been doing lately is experimenting with tofu. The truth is that it wasn’t always my favorite because of the flavor, but I, like many vegans learned how to work with tofu. It’s like any other protein source in that it requires seasoning to make it work right, at least if you plan to slice it, dice it, cube it or shred it and eat it like a vegan meat replacement.
But there are other ways to use tofu that are also pretty good. Today we’re going to talk about using it as a protein source and a thickener, of sorts.
My hubs sent me a recipe on FB for something called a lentil pie. It wasn’t a vegan recipe but it was easily veganize-able and I figured, why not.
This is a savory pie along the lines of a pot pie or a meat pie, and it’s super easy to make.
Step One: Gather Your Veggies
This is a veggie pie so let’s put some emphasis on veggies. Gather whatever you have, whatever is seasonal and whatever it is you like to eat.
I picked: zucchini, onion, carrots, and garlic.
Step Two: Lentils
I think the lighter or softer lentils will work here so opt for red or yellow lentils, but brown will work in a pinch. The thing is, brown and black lentils have a longer cook time and the veggies are shredded or matchsticked so they’ll cook super quick and if you use a lentil with a longer cook time, you might end up with soggy vegetables.
Step Three: Flour vs. Panko
The original recipe called for panko breadcrumbs and I just made my own since I had some leftover bread from the bakery. I only used about 30 grams because I added about 200 grams of tofu to the mixture to give it a quiche/frittata texture.
Step Four: Cheese
This step is totally optional and I did add about 30 grams of vegan cheese (emmentaler) for the flavor and texture, but it did not come through, I am bummed to report. So my verdict is to skip it. It’s extra calories and fat for not so big a payout.
And then..bake!
Kitchen Tools
Chopping board
Knife
Skillet
Baking dish
Ingredients
Onion
Carrots
Zucchini
Garlic
Breadcrumbs
Tofu
Lentils
Nutritional yeast
Instructions
*Chop onions and garlic. Grate or cut into matchsticks: carrots & zucchini.
*Sauté the veggies. Add onions and carrots first and then, zucchini and garlic. Cook until golden, about 5 to 7 minutes.
*Add in lentils and water/broth, using a 1:3 ratio of lentils to liquid.
*Meanwhile, pop tofu and nutritional yeast into a food processor and run until smooth. Get it as smooth as you can without adding too much excess liquid. When it’s smooth, add it to the skillet with the veggies.
*Stir in vegan cheese, if using, and breadcrumbs. Add any extra seasoning here. I added dried oregano, leustean, cumin, sweet paprika and cumin.
*Place everything in a well greased baking dish and spread until smooth.
*Bake 20 to 30 minutes until the top is golden brown. Let it sit about 10 to 15 minutes until set and then cut.
Enjoy!
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Tell me what you think about this!