I was going to let St. Patrick's Day slip past. It's not my favorite holiday, what with all the pinching and artificial food coloring, but then Desmond and I were in the park, this absolutely dreamy park filled with rolling green hills, and little stone bridges, and huge oak trees, and this tribe of 3 to 6 year olds ran past, hunting behind trees and under rocks for leprechauns, spying them just about everywhere, while their pigtailed sprite of a mama chased after them all and suggested they thank the leprechauns for the treats they left, and I thought okay, I guess I can get into that sort of holiday. So I went home, put on the stepdad's CD (He plays accordian and sings in a popular Irish band - yes I was just burned at the family stake for admitting that I'm not too into St. Patrick's Day.), and made boxty.
If you've never had them, Boxty are Irish potato pancakes that vary so much depending on who's making them that they can even come as a loaf. The stepdad remembers the nice old lady down the street cutting wedges from a round cake to fry up as needed for a visiting neighborhood kid. But in pancake form, they're big or little, fat or thin. I've only ever come across them as a thinnish sort of hearty Irish alternative to the crepe. In this form, they can be wrapped around a filling and accompanied with a sauce. (I was going to braise seitan and mushrooms in a good stout - but I couldn't bring myself to braise, or cook with beer, or make seitan, or go to Whole Foods - maybe next year when I'm not pregnant. But maybe you should do that. It would still make a great boxty filling.) So I threw some gorgeous new asparagus in a hot oven to roast while I flipped pancakes. I put some thinly sliced, super firm tofu in a pan with a bacony marinade to cook like the tempeh bacon. And I ground cashews to make a creamy mustard sauce to put on top. This is not the sort of meal that I would make on an average Tuesday, but I managed to get the family entertained for a couple hours while I had a leisurely time in the kitchen. ("Hey, why don't you run to Ikea and buy the couch?" Will get rid of three boys for a good three hours. You should try it.) And thankfully, there was a pretty great meal waiting for them when they returned.
Boxty
1 lb. of russet potatoes
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 1/2 cups soy milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
butter for frying (vegan Earth Balance)
Boil half of the potatoes until soft, and mash. Grate the remaining raw potatoes, and set aside in a colander to drain a bit. Add the vinegar to the soy milk, let sit for a few minutes until thickened, and stir Stir together the mashed potatoes, the grated potatoes, the flour, the baking powder, and the salt. Slowly stir in the buttermilk (soymilk + vinegar) to form pancake batter.
Add a little pat of butter to a non-stick skillet and heat over medium-low. Cook the pancake for about 4 minutes on each side, until it's beginning to brown around the edges, and appears mostly dry. Flip, and cook on the other side. Keep on a plate in a warm oven until all the pancakes are cooked.
Mustard Cream Sauce
1/2 cup raw cashew pieces
1 cup soy milk
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Grind the cashews in a food processor to a fine powder. Add the soy milk, mustard, lemon juice, and salt. Whir until smooth. Pour into a small sauce pan and heat gently. The sauce will thicken as it cooks. If you let it get too thick, you can whisk in more cold soy milk.
Tofu Rashers
8 oz. super firm tofu (labeled sometimes as tofu steak, drain if not incredibly firm)
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 tablespoons tamari
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke
1/2 cup vegetable broth
Slice the tofu into thin strips, and place in a single layer in a large cast iron skillet. Mix together the liquid ingredients and pour over the tofu. Bring to a simmer, and turn the heat down to low. While it cooks, flip the tofu once or twice and move the pieces around occasionally so that they cook evenly. Let cook until all the liquid has cooked away/ been absorbed and the tofu is browned.
Roasted Asparagus
Heat oven to 425. Snap tough ends off of asparagus. Wash. Toss with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of sea salt in a roasting pan or a lipped baking sheet, big enough to hold them in close to a single layer. Bake for about 12 minutes, depending on how fat your spears are.
To serve: fold one boxty over a few spears of asparagus and a slab of vegan rashers. Drizzle with the mustard cream, and serve. With good beer.
Happy Saint Patrick's Day!
