Quick Red Posole
, Terry Hope Romero's new latin vegan endeavor, my sticky pad sat idle. The problem was, however, not lack of interest. I was paralyzed with excitement. I want to make every single recipe in this cookbook. Every one.
So I started with tacos - soft corn tortillas folded around "tempeh asado" with shredded cabbage and sliced radishes and avocado. Psychological games were played to angle for the last tart, flavorfull strips of grilled tempeh marinated in beer and lime juice and spices. Then Paul resorted to just plain stealing while I put the baby to bed. Next time I'll make more.
After I made the Quick Red Posole for dinner one Tuesday, I had leftovers for breakfast for the rest of the week. This posole is essentially a quick vegetarian chili with the addition of hominy corn, but it was tasty and hearty and satisfying.
Though a bit more time-consuming, the Potato-Chickpea Enchiladas with Green Tomatillo Sauce were similarly comforting.
And there's currently seitan cooling in the fridge to go into a green posole with swiss chard or maybe arroz con seitan or shredded into tacos or maybe just grilled with some plantains on the side. With flan for dessert or maybe churros. Did I mention that I want to eat everything that this Terry Hope Romero says?
Tempeh Asado
Tip: Steaming tempeh in a microwave is fast and less messy. Place the sliced tempeh in a glass microwave-safe bowl with a lid and add 1/2 cup water. Toss the tempeh to moisten. Cover and microwave on high 5 to 6 minutes, or until the tempeh has softened and absorbed some of the liquid. Drain the excess water. Your tempeh is now ready to marinate!
- 1 (8-ounce) cake tempeh
- 1/3 cup light-colored Mexican beer or vegetable broth
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed or finely grated
- 1/2 rounded teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano, crumbled by rubbing between your palms (releases flavor and eliminates any coarse leaves)
1. Slice the entire tempeh cake in half length-wise, then slice it into thirds. From here you can either slice each third on a diagonal to form triangles (good if serving as an entree) or leave as rectangles for use in sandwiches or tacos. Steam the tempeh in either a steamer basket, a covered sauce pan with 1 cup of water over high heat, or a microwave as directed above. Be sure to drain it of any excess water before adding to the marinade.
2. In a square pan or glass baking dish, whisk all of the marinade ingredients together. Add the tempeh and flip each piece over a few times to help it absorb the marinade. Let sit for 10 minutes at room temperature. While this is going on, you can heat a cast iron grill pan over medium high heat. If pan-frying the tempeh, generously oil the pan with peanut or canola oil. Using metal tongs, place the pieces of tempeh on your grill or pan, taking care not to crown the pan. Brush with some of the extra marinade. Grill on each side for 3 or 4 minutes, flip and keep brushing with marinade, using up the rest of the marinade on the tempeh as it cooks. Tempeh should not cook for more than 6 to 7 minutes total, or it may become too dry.
3. Serve hot tempeh immediately. To serve in tacos, cut the tempeh into squares as directed above, grill, and coarsely chop the hot tempeh into bite-size bits. Serve in soft corn tortillas with sliced radishes, chopped cabbage, salsa, and a sprinkle of lime juice.
From the book, Viva Vegan! by Terry Hope Romero. Excerpted by arrangement with Da Capo Lifelong, a member of the Perseus Books Group. Copyright 2010. www.dacapopresscookbooks.com
