Google+

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Vegan Turkey with Cranberry for Thanksgiving


The last couple of Thanksgivings, I've made Cheese & Lentil Gratin as the vegetarian main. Everyone loves this dish and there's never any leftovers. But this recipe for Vegan Turkey in Ann Gentry's Real Food Daily Cookbook swayed me this year. I'm not really into faux meat dishes, but every recipe I've made from this cookbook has been truly outstanding. Gentry developed these Faux Turkey Breasts for a favorite client and now includes them in premade Vegan Thanksgiving meals with all the trimmings.

So I made up the patties for tomorrow and baked one today to test. Absolutely superb! Gentry is a vegan genius! The patties are made of tempeh and tofu and have a wonderful moist texture inside, not really meatlike, but toothsome and substantial without any of the usual faux meat issues (dryness, rubbery texture, gumminess, floury). The exterior is slightly crisp and the sage seasonings were delicious.



These patties are also fast and easy to make from staple items found in most vegetarian/vegan pantries. So if you're still trying to decide what to make, I hope you'll consider these!

What else is on the menu for tomorrow?
Roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, baby Brussels with mushrooms, purple & white cauliflower gratin, and green beans.

I'm also going to try this recipe for Rosemary Roasted Cashews kindly sent to me by Kimberly.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Vegan Turkey Breasts (adapted from Real Food Daily Cookbook):

8 oz tempeh
6 oz tofu
4 tbsp miso
1-1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard
olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1-1/2 tsp dried sage
1 tsp Herbes de Provence
salt & pepper

Preheat the oven to 350.

Cut up the tempeh and tofu and blend in a food processor until crumbly and well mixed. In a small bowl, mix together the miso and mustard. Set aside.

Heat a little olive oil in a skillet and fry the onion until soft (6-8 minutes). Add the sage, Herbes de Provence, salt and pepper and stir for 30 seconds. Add the tempeh-tofu mix and the miso-mustard to the pan and saute for 8-10 minutes, until starting to brown. (My mixture was moist, rather like tuna salad, but it did brown). Remove from heat and allow to cool. When the mixture is cool enough to touch, form into 4 patties with your hands. Brush the patties with olive oil and bake from 25-35 minutes until golden brown. (Gentry says the unbaked patties can be kept in the fridge for up to 2 days if you want to make these ahead).

12 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

That looks excellent! Maybe for Christmas.

7:22 PM  
Blogger cookiecrumb said...

It looks really good. (I've yet to try tempeh... I mean, I bought some once, but it was all ammonia, so I had to toss it.)
I see you're still frolicking with the colorful cauliflowers. Rock on.
Happy Thanksgiving!

11:13 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

mmmm man why is the Canadian Thanksgiving so early? I want a redo.

3:28 PM  
Blogger Christine said...

Happy Thanksgiving Catherine!

10:48 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

They look soooo good! I just posted photos of what we cooked. Too much food!

1:21 AM  
Blogger Catherine said...

Hi everyone and thanks for your kind comments! It never occurred to me to process the tempeh - this opens up new horizons! I don't think I would guess what these were made of if I didn't know. So good! The tofu gives it moisture - great recipe!

2:08 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The faux turkey breasts look great, I'm going to give them a try! What kind of tofu did you use, the silken stuff or the stuff in the tubs?

I might have to come up with a less flesh-centric name for them, though.

12:06 PM  
Blogger Catherine said...

Debbie - I agree about the name - it was Gentry's, not mine!

I used extra firm tofu from a tub. I wouldn't use silken for this.

Thanks for commenting!

12:29 PM  
Blogger Vanessa said...

Great idea! I like the traditon of a ceterpiece dish and this one looks appealing and sounds yummy. I'll keep this on the idea list for next year - I bet it would be great with a mushroom celery gravy.

Happy Holidays!

12:03 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is perfect for my daughter-in-law who is vegan. Thanks!

3:26 PM  
Blogger Catherine said...

Ovens - great! I'm making this again for Xmas!

6:59 PM  
Anonymous love cooking said...

This looks really good. It is a very good idea to have vegan food during festive season, since we have too many meats and heavy food. I will probably to add some chopped chilies or bell pepper into it. I like to have more texture. :)

4:17 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home