Corned Beef and Cabbage with Horseradish Dijon Cream, BBQ Seitan with Coleslaw

Here is my Iron Chef Battle Brassicaceae entry. I decided to utilize the secret ingredient in numerous ways as you will see in the recipes. You may think that the seitan is the star of this dish but its not, believe me, the cabbage, horseradish, and mustard really steal the show on your palate. After you make this dish you will probably need a good nap because it is as hearty as can be. But I think that is a good thing, especially with the onset of colder weather.



For the seitan I actually just used some recipes as references and they are fairly simple to follow. If you go to www.everydaydish.tv you can find recipes for corned beef seitan and bbq seitan. I tweaked the recipes a bit by incorporating some of the secret ingredient, like mustard seeds in the corned beef and mustardy bits in the bbq sauce. I also roasted some sweet potatoes to compliment the bbq side of the plate, and some roasted fingerling potatoes to go with the corned beef and cabbage.

Smokey Maple Porter BBQ Sauce

About 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil or just enough to fry the onions and garlic
1 chopped white onion
4 cloves of chopped garlic
12 oz. of Sierra Nevada Porter
1 cup of maple syrup
12 oz. of tomato paste
1 tablespoon of liquid smoke
2 tablespoons Dijon Mustard
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons of black pepper

Cook the onions and garlic until caramelized over medium heat. Add a bit of water every several minutes to de-glaze the pan. Add the rest of the ingredients cook for about 15 minutes then let cool and puree.

Creamy Coleslaw with Pickled Red onions

This absolutely is amazing and simple. It is a great cold crunchy and creamy contrast to the spicy hot bbq seitan.

1/2 head green cabbage, shredded
4 Tbsp Vegenaise
1 Tbsp German Mustard
2 Tbsp Agave nectar
splash red wine vinegar
salt + pepper

1/2 red onion, very thinly sliced
2 tsp red wine vinegar
salt

Mix together all the slaw ingredients while you quickly pickle the red onions.

Braised Cabbage with Corned Beef Seitan

1 recipe corned beef seitan
1/2 head green cabbage, large dice
1 white onion, diced
1 clove garlic
2 tsps paprika
1 tbsp caraway seeds
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
veg broth

Cook the onions and garlic in a bit of oil and add all the spices. Toss in the cabbage and seitan and add a bit of vegetable broth. Cook for about 20 minutes. Add more veg broth and cook ten minutes more. Serve with roasted fingerling potatoes and horseradish cream.

Horseradish Cream

1/2 block silken tofu
2 tbsp canola oil
2 tsp prepared horseradish, or more
2 tsp Dijon mustard
salt and pepper

Puree everything and chill. Serve over the corned beef and cabbage for a right good kick in the mouth.

Spinach and Cashew Ricotta Ravioli with Roasted Butternut Squash Sauce.

Also known as "Welcome Back Fall Raviolis." Or possibly "I'm Not Wearing My Skinny Jeans Tomorrow Raviolis." Whatever you prefer.

Sauce:
1 butternut squash
1/2 t dried rubbed sage
6 cloves of garlic, still in skin
1 T olive oil
1 c plain soy creamer
1 1/2 t salt
ground pepper to taste

1.) preheat the oven to 375. cut off the ends of the squash, cut in half, scoop out the guts and peel off the skin. Cut squash into 1 to 2 inch chunks.
2.) transfer squash to a rimmed baking sheet, toss the chunks in the oil and sage, and put the garlic (in skins) on the sheet to roast also.
3.) Bake for 20 minutes, toss, bake for another 20.
4.) peel the garlic, then puree garlic and squash in a food processor. Add soy creamer, salt and pepper, puree until smooth.
5.) transfer to small pot to warm on stove, stir in water by the 1/3 cup until you reach your desired consistency, adjust salt and pepper.

Spinach and cashew ricotta (based on recipe in Veganomicon)

1 c cashews
1/4 c lemon juice
2 T olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 lb firm tofu
1 1/2 t salt
1/2 t thyme
handful of fresh basil leaves
2 T nutritional yeast
3 to 4 cups fresh baby spinach

1.) steam the spinach, and set aside in a colander to drain.
2.) blend cashews, lemon juice, garlic and olive oil in the food processor.
3.) add tofu, mix until it has that lovely, creamy ricotta texture.
4.) toss is salt, thyme, basil, and nutritional yeast and blend a little more.
5.) transfer to a bowl, and once the spinach is cool and drained, mix that in too.


Ravioli dough (which I'm not quite happy with, I need to play with this.)

2 c flour
2 t salt
3 Ener-G "eggs" (1 1/2 t powder, 2 T warm water per egg)

1.) mix flour and salt
2.) add egg replacer, mix
3.) add warm water until thick dough has formed (if its too sticky, just add more flour), and then let it sit for 15 minutes, start a big pot of water to boil
4.) roll it out and go crazy! make whatever ravioli shapes you want, scoop on a spoons-worth of filling and seal it up tight. just remember they will stay together a whole lot better if you wet and score the seal.
5.) throw the raviolis into the boiling pot 5 or 6 at a time, cook for 5 minutes or until they float to the top
6.) top with sauce, chopped walnuts, and any leftover spinach.
7.) dig in hard.



Also, if you follow this recipe you are going to end up with way too much filling and sauce. You can either 1/2 the recipes or take advantage of having delicious leftover ricotta on sammies, pasta, or just as straight dip, and use the sauce over pasta, rice, as a soup, whatever you like.

Brussels Sprouts from Budapest

I haven't been cooking too much - living in a dorm setting again took some getting used to. (I'm studying in Budapest). But the market is so great, one of the best I've gone to. I won't bore you with details, but instead I will entice you with my recipe. I'm not positive this is my submission into Jonathan's contest - we'll see if I can put my cauliflower into good use. Also, I forgot my camera in Chicago so until then I will be using photobooth to document my recipes. Which is unfortunate, this dish just looks like a glorified salad in the pictures but I promise it is so much more than that. I would even consider using walnuts instead of hazelnuts in this, and some fried shallots would have been great.

Brussels from Budapest

1/2 lb brussels sprouts - cut into shreds

1/2 block of firm tofu - cubed

1/4 cup hazelnuts - toasted

1 small apple - cubed

1/2 onion - sliced

1/2 avocado - cubed

olive oil

Dressing

1 tbl stone ground dijon

1/2 tbl honey/sweetener

juice of 1 lemon

1/2 tbl olive oil

salt to taste

First cook onions and tofu in a pan with a bit of olive oil, and after the tofu is browned transfer to a bowl. Cook the shredded brussels for a few minutes, until you notice them caramelizing. Make sure to not over cook them. Transfer into the bowl with tofu. Toss in the apples, avocado, and dressing. Gently toss to incorporate all the ingredients.

Eat immediately, the brussels sprouts only taste good right after you cook them - I tried the leftovers in the morning and it wasn't great.

Garlic, Spinach, & Garbanzo Tarts with a Mustard Biscuit Crust and Roast Red Pepper/ Almond Sauce

Crust:

mix together:

2 c. flour

1 T. sugar

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp turmeric

2 tsp mustard powder

2 tsp baking powder

with a pastry blender cut in:

3 T. vegetable shortening

with a wooden spoon mix in:

1/2 c. COLD almond milk

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

Divide dough into 6 equal parts and on a floured surface roll into thin 6 inch circles.

Filling:

1 can garbanzos, drained and rinced

5 large cloves garlic, minced

1/4 red onion, diced

2 T. olive oil

16 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and drained

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cumin

fresh ground pepper to taste

1. toast garbanzos over medium heat in a dry pan for about 5 min, keep them moving around so they don't stick.

2. add onions, garlic and oil, let it chill for another 3 minutes until the garlic and onions start to sweat.

3. add spinach and cook over low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring ocationally.

Press the dough into a greased muffin pan and drop equal parts of filling into each dough circle, then fold in the edges of the crust and crease at the top. Bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

Sauce:

Blacken half a red pepper over a gas burner, put that and a handful of almonds into your blender/ food processor with a pinch of salt and pepper. Blend/ food process until you can't blend it any more! Then add almond milk into the mixture while blending until it's about the consistency of ketchup. Enjoy!

Spinach and Chickpea Fritters

This is a recipe from the Food Network Magazine, adapted to personal taste and available ingredients.

Ingredients:
1 cup chickpea flour(all purpose flour may work as well)
1/4 cup cornstarch
10 dashes cumin
10 dashes cayenne pepper
small yellow onion
1 cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed well
10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 TBSP ginger, peeled, minced
veg/olive oil for frying


Condiment suggestion: Really quick and easy Chili-Lime Mayonnaise
TBSP Vegenaise
TBSP fresh lime juice
tsp Huy Fong Chili Garlic Sauce

1. Whisk ingredients up to cayenne in a large bowl.
2. Add 2/3 cup water and whisk more until smooth
3.Add the rest of the ingredients (not oil) and mix all ingredients together well.
4.Spoon heaping tablespoon size scoops into your hand, and form mixture into a ball.
5. Put in hot oil and fry for a few minutes on each side, until crisp and golden brown.
6.Remove from oil and place on paper-towel lined plate.
7.Repeat until the bowl is empty.
8. Try experimenting with different dipping sauces, but the chili-lime mayo is very tasty and though it is a spicy mayo, it is somewhat cooling to the palate.

Eggplant "Parmesan"

I'm not sure if I was a HUGE fan of this dish or not, but it was a decent rendition of a classic. Adjust ingredients to your liking and make this your own, maybe your tweaks will make it perfect.

Ingredients:
1 Large Eggplant,sliced
1 can tomatoes,drained,rinsed
1 tomato,diced
2 cloves garlic
thyme
oregano
basil

Vegan Parmesan:
1 part raw almonds, ground finely as possible
2 parts nutritional yeast
dash of sea salt

1.Boil enough water to cover all of your eggplant in a large pot. While this is on it's way, preheat oven to 375.
2.Place eggplant in boiling water for about 5 minutes.
3.Mix tomatoes, garlic and spices in a seperate bowl.
4. Try to drain eggplant of some excess moisture and arrange eggplant slices in the bottom of a baking pan.
5.Top with tomato mixture and Vegan Parmesan, alternating(tomato/cheese/tomato/cheese) if preferred.
6. Bake for about 20 minutes at 375.
7. Enjoy!

Moong Dal (Yellow Lentil)-type Dish

This is an interesting Dal dish that came out a bit drier (almost rice-like consistency) than I imagined, but it was tasty nonetheless. This is adapted from a Vegetarian Times recipe to my taste and to my available ingredients.

Ingredients:
About 1TBSP of Canola Oil
A thumb sized piece of Ginger, minced
2 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
1 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups Moong Dal(Yellow Lentils), rinsed and sorted
2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 tsp. ground turmeric
sea salt to taste

1. Heat oil in pan, add ginger and red pepper. Saute for about a minute.
2. Add onion, garlic and salt, saute for another minute.
3. Add all other ingredients and cover.
4.Reduce heat and simmer for about 25 minutes, when liquid is absorbed.
5. Let cool. Insert into mouth. Chew. Swallow.

September Competition - Cash prize!

I propose a competition, Iron Chef style. With the theme ingredient being my favorite veggie family (I'm sure Stephen can correct me on the correct classification of this word): Brassicaceae. This means that cabbage, kale, spinach, turnips, mustard, and so on are fair game.

The winner will get a cash prize in the mail from me! Since this is my competition, try to make it vegan, but if you don't that's cool too. Just have the posts in by September 30th. We will decide on how to vote later.

Peanut Butter Banana Pancakes with Fig Spread

Pancakes

Ingredients:

2 over ripe bananas

1 scoop peanut butter

1/3 cups apple sauce

2 teaspoons lemon juice

2 Tablespoons sugar (or maple syrup if you're like that)

about 3 cups ww flour

about 2 teaspoons baking powder

1 handful roasted walnuts

Soy milk

Method:

1. Wash Hands.

2. Mash the first four ingredients in a mixing bowl

3. Add the rest of the ingredients except soymilk and mix.

4. Add soy milk until it becomes the consistency of pancake batter, it should be just barely able to drip off a wooden spoon.

5. use a 1/4 c. measuring cup to drop batter onto a hot greased pan

6. Flip when the bubbles in the middle are just starting to pop (it should be golden brown on both sides when done).

Fig Spread

Put a handful of dried figs in your food processor. Add 1 tablespoon of sirup and 2-4 tablespoons of soy milk until it looks like a creamy paste. Enjoy on your pancakes.

Creamy Chickpeas & Bell Pepper Salad

Holy hell this is fantastic. So many layers of flavor and incredibly easy to make. No cooking necessary, just combine it all in a bowl and feast!

This recipe will feed one burly man harboring an empty stomach, two love birds longing for a light lunch, or go as a nice side dish for grilled anything.

Two cans chickpeas

About one bell pepper, deseeded, cored and diced (I just squared pre-cut colored peppers from Whole Foods)

One big scoop of Vegenaise

A little Sriracha (goes a long way)

A pinch of garlic, granulated or fresh

Minced dill, chives, and a little parsley (parsley flakes work well too!)

Salt / Pepper