What Once Was Rabbit is Now Tempeh (HT)

Yep, another Hezbollah Tofu recipe! This was originally Lapin aux Picholines. First off, who would eat rabbit? Even Bourdain refers to it as "bunny" in the recipe, further proving his lack of compassion. In an effort to counterbalance his negativity, I adapted the recipe to tempeh and even served it with the favorite food of bunnies: carrots! Take that Bourdain!

There are a lot of ingredients in this marinade, but the rest of the recipe is truly a no-brainer and takes little effort. I've noticed that a lot of these recipes that I've been adapting really aren't that complicated and follow very similar techniques. Maybe I need to branch out a little more?

This recipe has a few steps. First you steam the tempeh, then marinade it. Bread it and make the sauce and you're done! It's a really complete (and gourmet!) tasting dish.

Tempeh with Olives
Serves 3-4

Tempeh and Marinade
1 8 oz package of tempeh, steamed
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1/2 cup dried mushrooms (mix of porcini and shiitake)
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup tamari
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp oil
1 tsp miso
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
black pepper

Breading
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp salt
black pepper
1/2 cup soy milk
3/4 cup panko crumbs

Sauce
2 Tbsp earth balance
1/2 small onion, diced
1/2 small red pepper, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup white wine
reserved marinade
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh thyme
1/3 cup small green olives, pitted

Really, this isn't as hard as it sounds. Combine the boiling water with the dried mushrooms and let sit about half an hour. Strain. Discard the mushrooms or save for another recipe. Combine the liquid with the rest of the marinade ingredients. Cut tempeh in half, then vertically in half. You'll have 4 squares. Cut those squares into triangles and put in marinade. Let sit at least an hour, but overnight is better. (Keep the marinade).

Now we're going to bread them. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly spray a cookie sheet. Combine the flour, dried herbs, salt and pepper, placing in a shallow container. Take the tempeh from the marinade, dip in the flour, then the milk, then the crumbs. (This is like the awesome Wingz from Don't Eat off the Sidewalk. It's sold out but Katie has the recipe posted.) Place on the sheet, spray the tops lightly with oil and bake for 10 minutes. Turn over and bake another 10-15 until lightly browned.

While those are baking, make the sauce. Melt the eb, then add the onions. Cook for 10-15 minute over medium high heat to get a little hint of caramelization going on. Add the celery and carrots and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cook for another couple of minutes. Add the flour and tomato paste, stirring until they're mixed in. Add the wine and reserved marinade, reduce heat to medium and let cook about 10 minutes, till thickened. Stir in the fresh herbs and olives. Check the seasonings. Then add the tempeh triangles, spooning sauce over them. That's it!

By the way, I couldn't find picholine olives anywhere. Hopefully, you'll have better luck than I did. I just ended up buying the smallest pitted green olives that I could find. I'm convinced it didn't affect the dish.


And in closing, this is another dinner we had this week. It's a grilled seitan BBQ cutlet with the macaroni and cheese from YRR. We're getting to grill weather here.... I'm looking forward to cooking outside!