Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook (74 page)

Read Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook Online

Authors: Isa Chandra Moskowitz,Terry Hope Romero

Tags: #food.cookbooks

 
PREHEAT A saucepan over medium heat. Place the onions in the pan and sauté in oil until browned (about 7 minutes). Add the garlic and sauté for another minute. Add all the other ingredients except the mustard and liquid smoke, and cook for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour, uncovered, stirring occasionally. Lower the heat if the sauce begins to splatter everywhere. Add the mustard and liquid smoke, and taste for sweetness/sourness. Adjust the flavors if you think it’s necessary, and cook for 5 more minutes. If you like a smooth BBQ sauce then puree it, but that’s not entirely necessary.
APRICOT BBQ SAUCE
 
MAKES ABOUT 4 CUPS
TIME:
40 MINUTES
 
 
This is a fruity, kid friendly BBQ sauce that isn’t too sweet. It’s wonderful on any of the holy trinity (tofu, tempeh, or seitan). See the recipe for Baked BBQ Tofu (page 128). It’s also wonderful on steamed veggies, especially broccoli. As with all recipes where you cook with fruit, the sweetness will need to be adjusted depending on how sweet your fruit is.
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1½ pounds apricots (6-8, depending on their size),
pitted and sliced about ½ inch thick
½ cup vegetable broth or water
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
Several pinches of freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup molasses
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
 
IN A small saucepan over medium-high heat, sauté the onions in oil for 7 to 10 minutes, until browned. Add the garlic, sauté for 2 more minutes. Add the vegetable broth to deglaze the pan. Add the apricots, black pepper, ginger, and coriander. Cover and bring to a boil. Once the sauce is boiling, lower the heat to medium-low and let cook for about 10 minutes, until the apricots are mushy.
Uncover and add the remaining ingredients. Cook for about 10 more minutes, stirring often and mashing the apricot as you stir. Taste the sauce and adjust the sweetness, if necessary.
Remove from the heat and let cool until it’s not steaming, stirring occasionally to speed up the cooling. Transfer to a blender or food processor and puree until completely smooth. Keep refrigerated in an airtight container until ready to use.
HORSERADISH-DILL SOUR CREAM
 
MAKES ABOUT 3 CUPS
TIME:
15 MINUTES, PLUS TIME TO CHILL
 
 
This is our cream of choice for latkes both of the potato persuasion and the beet kind (see Autumn Latkes, page 53). It also makes a wonderful dressing, especially for cucumbers.We used fresh horseradish but if you can only find the jarred kind, go ahead and use it. Since it’s stronger than fresh, add a tablespoon at first and taste from there.
1 pound soft tofu
2 tablespoons fresh, grated horseradish
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon agave or real maple syrup
¾ teaspoons salt
3 cloves garlic, crushed
¼ cup grapeseed oil
1 cup loosely packed fresh dill
 
REMOVE THE tofu from the package and shake off any excess water. Place in a blender or food processor (a food processor works better) along with the horseradish, apple cider vinegar, agave, and salt. Blend until smooth.
Preheat a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Place the crushed garlic and grapeseed oil in the pan. Cook gently, stirring occasionally, for about 2 minutes. The garlic should
blondir
(that means “lightly brown”) but not burn. Remove the garlic from the oil and discard. Add the oil to the tofu mixture and blend again until smooth. Add the dill and horseradish, and blend until smooth—the cream will be light green with some flecks of dill. Scrape down the sides to make sure you get everything.
Taste and adjust the salt and vinegar, if necessary. Transfer to a bowl and seal tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
SOUR CILANTRO CREAM
 
MAKES ABOUT 3 CUPS
TIME:
15 MINUTES, PLUS TIME TO CHILL
 
 
Here’s a nice replacement for sour cream on anything where cilantro would fit in: burritos, tacos, black bean soup, you name it. It’s also a yummy salad dressing and great on black bean burger (page 98).
1 pound silken tofu (
not
the vacuum-packed kind)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 1 lime)
1 tablespoon agave syrup
¾ teaspoons salt
3 cloves garlic, crushed
¼ cup grapeseed oil
2 cups loosely packed fresh cilantro (stems and
leaves)
 
REMOVE THE tofu from the package and shake off any excess water. Place in a blender or food processor (a food processor works better) along with the lime juice, agave, and salt. Blend until smooth.
Preheat a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Place the crushed garlic and grapeseed oil in the pan. Cook gently, stirring occasionally, for about 3 minutes. The garlic should
blondir
(that means “to lightly brown”) but not burn. Add to the tofu mixture and blend again until smooth. Add the cilantro and, guess what? Yep, blend until smooth and light green with some flecks of dark green. Scrape down the sides to make sure you get everything.
Taste and adjust the salt and lime, if necessary. Transfer to a bowl, seal tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. It will get a little bit firmer but will still have a pourable consistency.
SALSA VERDE
 
MAKES ABOUT 2 CUPS
TIME:
40 MINUTES
 
 
What Mexican meal is complete without a little salsa verde? Maybe a Mexican meal using some other Mexican sauce, but that’s neither here nor there. Salsa verde (green sauce to you, bub) is made with those mysterious tomatolike wonders, tomatillos. Serve chilled with chips and guacamole, or hot over enchiladas and burritos. This is a mild version, so add more jalapeños if you like it hot. Wear gloves to avoid touching the seeds, or your hands will burn all day. (If you’re like us and don’t have gloves, just be careful!)
10 tomatillos (husks removed), cleaned and diced
1 teaspoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1½ cups vegetable broth
Juice of 1 lime
1 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro
 
IN A small saucepan over low heat, sauté the garlic and jalapeño in oil until fragrant, about 3 minutes.
Add the tomatillos and salt, sauté until the tomatillos begin to soften and release moisture, about 5 minutes. Add the vegetable broth, bring to a slow boil, and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from the heat, let cool until it is not steaming, then add the cilantro and lime juice. Pour into a blender and blend until relatively smooth, about 30 seconds.
GREEN PUMPKIN-SEED MOLE
 
MAKES A LITTLE OVER 2 CUPS
TIME:
20 MINUTES
 
 
A thick diplike sauce made from pumpkin seeds, herbs, tomatillos and peppers, this mole will turn any Mexican type of meal into a revolutionary uprising. Canned tomatillos makes this thick sauce a snap to prepare; the only cooking required is the toasting of the pumpkin seeds (also called
pepitas
). It’s wonderful with rice and beans, and especially delish with Corn Pudding (page 15).
1 cup hulled raw pumpkin seeds
4 whole black peppercorns
1 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro
1 cup lightly packed fresh parsley
1 (7- to 8-ounce) can tomatillos
1 serrano chile, stemmed, seeded, coarsely chopped
2 scallions, white part discarded, chopped coarsely
2 lettuce leaves (such as romaine or green leaf), torn
into pieces
2 cloves garlic, chopped coarsely
¼ cup olive oil

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