Tender split peas, onions, carrots and potatoes merge together to create this classic soup. The optional plant-based “ham” or “bacon” adds a wonderful smoky flavor. This recipe yields about 6 servings.
Ingredients:
• 8 cups vegan no-chicken broth
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 large onion, small diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 large carrots, peeled and small diced
• 1 large russet potato, peeled and medium diced
• 10 oz. dried split green peas (1 and ¼ cup by volume)
• ½ tsp dried thyme leaves
• optional: 1 cup diced Seitan Ham*, seitan Bacun**, or commercial tempeh “bacon”
• ¼ tsp coarse ground black pepper, or more to taste
• sea salt or kosher salt, as needed
*see the recipe in my Holiday Mini-Cookbook available through TheGentleChef.com website.
**See the recipe in my Gentle Chef Cookbook also available through TheGentleChef.com website.
Technique:
Add the olive oil to a large cooking pot and place over medium heat. Add the onions and carrots and sauté until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic and sauté an additional minute.
Add the stock, potatoes, split peas, thyme and black pepper. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Cover the pot and cook for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent the solids from scorching and sticking to the bottom of the pot.
While the soup is cooking, mist a small skillet with cooking oil spray and lightly brown the “ham”. If using “bacon”, fry in a bit more oil until lightly crisp and then drain on a paper towel. Add the “ham” or “bacon” the last 15 minutes of cooking time.
Season the soup with salt as needed and additional pepper as desired before serving.
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Split Pea Soup
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A favorite Autumn and Winter treat and perfect for celebrating the holidays. Vegan pumpkin pies are often made with tofu as a replacement for the evaporated milk and eggs. Although I use tofu frequently and successfully in eggless egg recipes and desserts, I find its undertaste to be rather noticeable and distracting in pumpkin pie. Therefore my goal was to create a pumpkin pie using a creamy cashew base which allows the flavor of the pumpkin and the warm spices to predominate.
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Classic Gentle Chef Pumpkin Pie
A favorite Autumn and Winter treat and perfect for celebrating the holidays. Vegan pumpkin pies are often made with tofu as a replacement for the evaporated milk and eggs. Although I use tofu frequently and successfully in eggless egg recipes and desserts, I find its undertaste to be rather noticeable and distracting in pumpkin pie. Therefore my goal was to create a pumpkin pie using a creamy cashew base which allows the flavor of the pumpkin and the warm spices to predominate.
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Votes: 12
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Instructions
Soak the cashews in water in the refrigerator for about 8 hours to soften and hydrate. To expedite the soaking process, pour boiling water over the cashews and let soak for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Drain the cashews and add them to a high-powered blender. Add the non-dairy milk and process for 2 full minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients and process until completely smooth. The mixture will be quite thick, so occasionally stop to scrape down the sides of the blender with a spatula and stir the contents back down into the blades as necessary. Use a tamper tool if provided with your blender.
Spoon the mixture into the pie shell and smooth the surface with a spatula or large spoon. Don’t worry about a few swirl marks as they will minimize when the pie cools. Place the pie on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
Reduce the heat to 350°F and continue to bake for an additional 50 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the pie comes out clean (do not exceed 60 minutes).
Note: The surface of the pie will appear dry after baking; this will resolve once cooled and chilled.
Remove the pie and cool completely on a wire rack (until the underside of the pie plate no longer feels warm). Loosely cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until completely chilled and firm before slicing and serving. Try to avoid laying the plastic wrap in direct contact with the surface of the pie as moisture condensation will result. The pie can also be chilled in a large, sealable storage container.
Top individual slices with a dollop of non-dairy whipped cream, if desired.
Large mushrooms are filled with a zesty mock crab filling, green onions and shredded cheese and baked to perfection. These mushrooms make a wonderful first course or light entrée.
Ingredients:
• 1 cup flaked green jack fruit or hearts of palm (see notes below)
• 8 baby portabella mushrooms or large white mushrooms (about 2” in diameter)
• 5 green onions, white and green parts, chopped (about ⅓ packed cup)
• 1 T vegetable oil
• 1 tsp Old Bay™ or Chesapeake Bay™ seasoning
• ½ tsp kelp powder
• 2 T fine, dry, plain breadcrumbs
• 2 T No-Eggy Mayo (from my cookbooks) or commercial vegan mayonnaise
• ½ cup shredded vegan cheese that melts (I recommend the soymilk-based block cheeses from The Non-Dairy Formulary)
Notes: For this recipe, you will need 1 can (about 17. oz.) of green jackfruit. Canned green jackfruit has no real flavor of its own, but has an uncanny resemblance to shredded crab when cooked. It can be found in Indian and Asian markets or purchased through the internet. Look for the label “Green Jackfruit” or “Young Green Jackfruit” and be sure that it’s packed in water or brine (preferably water) and not syrup. You may notice cans of ripe jackfruit packed in syrup stocked nearby but don’t be tempted to substitute as it will be too sweet.
If you cannot locate jackfruit, try substituting with 1 can of hearts of palm. Canned hearts of palm can be found in most supermarkets. While not exactly the same texture as jackfruit, they will flake nicely in a food processor and will serve the purpose for this recipe. Hearts of palm have a tangier, acidic flavor, whereas jackfruit is more neutral. Please note that hearts of palm is commercially grown and harvested in Central America and Hawaii and has absolutely no relation to the palm species from which palm oil is derived.
Technique:
Drain the liquid from the can of jackfruit or hearts of palm and rinse thoroughly. Drain in a colander. If using jackfruit, remove the tough core from each chunk of jackfruit with a sharp knife and discard. Break the chunks apart with your fingers and remove the soft seeds and discard. If using hearts of palm, simply slice the hearts about ¼-inch thick. Wrap the jackfruit or hearts of palm in a lint-free kitchen towel or several layers of cheesecloth and squeeze to remove as much water as possible.
Place the jackfruit or hearts of palm in a food processor and pulse a few times to flake. Do not purée! You will need about 1 packed cup for this recipe; a little more or less is fine as the measurement doesn’t need to be exact (if you have extra hearts of palm, try adding the flakes to salads, since hearts of palm do not need to be cooked to be consumed). Set aside the flakes in a mixing bowl.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Add the vegetable oil to a skillet and place over medium heat. Add the green onions and sauté for 1 minute. Add the flaked jackfruit or hearts of palm and sauté an additional 2 minutes. Stir in the Old Bay™ or Chesapeake Bay™ seasoning and the kelp powder and return to the mixing bowl.
Add the breadcrumbs, mayo and shredded cheese and stir thoroughly until combined. Pack the mushrooms with the mock crab mixture.
Lightly spray a baking sheet with vegetable oil and place the mushrooms on the baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes. Serve immediately.
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Mock Crab Stuffed Mushrooms
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Mock seafood chowder is essentially a hearty vegetable soup with the addition of special ingredients that mimic the textures of seafood. The flavor can be likened to a spicy minestrone. For less spiciness, reduce the Old Bay™ seasoning and omit the cayenne pepper. The chowder has no real seafood flavor of its own but this flavor can easily be added by including some dried seaweed of your choice, to taste. If you prefer this seafood flavor but others in your household don’t, consider garnishing individual servings with the seaweed.•
Ingredients:
• 1 can (about 17 oz.) green jackfruit in water or brine*
• 1 can (15 oz.) oyster mushrooms*
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 ribs celery, diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced (2 tsp minced)
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 can (15 oz.) diced tomatoes with liquid
• ½ lb. potatoes, peeled and ½-inch diced
(i.e., 1 average-size russet potato)
• ½ cup fresh corn kernels (1 ear of corn) or canned corn kernels
• ½ cup loosely-packed chopped Italian parsley
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tsp Old Bay™ or Chesapeake Bay™ seasoning
• optional: pinch of cayenne pepper
• sea salt or kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper to taste
* Canned green jackfruit has no real flavor of its own, but has an uncanny resemblance to shredded crab when cooked. It can be found in Indian and Asian markets or purchased through the internet. Look for the label “Green Jackfruit” or “Young Green Jackfruit” and be sure that it’s packed in water or brine (preferably water) and not syrup. You may notice cans of ripe jackfruit packed in syrup stocked nearby but don’t be tempted to substitute as it will be too sweet.
Canned oyster mushrooms can be found in Asian markets and are very inexpensive (a dollar or two per can) compared to their fresh counterparts, which are sometimes found in farmer’s markets or specialty food stores. However, fresh oyster mushrooms can be used if you prefer.
Technique:
Drain the liquid from the can of jackfruit and rinse the fruit thoroughly (especially if it was packed in brine) and drain in a colander. With a sharp knife, remove the tough core from each chunk of jackfruit and discard. Break the chunks apart with your fingers and remove the soft seeds and discard. Wrap the stringy pulp in a paper towel or clean kitchen towel and squeeze to remove any excess remaining water. Place the jackfruit in a food processor and pulse a few times to shred. Do not purée! Set aside in a bowl.
Drain the oyster mushrooms and remove any tough stems. Slice half of the mushrooms into strips and dice the remaining half. Set aside in the bowl with the jackfruit.
In a large soup, add the olive oil and place over medium heat. Sauté the onions, celery and carrots until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic, jackfruit and oyster mushrooms and sauté and additional minute or two.
Add the vegetable broth, tomatoes with liquid, potatoes, corn, parsley, bay leaf, Old Bay™ or Chesapeake Bay™ seasoning and cayenne pepper and bring to a rapid simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot and cook for about 1 hour or until the vegetables are very tender.
Season the chowder with salt and pepper taste, as desired. Remove the bay leaf before serving.
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Mock Seafood Chowder
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Ingredients:
• 1 block (14 oz.) soft to medium water-packed tofu
• 4 cups vegan chicken broth
• 1 small carrot
• 1 can (15 oz.) straw mushrooms, drained
or 8 oz. white mushrooms, quartered*
• 3 green onions (white and green parts), chopped
• ¼ cup loosely packed chopped cilantro
• ⅛ tsp ground white pepper
• 2 T unmodified potato starch, cornstarch or arrowroot powder
• sea salt or kosher salt, to taste
*If you will be using fresh mushrooms, sauté them in 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil until they have released most of their liquid before adding them to the soup.
Technique:
Drain and lightly press the tofu to remove excess water. Place the block of tofu on a work surface and using a very sharp knife, slice paper thin strips from the narrow side of the block. Use a light touch to glide or scrape the knife through the surface of the tofu. Don’t try to create perfect slices as ragged pieces will look more realistic. If slices are too uniform, tear them with your fingers.
Continue until you have sliced through ½ of the block. Reserve the intact remaining tofu for another recipe, storing it in a sealed container in the refrigerator. If you won’t be using the remaining tofu within 24 hours, re-submerge it in fresh water in the container.
Place the tofu fragments in a soup pot, add the broth and place the soup pot over medium heat.
Using a vegetable peeler, peel the carrot and discard or compost the peel. Now using the same peeler, peel strips of the carrot into the soup pot. It’s not necessary to use the entire carrot; just add enough to create some color.
Add the mushrooms, onions, cilantro and white pepper. When the soup begins to boil, reduce the heat to a simmer.
In a small dish, dissolve the starch in just enough water to make a liquid (this is called a slurry). Add the slurry to the soup while stirring. Continue to simmer and stir until the soup thickens. Taste and add salt if needed. The soup is now ready to serve.
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Eggless Egg Flower Soup
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