Tag: Meatless

Sunday Morning Cookbook Review: YamChops

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YamChops
Reprinted with permission from “From the Kitchen of YamChops” by Michael Abramson, Page Street Publishing Co. 2018. Photo credit: Vincenzo Pistritto

Many of you transitioning into plant-based eating and/or vegan lifestyle may feel overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with all the details, discouraged with too many restrictions, and crushed by the broader society that has not adjusted to support our growing plant-based eating habits. I get it – I’ve been there!

What helped me are some excellent cookbooks that provided initial inspiration, especially the America’s Test Kitchen “Vegan for Everybody“, and an entire community of vegan blogs and bloggers that I discovered – Finding Vegan.  Over time, plant-based cooking and eating stopped being about the restrictions and things you can’t eat, and became about the abundance of ingredients and flavors.

Trying new recipes and ideas remains one of my favorite things to do, and I am always on a lookout for the latests cookbooks. The “From the Kitchen of YamChops” by Michael Abramson is the newest of my acquisitions. If you don’t know about YamChops, let me give some background. YamChops is a plant-based butcher shop, and when it opened in 2014 it was the first of its kind in Canada, and at that time one of only a handful vegetarian butcher shops in North America. Since then, YamChops has become well-known in Toronto, where it is located, and beyond, even earning a spot in USA Today’s list of 10 Best Gourmet Stores. They now offer lots of their products for sale on their website for those of you who live in Canada.

For the rest of us outside Canada, we now have the “From the Kitchen of YamChops” to fall back to and re-create the tastes at home. As could have been expected for a cookbook celebrating the vegan butchers in all of us, the opening chapter is all about meatless main dishes, with a range of burgers, meatballs, steaks, and even a schnitzel! There’s lots of comfort food recipes in there, and I highly recommend giving their Butternut Squash Cheeze ‘n’ Mac Casserole a try – it was delicious!!!

The story does not end at main dishes, and you will find a lot of great recipes for appetizers (including four different “ba-con” recipes – my favorite is coconut flakes ba-con, but that may change as I am looking forward to trying shiitake mushroom ba-con next), soups, salads, sauces, chutneys, dips and dressings. The final chapter is one big homage to chocolate, so your sweet tooth will not remain unsatisfied!

Out of many options, I decided to test a simple meatball recipe. My cooking is not only plant-based, but as gluten-free as possible, so recipes with gluten are a bit of a no-go for me. So, Black Bean Meatless Meatball recipe was definitely appealing because it is naturally gluten-free (if you get the right oats, so do read your labels carefully), and uses common ingredients that I always keep on hand. This made the prep easy and convenient, and these meatballs came together in a snap. You can see the full recipe below, courtesy of “From the Kitchen of YamChops” by Michael Abramson, Page Street Publishing Co. 2018.

Basically, I followed the recipe as provided, and everything came together really well. The meatballs were the right consistency, not too sticky, and not too loose, and came out moist and flavorful. The recipe is also perfect for those who are trying to cut down on their oil and fat consumption because it does not use any!

Having said that, there is one adjustment that I plan to incorporate next time I make these and that’s to sauté the green onions, red pepper and garlic for couple of minutes before mixing them in with the rest of ingredients. I found that these three components were a bit undercooked for my taste and the baking was not able to get the nice caramelized onion/garlic/pepper flavor that I prefer.

But, even without this minor change, these meatballs get a thumbs up! They were easy to make, the recipe yielded quite a good amount, and overall it is very budget friendly. So, definitely worth keeping on hand especially on busy evenings. I look forward to trying some of the other recipes included in “From the Kitchen of YamChops” by Michael Abramson, and if I am ever in Toronto again, I will definitely stop by and feast on what YamChops has to offer!!!

Photo by Vincenzo Pistritto Photo
With permission from “From the Kitchen of YamChops” by Michael Abramson, Page Street Publishing Co. 2018. Photo credit: Vincenzo Pistritto

Black Bean Meatless Meatballs

(Makes 2 Dozen (2 ounce) Meatballs)

What you’ll need: 

½ cup rolled oats

1 ½ cups canned black beans, rinsed and drained

1 tbsp egg replacer mixed with 3 tbsp (45 ml) water

1/3 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels, thawed if using frozen

¼ cup chopped green onion

¼ cup diced red pepper

3 tbsp salsa, homemade or store-bought

3 small cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp dried oregano

½ tsp dried basil

½ tsp smoked paprika

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

1/8 tsp sea salt

Large pinch cinnamon

Large pinch black pepper

What you’ll do:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F
  2. Pulse the rolled oats 3 or 4 times in a food processor. Add the rinsed beans and continue to pulse until the beans are roughly chopped. You want to keep some texture in the beans, so be sure not to over-process them.
  3. Whisk the egg replacer and water together until smooth and set it aside to rest for a couple of minutes.
  4. Empty the contents of the processor into a large bowl and add the corn, onion, red pepper, salsa, garlic, cumin, oregano, basil, paprika, cayenne, salt, cinnamon and pepper. Mix together until all ingredients are evenly distributed. Your hands are the best tool for this job.
  5. Add the egg replacer mixture, and mix everything together until the egg replacer mixture is fully incorporated.
  6. Take a small handful of the mixture, a little bigger than a golf ball, and form it into a fairly tight-packed ball. If the mixture holds together, you’re good to go. If the mixture is too wet, add 1 to 2 teaspoons of pulsed rolled oats. If the mixture is too dry, add 1 to 2 teaspoons of water. At YamChops, we use a 2 ounce scoop to measure these meatballs.
  7. Place the formed meatballs on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and place in your preheated oven for approximately 20 minutes or until firm to the touch. Gently turn the meatballs every 5 minutes to ensure even browning.
Recipe reprinted with permission from “From the Kitchen of YamChops” by Michael Abramson, Page Street Publishing Co. 2018. No further re-publishing allowed without explicit permission of the original content creators.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this cookbook through a community of vegan bloggers. This did not influence my views about the recipes I tried thus far and mentioned above.

Lentil and Pumpkin Meatloaf with Potato-Carrot Mad Mash

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Lentil and Pumpkin Meatloaf with Carrot-Potato Mash, via Eat the Vegan Rainbow

Meatloaf – that one dish that is universally despised yet it persists against all odds. During my meat eating days, I may have made meatloaf once or twice and it did not make a great impression. This Lentil-loaf is different. It’s full of flavor and lightness, while at the same time a little goes a long way.

The key ingredient are the lentils. They are one of those ingredients that can replace minced or ground meat in almost anything. I used them in Shepherd’s Pie, and in Lasagna, as well burgers, meatballs and in that staple of vegan cooking, Lentil Soup. Lentils are cheap, available, nutritious, and lend themselves to many spice and flavor combinations.

In this meatloaf, lentils are the meat, but meat is not all it takes to make a loaf. So, to bind everything together I use a can of pumpkin. The pumpkin holds things together almost as good as an egg would. If your loaf turns out a bit softer than you like, add some oats or some bread crumbs to it. I also recommend letting the loaf sit for 15 minutes or so after coming out of the oven to firm up before serving.

Finally, what really makes a huge difference is what you do to onions and celery before you mix them all into a loaf. I recommend that you place the diced onions and celery, with a dash of cooking spray or oil, into a microwave for five minutes or so. You want the aromatics to soften and brown as they will not have a real chance to do so while the loaf is baking. This will add a nice sweet and savory tone to the loaf and help lentils and the pumpkin, as neither one has a strong flavor. To help them out even further, you will need to add some more umami-type of components, like the Worcestershire and the tamari sauce.

You can serve this meatloaf with any sides you like. Here, I paired it with mashed carrots and potatoes. Adding some carrots to the plain, white potato mash makes it more colorful, playful and in some ways healthier. Plus, it offers a break from the routine! You can make the mash withou adding any salt or butter (oil), it would taste just fine, especially when served with this lentil and pumpkin loaf which has plenty of flavor itself.

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Lentil and Pumpkin Meatloaf with Carrot-Potato Mash

What you’ll need:

For the Meatloaf:

1 yellow onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

4 stalks celery, diced

16 oz (454 g) brown lentils, cooked

1 15 oz (425g) can pumpkin

1/3 cup tamarind sauce

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, vegan

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 teaspoon chili powder

2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 cup ketchup

Cooking spray

For Carrot-Potato Mash:

6 carrots, peeled and chopped

4 potatoes, white, peeled and chopped

1 tablespoon butter, vegan

1/4 teaspoon salt

 

What you’ll do:

  1. Bring 4 cups of water to boil and add the lentils that have been washed and sorted. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes until lentils are fully cooked. Drain the excess liquid and transfer the lentils into a large mixing bowl. Let them cool while you assemble the other ingredients.
  2. Peel, wash and chop the carrots and potatoes into smallish cubes of about similar size. Place in a large pot or a pressure cooker, cover with water, bring to boil and cook for 20 minutes if using a conventional method or 10 minutes in the pressure cooker. Drain from excess liquid, add the salt and butter and mash it with the potato masher. Place into a serving dish and cover with foil to keep warm until the meatloaf is ready. If you like you can even place the mashed carrots and potatoes into an oven safe dish and let the top get crunchy.
  3. Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C).
  4. While lentils are cooling and carrots and potatoes boiling, dice onions and celery. Place into a microwave safe bowl, spray with cooking spray or with 1/4 teaspoon oil and microwave on high for 5-6  minutes, until soften and slightly browned. Add to the lentils when ready.
  5. Add the rest of the meatloaf ingredients (except ketchup), and using a stick blender form a well blended mixture. You can also use a food processor. In both cases, do leave some lentils whole to add to the texture of the final meatloaf.
  6. Line a large baking sheet, or a loaf pan if you prefer your meatloaf more loaf-y, with a foil, spray with come cooking spray to prevent loaf from sticking, form the loaf with your hands if you are using the baking sheet, and place into the oven (if you are using regular size loaf pans you will have enough of a mixture for two loafs).
  7. Bake for 20 minutes, take the meatloaf out and spread the ketchup across the surface, and bake for another 10 minutes. Take the loaf out and let it rest for 15 minutes before serving.
  8. Serve the meatloaf with the mashed vegetables and enjoy!

Copyright © Eat the Vegan Rainbow, 2018

Oh My… It’s Another Meatless Shepherd’s Pie

Posted in Main Course, Meat Replacement, Tips & TechniquesTagged , , , , , , 8 Comments
Meatless Shepherd’s Pie, via Eat the Vegan Rainbow

The first full meal post on this blog was my version of that classic, Shepherd’s Pie. The reason I kicked things off by veganizing a classic was that I wanted to push the limits and see if I can do it and be happy with the results. At that point I was one month into plant-based diet, and felt that I need to step it up in terms of how I create my meals. That’s a quick story behind the first Vegan Shepherd’s Pie.

Once that recipe was published I did get some backlash from people who firmly believed that a Shepherd’s Pie without meat is an abomination. I obviously don’t agree and have now created another version of Shepherd’s Pie that is so close to the original that very few people will know the difference. I served this for Easter Sunday dinner few weeks ago, and it was a hit!

The three main tricks I used are to fully cook the lentils on their own in water, to use full sprigs of rosemary without chopping, and to grind the mushrooms in the food processor before using. All these three things put together make this Shepherd’s Pie taste very, very similar to the ground lamb containing version. Except that this recipe leaves the lambs alone – which can’t be bad, right?


And if you are not concerned about the well-being of lambs much, perhaps you’ll find the health benefits of this recipe or its budget-friendliness more appealing. Regardless of your reasons, I hope you find at least one to compel you to try this meatless Shepherd’s Pie. Enjoy!!!

Meatless Shepherd’s Pie

What you’ll need (for 8 HUNGRY people):

14 oz (400 g) dark (brown) lentils

4 large carrots, chopped

5 celery stalks, diced

1 onion, diced

20 oz (570 g) mushrooms

3-4 sprigs of rosemary

2 tablespoons thyme, chopped

4 cups green peas, frozen

6 potatoes, medium size

3 cloves garlic

1/4 cup almond milk

2 tablespoons olive oil

Cooking spray

What you’ll do:

    1. Cook lentils according to bag instructions. In brief, for this amount of lentils you’ll need 4-6 cups of water that you need to bring to boil. Once the water is boiling add rinsed lentils in and simmer until lentils are done, which will take 20 to 25 minutes. Set cooked lentils aside.
    2. Peel and cube the potatoes. Put them in a large pot, and add the garlic cloves too. You don’t need to chop the garlic as it will soften during boiling and you will be able to mash it with potatoes. Cover the potatoes with water and bring to boil. Decrease the heat and boil until potatoes are cooked through. Take the pot of the heat, and let it cool off before mashing.
    3. Clean the mushrooms with a paper towel to remove any visible bits of dirt. Use a food processor to chop the mushrooms until they are about the same size as little bits of ground meat.
    4. Spray the bottom of a large frying pan with cooking spray and turn the heat on to medium high. Add onion,  carrots and celery. Sauté for 3 to 5 minutes.
    5. Add whole sprigs of rosemary and chopped thyme and stir everything together. Sauté for another 8 to 10 minutes.
    6. Add chopped mushrooms, stir well and sauté until mushrooms are softened, which should not take longer than 5 minutes.
    7. Add frozen green peas, and mix everything together.  You can lower the heat or turn it completely off as all you need to do now is mix the pie filling until the peas thaw.
    8. Take rosemary sprigs out and discard. Some of the leaves will fall off and that’s OK. Remove as many as you can but leaving some in will help the flavor develop further.
    9. Add cooked lentils and mix everything together. Set aside.
    10. Preaheat the oven to 375 F (190 C).
    11. While the oven is preheating, mash the potatoes. To the pot of boiled potatoes that have been drained and cooked, add almond milk, olive oil and mash using a potato masher until the mashed potatoes are soft and smooth. You can always add more almond milk to get the consistency just right.
    12. Spay the bottom and the sides of a large baking dish with cooking spray. Pour the Shepherd’s Pie filling in and smooth out.
    13. Spoon the mashed potatoes over the top. Smooth out the mash and then using a fork create nooks and ridges. Spray the top with a bit more cooking spray and place in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until the potato topping is nice and browned.
    14. Serve with your favorite salad or even some vegan gravy. Trust me, this Shepherd’s Pie will leave you speechless!

Copyright © Eat the Vegan Rainbow, 2017