Peppered Mexican Polenta Towers

I had this dish in my head for about a week. It came once again, from gluten-free cooking, and I really like polenta anyway! My favorite way to eat it is crispy fried on the outside. I thought it would be delicious Mexican style over beans, so here we are! I also got to take advantage of the Farmer's Market and I got heirloom tomatoes and bell peppers at a *very* reasonable price, which I am psyched about! Called "Peppered" because I have mild bell peppers, fried jalapenos, and chipotle (smoked jalapeno) powder.

If you are going to make this, then do the polenta and marinate the tofu the day before. You may even do the salsa w/o the avocado and add it last minute. Don't be intimidated by the length of the recipe, it's just several simple components, and you can do it if I can! Keep polenta and tofu warm in the oven if you need to, while preparing the plates.




Peppered Mexican Polenta Stacks (Makes 4 servings with leftover polenta)

Tofu:
1 lb tofu, cut into 8 slabs and pressed
Tofu Marinade- Wheat Free Soy sauce, brown sugar, sherry(or tequila/alcohol/lime juice), cumin, smoked paprika, chipotle powder, onion powder, water, vegetable oil. Adjust to taste. Water should be used only if marinade needs to be mellowed. Marinate an hour minimum (I like overnight). When ready to prepare, just saute in peanut or vegetable oil. Keep it simple.

Polenta-
3 1/2 c water
1 c polenta corn grits (not instant grits, y'all!)
2 tsp vegan "chicken" broth bouillon*
1 scallion, minced
1/4 c loosely-packed cilantro leaves (measure out then mince)
1 Tbsp olive oil/margarine
salt to taste (I used about 1-2 tsp)

Heat water in a medium saucepan. Whisk in bouillon while heating and heat to boiling. *You can also use premade veggie broth or any other combo bouillon/water. I make mine weak for things like this. Whisk in polenta in a steady stream. Stir often. Add water if polenta becomes really thick. I did about 1/3 cup. Cover and turn heat down, cooking 15 min. Stir often. Add scallions/cilantro and olive oil/margarine and turn heat off. Stir once or twice while polenta cools for 10 minutes in pan. Pour into container and let come to room temperature, then refrigerate until completely firm all the way through. I would say 1 hour minimum in a shallow pan. From here you can cut into desired shape and fry until crispy on each side.

Note: You can use the tubes of polenta that you find in the produce section. However, making it at home is way less expensive and the 20 min you put in can really impress because you added the cilantro and scallion flavor/color.

Beans-
I usually take refried beans (I have red refried beans, Frijoles Rojos Volteados, Natura's brand) and add stock, but I added a little extra this time. I fried up some red onions and garlic, then blended them with the stock so it would be completely smooth. General ratio is 1 c broth to 1-16oz can beans. I also add a hunk of margarine for flavor/fat since we are using lard-free. Add salt if necessary. These simmer on low for about an hour. Be careful and go slow, the mixture will blend eventually.

Tomatoes-
Thick slices of heirloom sprinkled with salt and pepper. (I was going to broil these but they are fantastic by themselves.)

Peppers-
Roast 2 red and 2 green bell peppers. Put in a paper bag or plastic container with a lid and let cool. Skin and deseed. DO NOT rinse. Cut into strips to make sure each plate gets some of each pepper.

Jalapenos-
To keep gluten free, use a GF flour like rice flour. Just chop fresh jalapeno to desired shape (I like strips because it doesn't include seeds), roll in flour, then soy buttermilk (soymilk plus a small amount apple cider vinegar), back in the rice flour and fry. These are for garnishing the top. This is optional but it's fun and pretty and quick. It also adds a punch if your peppers are hot!

Sweet Avocado Salsa-
1 ripe avocado
1 ripe mango
cilantro
small amount minced red onion (couple Tbsp)
fresh lime juice
handful fresh cut corn kernels

Do your thang! Chop those avocados and the mango, mix all ingredients except avocado. I pulsed in food processor. Fold in avocado so it keeps its structure. Corn is optional, but I like the mixture, and raw corn is really sweet and it ties into the corn in the polenta.

Plate as desired! I did it like this:

Beans on bottoms, polenta, tofu, tomato, roasted red peppers, polenta, tofu, roasted red peppers, fried jalapenos.

My presentation was a little sloppy because we had 5 hungry tummies and I didn't want it to get cold!

Pho and Spring Rolls

Lauren and Daniel came to visit and Lauren requested Pho and Spring Rolls. So..Pho and Spring Rolls they had.

I use this recipe as a base, but I use Better Than Bouillon vegan beef broth, and this time I added a cube of vegan Pho bouillon. You have to be careful to adjust the salt/soy sauce and the liquids used, make sure it is balanced. I just wanted a deep flavor, but the flavor mostly comes from the charred vegetables in the recipe, specifically the anise pods. I am re-posting the recipe here with a few modifications.




Pho from elliemay.com
for the broth...

1 small unpeeled onion, quartered
2 unpeeled shallots, halved (can also use more onion)
8 garlic cloves, halved
a 1-inch piece of ginger, coarsely sliced
two 3-inch cinnamon sticks
2 pods of star anise
4 cloves
8 cups clear vegetable stock
3 tablespoons soy sauce
salt

for the soup ...
about 1 pound rice noodles (I use less)
8 ounces seitan or fried tofu, sliced
6 scallions, thinly sliced
about 1-1/2 cups bean sprouts
a good handful of basil, mint or cilantro leaves, left whole
1 lime, cut into wedges
hoisin sauce
sriracha chili paste

Cooking Instructions

To make the broth, heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, shallots, garlic, ginger, cinnamon sticks, star anise, and cloves and dry-roast, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to char. Add the stock/bouillon/paste and soy sauce and bring to a boil over high heat. Turn the heat down to medium-low, cover, and simmer for about 25 minutes. Strain into a clean pot and discard the solids. Taste the broth and add salt if necessary. Keep warm over low heat.

While the broth is simmering, prepare the rice noodles and if you haven't done so already, cook your seitan or tofu. I like to use beef seitan, sliced thin and seared over high heat on each side. Add a little steak sauce or marinade for the finish.

Place the noodles in a large bowl. Pour boiling water over the noodles to cover and soak for 20 minutes OR boil rice noodles until done (happens quickly so stand by) and drain/rinse.

When you are ready to assemble the soup, pour broth into each bowl, add noodles to the broth and set up the rest of the ingredients on a platter. Set in the middle of the table. I like to do it this way, family style so each person gets exactly how much of everything they want.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Spring Rolls



This time, the spring rolls had teriyaki mushrooms, carrot, green onion, rice noodles, and tofu. I soaked some dried shiitakes until tender, then sauteed them with button mushrooms and added teryaki sauce to finish. Tofu was simply sauteed in peanut oil until crispy then cut from slabs into strips. If eating with the pho, you may want to skip the rice noodles, and cut romaine lettuce into ribbons. If anyone doesn't know how to do spring rolls, leave a comment and I will include instructions or a link to instructions. Also, serving on saran wrap adds a real touch of class!(not).
I used Vegan Planet's peanut sauce, but used homemade "fish" sauce and soy instead of all soy. It was fantastic!



Bonus pics!

Green Stuffed Shells

I made these shells with more veggies in mind. It was actually supposed to be a lasagna but I didn't have lasagna noodles. I made it with Mean Green Spinach sauce, but about 1/2 the recipe was used, so if you are *just* making this, then 1/2 the recipe.



The Mean Green sauce is VERY spinach-y. If you don't like spinach a lot, then I would suggest to pick another sauce or omit.

Green Stuffed Shells w/Mean Green Spinach Sauce

1/2 recipe Mean Green Spinach Sauce (recipe follows)
1 small batch white sauce (recipe follows)
1 recipe tofu ricotta
3-4 med size piece seitan, chopped, cooked and seasoned (maybe 3/4-1 cup)
pasta shells (I used about 12 but used 10oz tofu. Adjust for your ricotta recipe)
spaghetti sauce for pan
hand full (1 c) chopped broccoli

*Make whichever tofu ricotta you like. Chill in refrigerator.
*Cook seitan until crispy and mix with ricotta. Chill while you prepare dish.
*Cook large pasta shells as directed, and rinse with cold water. Set aside. Do not drain water. Throw broccoli in boiling water and cook a few minutes until tender but not mushy. Chop and set aside.
*Make Mean Green Spinach Sauce and white sauce while shells are cooking (or make spinach sauce the day ahead and chill).
*Pour a little spaghetti sauce in a small square nonstick baking pan.
*Fill cooled shells with ricotta mixture. Top with broccoli.
*Place each shell in pan, and top with Mean Green Spinach Sauce, White Sauce, a little more shapgetti sauce, and optional vegan cheese.
*Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes, until well-heated through. Broil to melt cheese the last couple minutes, if using. Keep an eye on it.



Mean Green Spinach Sauce
1/2 c packed cilantro (or if you are a hater, just double parsley)
1/2 c packed parsley
1/2 frozen block spinach (makes 2-2 1/2 Tbsp spinach when thawed and squeezed). You could probably also just use 2 lare handfuls fresh spinach
1 c vegetable/vegan "chicken" flavor broth
2 Tbsp. soy milk
1 Tbsp. vegan margarine
1/2- 1 tsp. cornstarch

Blend everything very, very well in a blender and place on low heat until thickened and just barely boiling. Makes a crazy bright green sauce. I would suggest to eat it with another sauce. It's strongly flavored, but good in applications like this.

White Sauce
1 Tbsp. vegan margarine
1 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
1/2 c soy milk
salt and pepper.

Melt margarine in a saucepan, then whisk flour and nutritional yeast until crumbly and toasted. Do not burn. Add 1/4 c soy milk and break down chunks. Add other 1/4 c soy milk and keep stirring until thickened but not too thick. Set aside.