Robin Enotera is a member of Neighbours for the Planet and comes to our bi-monthly meetings. She is a vegan and is helping us promote reducing our carbon footprint by eating healthier! Robin is highlighting delicious vegan recipes by bringing home cooked meals and desserts to our meetings.
Ingredients
1 cup of dry green lentils
1 cup of TVP (textured vegetable protein) * available at the Bulk Barn
1 medium onion, chopped
8 oz mushrooms, chopped (any type you like)
¼ teaspoon of salt
4 to 6 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped into chunks
1 cup each peas and corn (fresh, frozen or tinned)
3 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
2 heap tablespoons of cornstarch
2 mushroom or vegetable bouillon cubes
4 cups of water
2 tablespoons vegan “butter” or vegan margarine
Salt and pepper to taste
Cooking Directions
1Cook Lentils – Rinse and drain lentils. Add to a small saucepan and cover with 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 20 minutes. Set aside.
Rehydrate TVP – Put TVP in a small bowl or a large measuring cup. Bring one cup of water to boil in a pot or kettle. Add ½ of one bouillon cube to hot water and stir to dissolve. Pour this over TVP and stir with a fork. Set aside.
Prepare Potatoes – Bring peeled chopped potatoes to a boil and cook until soft. Drain, leaving a little liquid in the bottom of the pot. Add ½ bouillon cube and 1 tablespoon of vegan butter or margarine. Whip with a hand mixer or mash. Set aside, in a warm spot.
Prepare the Gravy – Bring 1 ½ cups of water to boil in a small pot. Add 1 ½ bouillon cubes. Stir until dissolved. Add the 2 tablespoons of cornstarch to ½ cup of COLD water and stir until there are no lumps. Turn off the heat on the boiling bouillon. Whisk the cold liquid into the hot until it is a gravy consistency. Set aside, keeping it warm and covered.
Prepare the Base – In a large frying pan, add oil, onions & mushrooms, sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon of salt and sauté on medium heat until soft. Add rehydrated TVP and raise heat to medium high. Allow TVP to brown slightly, being sure to scrape the caramelized bits off the bottom and stir almost constantly for about 3 minutes. Add peas and corn. Stir to combine and turn off the heat.
Assemble – In a large baking/ casserole dish, tip in the pan of sautéed TVP / vegetable. Mix in cooked lentils and gravy. Stir to combine. Take a small taste to see if you would like to add salt or pepper at this point. Spread across the bottom of the dish. Dollop whipped / mashed potatoes over the base and spread to cover completely. Dollop with the remaining tablespoon of “butter” or margarine. If you have kept all ingredients sufficiently hot you can just enjoy at this point. If it’s lost its heat during preparation you can bake in a 350 oven for 15 to 20 minutes uncovered. ENJOY!
Notes:
Do not salt the water that you cook your lentils in or they will be tough
Instead of the dry TVP you could use any of the prepared ground beef substitutes that are available in every grocery store.
Feel free to add any type of vegetable that you like to bulk up your veggie content. Sweet potatoes work well in addition to or in place of white potatoes. To the base you could add carrots or celery or any other veg that you like, but stay away from any that have a high water content. You can easily substitute any vegetables that are in the recipe that aren’t to your liking.
If you want to reduce the amount of salt or fat that you are using in this recipe, you can use less by omitting the “butter” / margarine all together and not adding the ¼ teaspoon of salt to the sautéed vegetables.