Winter is abundant with great root vegetables like carrots or parsnips. We don’t want to exclusively eat soups and stews, so enjoy making this dip that is fresh but hearty at the same time. We made it with Bon Appetit’s Flatbread which was inspired by Joshua McFadden’s recipe at Tusk in Portland, Oregon. Serve this up as a snack or alongside a light arugula salad for a light, wintery meal.
If you’re in New York, we recommend checking out Sahadi’s in Brooklyn or Kalustyan’s in the City. Both stores have an abundance of ingredients like labne and preserved lemons. We could honestly spend hours and our entire paychecks at these specialty grocers. If you want to just order specialty ingredients online, check out Snuk’s.
If our small team of four is representative of the larger population, tempeh is polarizing. Team tempeh: Laura and Rian. Team “Oh my God what’s wrong with you”: Char and Gillian.
My case here? You should find out which team you’re on.
Okay, okay, I acknowledge that opener probably doesn’t inspire you to sprint out to the market, but, truly, I love the stuff. Along with eggs, it’s a refrigerator staple chez moi. An unopened packaged has a shelf-life of over a month so the second I use it, I buy another for the next time I need a last-minute protein.
What is tempeh?
Tempeh is a soy-based product made by fermenting cooked soybeans and then forming the mixture into a firm, dense cake. Unlike tofu which is soft and uniform in texture, tempeh has a bit more integrity and chew. That’s because tofu is made from soy milk while tempeh is made from soybeans. It has 16 grams of protein per 3 ounce serving, the equivalent of 3 ounces of salmon.
What does it taste like?
On its own, tempeh has a savory, nutty flavor. But like many other soy-based products, it’s a bit of a chameleon, easily taking on the flavor of whatever marinade or seasoning it meets. My guess is that strong negative reactions come from the fermented smell of a freshly opened package, which some of us notice and others don’t. Maybe it’s a bit like cilantro where some people are overwhelmed by a soapy flavor, while others can’t get enough.
How can you use it?
Tempeh is often used in sandwiches, chilis, tacos, or enjoyed on its own. You can prepare it any which way but I strongly believe that it’s best thinly sliced and seared until crispy. For your first experiment, try the recipe I’m sharing below. Then branch out and give these recipes a try:
This is my go-to recipe. I use the crispy tempeh strips to top salads, grain bowls and sandwiches. I particularly love it over a salad of roasted carrots and creamy avocado with fistfuls of cilantro, mint and sliced scallion, toasted pepitas and agave-lime vinaigrette. It also makes a good stand-in for bacon in a traditional BLAT (A stands for avocado of course). Try it and let us know which team you’re on!
1 small clove garlic, grated on a mandoline or finely minced
Sriracha to taste (1+ teaspoon)
Neutral oil like vegetable, canola or grapeseed
Method
Thinly slice the tempeh into ¼ inch slabs. In a container that snugly fits the sliced tempeh in a single layer, whisk together the juice of ½-1 lime, 1 tbsp soy sauce, ½ tsp toasted sesame oil, 1 heaping tsp smoked paprika, 2 tsps maple syrup, 1 small clove grated garlic and sriracha to taste. Add the tempeh and marinate refrigerated for at least an hour and up to a couple of days.
When ready to use, preheat a large cast iron or non-stick skillet over medium high heat. When hot, add about a tbsp of neutral oil. Then add the drained marinated tempeh in a single layer and sear for ~4 minutes a side. Watch it closely because the maple syrup helps the tempeh caramelize quickly. You want it to be nice and crunchy. Err on the side of too brown versus too pale.
Enjoy immediately or let cool and enjoy at room temperature in salads, sandwiches, tacos…the world is your oyster!
Despite the fact that we spend the majority of our days cooking for others, Laura, Kristina, Rian and I typically head straight into our own kitchens the moment we walk through our front doors at the end of the day. Nourishing ourselves is the ultimate form of self-care, and nourishing our friends is how we show our love. So, when Kristina’s 25th birthday rolled around last month, we knew a dinner party in her honor was in order.
While I’m sure the idea of a “dinner party” conjures up images of carefully set dining tables and anxieties of perfectly timed meals, that’s not usually how we entertain at home. On our own time, we aim to maximize our guests’ enjoyment while minimizing the amount of work it takes to create a wow-factor. Nine times out of ten, the path to this is a BYO (i.e. build-your-own) meal.
When in comes to BYO, tacos are the gold standard. A spread of charred corn tortillas, spiced meat, fish or poultry, stewed beans, a roasted veg or two, and an array of raw toppings like fresh herbs, sliced avocado and shredded cheese never, and I mean never, disappoints. Tacos satisfy meat eaters, vegetarians, vegans, picky eaters, gluten-abstainers, kids, adults, those who aren’t that hungry, those who are starved…you get the idea.
And for hosts, they’re a dream. You can begin your prep a day or two in advance by fitting small tasks into your schedule like shaving radishes and picking herbs while your morning coffee is brewing. If your smart about it, by the time the party rolls around, you only have a few finishing touches before you pour yourself a drink.
There are endless variations on tacos, from seasonal veggies to wholesome proteins. Staples are charred corn tortillas, an abundance of herbs (especially mint, cilantro and scallions), toasted pepitas, lime wedges, and a sprinkle of chili powder, cumin and/or granulated garlic on whatever’s going in the oven if you’re keeping the theme tex-mex.
A few of our go-to toppings:
Non-vegetarian proteins
Braised chicken thighs with chili-garlic-cumin broth (try this recipe)
Pork carnitas with chili powder and cumin (see below)
Mild white fish like cod, mahi mahi or halibut roasted or pan fried with chili powder, cumin, coriander, paprika and granulated garlic (try this recipe)
Pulled store-bought rotisserie chicken (easy!)
Seared and thinly sliced skirt steak marinated with lime/orange juice, fresh garlic, and olive oil if there’s time
Pan-fried shrimp finished with lime and lemon zest and juice, fresh cilantro and minced jalapenos (try this recipe)
For Kristina’s BYO taco party, we catered the fixings to the guest of honor. We prepared some of her favorite seasonal ingredients: sweet potatoes, cauliflower and red onion roasted with cumin and chili powder, homemade salsa fresca, avocado, tortilla chips, whole milk Greek yogurt, and Boston lettuce shells to please our carb-averse friends. For the meat lovers in the room, we got a hunk of pork butt for juicy pork carnitas to pair with seared pineapple.
Here are the steps we took to create this tasty centerpiece to Kristina’s 25th birthday dinner party:
Note those slippers:)
Cut the meat in about 2’ chunks (not precisely, it’s being pulled later).
Season with a good amount of salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, cumin seeds and minced garlic to coat each piece.
In batches, brown the meat on each side in a large pot coated with oil of choice.
Add all the meat back to the pot along with roughly chopped white onion.
Put it in the oven for at least 3 hours at 325 degrees until the pork falls apart.
And Voilà! Serve it right out of the oven just as your friends are arriving. They’ll be so impressed by the overwhelmingly delicious aroma and the presentation straight from the pot!
Despite the fact that we spend the majority of our days cooking for others, Laura, Kristina, Rian and I typically head straight into our own kitchens the moment we walk through our front doors at the end of the day. Nourishing ourselves is the ultimate form of self-care, and nourishing our friends is how we show our love. So, when Kristina’s 25th birthday rolled around last month, we knew a dinner party in her honor was in order.
