Party Animals No. 3: Eggplant Confit Banh Mi for a casual grill-out

This sandwich was inspired by/adapted from Tartine Bread. (One day, we hope someone will be genius enough to publish an anniversary edition of The Joy of Vegan Baking on matte stock. It would be one of the greatest pieces of advocacy ever.) Beautiful book, yes. Vegan, not even close. So after a little work and playing with scale to make this recipe make more sense for a home kitchen, we found total success: Rich eggplant confit and zesty marinated veggies drizzled with a chile-lime sea sauce, all topped with a creamy herb sauce.

Though it looks like a long recipe, don't worry: both sauces are a snap to throw together while the veggies marinate, and the eggplant confit can be made days in advance. Even the sandwich itself can be assembled more than an hour before baking or grilling. Letting the sauces soak into the bread a little doesn't hurt one bit. Which means it travels like a champ.

Note that we did end up making this for the event with the traditional baguette, which is pretty hard to beat. But sometimes a crusty ciabatta (that version pictured above) is in order. Our solution? Make this sandwich early and often, with any bread you're currently craving.

Eggplant Confit Banh Mi

Print the recipe 

1 baguette or ciabatta loaf (we have a very strong preference for Flour Head Bakery), cut in half lengthwise

1 batch herb legumaise, recipe follows

1 batch marinated shredded vegetables, recipe follows

1 batch chile-lime sea sauce, recipe folows

half recipe eggplant confit, sliced into long, 1/4-inch thick slices

To assemble: Spread the herb legumaise on the cut side of the top half of your loaf and set aside. Spread the marinated vegetables over the bottom half of your loaf. Drizzle the chile-lime sea sauce over the vegetables, then add the eggplant confit. Put the sandwich together. If grilling, wrap the sandwich in foil and grill for about 10 minutes, until warmed through. To bake, place the sandwich (no need to wrap it in foil) directly onto the middle rack of an oven preheated to 375 and bake for 7-10 minutes, until the sandwich is warm and the bread has crisped a bit. 

Herb Legumaise:

5 basil leaves

1/4 cup cilantro

1/4 cup cooked navy beans

2 TBSP olive oil

1 small clove of garlic

juice of half a lime

1/4 tsp salt

1/4-1/2 of 1 jalapeno (about 1/4 oz)

Add all ingredients to a jar and puree with an immersion blender.

Marinated Shredded Vegetables:

1 medium cucumber (5-6 oz total weight), peeled, trimmed, and shredded

1 small bell pepper (3-4 oz total weight), trimmed and cut into matchsticks

1 large or 2 small carrots (2-3 oz total weight), peeled, trimmed, and shredded

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup water

2 TBSP sugar

1/2 TBSP kosher/sea salt

Place the shredded vegetables in a large bowl. Whisk together the vinegar, water, sugar, and salt, and pour the mixture over the vegetables. Let marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Chile-Lime Sea Sauce:

2 cloves garlic

juice of 1 1/2 limes

1/2 tsp oil

1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne powder

1 TBSP low-sodium tamari

1/2 tsp kelp granules

Place all ingredients into a jar and puree with an immersion blender.

Eggplant Confit

Rich, silky, and achingly tender, this decadent, slow-cooked eggplant confit goes to work anytime a dish calls for a rich, savory element. This idea came to us when we were adapting a sandwich recipe (recipe will appear soon), but we've already put it in two other dishes. And when we had one final chunk left with a nearly bare fridge, we found it made it a killer spread when pureed with spinach, white beans, and sun-dried tomatoes. Plus, it's dead simple. Talk about an ace up your sleeve.

Eggplant Confit

Print the recipe

1 large eggplant, or several small (1 lb total weight), trimmed, the skin pierced several times all over the surface, and halved lengthwise

1 cup olive oil

1 large (or 2 small) umeboshi, pitted and minced (this should yield about 1 tsp of minced flesh)

1 tsp liquid smoke

Pour the olive oil into a slower cooker and whisk in the umeboshi and liquid smoke. Add the eggplant, cut sides down, in a single layer (a little bit of overlap is okay, but you want to maximize the eggplant flesh's exposure to the oil).

Cover. Cook on low for 4 hours. Reserve unabsorbed oil for other savory applications.

Party Animals No. 2: Gochujang Spring Rolls and Sweet Potato Pie with a Brandied Date Swirl for a Potluck with Pals

Gochujang Spring Rolls

Print the recipe 

1 cup water

1/2 cup dry brown rice

1 TBSP oil of choice

1 clove garlic, minced

1 small head purple cabbage, shredded

1 lb carrots

double recipe  [see note] gochujang sauce, recipe follows

9 8-inch dried rice paper sheets

Bring the cup of water to a boil over high heat, add the brown rice and cover. Return to a boil, reduce heat to low and let cook 25-30 minutes.

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan and saute the garlic for about 3 minutes, until fragrant. Add the shredded cabbage, stirring to coat the cabbage with the oil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and let cook while you peel and shred the carrots, 7-10 minutes. 

Once the carrots are shredded, put on a full kettle of water over medium heat. 

Add the shredded carrots to the cabbage, stir well, and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Cover the pot again, turn off the heat, and let sit while you whisk together all of the gojuchang sauce ingredients. When the rice has finished cooking, add it to the vegetables.

Stir the sauce into the vegetable mixture. When the water in the kettle is hot, but still cool enough to comfortably put your hands in, transfer the water to a large bowl.

To assemble, take one sheet of rice paper and dip it into the hot water, rotating to wet the circumference until the sheet is flexible enough to submerge completely, then hold under until very soft, transparent, and pliable. (Each sheet will take about twenty seconds to soften, beginning to end.) Transfer to a cutting board and cut the circle in half with a pizza cutter. Place 3-4 TBSP of the filling along the flat, cut edge of the paper. fold in the sides and roll up. Repeat with the remaining rice paper and filling. 

yield: 18 spring rolls

Single recipe gochujang sauce (taken years ago from Closet Cooking) :

[Note: If making this recipe for ourselves to eat at home, we'd probably go with a lighter, subtler version and use only a single batch of the gochujang sauce, which, like any other incredibly wonderful condiment, isn't exactly health food. But when entertaining, feel free to splurge on the double batch of sauce. It's good stuff.]

1 TBSP gochujang (this paste is available, if nowhere else, at Oriental Super Mart on Sutherland)

1 TBSP rice vinegar

1 tsp turbinado/brown sugar

1 tsp sesame seeds (optionally toasted)

1 tsp low-sodium tamari (or soy sauce) 

1 tsp sesame oil

Sweet Potato Pie with a Brandied Date Swirl

This pie is simply Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's (totally great, definitely getting made this Thanksgiving with a chocolate swirl) pumpkin pie recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking, substituting mashed sweet potatoes for the pumpkin puree.

For the brandied date swirl: 

10 dates, pitted

1/2 cup water

1/4 tsp salt

2 TBSP brandy

1 TBSP orange juice (optional) 

about 1/2 cup water, for blending

Simmer the dates in the 1/2 cup water for about 5 minutes, until the dates are very soft. Remove from heat and to the pot add the rest of the ingredients. Puree until smooth with an immersion blender (or transfer to a food processor/blender if necessary, but be careful of the hot ingredients). The result should be a loose paste that will not pour, something like a thick apple butter (add more water by the tablespoon if your paste is still too thick and sticky).

Fill a prepared pie crust with the sweet potato filling. Spoon the brandied date paste in a large spiral on top of the unbaked sweet potato pie and use a chopstick to swirl the two fillings together. Bake as directed. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Early Fall Paella

While fresh peppers and eggplant are still (just) available, but it's no longer too hot to stand over the stove, it's time for this flavorful dish. And though this year's summer vacations are now only a memory, you can still enjoy the most popular, coastal version of paella by adding tender tofu, delicately sweetened and seasoned with kelp.

Early Fall Paella

Print the recipe

Inspired by Eric Ripert's A Return to Cooking 

1 lb extra firm tofu, pressed for 20-30 min and cut into 3/4-inch dice (we really prefer Twin Oaks)

2 tsp corn starch

1/2 tsp sugar

1 tsp kelp granules (available in the bulk spice section at the co-op) 

2 TBSP water

8 oz eggplant, trimmed and diced

4-5 TBSP olive oil, divided

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 small onion, finely diced

1/4 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp dried sage

1/2 tsp turmeric

2 tsp tomato paste

1 cup medium-grain dried rice

4 cups vegetable stock, warm or at room temperature (note: if you're using a commercial stock that contains tomato paste, you can omit the 2 tsp tomato paste listed above)

salt and white pepper, to taste

1 roasted bell pepper, chopped (roasted fresh, or jarred in water)

1/2 cup frozen peas

In a large bowl, whisk together the corn starch, sugar, kelp granules, and water. Toss with the diced tofu. Place the diced eggplant into a colander and sprinkle lightly with salt. Set both aside, allow the tofu to marinate and the eggplant to sweat for about 20 minutes. (If you're preparing your roasted pepper from scratch, now would be a good time to knock that out.)

Preheat the oven to 375. 

Meanwhile, heat 2 TBSP of the olive oil in a large skillet. Saute the onion and garlic until the onion is translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Stir in the thyme, sage, turmeric, and tomato paste and cook for a few minutes more, until fragrant. Add the rice, stirring to coat it with the oil. 

Add three ladles' worth of stock (1 1/2 cups) to the pan. Cook, and once the rice has absorbed nearly all of the liquid, add another ladle (1/2 cup) of stock to the pan. Repeat until the rice is tender. It will take between five and ten minutes each time for the liquid to be absorbed, and will take an hour, all told, give or take. White rice will cook more quickly than brown. A glass of wine and a friend work well here to pass the time.

When the tofu and eggplant are ready (while the rice is still cooking) drain the eggplant and toss it with the remaining 2-3 TBSP of oil. Bake the tofu and the eggplant simultaneously for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through to ensure even cooking. 

Once the rice is cooked, season to taste with the salt and white pepper. Stir in the tofu, eggplant, roasted pepper, and peas. Cover and cook for 5 minutes, until warmed through. 

Serves 3

Big S Farms: Creamy, Sweet & Savory Chickpea-Salsa Salad

When Big S Farms sent us some recipes (from a now inactive blogger), one really jumped out. It wasn't at all vegan, but it wasn't at all tricky to get it there. The result is a grown-up chickpea salad  that's ridiculously simple to throw together, with notes to satisfy every part of your tongue: creamy mayo, fresh cilantro, and sweet cinnamon. It's ready to be stuffed into pita, slapped on a bun, or served on a bed of greens, 

Creamy, Sweet & Savory Chickpea-Salsa Salad

Print the recipe

1 15-oz can chickpeas, drained (or 1 1/2 cups fresh)

1 15-oz can artichoke hearts, drained

1/2 cup salsa, preferably Big S Farms Smoke on the Mountain

1/3 cup salted peanuts

1/2 cup legumaise (you can sub half vegenaise and half non-dairy plain Greek yogurt)

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1 TBSP balsamic vinegar

1 tsp cinnamon

salt and pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients and season to taste.

Legumaise (homemade, vegan, fiber-packed mayo sub)

Nothing creamy sitting in your refrigerator ready to go? No sweat. With a few kitchen staples we reliably have on hand, you can throw one together in moments. It's fresh, light, and gives great texture. It works in most salad-type recipes in place of vegenaise, sour cream, or plain yogurt. And, of course, on sandwiches.

Note: The full recipe yields quite a bit (a generous 1 1/2 cups), which keeps for about a week to 10 days in the refrigerator. Feel free to make a half batch for a quantity easier to use up in that time.

Legumaise

Print the recipe 

1 15-oz can navy beans, drained and rinsed

1 small clove garlic

juice of half a lemon

generous pinch salt

1/3 cup vegetable oil of choice (safflower works well here), or more, as needed

Place all ingredients except oil in a food processor and process. With the motor running, drizzle in the oil and process until you get a silky consistency, adding more oil, if needed. Alternately, if you're not in the mood to wash your processor, you can add all ingredients to a mason jar (which you can store this in) and use an immersion blender.

Vegan Bruschetta Pizza Two Ways

The artichoke pie is light and zippy, the eggplant one is rich and savory. They pair perfectly. And since the ingredients are nearly identical, they're a snap to make at the same time. If you’re ever in need of a more elegant presentation, these should make great savory galettes: Chop and toss together the ingredients instead of processing, then top the unbaked crusts, leaving a three-inch border. Fold the edges over, and bake.

 Print the recipes

Artichoke Bruschetta Pizza:

1 15-ounce can artichoke hearts packed in water, drained and rinsed well
half of one large roasted red bell pepper
1 clove garlic
juice of half a lemon
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp dried oregano
dash of freshly cracked black pepper
dash ground cayenne
1 TBSP olive oil

Eggplant Bruschetta Pizza:

1 small Italian eggplant, sweated and cooked at 450 (without oil) for about 15 minutes
half of one large roasted red bell pepper
1 clove garlic
juice of half a lemon
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp dried oregano
dash of freshly cracked black pepper
dash ground cayenne
3 TBSP olive oil

The method for both toppings is the same: Add all ingredients except oil to a food processor. Process and, with the motor running, drizzle in the oil. The result should be a chunky pate.

Top your pizza crust of choice and bake according to your crust's needs.