Red Wine Tempeh with Celery Root Puree & Dinosaur Kale with Meyer Lemon

Valentine's Day is coming up and that means one thing- packed restaurants. One thing I won't be doing is making a reservation for the 14th. Instead I decided to make this vegan steakhouse dinner and enjoy the quiet and privacy of my own house.  Not only will you enjoy this meal but you will save so much money, you can go buy those expensive chocolates you've been eyeing! Or maybe that's just me.


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Red Wine Tempeh
serves 2
1 cup red wine
1 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup dark agave
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbl extra virgin olive oil
8oz tempeh, cut into 1/2" slices

Combine the wine, broth, agave, vinegar, thyme, salt, pepper and garlic in a small pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and reduce for 20 minutes.
While the sauce is reducing, lightly saute the tempeh in olive oil until golden brown on both sides but not caramelized.
Pour half the sauce on top of the tempeh and bring to a boil. Cook until the tempeh has absorbed most of the liquid and what remains is very thick. Add the remaining sauce and cook down 5-7 minutes more until thick but still a pourable sauce.

Dinosaur Kale with Meyer Lemon
1 tbl extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
2 heads dinosaur kale, stemmed, roughly chopped
1/2 cup vegetable broth
2 meyer lemons, divided
salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, to taste

Combine the oil and garlic in a large saute pan and bring to medium heat. Add the kale and toss to combine. Once the leaves have wilted a bit, add the broth and juice from 1 meyer lemon. Season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Saute for 10 minutes. Garnish with thin slices of lemon.

Celery Root Puree
1 medium sized celery root, peeled, small dice
2 cups almond milk
2 garlic cloves, whole
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 tbl vegan butter
salt and pepper, to taste

Combine the celery root, milk, garlic cloves and rosemary sprig in a pot and bring to a low boil. Cook for 20 minutes until the celery root is tender. Remove the sprig of rosemary and add the butter. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a blender or food processor and puree until creamy and smooth.