Morel & New Potato Hash

This hash could really be served anytime of the day. I chose to spice it with the same seasonings one would taste when eating breakfast sausage or tempeh bacon so it has more of a breakfast feel to me.
If you've never tried sea beans, the time to get them is right now! Don't expect your grocery store to carry them, instead head to your local farmer's market and ask around for them. They are thin and crunchy and naturally salty which is why you will notice there is no additional salt in this recipe. Between the sea beans and the tamari, this dish is plenty salty.

One Year Ago Today Roasted Cauliflower with Chili, Lime & Cilantro

Two Years Ago Today Red Velvet Ice Cream

Three Years Ago Today Chocolate filled Peanut Butter Cookies


Since Morel's are hollow on the inside, they work perfectly for this hash. Cooked alongside the potatoes they soften then crisp up at the end pairing perfectly with tempeh and plenty of woody herbs.

Morel Hash
serves 3
3 tbl extra virgin olive oil
12oz tempeh, medium dice
4 small yellow potatoes, unpeeled, medium dice
1 cup morels, halved lengthwise
2 cups water
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
3/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tbl tamari
1 tbl agave or maple syrup
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
1 cup sea beans, roughly chopped

Saute the tempeh, potatoes and morels in a large skillet for 5-7 minutes until the potato start to get tender. Add the water and garlic and cook until the water has evaporated. Season with basil, pepper, oregano, red pepper flakes, tamari, agave and liquid smoke. Saute 5 minutes more until the potatoes are fully cooked through and most of the sauce from the tamari has been absorbed.
Toss with fresh sea beans and serve.

Homemade Seitan, Scalloped Potatoes, Seared Leeks & Morels

My picture does not do this meal justice! The scalloped potatoes were quick to put together and were creamy in the middle, crunchy on top and had an overall great flavor. I picked up some German Butterball potatoes at the farmer's market and they worked perfectly. Yukon golds would also be a great potato for this dish.
Making seitan from scratch is a labor of love but sometimes it is worth it. Once you get it down you can flavor it to suit your mood and keep big batches on hand for whenever you have a hankerin!

Fresh seitan, gently crisped with seared leeks and crispy morel mushrooms alongside creamy scalloped potatoes.

Homemade Seitan
1 cup vital wheat gluten
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
6 cup vegetable broth, divided
2 tbl soy sauce
1 tsp liquid smoke
1 bay leaf
2 tbl extra virgin olive oil

Combine the wheat gluten, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, rosemary and red pepper flakes in a bowl. In a smaller bowl combine 3/4 cup broth, soy sauce and liquid smoke. Slowly pour in the wet into the dry and knead together with your hands for 15 minutes until smooth and rubbery. Don't use an electric mixer! I set a timer to make sure I kneaded it just the right amount of time.
Let the seitan rest for 5 minutes then knead a few more times. Divide into 4 pieces and gently stretch out into cutlets as thin as 1/2".
Pour the remaining broth into a large stock pot with the bay leaf, add the seitan and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer (but do not boil!) for 90 minutes until the seitan has hardened.
Once this is done, you can prepare the seitan however you want. Slice each cutlet into 4 or 5 pieces and season with salt and pepper. Saute in olive oil until golden brown on both sides.

Scalloped Potatoes
4 tbl extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 large walla walla onion, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 large german butterball potatoes (or yukons)
8 oz vegan cream cheese, softened
2 tbl nutritional yeast
3 tbl unsweetened almond milk
2 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350.
In a large saute pan, sweat the onions and garlic in 2 tbl oil until soft and fragrant, 10 minutes.
While the onions are sweating, thinly slice the potatoes on a mandolin and keep in a large bowl of salted water to prevent browning.
Once the onions are done, transfer them to a plate and drain the potatoes.
Combine the cream cheese, nut yeast, almond milk and thyme and stir until smooth.
Place one layer of potatoes down in the bottom of the saute pan. Sprinkle with onions and 1/2 of the cream cheese mixture. Repeat 2 more times. Lastly, layer the top with remaining potatoes and drizzle with 2 tbl olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake for 1 hour.
Rest for 10 minutes before cutting to serve.

Seared Leeks and Morels
2 tbl extra virgin olive oil
1 tbl earth balance vegan butter
1 large leek, cut into 1/2" discs
1 cup morels, sliced vertically
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper

Combine the oil and butter in a saute pan. Once hot, add the leeks and morels and sear until golden brown. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Turn the leeks over and sear the other side until soft.

Morel, Nettle & Green Garlic Hash

The farmers market this morning was brimming with delicious looking vegetables that I don't get to see use often so I had to take advantage of the opportunity and pick them up. I was extra excited to see fresh morels and nettles. I even grabbed a bag of Douglas Fir needles which I have never heard using in food but I am excited to see what I can do with it. I didn't want to cover up the fresh flavors of these ingredients too much so I just made a simple hash to allow all of the spring flavors to come through.

Stinging Nettles are soft, prickly greens that have a slight lemony flavor and taste great wilted and are made of 40% protein! They would taste great in a frittata, stuffed inside a ravioli or in a white bean and garlic soup.

Morel, Nettle & Green Garlic Hash
4 purple potatoes
2 tbl coconut oil
1 green garlic stalk, green parts only, thinly sliced
10 morels, thinly sliced
2 large handfuls nettles, roughly torn
1 tbl soy sauce
1 tsp mirin
1 tbl sesame seeds
2 tbl fresh chopped cilantro

Bring the potatoes in a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes until partly cooked. Drain and thinly slice.
Melt the coconut oil in a large skillet and saute the green garlic over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Add the morels and saute 5 minutes more until they start to crisp. Add the sliced potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Press into a single layer and let the potatoes crisp and get golden brown. Saute until the potatoes have cooked through. Add the nettles and allow to wilt. Season with soy, mirin, sesame seeds and cilantro.