Open Faced Black Eyed Pea Steak Sandwiches with Herbed Hollandaise & Roasted Roots

For me, starting a food blog was all about the recipes and never really intended to be a journal of thoughts. Sometimes I find myself struggling to tell you just exactly why or how I came about creating the recipe I did. This is one of those times. There was no specific rhyme or reason, I just wanted beans and roasted vegetables and this was the result. I'd say take it or leave it, but I do hope you take it!
 
One Year Ago Today Tempeh Baked Beans, Broccoli Salad & Rosemary Cornbread 
Two Years Ago Today Mushroom & Potato Cabbage Rolls with Braised Green Beans


Hearty bean based steaks made from black eyed peas, fresh basil, carrots and onions served with rich and creamy herbed hollandaise sauce and simply roasted root vegetables on the side.

Black Eyed Pea Steaks
serves 4
1 carrot, roughly chopped
1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, smashed
5 fresh basil leaves, torn
1-15oz can black eyed beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup plain or gluten free breadcrumbs
2 tbl ketchup
1 tbl vegan worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper
2-3 tbl extra virgin olive oil
4-1 1/2" slices french bread, toasted

Preheat the oven to 425.
Combine the carrot, celery, onion and garlic in a food processor and pulse until the vegetables are minced but not pureed. Add the garlic, basil, beans, breadcrumbs, ketchup, worcestershire and season with salt and pepper. Pulse a few times more until the beans have broken down and the mixture comes together.
Heat 2-3 tbl of olive oil in an oven-safe saute pan. Divide the mixture into 4 steaks/patties and saute until browned on both sides, about 10 minutes total.
Transfer the pan to the oven and continue cooking for 15-20 more minutes. Set each steak on a piece of toast and top with herbed hollandaise.

Herbed Hollandaise
2 tbl plus 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1/2 cup cilantro leaves & stems (about a small handful) (or sub parsley for all you cilantro haters!)
4 oz soft, silken tofu
salt and pepper

Saute the garlic in 1 tsp of olive oil until golden and fragrant. Transfer to a blender along with the remaining 2 tbl of olive oil, cilantro and tofu. Blend until completely smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Roasted Roots
2 carrots, medium dice
2 parsnips, medium dice
1 cup brussels sprouts, halved
2 tbl extra virgin olive oil
2 tbl maple syrup
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Preheat the oven to 425.
Toss the vegetables with the remaining ingredients and roast for 30-35 minutes until tender and caramelized.

5 Thanksgiving Day Side Dishes

Thanksgiving Day side dish extravaganza!
Whether you choose to make one or all five, you can't lose with any of these side dishes amped up with new flavor without losing tradition. Don't forget my Apricot & Salt Chocolate Tart for dessert!

Biscuits with Persimmon Cranberry Butter
Biscuits
makes  8 biscuits

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbl organic cane sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

¼ cup vegetable shortening, chilled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

¼ cup vegan butter, chilled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

¾ cup almond milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl add the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Cut in shortening and butter until they are pea sized. Add in almond milk and mix with your hands until dough is formed but do not over mix or biscuits will be tough. Roll out to 1” thick on a floured surface and cut into 2” circles.

Place the biscuits in a greased 9” pie pan, packed tightly. This will help the biscuits rise up instead of out.

Lightly spray the tops with oil and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown on the bottom and cooked on the inside.

 
Persimmon Cranberry Butter
2 small persimmons, peeled, roughly chopped

12 oz fresh (or frozen and thawed) cranberries

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup water, plus more

Pinch of sea salt

Combine all of the ingredients and bring to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes until the fruit has broken down and the water has been absorbed.

Transfer to a blender or food processor along with 3 tbl of water and blend until smooth.

Bring back to the stove and simmer over low heat for 10 more minutes, stirring often so it doesn’t burn.

Creamed Corn 

serves 4

1 tbl extra virgin olive oil

½ small yellow onion, small dice

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

10 oz fresh or frozen corn kernels

Salt and pepper

1 ¼ cup coconut milk

¾ cup vegetable broth

Sweat the onion in olive oil until soft and translucent, 5 minutes. Add the thyme, corn and season with salt and pepper. Add the coconut milk and broth and simmer for 20-25 minutes until the mixture is thick, stirring often. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Pecans & Cranberries

serves  4

2 cups brussel sprouts, halved

2 tbl extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp garlic powder

½ tsp red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper

¼ cup toasted pecans, roughly chopped

¼ cup dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 375.

Toss the brussel sprouts with the remaining ingredients and roast on a baking sheet for 20 minutes until the outer leaves are crispy and browned.

Toss with toasted pecans and cranberries.

 

Sweet Potato & Plantain Mash with Brown Sugar Crumble

serves 4- 6

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled, medium dice

2 yellow/black plantains, medium dice

3 tbl coconut oil

Salt and pepper

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups organic light brown sugar, packed

1 cup toasted pecans, roughly chopped

1 tsp cinnamon

½  tsp ground ginger

½ tsp salt

1 cup vegan butter, cold and cubed

Preheat the oven to 350.

Combine the sweet potato and plantains in a pot of cold, lightly salted water and bring to a boil. Cook until the potatoes are tender. Drain.

Mash with coconut oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread the mash into an 8x8 casserole dish.

Combine the flour, sugar, pecans, cinnamon, ginger and salt in a medium bowl. Cut in the butter and mix with your hands or forks until the butter is pea sized and the mixture is clumpy and moist. Top the potato mixture with the crumble and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.

 "Deviled Eggs"
12 small yukon golds, peeled and halved
1 heaping tbl black salt**
1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise

2 tbl olive oil
1 tbl turmeric
1 tsp dijon mustard
2 scallions, minced, green parts only
1/4 tsp dried dill
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
paprika for dusting

Combine the potatoes, black salt and cold water in a small pot and bring to a boil. Cook until tender but not falling apart. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.
Combine the remaining ingredients except the paprika in a food processor and puree until smooth.
Scoop out a small hole in each potato and add that potato to the food processor. Puree until smooth.
Pipe each potato with filling and dust with paprika.

**Black salt can be found at specialty food stores like Whole Foods. It has a very sulfuric quality and actually sort of smells like rotten eggs. I have had a container of it in my cabinet for months now and never knew what the heck to use it with. Once I decided to try to make deviled eggs, it only made sense to try to impart some of that flavor into the potatoes. I really believe that these would definitely not taste as true to the taste without this secret ingredient.

French Onion Soup, Stone Ground Whipped Cauliflower, Roasted Brussels

Traditionally, french onion soup is made with beef broth. I wanted to create that deep rich flavor french onion soup has without using vegetable broth, so I decided to make a mushroom stock. Stocks are super easy and take no physical time at all but they do need to simmer for a couple hours so all the wonderful flavors from the vegetables can impart into the water. Not wanting to spend an arm and a leg on dried mushrooms, I simply gave fresh ones a good roast prior to adding water so they could crisp up a bit and add a nice woodsy taste to the stock. If you can find fresh Morel mushrooms go ahead and use those in place of the cremini, as they are a darker, hardier mushroom and would make a wonderful stock.

Sweet yellow onions, caramelized slowly until soft and brown in a rich cremini and herb infused broth. Cauliflower, whipped with extra virgin olive oil and stone ground mustard served on top of the soup with roasted brussel sprouts.

Mushroom Stock-Yield 4 cups
1 carrot, cut into large chunks
1 onion, cut into large chunks
1 leek, green parts only, in large chunks
1/4 lb white button mushrooms
1 cup cremini mushrooms
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1/4c fresh parsley, torn
3 fresh thyme sprigs
1 tbl dried sage
1 tbl dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1 tbl sea salt
1 tbl pepper
3 tbl extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and add all stock ingredients. Toss with olive oil. Roast for 20 minutes until the vegetables are slightly browned with crispy edges.
Transfer all of the ingredients to a large stock pot and fill with just enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 2 hours. Continue to add one cup of water at a time every 30 minutes as the stock reduces up until the last 30 minutes of cooking. (Three cups total)
Drain the stock from the vegetables and pour stock back into pot. Set aside.

French Onion Soup-Yield 2 entree portions

3 tbl earth balance vegan butter
1 tbl extra virgin olive oil
3 yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 tsp organic sugar
1 tbl sea salt
4 cups mushroom stock
3 sprigs fresh thyme, tied in a bundle with kitchen twine
1 bay leaf
pepper

In a large saute pan, melt the butter and oil together. Add the onions, sugar and salt and cook over medium high heat until caramelized, about 35 minutes. Stir occasionally and add 1 tbl of water when necessary so the onions don't burn. When the onions are done, add a little bit more water and scrape up all the bits of onion on the bottom of the pan. Transfer onions to the mushroom stock along with the thyme, bay leaf and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, allowing flavors to meld. Remove thyme bundle and bay leaf and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Stone Ground Cauliflower

1 cauliflower head, core removed, cut into small florets
2 tbl extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbl stone ground mustard

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the cauliflower and 1 tsp of salt. Cook until completely tender. Drain and transfer to a food processor. Puree completely then add oil, salt, pepper and mustard. Pipe or spoon the cauliflower on top of the soup.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

2 tbl extra virgin olive oil
15 small brussel sprouts, ends removed and sliced thinly
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with foil. Toss the brussel sprouts with oil, salt and pepper and roast for 7-10 minutes.