jump to navigation

Recipe: Tempeh Marinara 3 April 2007 9:17 pm

Posted by Tracy in : cooking,recipes,school,vegan,vegetarian , trackback

Tonight I am very tired, perhaps because the first session of Urban Farm was devoted to site cleanup tasks and I was on the team that kicked some serious blackberry bramble ass. Go team! Also it’s looking like I might have to take that class over the summer, because there are only spots for 79 people and there’s maybe 15 to 20 people besides me hoping to win a spot somehow. Whee! But anyway. Tired. Not going out for much-needed groceries tonight. Here is what I made for dinner with what we had left in the house.

It should be noted that I am using the term “marinara” in the very general “tomato-based pasta sauce” sense of the word, and not with any kind of authenticity in mind.

What You Need (Ingredients and Equipment)

What You Do

  1. Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in the big frying pan over medium-high heat. Crumble in the tempeh so it vaguely resembles ground meat. Let it brown, stirring occasionally, while you prep the onion and garlic. Take your time; tempeh’s better when you cook the hell out of it.
  2. Season the tempeh with soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and herbs. Cook until the liquid has evaporated; add more olive oil if you’re worried about stuff sticking to the pan or if you’re like me and think olive oil is just plain delicious.
  3. Add the garlic and onions and cook until these are translucent and smell like awesome.
  4. Add the tomato paste and stir until all your sautéed stuff is well-coated. Add a splash or two of water and the diced tomatoes.
  5. Lower the heat and let the sauce continue to simmer while you cook the pasta you’re planning to serve it on. If you’re really pressed for time, you could put the pasta on when you start the sauce, but I think this one benefits from a little extra cooking (like I said, tempeh’s better when you really cook it lots.)

Makes a lot of sauce, easily enough to sauce a pound of pasta with some left over to spare. In my experience, tempeh marinara freezes and reheats well, so you can keep the leftovers around for months and break them out into lasagna or whatever some other time. Also you can serve it on spaghetti squash for a dish that is simultaneously vegan and Atkins Diet-friendly, which is pretty much enough to make anybody’s head explode with cognitive dissonance. Teehee! And now I must go eat this deliciousness. Goodnight, all!