Book Reviews · cooking · Dinner

A Dinner Spread: Homemade Tofurky with Mashers and Gravy

I came across these recipes in two cookbooks and had to make the spread! Homemade Tofurky? Mashers with a hearty gravy? Yum!

The Tofurky recipe comes from How It All Vegan!, on page 122. After making it I realized a couple of things – the marinade needs salt, the tofu needs pressing and the marinade needs draining before baking. I note this below.

Tofurky
Ingredients:

  • 1½ cups boiling water
  • 1½ tsp dill weed
  • ½ tsp rosemary
  • ½ tsp thyme
  • ½ tsp marjoram
  • ½ tsp sage
  • ½ tsp ground black pepper
  • 4 cloves garlic (or 2 Tbsp sliced dried garlic)
  • 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 lb extra firm tofu, drained and pressed a bit

Directions:
Whisk together the water through oil in a medium mixing bowl.
Slice the drained and well pressed tofu into 1/4″ thick slices (I got 8 so mine were a bit thicker).
Lay the slices onto a rimmed half-size baking sheet, cover with the marinade and refrigerate for a couple of hours, gently flipping over once.
Preheat the oven to 350°, drain most of the marinade from the tofu but keep the garlic on the sheet if you can and bake the tofu for 60 minutes, gently flipping at 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let cool a bit.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat, add a Tablespoon of canola oil. Pan fry the pieces until browned and crispy, flipping gently so all sides get crisped – it takes a minute or two for each side.

For the Mashers and Gravy I came across the recipes in Vegan with a Vengeance, see pages 110 and 111. Be sure to season the potatoes as bland potatoes are pretty boring!

Mashers with Chickpea Gravy

Mashers

  • 2 lb. potatoes, scrubbed, peeled and cut into 1″ chunks
  • 3 Tbsp Earth Balance buttery stick
  • ½ cup unsweetened almond milk
  • Kosher salt to taste
  • Ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

Mashed Potatoes –
Add the potatoes to a large saucepan, cover with cold water, add the lid and bring to a boil. Let boil for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender.
Drain the potatoes, add back to the pot. Add the ‘butter’ and mash in, then add the almond milk as needed and mash until the potatoes are fluffy.
Season to taste as desired with salt and pepper.

Chickpea Gravy

  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • 2½ cups water
  • 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, peeled, quartered and thinly sliced
  • 2 tsp yellow mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp roasted garlic (jarred)
  • 1¾ cups cooked chickpeas (or 15 ounce can, rinsed and drained)
  • 2 pinches cumin (1/8 tsp)
  • 2 pinches paprika (1/8 tsp)
  • pinch rosemary (1/16th tsp)
  • pinch thyme (1/16th tsp)
  • pinch oregano (1/16th tsp)
  • pinch ground coriander (1/16th tsp)
  • 3 Tbsp lower sodium soy sauce
  • 1 lemon juiced or 3 Tbsp bottled lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes or 2 Tbsp finely powdered

Directions:

Gravy –
Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil and let heat for 30 seconds, add the onions and mustard seeds and let cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are browned (I put a lid on to keep from drying out, stirring occasionally). Add the garlic and sauté for another minute.
Sprinkle the flour on top and work in, till the flour is cooked (no white). Add the herbs and spices and stir in.
Stir in the chickpeas, gently mashing with a potato masher until each bean is gently broken up.
Add the soy sauce and lemon juice and the water slowly, stirring in well. Let simmer until it thickens, stirring often.
Add the nutritional yeast, stirring in well. Season to taste.

Serve the gravy over the potatoes with the tofurky on the side.

Serves 3 to 4.

~Sarah

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