If you’re looking for a culinary adventure, come with me and explore the world of plant-based meats. If you’re a card carrying, red-blooded carnivore who loves good barbecue, you might want to turn tail and run, but don’t! Be brave. Take a chance.
As a culture, it’s clear we are becoming more and more concerned about the food we eat, where it comes from, how it is sourced. Producing animal-based foods uses more resources and creates more pollution than plant-based food production does. As the population expands and natural resources seem to dry up, eating more plants and less meat is one way many people believe we can help to preserve both our environment and our health.
One of these people is Robin Asbell. Author of multiple vegetarian and vegan cookbooks, in her latest tome, “Plant-Based Meats: Hearty, High-Protein Recipes for Vegans, Flexitarians, and Curious Carnivores,” she tackles creating recipes for plant-based meats that are inventive, versatile and pretty easy to make for the home cook. She is a knowledgeable and gentle guide, firm in her convictions but uninterested in proselytizing and very sympathetic to her carnivorous friends. Her recipes are designed to make plant proteins work for you, and she wants to cater to your tastes and habits.
“It’s all in fun after all,” she writes. “We all know these mock meats are fakes, but if they make it easier for you to shift away from meat, my work is done.” And her book is packed with mock meats with great texture and surprisingly craveable, meaty flavors.
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Don’t be tempted to turn up your nose; plant-based meats have really come a long way since your mama’s lentil loaf from the 1970s. Investors are funding research into creating the perfect mock burger that will satisfy the most avid carnivore, and more and more companies — from large corporations to small, mock meat artisans — are entering the plant-based meat market.
Homemade mock meats have a tasty advantage over many factory-created ones, and Asbell has a variety of recipes that will enable you to create everything from fried chicken wings and stuffed turkey roll to bacon, baloney and fancy charcuterie.
When I started looking through her book, I realized I needed to look at making her recipes the way a beginning baker would look through an ambitious baking book. I needed to commit. Just like avid bakers have a well-stocked pantry filled with single-origin vanilla, Dutch processed cocoa powder and more than one kind of flour, making plant-based meats does require a pantry full of new ingredients I don’t usually stock. Diving into mock-meat preparation will take a little time to familiarize yourself with new ingredients like beet powder, nutritional yeast and vital wheat gluten, but they are all easily accessible from a well-stocked natural food grocery store or from online sources.
Simulating the complex taste, texture and savory flavors of meat is no easy feat, but Asbell manages to reproduce as many meatlike qualities as possible using her knowledge of food chemistry and a lot of creativity. She concentrates on perfecting the texture, from the chunky chewiness of ground beef to the smooth texture of hot dogs and the dense creaminess of French pâté. Smoked, cured and roasted meats are rich in “umami,” known as the fifth taste that describes the savory flavors inherent not only in cooked meats but in ingredients like seaweed, cheese, mushrooms, ripe tomatoes, roasted vegetables and caramelized onions. Asbell adds these ingredients along with umami rich-miso, nutritional yeast and smoked salt to layer flavors into her recipes that make them delicious and pretty irresistible.
Start easy, with Jackfruit Pulled Pork using Asbell’s barbecue sauce or your favorite bottled variety, then whip up my personal favorite, the savory Breakfast Sausage with Sage and Apple, for a healthy morning treat. These recipes are pretty quick and easy, and good confidence builders.
Before you know it, you’ll be throwing wine and plant-based charcuterie parties for all your friends — vegans, flexitarians and carnivores alike.
O’Connor is a San Diego based food writer and author of seven cookbooks. Her latest cookbook, “Cake, I Love you” was published by Chronicle Books in 2017.
Building a pantry for plant-based meats
Here are just a few of the important ingredients needed to make delicious plant-based meats. Most of these ingredients are available at natural foods stores and Asian markets or from online vendors like Amazon.com.
Chickpea flour: Garbanzo beans are ground into a high-protein flour and added to mock meats for a smooth texture without making them too soft.
Bulgur: Ancient “instant” wheat form that can be steamed, chopped and dried. Rehydrated in water or vegetable stock to give mock meats a chunky, chewy texture. Can be used instead of TVP or TSP.
Nutritional yeast: Grown on molasses or other forms of sucrose, nutritional yeast is washed and fortified with vitamin B-12 and dried into flakes. Full of savory umami flavor and often described as tasting cheesy. Added to vegan macaroni and cheese and mock meats for flavor.
TVP/TSP: Textured vegetable protein or textured soy protein. Made by grinding soybeans and removing their fat and fiber. Look for TSP made with non-GMO soybeans.
Vital wheat gluten: Made from wheat flour washed in water to remove most of the starch and to develop the gluten. It is then dehydrated into a powder.
Miso: Fermented paste made from soybeans, grains and nuts. Classic white, red and brown miso range in intensity, depending on how long they are aged. Miso contributes deep, savory umami flavors to plant-based meats.
Smoked paprika: Made from mild red peppers that are smoked, dried and finely ground. Contributes a smoky flavor and reddish color to mock charcuterie and sausage.
Smoked salt: Salt is cooked over a fire to absorb a smoky flavor. Depending on the wood used to smoke the salt, it can have a mild or very strong smoky flavor. Look for salt that is pale in color and finely ground.
Tamari soy sauce: Ancient Japanese form of soy sauce, originally a byproduct of the miso making process.
Barbecue Sauce and Jackfruit Pulled Pork
This barbecue sauce is a great pantry staple; if you make your own, you can be sure there’s no bacon or weird ingredients in your barbecue.
Makes 5 servings; 2 1/2 cups pulled pork and 1 1/2 cups sauce (enough for 2 batches)
For the sauce
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup apple juice
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
6 ounces tomato paste
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoon sea salt, more to taste
1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 tablespoons vegan Worcestershire sauce (optional)
For the “pulled pork”
2 (14-ounce) cans young jackfruit in brine, drained
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup vegetable stock
Water as needed
Buns for serving
Make the sauce: In a large sauté pan over medium heat, warm the oil. Add the onion and sauté, stirring constantly, until it starts to sizzle. Reduce the heat to medium-low and sauté for 10 minutes, or until soft and lightly golden. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
In a cup, whisk together the apple and lemon juices, tomato paste and cider vinegar. Add the mixture to the pan, along with the brown sugar, mustard, salt, chipotle powder and paprika, and the Worcestershire sauce, if using. Stir until well combined, bring to a simmer, and cook at a barely bubbling simmer, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes, or until thickened. Remove from the heat.
Make the “pork”: Drain and rinse the jackfruit very well to try to remove as much salt as possible.
In a large sauté pan with a lid over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Add the jackfruit to the pan and stir. When the jackfruit starts to stick and brown, reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until it is fully browned and the pan is dry.
Add the vegetable stock to the pan; it will bubble up. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 20 minutes, checking halfway through the cooking time to see if the pan is dry; if needed, add water to keep it from sticking.
Uncover the pan and mash the jackfruit with a fork or potato masher. Add 3/4 cup of the prepared barbecue sauce and 1/2 cup water and stir. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes, or until the mixture is thick. Remove from the heat.
Serve hot on the buns.
Breakfast Sausage With Sage and Apple
Start your day off right with a protein-rich breakfast anchored by these sweet-and-savory patties. Minced apples and apple juice give the sausage a hint of sweetness and keep it moist, and textured vegetable protein (TVP) gives it the chewy crumble texture we all remember so well.
Makes 8 patties
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup textured vegetable protein (see note)
3/4 cup vital wheat gluten
1/2 cup chickpea flour
2 tablespoons mock chicken-flavored broth powder
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon dried sage
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked salt
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped apple
1/4 cup apple juice
1/4 cup room-temperature water
2 tablespoons canola oil
3/4 cup vegetable stock
In a cup, pour the boiling water over the TVP and let it stand for 20 minutes, or until all of the water has been absorbed and the TVP is cool.
In a large bowl, whisk together the vital wheat gluten, chickpea flour, broth powder, nutritional yeast, sage, smoked salt, granulated garlic and black pepper. Add the TVP, apple, apple juice and room-temperature water and stir until a dough forms. When the dough is stiff, knead it by hand for 3 minutes.
Turn out the dough onto a floured work surface and divide it into eight equal portions. Form each portion into a 3/4-inch-thick patty. Set aside to rest for 5 minutes.
In a large sauté pan with a lid over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Carefully add the patties, making sure they do not touch one another. Cook for 2 minutes per side, or until just browned.
Once the second side is browned, carefully pour the stock into the pan; if the stock begins to boil vigorously, lift the pan off the heat and stand back. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes, checking occasionally to make sure all of the liquid in the pan has not boiled off.
Uncover the pan and cook off any remaining liquid. Remove from the heat.
Serve hot.
Note: Textured vegetable protein or TVP (also known as textured soy protein or TSP) has been around for years; it was invented in the 1960s by Archer Daniels Midland to either augment or replace meat. I first saw it being used to secretly stretch out the taco meat in a fast food restaurant where I worked in the late 1970s. It’s made by grinding soybeans and removing their fat and fiber; what remains is at least 50 percent protein. The resulting mash is spun into fibers that are formed into granules and other forms that mimic meat. Some concerns about soy processing can be allayed by choosing organic soy products. They are never genetically modified, and toxic solvents for extracting oil are not allowed. Look for TSP made with whole, non-GMO soybeans. In these recipes, you can substitute bulgur for TVP, if you prefer; just use the same measurements.
Walnut-Cauliflower Ground Beef
Your food processor does all the work in this easy recipe, where minced cauliflower and walnuts mimic ground beef. If you have a guest coming who is avoiding soy, gluten or dairy, this will make her day.
Makes 4 servings
2 tablespoons refined coconut oil
2 cups cauliflower florets
1 small onion, quartered
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon organic granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked salt
1 cup walnut halves and pieces
Warmed tortillas or taco shells for serving
In a large skillet over medium heat, warm the oil.
Drop the cauliflower florets and onion quarters through the feed tube of a running food processor fitted with the “S” blade and process them to a fine mince.
Scrape the contents of the food processor bowl into the skillet and sauté, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes, or until the cauliflower is very soft and browned and the pan is dry.
Add the garlic, tomato paste, sugar, oregano, chipotle powder and smoked salt to the skillet. Stir and cut in the ingredients until the mixture is well combined.
Place the walnuts in the bowl of the food processor and mince them into bits the size of cooked ground beef.
Stir the walnuts into the skillet and cook until the mixture smells like toasted walnuts. Remove from the heat.
Serve in the warmed tortillas or set aside to cool to room temperature and store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Recipes reproduced by permission of The Countryman Press. All rights reserved.
O’Connor is a San Diego based food writer and author of seven cookbooks. Her latest cookbook, “Cake, I Love you” was published by Chronicle Books in 2017.
