Meatless Mondays: Chef Ayinde’s Can’t-Miss Recipes

It’s Earth Week, and one simple way to be kinder to the planet (and save money!) is to give up meat one day a week for Meatless Mondays.

Chef Ayinde – author of “The Lusty Vegan” and from IEatGrass.com – stopped by Access Hollywood Live to show us how to make your traditional suppers… meatless!

Devil’s Pot Pie

Homemade Pastry Dough:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup cold vegan butter
  • 6 to 9 tablespoons ice water

Filling:

  • 3 tablespoons vegan butter
  • 1 tablespoon refined coconut oil
  • 1 cup chopped leeks, white and light green parts only
  • 1/2 cup chopped celery
  • 1 cup chopped carrots
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon minced habanero chiles, stemmed, seeded, and minced
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh sage
  • 2 teaspoons dried basil
  • 2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 3/4 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 tablespoon low-sodium wheat-free tamari or Soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk
  • 2 cups asparagus, woody ends re-moved, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1 cup frozen or fresh peas
  • 1 1/2 cups diced seitan (see Note)

Make the pie crust as directed.

If making homemade pastry dough: In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Using a large fork or a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour. Working quickly, lightly rub the flour and butter through your fingertips until the mixture is like crumbly sand.

Start mixing the dough gently with a wooden spoon as you add cold ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Add water until the mixture becomes a firm yet crumbly ball. Wrap this ball in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 60 minutes. Remove the ball 15 minutes before you are ready to roll it into your pie/quiche pan. Roll the ball to about 1/8 inch thick and line the pan with dough.Trim off any overhang. Set aside or refrigerate until needed.

You just made your own pie crust. I hope you feel really good about yourself.You should probably take a picture of it and share it with all of your social networks, and don’t forget to hashtag #TLV. Now before your ego gets so solid you could bake that and eat it, let’s move on to the challenge of the quiche custard.Arrange the bottom pie crust in a pie plate and set it in the freezer. Preheat the oven to 375F.

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the vegan butter and coconut oil. Add the leeks, celery, carrots, garlic, habaneros, sage, basil, and thyme. Sauté until the veg- etables are tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Whisk in the flour, mixing constantly. This should brown into a light roux. Add the broth, tamari, and soy milk, whisking until thickened. Fold in the as- paragus, peas and seitan. Cook for an additional 5 minutes on low simmer.

Add the mixture to the pie shell and top with your second pie shell, crimping the edge to seal. Brush the top crust with a little oil. Poke a few holes in the top to vent the steam. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes.You can tell when it’s done when it’s a golden brown color and smells like pot pie! Remove from the oven and allow to sit for several minutes before serving.

Note: You can use store bought seitan if you like, but if you want to make your own, make a half batch of the seitan recipe on page 120.

Pro-Tip: Use gloves when cutting the habañero chile, and wash your cutting board with soap and warm water afterward.

Tofu Meatloaf

  • 1 tablespoon grapeseed or safflower oil
  • 14 ounces firm tofu, well-drained
  • 1 cup cooked french lentils
  • 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 cup barbecue sauce
  • 1/4 cup low-sodium wheat-free tamari
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt For garnish: ketchup; chopped fresh parsley

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with the oil and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, crumble the tofu into bite-size piec- es. Add the oats and mix well. Stir in the parsley, onion, and garlic. Add the ketchup, mustard, barbecue sauce, tamari, and salt. Mix well, until all ingredients are incorporated.

Press the mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes.

Serve garnished with ketchup and fresh parsley.

Pro-tip: Try cooking this recipe in muffin cups for individual serving sizes, ideal for brown-bagging your lunches during the work week.

Falafel

  • 1 cup dry chickpeas/garbanzo beans
  • 1/2 onion, roughly chopped
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 2 teaspoons garlic
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • Pinch of ground cardamom
  • Vegetable oil for frying (grapeseed, canola, and peanut oil work well)

For sandwiches:

  • Pita bread
  • lettuce
  • tomato
  • onion
  • hummus

Combine chickpeas in food processor with chopped onion, garlic cloves, parsley, flour, salt, cumin, ground coriander, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and cardamom.
Pulse ingredients together until a rough, coarse meal forms. Scrape the sides of the processor periodically and push the mixture down the sides. Pulse till the mixture is between the texture of couscous and a paste. Mixture should hold together, more paste-like consistency careful not to over-process, or it will be hummus.

Once the mixture reaches the desired consistency. set aside, remove any large chickpea chunks that the processor missed. refrigerate for 2 hours.

Once chilled form into small balls and drop in hot oil cook until balls are golden brown on all sides. Drain on a paper towel lined plate. add you favorite toppings to pita bread and add falafel balls. Serve hot. 

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