Peoria chef shares vegan recipes

April 12, 2007

When vegans eliminate all animal products from their diet, they eliminate a lot of food choices. Gone is anything with eggs, cheese or milk. It may sound bleak, but the possibilities become more exciting when a trained chef takes on the challenge. Peoria chef Kevin Roecker, an unabashed meat lover, recently experimented with meatless cooking after a little arm twisting from a vegan friend. He recently shared the results with an evening cooking class at the Bronze Frog, 7724 N. Grand Prairie Drive. "I'm not really an authority on the subject," Roecker wrote in an e-mail. "I'm basically taking recipes that have been successful for me and modifying them. What I wanted to do with the class was get away from legumes, grains and veggies and do something different with global twists/flavors." The class sampled everything from a warm and comforting apple strudel to Asian Black Bean Cakes with Soba Noodle Lo-Mein and Sweet Ginger Soy Sauce.

Native Grain Cakes were served with an earthy Mushroom Ragout, and Seitan Etouffee offered a spicy kick with a texture similar to meat. Apple Strudel 4 apples, thinly sliced 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon allspice 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg 1/8 teaspoon cloves 3/4 cup raisins or dried currants 4 tablespoons flour 4 ounces walnut oil 4 phyllo dough sheets Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix the apples, sugars, spices, raisins, flour and half of the oil together. Brush some of the remaining oil on one sheet of phyllo dough. Place another sheet on top and repeat procedure with remaining sheets. DO NOT brush oil on last sheet. Place apple mixture along a long side of the phyllo dough. Roll jellyroll fashion and place seam side down on sheet pan. Brush with remaining oil. Bake for 40 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before slicing. Note:

You may use just about any apple or apples in this; it's hard to go wrong. Roecker's favorite is to make it with just Braeburn apples, but using a blend of several apples lends itself to more character. --- Serve these bean cakes with Soba Noodle Lo-Mein and Sweet Ginger Soy Sauce. Asian Black Bean Cakes 2 tablespoons sesame oil 4 green onions, minced 1 tablespoon grated ginger root 3 cloves garlic, minced 30 ounces canned black beans, rinsed, drained and dried 3 tablespoons black bean sauce 4 tablespoons low-salt tomato paste 2 tablespoons soy sauce 1/8 cup rice flour 3/4 cup flour 1 tablespoon five-spice powder 2 teaspoons wasabi powder Vegetable oil, as needed Make sure beans are dried well and chilled. In saute pan over medium heat, add sesame oil. Add onion, ginger and garlic. Cook slowly until soft. Cool mixture. Divide beans in

half. Mash half of the beans with the vegetables and sesame oil used for cooking them, black bean sauce, low-salt tomato paste, soy sauce and rice flour. After beans are mashed, fold in whole beans. If mixture seems too loose to form into cakes, refrigerate 30 to 45 minutes. Form into 12 cakes. Mix together the flour, five spice and wasabi. Dredge each cake in the mixture. Heat vegetable oil in saute pan over medium-high heat. Add cakes. Reduce to medium heat. Cook 3 minutes and turn over. Cook an additional 2 minutes. Soba Noodle Lo-Mein 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 1/2 teaspoon minced ginger 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic 1 cup broccoli flowerets 1 carrot, julienned 1 yellow bell pepper, julienned 1 rib celery, biased cut 24 fresh snow pea pods, biased cut 6 green onions, biased cut 12 mushrooms, sliced 1/4-inch thick 1/2 cup bean sprouts 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth

or stock 3/4 cup Sweet Ginger Soy Sauce (see recipe below) 1 pound soba noodles, cooked and drained 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seed oil Heat vegetable oil over medium-low heat. Add ginger and garlic and let simmer for 3 minutes. Turn up heat and when pan is hot, add broccoli. Stir-fry 30 seconds and add carrots. After carrots have cooked 30 seconds, add bell pepper and celery. Stir fry 1 minute. Add snow peas, green onions and mushrooms. Stir fry 30 seconds. Add bean sprouts and combine. Add vegetable broth and Sweet Ginger Soy Sauce. Combine to heat throughout. Stir in soba noodles and sesame seed oil. Stir to combine and heat throughout. Sweet Ginger Soy Sauce 1 cup sweet soy sauce 1/2 cup soy sauce 1/2 cup Hoisin sauce 1/4 cup teriyaki glaze or sauce 1 tablespoon minced ginger 1 teaspoon minced garlic 1 teaspoon five-spice powder 1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Mix all ingredients together. For best results, let sit overnight before using. --- Native Grain Cakes (A Twist on Italian Polenta) 1/2 cup wheat berries 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 cup diced onion 1/4 cup diced celery 4 3/4 cups vegetable stock 2 tablespoons maple syrup 1 teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon thyme 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 cup pearl barley 1/2 cup brown rice 1/2 cup amaranth 1/2 cup quinoa 3 cups vegetable stock 2/3 cup Malt-o-Meal Soak wheat berries overnight. Discard soaking water. In stock pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add diced onion and celery. Cook until they just start to brown. Add stock, syrup, pepper, salt, thyme and nutmeg. Stir to combine. Add wheat berries and pearl barley. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Cover. Cook 15 minutes. Add brown rice and amaranth.

Cook 5 minutes. Add quinoa. Cook 15 minutes. When grains have finished cooking, drain off any excess liquid and reserve. Measure the liquid. Add cooking liquid and enough stock equaling 3 cups back into grains. Bring to boil. Stir in Malt-o-Meal. Cook 3 minutes. Pour into greased casserole and refrigerate until set and cool. At this time, graincakes can be cut into shapes and sauteed or baked and cut. Serve with Wild Mushroom Ragout (recipe below). Wild Mushroom Ragout 1/2 cup dried mushrooms 1 cup boiling water 1 Portobello mushroom cap, cut into 1/2-inch cubes 3 tablespoons olive oil 2 cups mixed fresh wild mushrooms such as crimini, shiitake, portobella, chanterelles 2 shallots, minced 1 small carrot, minced 1 clove minced garlic 1 teaspoon thyme 1/2 teaspoon sage 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1/4 cup brandy 2 1/2 cups vegetable stock Pour

boiling water over dry mushrooms. Let set 30 minutes. Remove mushrooms and strain liquid through a coffee filter to remove any dirt that may have been in mushrooms. Reserve liquid. Lightly rinse mushrooms to remove any remaining dirt. Add rehydrated mushrooms, liquid and portobello to food processor. Blend until all combined but a bit chunky. Reserve. Heat large saute pan over medium heat. Add olive oil, then mushrooms. When mushrooms start to wilt add the shallots, carrot and garlic. Continue cooking until mushrooms are fairly limp. Add spices. Stir to combine. Add brandy and flame. Add vegetable stock and mushroom puree to pan. Simmer over medium-low heat until a stew-like consistency is formed. --- Seitan Etouffee 3 ounces olive oil 1 onion, sliced 1 bell pepper, medium dice 2 celery ribs, sliced 4 garlic cloves, minced 1 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons paprika 2 teaspoons garlic

powder 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon onion powder 1 teaspoon dried thyme 1/2 cup flour, optional 24 ounces dark beer 6 ounces tomato paste 16 ounces vegetable stock 2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce 3 bay leaves 2 pounds seitan Heat olive oil over medium high heat in ovenproof pan. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Add onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic. Cook until vegetables begin to lightly brown. Mix together the spices. Add 3/4 of spice mixture to pan. Stir to combine. Stir in flour to desired thickness. Add beer, tomato paste, Tabasco and stock. Stir to combine and add bay leaves. Place in oven for 30 minutes uncovered. Meanwhile toss seitan with remaining spices. When 30 minutes are up, remove pan from oven and add the seasoned seitan. Place back in oven for 15 minutes. Note: Roecker served the Seitan Etouffee

with blackened tofu. He started with the extra-firm variety, lightly pressed to remove the moisture and coated with blackening seasoning. After 2 to 3 minutes on each side in a hot pan coated with vegetable oil, students had a Creole-style feast. --- Black-Eye Pea Picadillo 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil 1 1/2 cups diced onion 3 garlic cloves, minced 4 ounces low-sodium tomato paste 32 ounces vegetable stock 1 pound black-eyed peas, soaked overnight and drained well 3 tomatoes, diced 12 green olives, sliced 1 cup raisins 1 tablespoon cumin 1 tablespoon paprika 1 tablespoon oregano 1 teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon tarragon 1/2 teaspoon salt Pinch nutmeg Pinch allspice Heat oil in dutch oven. Add onion and garlic and cook until they just start to brown. Mix together tomato paste and vegetable stock. Add to onions when they have browned

lightly. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to boil and then reduce to simmer. Cover and simmer over low heat until peas are just tender; about 45 minutes.Peter H

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it now.

April 12, 2007

Thanks for the recipes Peter.

Jo

-

peter VV

Thursday, April 12, 2007 8:45 AM

Re: Peoria chef shares vegan recipes

When vegans eliminate all animal products from their diet, they eliminate a lot of food choices. Gone is anything with eggs, cheese or milk.

It may sound bleak, but the possibilities become more exciting when a trained chef takes on the challenge. Peoria chef Kevin Roecker, an unabashed meat lover, recently experimented with meatless cooking after a little arm twisting from a vegan friend. He recently shared the results with an evening cooking class at the Bronze Frog, 7724 N. Grand Prairie Drive. "I'm not really an authority on the subject," Roecker wrote in an e-mail. "I'm basically taking recipes that have been successful for me and modifying them. What I wanted to do with the class was get away from legumes, grains and veggies and do something different with global twists/flavors." The class sampled everything from a warm and comforting apple strudel to Asian Black Bean Cakes with Soba Noodle Lo-Mein and Sweet Ginger Soy Sauce. Native Grain Cakes were served with an earthy Mushroom Ragout, and Seitan Etouffee offered a spicy kick with a texture similar to meat. Apple Strudel

4 apples, thinly sliced 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon allspice 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg 1/8 teaspoon cloves 3/4 cup raisins or dried currants 4 tablespoons flour 4 ounces walnut oil 4 phyllo dough sheets

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix the apples, sugars, spices, raisins, flour and half of the oil together. Brush some of the remaining oil on one sheet of phyllo dough. Place another sheet on top and repeat procedure with remaining sheets. DO NOT brush oil on last sheet. Place apple mixture along a long side of the phyllo dough. Roll jellyroll fashion and place seam side down on sheet pan. Brush with remaining oil. Bake for 40 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before slicing. Note: You may use just about any apple or apples in this; it's hard to go wrong. Roecker's favorite is to make it with just Braeburn apples, but using a blend of several apples lends itself to more character. --- Serve these bean cakes with Soba Noodle Lo-Mein and Sweet Ginger Soy Sauce. Asian Black Bean Cakes

2 tablespoons sesame oil 4 green onions, minced 1 tablespoon grated ginger root 3 cloves garlic, minced 30 ounces canned black beans, rinsed, drained and dried 3 tablespoons black bean sauce 4 tablespoons low-salt tomato paste 2 tablespoons soy sauce 1/8 cup rice flour 3/4 cup flour 1 tablespoon five-spice powder 2 teaspoons wasabi powder Vegetable oil, as needed

Make sure beans are dried well and chilled. In saute pan over medium heat, add sesame oil. Add onion, ginger and garlic. Cook slowly until soft. Cool mixture. Divide beans in half. Mash half of the beans with the vegetables and sesame oil used for cooking them, black bean sauce, low-salt tomato paste, soy sauce and rice flour. After beans are mashed, fold in whole beans. If mixture seems too loose to form into cakes, refrigerate 30 to 45 minutes. Form into 12 cakes. Mix together the flour, five spice and wasabi. Dredge each cake in the mixture. Heat vegetable oil in saute pan over medium-high heat. Add cakes. Reduce to medium heat. Cook 3 minutes and turn over. Cook an additional 2 minutes. Soba Noodle Lo-Mein

3 tablespoons vegetable oil 1/2 teaspoon minced ginger 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic 1 cup broccoli flowerets 1 carrot, julienned 1 yellow bell pepper, julienned 1 rib celery, biased cut 24 fresh snow pea pods, biased cut 6 green onions, biased cut 12 mushrooms, sliced 1/4-inch thick 1/2 cup bean sprouts 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth or stock 3/4 cup Sweet Ginger Soy Sauce (see recipe below) 1 pound soba noodles, cooked and drained 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seed oil

Heat vegetable oil over medium-low heat. Add ginger and garlic and let simmer for 3 minutes. Turn up heat and when pan is hot, add broccoli. Stir-fry 30 seconds and add carrots. After carrots have cooked 30 seconds, add bell pepper and celery. Stir fry 1 minute. Add snow peas, green onions and mushrooms. Stir fry 30 seconds. Add bean sprouts and combine. Add vegetable broth and Sweet Ginger Soy Sauce. Combine to heat throughout. Stir in soba noodles and sesame seed oil. Stir to combine and heat throughout. Sweet Ginger Soy Sauce

1 cup sweet soy sauce 1/2 cup soy sauce 1/2 cup Hoisin sauce 1/4 cup teriyaki glaze or sauce 1 tablespoon minced ginger 1 teaspoon minced garlic 1 teaspoon five-spice powder 1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Mix all ingredients together. For best results, let sit overnight before using. --- Native Grain Cakes (A Twist on Italian Polenta)

1/2 cup wheat berries 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 cup diced onion 1/4 cup diced celery 4 3/4 cups vegetable stock 2 tablespoons maple syrup 1 teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon thyme 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 cup pearl barley 1/2 cup brown rice 1/2 cup amaranth 1/2 cup quinoa 3 cups vegetable stock 2/3 cup Malt-o-Meal

Soak wheat berries overnight. Discard soaking water. In stock pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add diced onion and celery. Cook until they just start to brown. Add stock, syrup, pepper, salt, thyme and nutmeg. Stir to combine. Add wheat berries and pearl barley. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Cover. Cook 15 minutes. Add brown rice and amaranth. Cook 5 minutes. Add quinoa. Cook 15 minutes. When grains have finished cooking, drain off any excess liquid and reserve. Measure the liquid. Add cooking liquid and enough stock equaling 3 cups back into grains. Bring to boil. Stir in Malt-o-Meal. Cook 3 minutes. Pour into greased casserole and refrigerate until set and cool. At this time, graincakes can be cut into shapes and sauteed or baked and cut. Serve with Wild Mushroom Ragout (recipe below). Wild Mushroom Ragout

1/2 cup dried mushrooms 1 cup boiling water 1 Portobello mushroom cap, cut into 1/2-inch cubes 3 tablespoons olive oil 2 cups mixed fresh wild mushrooms such as crimini, shiitake, portobella, chanterelles 2 shallots, minced 1 small carrot, minced 1 clove minced garlic 1 teaspoon thyme 1/2 teaspoon sage 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1/4 cup brandy 2 1/2 cups vegetable stock

Pour boiling water over dry mushrooms. Let set 30 minutes. Remove mushrooms and strain liquid through a coffee filter to remove any dirt that may have been in mushrooms. Reserve liquid. Lightly rinse mushrooms to remove any remaining dirt. Add rehydrated mushrooms, liquid and portobello to food processor. Blend until all combined but a bit chunky. Reserve. Heat large saute pan over medium heat. Add olive oil, then mushrooms. When mushrooms start to wilt add the shallots, carrot and garlic. Continue cooking until mushrooms are fairly limp. Add spices. Stir to combine. Add brandy and flame. Add vegetable stock and mushroom puree to pan. Simmer over medium-low heat until a stew-like consistency is formed. --- Seitan Etouffee

3 ounces olive oil 1 onion, sliced 1 bell pepper, medium dice 2 celery ribs, sliced 4 garlic cloves, minced 1 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons paprika 2 teaspoons garlic powder 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon onion powder 1 teaspoon dried thyme 1/2 cup flour, optional 24 ounces dark beer 6 ounces tomato paste 16 ounces vegetable stock 2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce 3 bay leaves 2 pounds seitan

Heat olive oil over medium high heat in ovenproof pan. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Add onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic. Cook until vegetables begin to lightly brown. Mix together the spices. Add 3/4 of spice mixture to pan. Stir to combine. Stir in flour to desired thickness. Add beer, tomato paste, Tabasco and stock. Stir to combine and add bay leaves. Place in oven for 30 minutes uncovered. Meanwhile toss seitan with remaining spices. When 30 minutes are up, remove pan from oven and add the seasoned seitan. Place back in oven for 15 minutes. Note: Roecker served the Seitan Etouffee with blackened tofu. He started with the extra-firm variety, lightly pressed to remove the moisture and coated with blackening seasoning. After 2 to 3 minutes on each side in a hot pan coated with vegetable oil, students had a Creole-style feast. --- Black-Eye Pea Picadillo

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil 1 1/2 cups diced onion 3 garlic cloves, minced 4 ounces low-sodium tomato paste 32 ounces vegetable stock 1 pound black-eyed peas, soaked overnight and drained well 3 tomatoes, diced 12 green olives, sliced 1 cup raisins 1 tablespoon cumin 1 tablespoon paprika 1 tablespoon oregano 1 teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon tarragon 1/2 teaspoon salt Pinch nutmeg Pinch allspice

Heat oil in dutch oven. Add onion and garlic and cook until they just start to brown. Mix together tomato paste and vegetable stock. Add to onions when they have browned lightly. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to boil and then reduce to simmer. Cover and simmer over low heat until peas are just tender; about 45 minutes.

Peter H

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