Vegan Citrus Quinoa Plate with Glazed Tempeh and Avocado Cream
It’s been a while since I’ve done much vegan cooking… really, I’ve been on more of a meat kick this year. But this was surely one of the best dinners I’ve made in quite some time! The recipe originally caught my eye not because it was vegan, but because it was downright beautiful! However, I’ve put off making it for quite some time because the number of steps and ingredients seemed daunting. (Don’t make my mistake! While there are a number of components, none of them are very difficult to make and assemble).
Luckily, when Matt gave me free reign on the Father’s Day menu, I finally turned to this dish. Like tofu, tempeh is all about how you flavor it, and there are SO many flavors going on in this dish. The glaze itself was phenomenal… smokey and sweet with just a little bit of spice. I literally scraped the remainder out of the pan and ate it with a spoon! The quinoa was also nicely flavored, and was especially tasty with the avocado cream mixed in. Beautiful and delicious, this is a great dish for dinner guests, vegan or not!
Vegan Citrus Quinoa Plate with Glazed Tempeh and Avocado Cream
Adapted from Healthy. Happy. Life.
Glazed tempeh triangles (recipe below)
Citrus quinoa (recipe below)
4 steamed baby beets, diced
1/3 cup chopped raw walnuts
3 peeled orange, sliced
1 ripe mango, diced
Avocado Cream (recipe below)
To Assemble:
1. Mound the quinoa on each plate
2. Layer with a couple of slices of orange; top each with three triangles of glazed tempeh.
3. Sprinkle diced mango, beets and walnuts around the edges.
4. Cut the corner of your zip lock and drizzle the Avocado cream over top the tempeh.
Serves 4
Super Avocado Cream/Dressing
1 large avocado
1 Tbsp tahini
2 tsp coconut aminos
1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
2 tsp maple syrup (or agave)
Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until creamy. Transfer to a ziplock.
Glazed Tempeh Triangles
16 oz tempeh
2/3 cup orange juice
4 tsp coconut aminos or tamari
4 tsp maple syrup
A few dashes chipotle chili powder
A few drops of liquid smoke
Salt, to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
Cut each 8oz strip of tempeh into six triangles. Combine next five ingredients (orange juice through liquid smoke) in a small bowl. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan; add in the tempeh and seer slightly. Flip and pour marinade over tempeh; sprinkle with salt. Simmer until the liquid has been absorbed and begun to caramelize on the tempeh, flipping and stirring about a few times to make sure everything is even. You want to get as much of the caramelized sauce on the tempeh as you possible can… the stuff is like candy!
Fluffy Citrus Quinoa
2 1/4 cup dry quinoa
1 cup water
2 cups orange juice
1/2 cup yellow onion, diced
Combine quinoa, orange juice and water in a large sauce pan and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cook until water is absorbed. Stir in onions and cover.
