Warm Tempeh Salad
2 to 3 ounces tempeh
1 tablespoon oil
juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon capers
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons vegan butter (I use Earth Balance)
2 to 3 cups baby spinach leaves
1. Slice the tempeh in half to make two thin squares. Cut each square in half. Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add the tempeh. Saute on each side until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. It will absorb the oil so add more if necessary for even browning.
2. Combine the lemon juice, capers and water. When the tempeh has browned, carefully add the liquid to the pan. It will bubble up violently. Reduce heat to medium and cook until the tempeh has absorbed most of the liquid. If it gets too dry, add more water.
3. When the liquid has reduced to just a couple tablespoons, remove from the heat. Add the vegan butter and stir to melt.
4. Serve the tempeh and warm dressing over fresh baby spinach leaves. Serve with some good crusty bread or croutons.
Source of recipe: I wrote this recipe.
SO HOW'D IT GO?
This was great- I was out of lemon juice so I just used water and sprinkled some smoked paprika over the tempeh. I served it over spring mix with some chopped green peppers and some vinegar and olive oil. My non-vegan/non salad eating husband even ate this without complaints.
If only I had some 'crusty bread' to go along with this! This recipe is a treasure.
I used a tiny little cast-iron skillet, and found out quickly that 1/2 c. of water was going to take forever to simmer down, so I dumped some out and added a little more lemon juice. I ground some pepper over the top, as well.