The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet (29 page)

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Authors: Alicia Silverstone

BOOK: The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet

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Combine the tomato paste, vinegar, wine, orange juice, shoyu, garlic, parsley, tarragon, and 2 tablespoons minced rosemary in a blender and blend until smooth. Transfer the marinade to a shallow dish, add the seitan, and turn to coat on all sides. Cover the dish and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight.

When ready to serve, mix together the flour, salt, pepper, pecans, and chopped rosemary in a shallow bowl. Dredge the marinated seitan in the flour mixture.

Heat the oil in a sauté pan, and add the cutlets to the pan. Sauté until golden brown on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Serve immediately.

Seitan Piccata with White Wine and Capers

Adapted from The Candle Café Cookbook, this recipe is also great for carnivores. The wine sauce gives this dish a creamy, chicken-y character, making it an elegant entrée for a dinner party. We served this at my 30th birthday bash, and it was so good we made it again at Thanksgiving! I order it every time I go to Candle 79 in New York City. That place is so full of love. If you go there, give Joy a hug or rub Bart’s belly, and tell them Alicia sent you.

SERVES 4 TO 6

1 pound plain seitan, preferably in large pieces

Whole wheat flour for dredging

¹/
₄cup extra-virgin olive oil

¹/
₂cup diced shallots

¹/
₂cup diced onions

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

¹/
₄cup drained capers

1 cup dry white wine

¹/
₄cup fresh lemon juice

1 cup vegetable broth, preferably homemade

2 tablespoons unbleached flour

4 tablespoons soy margarine

1 cup chopped fresh parsley

¹/
₂–
³/
₄teaspoon fine sea salt

¹/
₂teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Slice the seitan horizontally into thin cutlets if very thick. Dredge the seitan in the whole wheat flour, shaking off any excess. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over high heat in a large skillet. Add the seitan pieces, and sauté until crisp and golden brown, about 30 seconds per side. Transfer the seitan to a serving platter or individual plates.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in the same skillet. Add the shallots, onions, garlic, and capers and sauté, stirring frequently, until softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the wine, and cook, stirring frequently, until reduced by half. Whisk in the lemon juice, and cook until the sauce has reduced a bit more, 1 to 2 minutes longer.

Whisk in the broth and the unbleached flour, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer for 1 minute to thicken. Whisk in the margarine, parsley, salt, and pepper. Pour over the seitan, and serve immediately.

Chorizo Tacos

These tacos are perfect for your meat-eating friends. For my 25th birthday, we held a party at a farm animal sanctuary. It was unbelievably fun sharing that day with friends, family, and the pigs! Christopher ran a taco stand and served these tacos to 150 people! They were fantastic.

SERVES 2 OR 3

1 tablespoon olive oil

8 ounces sliced vegan chorizo or taco crumbles

4–6 corn tortillas, soft or hard as you prefer

¹/
₂cup diced onions

1 cup shredded lettuce

¹/
₂cup chopped tomatoes

Prepared salsa

1 cup tofu sour cream or Tofu Cream (page
225
)

²/
₃cup shredded vegan Cheddar cheese

Hot sauce (optional)

Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chorizo or taco crumbles and cook, stirring until heated through, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl.

If using soft tortillas, wrap in a slightly damp kitchen towel and heat in a 350°F oven or toaster oven for 5 to 6 minutes or until warm and pliable. (Hard taco shells don’t need to be heated.)

Arrange the onions, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, tofu sour cream or Tofu Cream, and cheese in small bowls alongside the chorizo. Pass around the tortillas so everyone can fill their own tacos and add hot sauce to taste.

Crispy Tofu Slices with Orange Dipping Sauce

This recipe was invented one day while I was tidying the kitchen and trying to use up some odds and ends. Perfect as dinner party appetizers, these tofu slices taste just as good as they look. As a meal, serve them with Hot Rice with Cold Lemon, Basil, and Tomato (page
151
) and a side of Baby Bok Choy Drizzled with Ume Vinaigrette (page
265
). If you don’t have the corn and brown rice flours on hand, just use an all-purpose or whole wheat flour.

SERVES 2 OR 3

1 (8-ounce) package savory-flavored baked tofu

¹/
₂cup corn flour

¹/
₂cup brown rice flour

Safflower oil

²/
₃cup fresh orange juice

¹/
₃cup maple syrup

Cut the baked tofu into slices about
¹/
₄" thick. Mix the flours together in a shallow bowl.

Pour enough oil into a large skillet to cover the bottom of the pan with a thin layer, and heat over medium heat. Dip each of the tofu strips into the flour mixture, coating well on all sides. Place the tofu strips in the skillet, and cook until lightly browned on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the fried tofu strips to a plate lined with paper towels (or a piece of paper grocery bag) to drain.

Stir together the orange juice and syrup in a small bowl. Serve the tofu strips with the dipping sauce alongside.

Ginger-Baked Tofu

There’s something about the combination of ginger, garlic, and shoyu that makes this dish truly elegant and exotic. The tofu emerges from the oven slightly browned but still soft. I think it’s the best tofu dish I’ve ever had, and I challenge anyone—even meat-eaters—not to like it.

SERVES 2 TO 4

1 pound firm tofu

¹/
₃cup shoyu

1 tablespoon toasted or untoasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger

1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic

¹/
₄cup brown rice vinegar

2 tablespoons umeboshi vinegar

¹/
₂teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes (optional)

1 teaspoon brown rice syrup (optional)

Finely chopped scallions for garnish (optional)

Cut the tofu in half width-wise, and place each half on its side then slice in half again. You will be left with 4 tofu “steaks.”

Pour
³/
₄cup of water into a bowl. Whisk in the shoyu, oil, ginger, garlic, vinegars, red-pepper flakes (if desired), and rice syrup and pour over the tofu, covering it. An 8" x 6" Pyrex dish works perfectly. Marinate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Either drain the baking dish of the majority of the marinade, or place the tofu on a baking sheet and baste with the marinade. Reserve the remaining marinade.

Bake the tofu for 15 to 20 minutes. Turn the tofu pieces with a spatula, baste again with the marinade, and bake for 10 to 15 minutes longer. Garnish with scallions, if desired, and serve warm.

Note:
Without the crushed red-pepper flakes, this is a full-on Superhero dish.

Thanksgiving Tofu

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, but that wasn’t always the case. I was bummed out by its history and the big carcass in the middle of the dinner table. These days, by cooking delicious vegan foods, I make it a Kind Thanksgiving: one that includes no suffering to human bodies, turkeys, or the environment. And for that, I can give sincere thanks. I served this tofu dish at a Thanksgiving dinner for 27 people and it was a big hit. It feels like a holiday dish because it contains stuffing, but it can really be served any time of year. It’s very filling, so be sure to balance it with a big, fresh salad. If you’re a gravy lover, Tofurky makes a great gravy that nicely complements this dish.

SERVES 4 TO 6