Vegan Riz en Couronne

[Vegan Rice Ring]

...Julia says..."This is how to make a ring of rice which is to be filled with ... mushrooms, ... peas, or whatever luscious sauced tidbits you wish."

...so you'll need a recipe of VEGAN RISOTTO, PILAF, PILAU first...

...and spoiler alert...this was not really a 'successful' recipe...a bit of a fail...not taste-wise...it was delicious...but the unmolding...not good...oh well...as Julia says..."What could happen?"...

...first you'll need a buttered mold...I used a generous amount of Earth Balance...because I definitely didn't want it to stick...well...it did anyway...arghhhh...

...but not because it wasn't well buttered...

Julia says to turn the risotto into the buttered mold...patting down the rice lightly...

...then cut a circle of waxed paper...

...and lay the waxed paper over the risotto.

...and set the mold in the pan of boiling water...and place in lower third of preheated oven for 10 minutes...

...it looks pretty perfect out of the oven...and it wasn't in there for very long...

...but you can tell when I turned it over that it sort of fell apart...not sure if I needed more time in the oven...or a more 'firm' risotto from the get-go...

...so here's what the unmolding looked like..."What could happen?"...right?...

...but...undaunted...I tried to press everything back together...haha...

...I had sautéed some mushrooms and onions for the filling...

...then I filled the 'ring'...and served it...and it was pretty delicious...not pretty...but delicious...

Substitutions:

Earth Balance for butter
Vegan Chicken Bouillon for the Chicken broth

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking (p. 534)

VEGAN GIGOT OU ÉPAULE DE PRÉ-SALÉ BRAISÉ (aux Haricots)

[Vegan Braised Leg or Shoulder of Lamb — with Beans]

...when I first saw this recipe with the tag (aux Haricots)...I thought it was going to be served in a bed of maybe sautéed green beans...but I was wrong...it's dry white beans...surprise...

...first you'll need some vegan lamb...this is the basic seitan recipe I use for vegan Lamb...it's really good...but shaped into a gigot...and then brown that...

...add some vegetables...Julia specifies carrots and onions...and I added some radishes...because I have a bunch...

...and brown those as well...

...then add some white wine...a bay leaf...

...I use my tea ball to hold my herbs...add some parsley, rosemary and thyme...

...add some vegan beef stock...I just used Washington's...

...then Julia specifies 3 cloves of unpeeled garlic...not sure why unpeeled...but I added one peeled clove...

...then cover the 'casserole' with foil...I'm just going to keep everything in the pot I was using for the browning...

Julia says...Place in lower third of pre- heated oven and regulate so liquid is maintained at a slow simmer. Turn and baste the meat every half hour...for 3 1/2 to 4 hours...I did not cook mine for that long...maybe 1 1/2 hours...seitan doesn't need THAT LONG...haha...

...meanwhile...cook your dry white Great Northern beans...Julia gives rather specific cooking instructions...you boil them for 2 minutes...and then let them sit for 1 hour...then add salt and simmer for one hour...

...take the vegan gigot out of the oven...Julia doesn't actually say what to do with the vegetables...

...I took them out along with the vegan gigot...and then added the beans to the casserole...

...then I put the vegan lamb back in...

...and I also added the veg back...it was really delicious...and I just didn't want to waste it...

...arrange on a platter...

...and serve...

...we had a soupe course first...I had taken the trimmings from the fresh asparagus and made a delicious vegan cream of asparagus soup...

...then we had our Vegan Gigot with fresh asparagus...and crusty homemade whole wheat bread...

...and unusual as the combination may be...it was really really delicious...

Substitutions

Vegan Lamb...of course...I used the same recipe as the VEGAN GIGOT EN CHEVREUIL
...vegan beef broth...I just used Washington's...

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking (pp. 338-339)

Vegan Rôti de Porc aux Navets

[Casserole-roasted Pork with Turnips]

...Julia says...Turnips are wonderful when cooked in [vegan] pork juices.

...so I got some turnips...

...peeled and quartered...

...then you parboil them...not sure why exactly...as there's plenty of time in the oven...haha...

...arrange them around your vegan roast porc...Julia says to add them to the casserole for the last hour of cooking...

...cover and back in the oven for an hour...

...it certainly smells delicious...

...I sautéed some green beans to go with...

...and it was a perfectly delicious roast dinner...

Substitutions:

...so you'll need the VEGAN RÔTI DE PORC POÊLÉ

...recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking p. 383...

Vegan Crêpes Farcies et Roulées...and...Fondue au Gruyère (Variation)

[Vegan Stuffed and Rolled French Pancakes]
[Vegan Cream Filling with Swiss Cheese and Mushrooms or Chicken Livers...Mushrooms...of course...]

...a few weeks ago I made some sweet flambéed crêpes...but these are a savoury variety...and this is actually two recipes as the filling is a variation of the VEGAN FONDUE AU GRUYÈRE

...so first you need to make the VEGAN PÂTE À CRÊPES...

...just blend that up...Julia says "The batter should be a very light cream, just thick enough to coat a wooden spoon..."

...lightly oil your crêpe pan...I don't have one...so I'm just using the Man's birthday skillet...

...and pour in the batter...and swirl it around the pan...

...Julia says..."If, after making your first crepe, it seems too heavy, beat in a bit of water, a spoonful at a time..."

...then when the top looks a bit dry/cooked...

...loosen the edges with a fork or spatula...

...Julia's instructions for flipping..."grasp the edges nearest you in your fingers and sweep it up toward you and over again into the pan in a reverse circle; or toss it over by a flip of the pan."

...and then just cook that side for a minute or so...

...and then repeat the process...oil the pan...

...pour the batter...

...swirl and cook...

...flip...

...and continue until you have used all the batter...

...then make your VEGAN FONDUE AU GRUYÈRE...

...meanwhile...sauté the mushrooms or chicken livers in the butter...

...I deglazed the pan with a little bit of white wine...but that's not in the recipe...

...then...season to taste, and substitute for half of the cheese in the master recipe...

...then you stuff and roll...so take a crêpe...

...and spoon the filling on the lower third...

...then Julia gives a couple of options...you can saute in vegan butter and sprinkle with parsley...or do like I did and arrange in a shallow baking dish...

...cover with sauce...and run it under a broiler...

...I did not broil mine though...

...just sprinkled with parsley...

...and served with spinach and polenta...

...it's really a pretty dish...

...the nice stuffing...

...and it's really really delicious...

Substitutions:

...so you'll need the Subs from the VEGAN PÂTE À CRÊPES...
Flax Seed Goo for the eggs
Earth Balance for Butter
Almond Milk for the milk

...and...the Subs from the VEGAN FONDUE AU GRUYÈRE

Earth Balance for Butter
Almond milk for the cream
Flax Seed Goo for the egg yolk
Vegan Cheese for the cheese

...recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking p. 195...

...and here... Mastering the Art of French Cooking p. 202...