VEGAN ÉPINARDS À LA BASQUAISE

[Vegan Gratin of Spinach and Sliced Potatoes with Anchovies]

...I was a little skeptical of this dish...as I am of most things that have anchovies in them...

...you braise the spinach in vegan stock...we used Washingtons...

...and you know spinach...it cooks down considerably...

...and you stir some vegan cheese into the braised spinach...we used Violife...

...slice the potatoes thin and cook in boiling salted water for about 5 minutes...

...butter your baking dish with vegan butter...

...for the mashed anchovies...I used capers and nori...

...and just mashed it together in my mortar and pestle...

...then you layer the potatoes in the baking dish...

...and the mashed vegan anchovy mixture...and the spinach and cheese...

...and top with bread crumbs...

...and then bake it for about 30 minutes...

...we served it with vegan meatloaf and a salad...

...it was surprisingly good...I was afraid that the fish-y flavor wouldn't go well with the spinach...but it was really a nice cheeze-y casserole...

Substitutions:
Capers and Nori for the anchovies
Earth Balance for the butter
Vegan Cheese...we used Violife

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking pp. 474-475

VEGAN SOUFFLÉ AUX BLANCS D’OEUFS

[Vegan Cheese Soufflé with Egg Whites Only]

I basically followed this recipe for Vegan Chocolate Souffle just without the sugar and chocolate and sweetened vegan condensed milk...

...so for the soufflé mixture...I used aqua faba, xanthum gum, flour, EnerG egg replacer, and Earth Balance...and then added some Violife shreds...it looks promising...light and glistening...

...and it rose and baked up looking nice...

...we served it with a salad, steamed broccoli and an Okinawan sweet potato...

...and it was really good...light and fluffy and cheeze-y...I think I'll tinker with the soufflé recipe a little more...I have a few more to do...and since I don't really know what a non-vegan souffle was like...I'm just working from an idea...

Substitutions:
aqua faba, xanthum gum, flour, EnerG egg replacer, and Earth Balance
Vegan Cheese...we used Violife

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking pp. 173-174

Vegan Boeuf à la Catalane

[Vegan Beef Stew with Rice, Onions, and Tomatoes]

...Julia says "Here is a hearty dish from the Spanish-Mediterranean corner of France. Serve it with a green salad, French bread, and a strong, young red wine."

...I had actually intended to make the vegan lamb version of this dish first (Pilaf de Mouton à la Catalane Lamb or Mutton Stew with Rice, Onions, and Tomatoes)...while I still had some vegan lamb...but this is the master recipe...so...

...I gathered the ingredients...the can of tomatoes is only there in case I don't have enough of the fresh ones...

...you start by frying some bacon...I used bacon bits...

...and then you remove that to a casserole...but I just put it onto a small plate...because I'll be removing the handle from my pot and putting that into the oven...

...then you brown your vegan boeuf...I'm just using Gardein here...

...then brown your onions...

...and remove them...

...then stir your rice in the same pot...until translucent...

...I did this next bit a little bit out of order...put the vegan beef back to the pot and added some thyme...

...and some saffron...I don't use saffron a lot and this is nearing it's expire date...so I'm happy to have a recipe to use it up...

...add a crumbled bay leaf...

...add the stock and the wine...I used a shiraz...because that's what we had on hand...and I think it makes a good 'cooking wine'...

...add the chopped tomatoes...I wound up not needing the canned tomatoes...

...add the rice...vegan bacon and onions back to the pot (casserole)...

...then I just push the red button to remove the handle...and this pot becomes a casserole...

...then into the oven for 1 1/2 to 2 hours (per the recipe)...but we only had ours in the oven for about 45 minutes...and most of the liquid was absorbed and it was 'done'...

...and it was perfectly cooked...

...Julia says to "delicately fold the vegan cheese into the casserole"...I just grated it on top...(Violife)

...this was a really delicious and fairly easy casserole...and really was just the one pot...

Substitutions:
Vegan beef - we used Gardein
Vegan beef stock - we used Washingtons Brown


Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking pp. 321-322