Vegan Sauce Périgueux

[Vegan Brown Madeira Sauce with Truffles]

...this sauce is named after Périgueux, a city in the Périgord region of Southwest France that is noted for its truffles...Julia says it goes well with Filet of Beef...

...I do have a really good recipe for Vegan Filet of Beef...that recipe came from A Vegan For Dinner....and there's a link in the post...sadly that blog no longer exists...but you can paste it into the Wayback Machine and you should still be able to see it...if you can't get it...just send me an email (there's a little contact Affectioknit button in the sidebar) and I'll send it to you...

...I just microwaved those...so I really took the easy way...

...but the star of the show (if you want to call it that) is the truffle...I ordered these specifically for this recipe...

...opened the jar...they have quite a funky smell...

...and I've heard them compared to mushrooms...but I don't think they smell anything like mushrooms...and the texture is really unique as well...

...the recipe calls for diced truffles...

...first you need to make the Vegan Sauce Madère...Vegan Sauce au Porto...it's not difficult...

...and then you just add the liquid from the jar of truffles...

...and the diced truffle...

...and there you have it...served over the Vegan Beef Tips...with rice and green beans on the side...

...it was not a difficult recipe...but...the thing is...I don't think I like truffles...at...all...I'm sure if you do...this is a good recipe...the Madeira sauce by itself is certainly tasty...but the truffle...not so much...

Substitutions

Washington's Brown Seasoning and Broth for the stock

Mastering the Art of French Cooking (p. 75)

VEGAN SAVARIN

[Vegan Savarin]

...Julia says this is just the VEGAN PÂTE À BABA ET BABAS baked in a ring mold...

...so hop over there to see how to make the dough...

...but then come back to this recipe and bake it in a ring mold...

...Julia says the Savarin is done when it is toasty brown and the sides have begun to shrink away a little from the sides of the mold...

...it's kind of delicate so Julia gives explicit instructions for reversing the rack and the mold...

...then you let it cool to tepid...

...and then do some more reversing of dish and rack to get it 'puffed' side up on a plate...

...take a skewer and poke some holes in the puffed side...

...then make a sugar syrup...

...just boil some sugar and water...

...until you have a syrup...

...allow it to cool and add some Kirsch...a cherry flavored liqueur...it's quite strong...

...then you pour that over the skewered top...

...and let it soak for a half hour...

...then the savarin will be even more delicate...so be careful reversing it onto the plate again...

...set it back right side up on the rack to finish draining...

...then reverse a couple more times to get it right side up on the plate...Julia gives specific instructions for this...haha...and Julia says to splash on more Kirsch...I did not...it's Kirsch-y enough for me...

...then paint the top with a glaze...you can use an apricot glaze if you want...but I just used some more of the sugar syrup...

...and then decorate with glaceed fruits...

...and Julia says the center is usually filled with whipped cream, custard or fruits...

Substitutions

subs from the VEGAN PÂTE À BABA ET BABAS

Mastering the Art of French Cooking (pp. 662-663)

Vegan Savarin Chantilly

[Vegan Savarin with Vegan Whipped Cream]

...Julia just gives directions for glazing and decorating the Savarin again...and filling the center with vegan whipped cream...

...so...whip up some aqua faba...

...always amazing...

...I filled the center and then drizzled over the remaining sugar syrup...

...it's very pretty...

...it was really moist and sweet and delicious...

Substitutions

whipped aqua faba for the whipped cream

Mastering the Art of French Cooking (p. 664)

VEGAN ESCALOPES DE VEAU À LA CRÈME

[Vegan Sautéed Veal Scallops with Mushrooms and Cream]

Julia says this is the 'perfect recipe for a chic little luncheon'...which I thought was so cute...I mean...who has chic little luncheons anymore...haha...

...so...the first thing we needed was some vegan veal...and...not being sure that I'd ever had veal or knew what it would be like...I set about making a tender...slightly sweet...seitan-y cutlet...

Vegan Veal Cutlets

Dry Ingredients:

1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup soy flour
1/4 cup besan (chickpea flour)

Wet Ingredients:

1/2 cup water
1 packet of Washington's Broth...but I'm sure you can use any vegan bouillon that you like...
1 Tbls ketchup
1 Tbls soy sauce

Mix dry ingredients and then add wet ingredients...and shape into 4 patties...

...add some vegan butter and some oil to a pan...

...when the foaming has subsided...

...add three or four cutlets to the pan...

...Julia says not to crowd them...and to cook until lightly browned...

...remove to a dish...

...in the same pan...

...add some shallots or green onions...I just used regular yellow onion...because that's what I had...

...Julia says in a separate skillet cook your mushrooms...just vegan butter salt and pepper...

...then deglaze your pan with some white wine...

...I think this is the first time that Julia has specified Arrowroot powder for a recipe...

...you mix that with your vegan cream...I just used homemade almond milk...extra creamy...

...and then you pour the starch and cream mixture into the onion cooking pan...

...cook for several minutes until thickened and reduced slightly...

...add the cooked mushrooms...

...and simmer for about a minute...

...Julia says to add the vegan veal cutlets back to the sauce several minutes before serving so that they are heated through...I left them on top like this because I thought it looked prettier...and just served them from the skillet...

...I sautéed some spinach to go with the meal...

...and served with stewed potatoes and spinach...

...it was a delicious creamy dinner...and not as much trouble as I thought it would be...it actually came together pretty quickly...

Substitutions

Almond Milk for the cream
Earth Balance for butter
Vegan Veal Cutlets for the veal...recipe above...


Mastering the Art of French Cooking (pp. 366-367)