I'm always veganizing recipes that I love...so...I'm working my way
through all of the amazing recipes in Julia Child's
Mastering the Art of French Cooking...
...making a Vegan Version of each one...... sometimes successfully - sometimes not...Recipe Count 551/524 (from Julie's count)...but really 629

Tuesday, October 26, 2021

VEGAN CRÈME AU BEURRE, À L'ANGLAISE

[Vegan Butter Cream III— with vegan custard base]

...This is the last of the section titled THREE BUTTER CREAMS [Trois Crèmes aux Beurre]...

...Julia says that "this final recipe is simpler to make than the preceding one with its sugar syrup" ...and the VEGAN CRÈME AU BEURRE, AU SUCRE CUIT one was such a surprise...it turned out so good and not at all what I was expecting...
...so you'll need to start with the VEGAN CRÈME ANGLAISE
...I added a few drops of lemon extract...since I'm going to ice some vegan lemon cupcakes with this...but Julia says to add 2 to 3 Tb kirsch, rum, orange liqueur, or strong coffee, OR, 1 Tb vanilla extract OR, 2 ounces (2 squares) melted, semi-sweet baking chocolate...so there are lots of options for flavoring...
...then Julia says "At once set saucepan in cold water and beat ...I do love her sense of urgency...haha...
...until custard has cooled to barely tepid..."
...then you get some softened vegan butter...I'm using the Country Plant Based Almond here...
...and beat the softened butter into the barely tepid custard by spoonfuls, using whip or beater...
...and then for a quick single serving treat...I often take a couple of spoonfuls of vegan cake mix...and just add some water to make a batter...and then microwave it...
...it turns out perfectly soft and moist...like the mug cakes that are popular...
...then I just iced the little cake with the custard-y/butter-y icing...
...it actually firmed up a lot in the fridge...it still looks mostly like custard here...
...I really liked this creamy icing...and it wasn't very difficult to make...

Substitutions:

flax seed goo for the eggs
almond milk for the milk
Vegan butter for the butter

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking (pp. 683-684)

Tuesday, October 19, 2021

VEGAN PAUPIETTES DE BOEUF-VEGAN ROULADES DE BOEUF-VEGAN PETITES BALLOTINES DE BOEUF

[Vegan Braised Stuffed Beef Rolls]

...after last week's multi-step Vegan Pièce de Boeuf à la Cuillère I had some leftover vegan roast beef...so I thought it'd be a good time to tackle this recipe...with THREE titles...haha...

...and it's also got a lot of steps...basically...Julia says that "Paupiettes are thin slices of beef wrapped around a filling, and braised in wine and stock with herbs and aromatic vegetables."
...so you begin as you often do by cooking some onions slowly in vegan butter for a few minutes until they are tender but not browned.
...then add them to a bowl...I'm subbing bulghur wheat simply cooked in vegan beef bouillon for the ground meat...
...add some aqua faba for the egg...
..add some allspice...
...and some parsley...
...salt and pepper...
...I sliced a thin strip off my vegan roast...
...and got out my kitchen twine...
...then spooned some of the mince onto the vegan roast strip...
...rolled it up and tied it...
...heated some oil...
...and browned the paupiette...
...I got some vegan bacon out of the freezer...
...and put that into the bottom of the casserole...
...and placed the paupiette on top...
...then to the same pan...add some white wine...carrots and more onions...
...stir in some flour and vegan bouillon...
...make an herb bouquet using parsley, bay leaf, thyme and garlic...I put mine into my tea ball...it's so easy and neat...
...pour over the sauce...
...heat it to a simmer on the stove top...
...and you're ready for the oven...
...so cover and place in the oven for a while...Julia says an hour and a half...but I only put mine in for about 1/2 hour...everything was already 'done'...so it really just needed to heat through thouroughly...
...then when it's done...take it out...discard the herb bouquet...and snip the twine...
...remove your paupiette to a dish...and put the sauce back into a skillet...
...add some dijon mustard...
...and some vegan cream...
...beat the mustard and cream into the sauce...
...and simmer for 1 minute...
...pour the sauce back over the paupiettes and serve...
...we served the paupiettes with braised cabbage and steamed red potatoes...
...it was a really delicious meal...

Substitutions

Vegan butter or oil for sauteeing
Seitan for the roast
Bulghur wheat cooked in vegan beef broth for the stuffing
aqua faba for the egg

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking pp. 318-321

Tuesday, October 12, 2021

Vegan Pièce de Boeuf à la Cuillère

[Vegan Minced Braised Beef Served in a Beef Shell]

...Julia calls this an unusual way to serve braised beef for a dinner party...and she says that this recipe is from la vielle cuisine française...so if it was already old in the 60s when she wrote Mastering the Art of French Cooking...then maybe my classification of 60s food not served anymore...(haha) is wrong...

...there are a lot of steps to this one...so let's jump in...
...make or buy your favorite beef flavored seitan roast...braise it and place it under a weight...Julia says so that it firms up and holds it's shape as it cools to tepid...not sure this is necessary for seitan...but I went with it...
...then you make the 'shell'...
...by carving out a rectangular opening in the roast...
...then mince the removed seitan into 1/8 inch pieces...
...then you'll put the mince into a skillet with some onion...Julia says shallots...but I had some red onion I wanted to use up...and some vegan ham...I just used the TVP ham bits...
...add the mince and saute for 15 to 20 minutes...stirring occasionally...
...add some of the braising liquid...
...then you'll need two beaten egg yolks...I'm using aqua faba for that...
...and vegan parmesan and bread crumbs...
...stuff the mince back into the shell...
...then using a pastry brush...paint the entire shell with the aqua faba...
...and pat on a layer of chees and bred crumbs...
...put it on a wire rack and into the oven...
...Julia says to lightly brown the coating...
...and place it on a platter...
...and surround it with a vegetable garnish...Julia suggests onions, carrots and potatoes....OR...baked tomatoes, green beans...and oddly...OR braised lettuce...we went with potatos and onions...both from the Foreman grill...
...it really is a very pretty presentation...
...Julia says to serve the sauce from the braised beef in a gravy bowl separately...
...and we also had peas and carrots with ours...
...and it was just as I expected...totally delicious...when it's served you get this cute little cross-section...and it's a lot of fun to play with your food this much...

Substitutions

Vegan butter for sauteeing
Seitan for the roast
Vegan ham for the ham
Vegan parmesan for the parmesan...we used Violife

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking pp. 313-314