Vegan Crème Plombières à l’Ananas

[Vegan Plombieres with Pineapple]

Julia says to 'follow the ingredients and method in the master recipe, but substitute pineapple for the pralin. And instead of soaking the cake in rum, use kirsch or cognac diluted with water'

...master recipe here...VEGAN CRÈME PLOMBIÈRES PRALINÉES

...I bought this little can of pineapple just for this recipe...the recipe actually calls for crushed pineapple...but FL didn't have small cans of that...and I figured I could just 'crush' this myself...

...and two forks made simple work of that job...

...I put a square of vegan sponge cake into a ramekin...I'd dried it out a bit in the oven first...so it looks a little bit toasted...make your custard and add some vegan whipped cream...I used whipped aqua faba...of course...

...then Julia says to boil down the syrup from the can of pineapple...

...mix a couple of spoonfuls with your custard...

...and then add the crushed pineapple to the syrup...

...stir most of the syrup-y crushed pineapple into the custard...and reserve the rest for a topping...

...spoon the custard over the sponge...

...and top with the reserved pineapple...

...it is a pretty dessert...and Julia says 'For the few minutes it takes to assemble, creme plombibes makes a surprisingly attractive dessert.'...haha...the assembly really does only take a few minutes...everything else takes quite a bit longer...haha...

...it was pretty delicious...a little bit of carmelization...sort of like pineapple upside down cake...

Substitutions:

aqua faba for both the egg yolks and the egg whites...
Earth Balance for the butter...

Mastering the Art of French Cooking (p. 596)

* VEGAN TERRINE DE PORC, VEAU, ET JAMBON

[Vegan Pork and Vegan Veal Pate with Vegan Ham]

...Julia says "A pork and veal pate with decorative strips of veal and ham buried in its slices is the most classic of all pate mixtures"...

...and there are two variations for this...
Pâté de Veau et Porc avec Gibier - if you wanted to make this version...you could use the Mock Duck like I did in the Vegan Caneton aux Cerises...or you could make the yuba version like I did in the Vegan Caneton à l'Orange

Pâté de Veau et Porc avec Foie - and if you wanted to make this version...you could use the VEGAN FOIE DE VEAU recipe...

...and the procedure would be exactly the same...

...you start by slicing your vegan veal into 1/4 inch slices...and marinating it in some cognac, thyme, allspice and shallots...I used baked tofu for the vegan veal...and red onion for the shallots...

...then you'll need the VEGAN FARCE POUR PÂTÉS, TERRINES, ET GALANTINES...and I used TVP and mushrooms this time and omitted the vegan sausage as I didn't think that would go with this flavor profile...

...cut your vegan veal and vegan ham into strips...

...add your marinating liquid to the seitan/stuffing mixture...

...then start assembling by pressing 1/3 of the seitan/stuffing mixture on top of the vegan bacon...and then adding the strips of vegan ham and vegan veal...

...continue layering and end with the stuffing...

...top with more vegan bacon...

...set a weight on top...I'm using another ramekin filled with water...and set it in a pan of water...and bake for about 1/2 hour...if you make a larger one you'll have to bake it longer...of course...so that the seitan/stuffing gets done in the center...

...what it looked like out of the oven...almost all of the water in the pan had evaporated...

...but it was nicely pressed and firm...

...after chilling it in the fridge we served it with some slabs of homemade bread...

...it's quite firm...not very paté like...

...and it was delicious...and I say that with a surprised voice as I did not really expect to like this very much...

Substitutions:
Baked Tofu for the veal
Vegan bacon - smart life
Tofurkey vegan ham

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking pp. 566-568

VEGAN BLANQUETTE DE VEAU À L’ANCIENNE/Vegan Blanquette d’Agneau

[Vegan Veal Stew with Onions and Mushrooms/Vegan Spring Lamb Stew with Onions and Mushrooms]

...Julia says that this Blanquette de veau is "a much-loved stew in France"...and that the lamb version "is cooked exactly like the blanquette de veau on page 362 in the Veal section"...

...you add a whole onion studded with one clove to some vegan chicken broth...along with carrot and celery...and a medium herb bouquetwith parsley stems (not the leaves), bay leaf, and thyme...

...then she gives explicit instructions for cooking and 'skimming' the veal...I tore a block of tofu into chunks and boiled it in the broth for about 15 minutes...

...and then cooked it in the air fryer...and it has the perfect texture...and should hold up to the stew...

...then I added the peeled pearl onions...

...and then the vegan veal chunks...

...and again my mushrooms weren't really 'button' sized...so I quartered those...

...and added them to the stew...

...then I made the VEGAN SAUCE BÉCHAMEL/SAUCE VELOUTÉ...and added that to the stew...

...then for the cream and egg yolk enrichment...I used the Trader Joe's vegan cream and the Just Egg Copycat recipe that I've used before...it's made with mung beans...

...you stir that in a spoonful at a time...

...not letting it come to a simmer...

...and we served it over linguine noodles as Julia suggested...it was really really good...and her word 'delicate' definitely describes the sauce...

Substitutions:
Tofu cooked in Vegan Chicken bouillon for the veal
Vegan butter
Vegan Cream
Vegan egg substitute

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking pp. 362.364

Vegan Champignons à la Grecque

[Mushrooms à la Grecque]

...I've already made several of the à la Grecque recipes...

...Julia specifies 1 lb. fresh mushrooms, button size if possible...I don't think these will qualify as 'button size'...

...and she says if they're small to leave them whole...or quarter if large...so I'm quartering these...

...then you make the LÉGUMES À LA GRECOUE...Vegan Court Bouillon...and simmer the mushrooms for about 10 minutes...

...then you remove them with a slotted spoon...

...and cook down the remaining court bouillon to make a sauce...

...and then spoon that over the mushrooms..

...cover and chill...Julia also says these will keep 2-3 days in the refrigerator...

...and actually the 'chilled' part is the oddest thing about this recipe...as I'm just not used to eating cold mushrooms...

...we served them as a simple side dish with some baked tofu, mashed potatoes and peas and carrots...and they were actually good like this as they were so different and tangy...just an interesting take...think more salad than sautéed mushroom...

Substitutions

None
Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking p. 537

VEGAN VEAU SYLVIE

[Veal Roasted with Ham and Cheese]

...you start with a marinade...I used Tracy's Filet recipe again...

...and I used Violife cheese and Tofurkey for the ham...

...you cook the onions and carrots in the casserole...without browning...

...if you're making a big roast seitan you'll make multiple slits and put a slice of vegan cheese and vegan ham in each slit...but since I'm doing single servings it's just one slit...and you position that on top of the onions and carrots...

...I added some bacon bits instead of the slices...and you bake it basting it with the reserved marinade...

...we served it with new potatoes and glazed carrots...it was pretty delicious...

Substitutions

seitan for the veal
Tofurkey for the ham
Violife cheese for the cheese

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking pp. 357-359