Grilling

(Source: http://www.theppk.com/category/recipe/grilling)

Index

1. Flatbreads with Creamy Red Pepper Scallion Spread
2. Spaghetti Pomodoro with Grilled Tempeh
3. Grilled Peaches with Ginger Coconut Caramel
4. Ancho Lentil Soup with Grilled Pineapple
5. Perfect Grilled Portobellow

Flatbreads with Creamy Red Pepper Scallion Spread

Ingredients:

For the Flatbread:

• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for the bowl
• 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast
• 2 cups bread flour (or a little less, see directions)
• 1/2 cup medium grind cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon salt

For the Scallion Spread:

• 1/2 cup cashews (unroasted)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 pound extra firm tofu, drained
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (optional, but it makes it a bit more creamy)
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• Fresh black pepper
• 1 cup chopped scallions
• 1/2 a red bell pepper, seeds removed, chopped
• For the salad:
• 6 cups baby mixed salad greens
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Big pinch salt

To serve:

• A handful of toasted walnuts
• Additional thinly sliced red bell pepper (the remainder of the half you used for the spread)

Makes 4 flatbreads (serves 4 – 8)

Active time: 30 minutes (You’ll need to let the bread rise for at least an hour)

Method:

Make the spread:

1. In a food processor, chop the cashews into coarse crumbs. Add the garlic and pulse to incorporate. Crumble the tofu in your hands and drop it in. Add the lemon juice, olive oil (if using), nutritional yeast, salt and pepper and blend until relatively smooth, a little texture from the nuts is great.
2. Add the scallions and red pepper and pulse until they’re chopped into tiny bits. You don’t want them to be completely pureed, make sure that there’s some crunch from the red peppers.
3. Taste for salt and seasonings. If it needs anything else, don’t puree again, just remove the blade, scrape everything into the bowl and gently mix in with a fork. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Make the flatbreads:

1. Add water and sugar to the bowl of a standing mixer fit with a dough hook. Sprinkle in the yeast and let sit for 5 minutes to bloom.
2. Mix in the olive oil then Add one cup of the flour along with the salt. Mix on low until well incorporated, and then turn the speed up to medium and mix for 3 minutes.
3. Add another 1/2 cup of flour and the 1/2 cup of cornmeal, and mix well, starting on low and then switching to medium speed. Then add another 1/2 cup of flour, again starting on low and switching to medium. Knead on medium for about 5 minutes. You may occasionally have to get in there with your hands if the dough starts climbing up the hook. It should become smooth and elastic and slightly tacky. At this point, incorporate flour by the tablespoon, with the mixer running. When it starts to seem dry, stop adding flour. This could be anywhere between 1/4 and 1/2 cup. Knead again on medium until it is elastic easy to stretch, about 8 more minutes.
4. Meanwhile, drizzle about two tablespoons of olive oil into a large mixing bowl. The dough will double in size, so make sure you have enough room. Form the dough into a ball and place in the bowl, tossing it around to coat with oil. Cover the top in plastic wrap and put in a warm place. Let dough rise for about an hour, or until doubled in size.
5. When dough has doubled, fire up your grill. Keep the flame high and close the lid. If you have a thermometer, it should be at about 500 F.
6. Punch the dough down, give it a quick knead and tear it into 4 equal-ish pieces. On a large cutting board, form each piece into an oval that is about 8 inches long and 5 inches across. I just use my hands for this, but you can use a rolling pin if you prefer.
7. Place the dough on the grill. It should take about 3 to 4 minutes for the bottoms to get grill marks and become firm. If it takes a little longer that’s cool, but definitely check one after 3 minutes. Use tongs to flip the bread over and cook for another 2 minutes or so, until grill marks appear.
8. Remove breads from the grill with tongs and place on the large cutting board. Keep covered with a kitchen towel to keep warm until ready to use.

Prepare the salad:
At the last minute so that they’re as fresh as can be, use a large bowl to toss the salad greens with lemon, olive oil and a big pinch of salt.

Assemble:
Use the back of a spoon to spread the Scallion Spread onto the flatbread. Top with handfuls of dressed greens and scatter on toasted walnuts and red pepper, if desired. Slice in half with a pizza slicer, if you like, and serve!

Notes:

If you prefer to bake the breads, you can do so in a 450 F oven, for 12 to 15 minutes. Place directly on a baking stone for the crispiest results, but a large baking sheet will work, too!

For the best time management, make the spread while the dough is rising.

Go to top

Spaghetti Pomodoro With Grilled Tempeh

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound spaghetti
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 1/2 pounds tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Several dashes fresh black pepper
• 8 large basil leaves, torn into pieces (plus extra for garnish)

Serves 2 – 4

Time: 30 minutes/ Active time: 20 minutes

Method:

1. First bring water to a boil for the pasta. Prep everything while it’s boiling. Once boiling, cook your spaghetti.
2. Meanwhile, preheat a 4 quart pot over medium low heat. Saute garlic in the oil for about a minute, being careful not to burn.
3. Add the tomatoes, salt, black pepper and basil leaves and stir. Cover pot and turn the heat up to medium high. Let cook for about 15 minutes, stirring often.
4. The tomatoes should be broken down and saucy. Toss in the spaghetti and toss to coat. Turn off heat and let sit for 10 minutes or so, to let flavors meld. Serve topped with extra basil.

Notes:

Keeping the tomatoes in chunks and then cooking them quickly with some olive oil and lots of garlic, preserves all that garden flavor, and then some. The tomatoes are cooked to release their juice, which reduces just enough to make a pretty orange sauce – the perfect segue to fall.

Go to top

Grilled Peaches with Ginger Coconut Caramel

Ingredients:

For the caramel:

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch plus 1 tablespoon water
• 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, grated on a microplane
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

For the peaches:

• 6 to 8 ripe peaches
• Juice of one lemon
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• And vanilla ice cream to serve

Serves 6 – 8

Method:

First make the caramel:

1. In a 2-quart pot, mix together sugar, water and maple syrup. Place over medium heat, and stir with a wisk until the sugar has dissolved.
2. Once dissolved, you don’t have to stir as much, but definitely keep a close eye so that it doesn’t burn, but do stir occasionally. It should be bubbly at the edges and start to turn a few shades darker. If it seems to be bubbling wildly, then lower the heat a bit.
3. Let cook this way for 15 minutes or so. In the meantime, mix the cornstarch with the tablespoon of water and slowly add the coconut milk, mixing with a fork to thoroughly incorporate the cornstarch.
4. Once the caramel turns a deep honey brown, slowly stream in the coconut milk, whisking constantly, then mix in the coconut oil, ginger and salt.
5. Cook for another 7 minutes or so, so that the cornstarch thickens the caramel a bit. Let cool a bit, but serve warm.

Prepare the Peaches:

1. Preheat the grill to medium-high. Remember to lightly grease it first so that the peaches don’t stick.
2. It’s easiest to slice the peaches width-wise (another way to think about it, is around the waist,) not stem to bottom. The pit will come out easier. Once sliced, hold each end of the peach and twist until it releases. Remove the pit, place peaches in a big bowl, and coat in oil and lemon juice. Use your hands to gently rub them and make sure they’re coated.
3. Grill each peach face down for about 7 minutes. Use a thin metal spatula to lift them from the grill. They should be tender and have awesome grill marks. Flip and grill for another 2 minutes or so, just to soften a bit more.
4. Serve immediately, with ice cream and drizzled with caramel.

Notes:

Use plain white sugar here. The health-food sugars just don’t seem to work as well in caramels.

Go to top

Ancho Lentil Soup With Grilled Pineapple

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 2 dried ancho chilies, seeds removed and ripped into bite sized pieces
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced small
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Seranno pepper, seeded and chopped (add another if you like more heat)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups green lentils, washed
• 7 to 8 cups vegetable broth or veg broth and water mixed
• 3 tablespoons of lime juice or to taste
• Cooking spray
• 6 to 8 pineapple rings
• slices of lime to serve
• hot sauce to serve

Method:

1. We’re going to make our own ancho chili powder. Preheat a small frying pan over low-medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and ancho chili pieces and toast, stirring often, until fragrant and toasted, 3 to 5 minutes.
2. Transfer to a spice grinder or small food processor and grind to a coarse powder. Some bigger pieces of chili are okay. Add the coriander seeds to the cumin and anchos and pulse a few times to crush them, you don’t want them ground to a powder, just broken up pretty well.
3. Preheat a big stock pot over medium heat. Saute the onions in the olive oil until transparent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the serrano and garlic and cook for another minute. Add the spices and stir. Add the bay leaves, salt, lentils and 7 cups of water. Mix well. Bring up the heat, cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling lower heat to low-medium and let simmer for 1/2 an hour, stirring every now and again.
4. Meanwhile, heat up your grill pan on high heat or preheat a broiler. Spray your grill pan with cooking spray and grill the pineapple slices for 4 minutes on each side, or until grill lines appear. If using a broiler, cook on one side for 3 minutes and the other for about 2, until pineapple begins to brown and slightly carmelize.
5. Once the lentils are tender, add an extra cup of water/stock if you think it needs thinning. Add the lime juice and stir.
6. Remove the bay leaf. Use an immersion blender to puree about half the soup. If you don’t have an immersion blender, use a potato masher to mash it up a bit, until desired thickness is achieved. Taste for salt.
7. To serve: ladle into bowls and top with a pineapple ring, a slice of lime and dot with hot sauce.

Go to top

Perfect Grilled Portobellos

Ingredients:

4 portobello mushrooms, stems removed

For the marinade:

• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced

For the sandwich:

• 4 nice sized pieces foccacia bread
• A few handfuls baby arugula
• Slices of sweet onion (like walla walla or vidalia)
• Slices of tomato
• A little vegan mayo

Makes 4

Method:

1. Place the portobellos gills up in a rimmed baking sheet.
2. Mix all the marinade ingredients together and spoon over the portobellos. Let marinate for at least half an hour, spooning marinade back onto the mushrooms every ten minutes or so.
3. Grease up your grill with olive oil and preheat over medium/high. It’s important to keep some oil nearby for brushing the grill through out the cooking process. You can use a grill brush for it, or a paper towel wadded up and grasped in your tongs. You can also use a spray bottle of oil.
4. Place the mushrooms gill side up on the grill. Close lid and let mushrooms cook for about 5 minutes, lifting the lid to baste shrooms with marinade every few minutes. Use tongs to turn the mushrooms 90 degrees to make cross hatched grill marks; cook for about 3 more minutes. Flip mushrooms over and cook for about 3 more minutes. Your cooking time may vary depending on the size of your portobellos and the temperature of your grill. You know the mushrooms are done when you press on the center with tongs (where the stem used to be) and it’s very soft and juicy.
5. Remove from heat and let rest for about 5 minutes. This lets the flavors develop a bit and the juices taste even yummier when they are just a little bit cooled down. You can use this time to slice your bread and prep the veggies.
6. Assemble sandwiches.

Go to top

Please support us so that we can continue to bring you more Dharma:

If you are in the United States, please note that your offerings and contributions are tax deductible. ~ the tsemrinpoche.com blog team