Question & Answer

We are discussing Cooking for life
With Kurma Dasa, Sue Dengate, Dave Tuff, Jacinta Dugbaza, Roger Bayley

Question:
My son's partner is a vegan and I have trouble cooking for her when they come to visit. We would like to make a roast dinner as this is a family tradition but I don't know what to give her instead of meat. I also want to know if it will be a problem if I cook her food with the same utensils I cook meat with.

Answer:
Kurma - There are many many choices of vegan-friendly recipes. The only question is how adventurous are you in trying new cookery styles.

Here's a Vegan main course I cooked for a guest who came to dinner recently:

Seared and Spicy Chili Tofu Steaks on a bed of Preserved Lemon & Saffron Couscous, with Rocket Salad and Tomato & Avocado Relish (Salsa Mexicana)

Seared and Spicy Chili Tofu Steaks

2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon yellow asafetida powder, or a little chopped onion
500g firm tofu to make 6 small tofu steaks (recipe follows)
1 - 2 tablespoons soy sauce, or to taste
1 - 2 sweet chili sauce, or to taste
Spice mix (recipe below)

Slice the tofu into half-inch thick 'steaks'.

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan placed over fairly high heat. Sprinkle in the yellow asafetida powder and saute momentarily.

Fry the tofu steaks in the flavoured oil on both sides until crusty, then splash on the soy sauce and sweet chili sauce. Cook the tofu steaks briefly, turning until the sauce thickens slightly, then remove from the heat.

Sprinkle with the ground roasted spices and serve immediately.

Roasted Spice Mix

1 tablespoon cumin seeds
2 teaspoons coriander seeds

Toast the seeds over medium heat in a heavy pan until fragrant. Remove pan from heat, transfer the spices to a spice mill or mortar and pestle, and process to a coarse powder.

Preserved Lemon Couscous

1 cup couscous
1¼ cup vegetable stock
Pinch saffron, infused in 1 tablespoon hot water
3 ablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon yellow asafoetida powder
1 teaspoon salt
Handful, in total, coriander, mint and parsley, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon diced preserved lemon (rind only)

Place the couscous in a bowl.

Warm the olive oil in a saucepan over moderate heat. Sprinkle in the asafetida, stir till aromatic, add the stock, saffron infusion, and salt.

Bring to the boil, then pour over the couscous. Stir to incorporate.

Set the soaking couscous aside, covered with plastic film, for 5-10 minutes.

Remove plastic film, carefully running a fork through it to separate the grains. Alow to cool slightly, then fold through the chopped herbs and preserved lemon. Serve immediately, serve at room temperature, or gently reheat when ready to serve.

Rocket Salad

2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
100g rocket leaves

Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Pour over the rocket leaves.

Tomato & Avocado Relish (Salsa Mexicana)

Literally meaning sauce, the term salsa can be applied to any kind of sauce in Latin American cuisine. Elsewhere, it is used to describe the sauce or relish made with freshly chopped uncooked ingredients. The basic salsa consists of tomatoes, a herb, fresh chilies and sometimes a little lime or lemon juice.

Prepare this simple uncooked relish with the freshest, reddest, ripest tomatoes available, and consume within a few hours for optimum flavour. The salsa is mildly hot. Increase the quantity of chilies for more heat. Serves 4-6.

1½ cups peeled, extra-ripe tomatoes, diced small
1 medium, perfectly ripe avocado, diced small
½ cup loosely packed, finely chopped coriander leaves
¼ teaspoon yellow asafetida powder
2 large green chilies seeded and finely chopped, about 2 tablespoons
1½ teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Combine all the ingredients and mix well. The finished product should be loose and pulpy. Serve immediately.

. . . . .

Regarding cooking her food with the same utensils with which you cook the meat, I think you need to ask your son how strict his partner is about this. Generally vegans are quite firm to avoid inadvertantly eating any animal products. But on the other hand, your son's partner may be sensitive to not inconveniencing you.

But if you mean can you offer your son's partner the same vegies that are roasted in the pan with the meat, then my answer would be no, because they will be full of the juices that came from the meat. The same thing applies to using any spoons to stir the vegan dish that may have traces of meat on them.

I would not imagine that you need to purchase separate utensils like is done in strict Jewish Kosher kitchens. I would imagine just cooking the vegan recipes in clean separate pots is sufficient, and finally serving them with their own designated serving spoon.

Finally, if you want to update some vegan recipes for your collection, I publish new ones each week on my website.

best wishes,

Kurma

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