Last week, at the Los Angeles Epicurean Festival, there were sausages made from
exotic meats and a variety of sweet treats – but what I enjoyed most were
several simple but tasty sandwich spreads.
Organic almond, pecan and
other nut butters were presented by Living Tree Community Foods, which also
makes seed butters such as black sesame tahini.
At another booth there
were tasty cashew butters in several flavors: dill, garlic, roasted red pepper
and strawberry-banana.
Joanna Fiore of La Dolce Vita Gourmet, who made
the spreads, told me that she also makes cashew butter in other flavors ranging
from wasabi to Sicilian coffee. As a vegan chef, Fiore’s food is entirely
plant-based – free of all animal products, including eggs, dairy foods and
honey. Fiore suggests using cashew butter in sandwiches like peanut butter, in
dips and even on pizza.
My friend Susan Hermann Loomis, author of Nuts in
the Kitchen, offers three tips for preparing homemade nut butter: Toast the
nuts, and while they are still hot, grind them in a food processor. During
processing, even if the nut butter doesn’t seem smooth, don’t be tempted to add
oil. Most of all, have patience – making nut butter can take up to 15 minutes of
processing.
Celine Steen and Tamasin Noyes, authors of Vegan Sandwiches
Save the Day!, make a sweet pistachio spread with agave nectar and non-dairy
milk. They spread it on whole-grain bread slices and top with strawberries or
other fruit to serve for breakfast, as after-school snacks, or cut into canapés
for entertaining.
Cashews can even be transformed into a vegan version of
French Hollandaise sauce, which is classically composed of butter and eggs.
Steen and Noyes make the sauce, which they call “hollandaze,” by blending soaked
cashews with non-dairy milk and several flavorings, including sauerkraut, olive
oil, Dijon mustard, lemon juice and nutritional yeast. For an elegant sandwich,
they serve the sauce with asparagus and tomato slices on lightly toasted
bread.
There are many ways to make vegan cheese at home, and Miyoko
Schinner, author of Artisan Vegan Cheese, presents a variety of them. Some of
the fastest homemade vegan cheeses are made from nuts. Her nut Parmesan takes
very little time to make – it’s composed of pine nuts, almonds or walnuts
whirled in a food processor with salt and nutritional yeast flakes until the
mixture has a granular texture.
To make macadamia ricotta, Schinner
processes soaked macadamia nuts with a little water in a blender and lets the
cheese stand in a covered glass container for about 12 hours to culture it. Even
easier is almond ricotta, which is made from blanched almonds and doesn’t need
to be cultured.
You can turn nuts into lower-calorie spreads by combining
them with other ingredients. At a friend’s dinner party I tasted a spread that
is perfect for light and healthy sandwiches – a sun-dried tomato spread that
gains its body from tofu and is enriched with a small amount of walnuts. The
flavorful spread was served on cucumber slices as a refreshing appetizer. As
soon as I tasted it, I knew I would like it in my sandwiches.
Faye Levy
is the author of Healthy Cooking for the Jewish Home.
SUN-DRIED TOMATO TOFU SPREAD
This recipe is from The Nut Gourmet. Author Zel
Allen writes, “The definitive flavor of sun-dried tomatoes contributes a lively
tang to this spread, while the walnuts lend toothy texture. Enjoy this savory
spread as a topping for baked potatoes or polenta at dinner, or as a sandwich
filling for lunch.”
Allen makes the spread from dry-packed tomatoes,
which she plumps briefly in hot water. She prefers firm or extra-firm tofu; You
can use any tofu available at your market. To flavor the spread, she recommends
using white miso – the mildest kind. If you don’t have it, substitute whatever
miso you have; start with less and taste before adding more.
Stored in a
covered container in the refrigerator, the spread will keep for one
week.
Makes 2 cups
3⁄4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
(45 gr. or 1.5 ounces) 450
gr. (1 pound) firm or extra-firm tofu, rinsed and drained
1⁄2 cup coarsely
ground walnuts
1 Tbsp. white miso
1 tsp. salt 1 large garlic clove 1
⁄4 tsp
freshly ground pepper Place the sun-dried tomatoes in a heat-proof bowl and pour
boiling water over them to cover.
Let rest for about 5 minutes to soften.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the tomatoes to the food processor.
Add
the remaining ingredients and process until almost smooth, leaving small bits of
the sundried tomatoes for texture. Stop the machine occasionally to scrape down
the sides of the bowl.
Spoon the spread into an attractive serving bowl.
Serve immediately or thoroughly chilled.
ALMOND RICOTTA
This recipe is
from Artisan Vegan Cheese.
Author Miyoko Schinner writes that it “looks
amazingly like dairy ricotta and has a similar texture to boot: fluffy with a
slight graininess.” It’s good in pasta dishes like lasagne and in desserts, as a
spread for toast with a bit of jam, or even on its own.
Store in a
covered container in the refrigerator, almond ricotta will keep for about 1
week.
Makes about 4 cups cups blanched almonds (see Note below), soaked
in water for 8 to 12 hours and drained 1 cup water Salt Put the almonds, water
and a pinch of salt in a blender. Process until light, fluffy and fairly creamy
but not perfectly smooth, occasionally stopping to scrape down the blender jar
and move the mixture toward the blades. Taste and stir in more salt if
desired.
Note: You can also use raw almonds with skins.
After
soaking, their skins should slip off easily.
Simply squeeze one almond at
time between your thumb and index finger. If the skins don’t come off easily,
pour boiling water over the almonds to cover, let soak for 1 to 2 minutes, then
drain. As soon as they’re cool enough to handle, it will be easy to skin
them.
GRILLED PORTOBELLO MUSHROOM SANDWICH WITH HERBED TEHINA
Grilled
vegetables with herb-flavored tehina and Israeli salad make a delicious sandwich
in a pita. With their meaty texture, portobello mushrooms make a satisfying
sandwich. You can also make this sandwich with grilled, broiled or roasted
eggplant slices.
Makes 4 servings
Herbed Tehina Sauce (see Note below)
1
cup shredded romaine lettuce
1 green onion, chopped
1⁄2 small cucumber, diced
2
large ripe tomatoes, diced small
4 large portobello mushrooms
2 tsp olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper
4 fresh or warmed pita breads s’hug (Yemenite hot
pepper-garlic relish) or bottled hot sauce, to taste Prepare sauce. Mix lettuce,
onion, cucumber and tomatoes.
Clean mushrooms with a damp towel. Heat a
ridged stove-top grill pan over medium-high heat. Rub mushrooms with oil and
sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides.
Set mushrooms on hot grill.
Grill about 3 minutes per side or until browned and done to your
taste.
Cut mushrooms in thick slices. Cut a strip from top of each pita
so it opens. Put mushroom slices inside and moisten with a spoonful of tehina
sauce. Add vegetable salad and spoon a little more sauce over it. Serve more
sauce and s’hug on the side.
HERBED TEHINA SAUCE:
Combine 1⁄3 cup
well-stirred tehina paste and 1⁄3 cup water in blender.
Add salt to taste,
11⁄2 Tbsp lemon juice, 2 minced garlic cloves, about 3 Tbsp. small parsley
sprigs and 1 or 2 Tbsp. coarsely chopped cilantro (fresh coriander). Blend until
smooth and herbs are finely chopped. If sauce is too thick, gradually stir in
more water. Season to taste with cayenne, and more salt or lemon juice if
needed.
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