Dining In - Tempeh Piccata & Guilt-Free Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Tempeh Piccata & Guilt-Free Garlic Mashed Potatoes - Chloe's Kitchen

Tempeh Piccata - Chloe's Kitchen

Guilt-Free Garlic Mashed Potatoes - Chloe's Kitchen

Two amazingly delicious Chloe's Kitchen recipes in one meal! I've made the Tempeh Piccata before, but never attempted the Guilt-Free Garlic Mashed Potatoes, although it is a recommended pairing in the Chloe's Kitchen cookbook (buy your copy here). The Tempeh Piccata is a fairly simple one-skillet recipe that begins by steaming the tempeh to remove the bitterness. This dish has great flavor and is very filling. The homemade sauce is tangy and savory. The capers add just the right saltiness.

Parsnips

The Guilt-Free Garlic Mashed Potatoes have a little secret - potatoes make up only 1/3-1/2 of the recipe not 100% like regular mashed potatoes. Parsnips are one of the unique additions to this recipe. If you're not familiar with this root vegetable, it is similar to a carrot in shape, but has a cream color. It's a sweeter vegetable, which comes through in the recipe. You can balance this out by adding more salt. The roasted garlic was delicious and something I'd never prepared before. I enjoyed this side dish, but might try it with one parsnip instead of two next time to reduce the sweetness.


Tempeh Piccata
8 oz. tempeh, thinly sliced (available at Trader Joe's)
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
Sea salt
Ground black pepper
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoon Earth Balance margarine
2 tablespoons capers, drained
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Guilt-Free Garlic Mashed Potatoes
1 head garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
Sea salt
Ground black pepper
2 russet potatoes, peeled and chopped into small cubes
1 head of cauliflower, chopped into small pieces
2 medium parsnips, peeled and chopped into small cubes
1/4 cup almond milk
2 tablespoons Earth Balance margarine


To Prepare Tempeh Piccata:

Start by slicing the block of tempeh in half, lengthwise. Then slice the two halves into small triangles. Place in steaming basket over water and steam for 20 minutes to remove bitterness.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in large skillet and cook tempeh pieces until browned on both sides. Remove from pan and set aside. 

Tempeh Piccata

Using the same skillet heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil on medium-high heat. Cook onions until softened. Add garlic and cook for a few minutes. Season with sea salt and pepper. Slowly pour in vegetable broth. Reduce heat and let broth thicken for 1-2 minutes. 

In a separate small bowl mix together water and cornstarch. Add mixture to skillet and stir continuously until sauce thickens. Add tempeh and reduce heat to low. Add in lemon juice and carefully flip tempeh to cover in sauce. Turn off heat. Stir in margarine, capers and parsley until the margarine is melted and ingredients are incorporated. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with Guilt-Free Garlic Mashed Potatoes. 


To Prepare Guilt-Free Garlic Mashed Potatoes:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Peel outer layers from a full head of garlic. Slice tips off top of the head. Place on tin foil and drizzle with olive oil. Season with sea salt and pepper. Fold up tin foil to create a closed pouch for garlic. Place on baking sheet and cook for 30-40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. To remove garlic cloves, squeeze from bottom of head, they should pop out, or you can peel them out.

In a very large pot, add chopped potatoes, parsnips, and cauliflower and enough cold water to cover the vegetables. Add salt. Bring water to a boil and cook until fork tender. Drain.

In a large bowl, mash together cooked vegetables, almond milk, and margarine. Season with salt and pepper.