Tempeh

[Graye]

Being short on spreads etc suitable for vegetarians in France I have been looking at making my own.

Several recipes include tempeh. I haven't looked into finding any here and I've found out that to make your own you need a specialist "starter". Before I get too deeply into this does anyone have an opinion of how this stuff tastes and how useful it is please?

[Clara]

I was offered some "fresh" the other day - can't tell you how it tasted because I decided not to buy, looked like soya beans held together with mould . I believe it's some sort of mushroom culture.

[hedgewitch]

Tempeh is fermented Soya Beans.
Plenty of people seem to rave about it but the only stuff I've tried was this canned Tempeh in Brine and it was blinking 'orrible.
I've heard that if you steam it for 5 mins before cooking it takes out the bitterness.
Sorry I can't be more helpful.
Oooh actually maybe I can be more helpful, I have a few recipes for Patés and spreads that don't require Tempeh, I'll get them together for you.

[Jandra]

Not fond of tempeh myself, but I love hummus. Real easy to make, too.

Lots of recipes on the internet.

Happy munching, Jandra

[Green Aura]

Tempeh is lovely. As hedgewitch says you have to steam it for about 15 mins and then you can slice it, dice it, do whatever you want. I much prefer it to tofu, which no matter what I do to it always tastes of tofu to me! Tempeh has a slightly nutty taste which I find much more pleasant.

We get it "fresh" in vacuum packed blocks.

Tempeh bacon is yummy. Steam it and slice it as thin as you can then marinade in the following mixture for half an hour minimum - but you can leave it in the marinade for up to a week in the fridge. This is my variation on a recipe originally got from PETA.

1 cup water
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes (Engervita)
1 tsp paprika (I used smoked and don't bother with the liquid smoke)
1/2 tsp salt
Few drops of liquid smoke

I'm not sure about making it yourself. I've read to many threads on various sites asking if this or that colour of mould is OK. Sounds a bit too hit and miss for home making in my opinion, but I'm sure plenty of people do make it themselves.

[StripyPixieSocks]

I have a spread for you if you are interested?

Boil together Onion, Carrots, Celery, Garlic and Lentils and a vegetable stock cube (or two) in just enough water for the lentils to absorb everything and the entire mixture becomes very dry.

Leave to cool then add to a blender with plenty of organic Tomato Purée to taste and then spoon into a container and leave to cool.

It ends up the kind of texture and consistency of hummus and is wonderful spread on warm crusty bread!

It's also freezable as we've had some in the freezer for a few months and it's still yummy when thawed out so I tend to make a large batch and freeze in portions!

I usually use equal quantities of onion, carrots and celery but double quantity of Lentils... if that makes sense... it's not an exact science as I made up the recipe after buying something similar from a Deli in Cornwall some years ago and loved it so much I had to try and re-create it

[prison break fan]

Hi StripeyPixeySocks, spread sounds good, What lentils do you use? pbf

[StripyPixieSocks]

Whoops, sorry... it's red lentils :)

[prison break fan]

Thanks a lot! Can't you sleep either? pbf

[StripyPixieSocks]

I have insomnia so I'm almost always up late :)

[Graye]

Any ideas on more spread recipes would be very welcome, I'll give them a try. Unfortunately I'm allergic to nuts so that cuts out quite a few usually.

I think I'll wait until I can find some commercially produced tempeh to try, the diy version sounds a bit fraught with problems!

I made a spread last night which was so nice I thought I would post the details. I boiled too many red beans for our chili last night so had about a cup full left over. They were well-cooked so I mashed them with some pepper. Then I very lightly fried some very finely chopped onions, garlic and mushrooms, added a stock cube, about an eggcup full of wine and quite a big helping of chopped parsley and mixed the lot together. The result was a really tasty spread.

What I would really like is some sort of mushroom pate and that's why I was looking at the tempeh idea. I suppose I might be able to do something similar with tvp flakes - I'll try some experiments.

[StripyPixieSocks]

*ahem* http://www.selfsufficientish.com/wildmushroom.htm *ahem*

Those Mushrooms in the photo look decidedly dodgy though

[snapdragon]

so what Is Tempeh ? never heard of it before and the word just doesn't look right

also what is Tamari ?

I do need to learn about these vegeretyrranical things as DIL is one and they're visiting for Yule

[hedgewitch]

snapdragon - Tempeh is fermented Tofu and Tamari is a kind of Soy Sauce.

[invisiblepiper]

[quote="
I do need to learn about these vegeretyrranical things as DIL is one and they're visiting for Yule[/quote]

Hi snapdragon - I have a really tasty and easy recipe for a cheesey lentil bake which would suit you and anyone interested very well - it contains egg though so I hope DiL is not vegan. I shall post it here later today.
Piper