Smoked Bean Curd Medallions with Shiitake & Walnut Stuffing

Cooking without meat, fish, eggs, milk and cheese sounds daunting, but here's a great recipe you can use when enetertaining vegan guests. Vegetarians and your other guests are likely to enjoy it too.

Medallion ingredients

2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 onions, peeled and finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 sticks celery, finely chopped
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried thyme
1 ½ tsp turmeric
1 tbsp tamari (Japanese soy sauce)
3 packets smoked tofu (or plain if preferred), drained and mashed
200g cashew nuts, finely ground
2 tbsp water
to taste salt and pepper

Stuffing ingredients

2 tbsp  vegetable oil
2  shallots, peeled and finely chopped
300g shiitake mushrooms
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp yeast extract dissolved in a little hot water
40g walnuts very finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh wholewheat breadcrumbs
to taste freshly ground black pepper

To make the bakes

1    Preheat oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.

2    Grease 12 ramekins.

3    Heat the oil in frying pan and sauté onion, garlic and celery, until soft.

4    Add basil, thyme, tumeric and tamari and stir well.

5    Place this mixture in a food processor together with the tofu and ground cashew nuts and 2 tbsp water and process until all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed.

6    Season to taste.

7    Divide evenly between the 12 ramekins and press down well.

8    Bake for 15 minutes or until firm to the touch and filling comes away from sides of      ramekin easily.

9    Turn out onto 6 individual serving plates.

To make the stuffing

   1    Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a large frying pan and sauté the shallots until soft.

2    Remove the tough stalks from the shiitakes and discard. Finely chop the   shiitakes.
 
3    Add the shiitakes, yeast extract and oregano to the shallots.

4    Cook gently for 5 – 10 minutes allowing much of the moisture to evaporate.

5    Add the walnuts and breadcrumbs, stir and season with black pepper to taste.
 
To serve: Sandwich a layer of stuffing between 2 medallions, garnish and serve immediately with Rich Mulled Wine Reduction or gravy.

 © The Vegetarian Society – (recipe created by the Cordon Vert cookery school) www.vegsoc.org.

Visit www.cordonvert.co.uk for great vegetarian cookery courses for professionals and amateurs.