Thursday, November 1, 2012

Plant Based Protein

You'd think a book called 250 Best Beans, Lentils, and Tofu Recipes would be vegan or at least vegetarian, right? Well, it's not. The new cookbook from Robert Rose Inc. actually features a combination of vegan, vegetarian, and omni recipes with legumes and tofu as the star ingredient.

It's rather interesting to see recipes for, say, a Cuban-Style Tofu Sandwich alongside recipes for Spicy Halibut on a Bed of Lentils or Easy Chicken Tacos. But at least the book does introduce tofu to meat-eaters. This book would be a great gift for someone looking to add some veg options without going full force yet.

But nonetheless, I found plenty of mouth-watering vegan recipes to choose from. After all, there are 250 recipes! I finally settled on Cajun-Style Tofu with Okra and Tomatoes:


The tomatoes are slow-simmered in a Crock Pot, and then the okra and corn is added toward the end of cooking. The tofu is lightly breaded with flour and Cajun seasoning and fried in a little oil. The meal was absolutely delicious. I loved the lightly fried, spicy tofu, and I'm always a fan of anything with okra. For this, I used some fresh okra that my Granny had canned this summer. I just washed off the salt and vinegar, sliced it up, and threw it in the pot of tomatoes.

There's a whole chapter of this book dedicated to Meatless Mains, and there you'll find recipes for the Indian dish, Bengali Khichri (a rice and lentil dish that resembles risotto), Cider Baked Beans, Penne with Creamy White Bean Sauce, and Moussaka with Tofu Topping (a Greek eggplant casserole). I don't think there's a single dish in the Meatless Mains chapter that isn't on my to-make wish list.

But there are plenty of vegan options in other parts of the book as well. I bookmarked a Curried Squash and Red Lentil Soup with Coconut in the Soups chapter, a Red Hot Hummus (with hot chili paste!) in the Appetizers, and Pumpkin and Black Beans in the Sides and Small Plates chapter. All the vegan recipes are clearly marked as "vegan," as are the vegetarian ones. And any vegetarian recipe can be easily made vegan.

If you're looking for a vegan tofu and beans book, this isn't it. But if you're looking for a book to help an omni ease into healthy eating, this is the perfect fit.

5 comments:

Adriana Robles said...

Everything you make looks so delicious. :9

I totally agree with you that a book like that would be great for someone trying to become a vegetarian or vegan; let them do it at their own pace. :)

Thanks for sharing your review on the book and another great dish!


VegCourtesy.blogspot.com

Sheridan said...

Great review! Sounds like a good book with lots of options.

Justin Serpico said...

I actually got to this blog from the taptu news aggregator app, no idea how it got into the stream of this Paleo eater, so please don't feel like I was hunting down vegans.

Unfortunately tofu has a lot of endocrine disrupting properties, among the other issues of non fermented soy.

What caused me to reply was the last paragraph that implied tofu and its endocrine disrupting and mineral leaching properties could be considered healthy. I suppose healthy like microwaving string beans in plastic BPA laden containers, but not entirely healthy.

If done right, like Rich Roll does, veganism can be done healthfully, but all non fermented soy should be avoided.

tender b. said...

Based on the title, I would've totally thought this book was vegan.

urban vegan said...

Most of my cookbooks are omni anyway...and an LD runner can never have enough protein. Though I am looking forward to taking a bit of time off training during the chilly months.

Of course you made a recipe from the South ;) Looks tasty, y'all. How was that for a Yankee girl?