Favorite Plant Based Recipes for Pantry and Summer
Fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, fresh basil, onions, tofu, and other store-bought ingredients can be used in many vegan dishes. Suggestions include recipes for cold gazpacho and pasta with caramelized onions, barbecued tofu, fried tofu cubes, and seitan cutlets. Many recipes combine seasonal and other stored ingredients that you can use to make different vegan dishes year-round.
Why These Vegetarian Recipes Are Helpful
- Tomatoes and Herbs: Cucumbers, peppers, basil, lemons, and olive oil can be used in fresh cold dishes in warm weather.
- Multiple Uses for Tofu: Extra-firm tofu can be used as barbecue strips or fried croutons. There are two ways to prepare this tofu product.
- Onions Enhance Flavor: Caramelized onions add sophistication to a basic pasta dish along with Parmesan cheese, cream, and chili oil to make a skillet sauce.
- Pantry Protein Options: Seitan strips made from vital wheat gluten and canned cannellini beans, tofu, and miso paste can be sliced or shredded.
1. Creamy Vegan Caramelized Onion Pasta with Parmesan and Chili Oil
This 50-minute pasta dish for four uses products you likely have on hand and little preparation time to prepare a skillet sauce. Caramelized onions and Parmesan cheese, combined with cream and chili oil, provide sweet and spicy flavors to this dish using a simple sauce. Onions are the main ingredient. Other cooked ingredients used are olive oil, butter, sugar, water, and cooked onions for color and sweetness. Other ingredients that can be used in a vegan dish include oat cream and vegan Parmesan. Other options include heavy cream and Parmesan cheese. Other spices and seasonings include smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, sweet paprika, salt, and pepper. Onions should soften and caramelize to a thick, dark brown sauce in a longer cooking time. Stir occasionally and add water as needed to prevent browned bits from scorching. When cream and cheese are added, simmer the sauce and add pasta water to the sauce gradually as needed to ensure even coating of cooked pasta. Serve with chopped parsley and extra Parmesan cheese, if available. Good side dishes to serve with this meal include salad, roasted vegetables, and bread. For faster meal preparation when serving at a later time, make the caramelized onions ahead of time and cook the pasta and finish the sauce immediately before serving.
2. BBQ Tofu Pulled Pork with Sticky Smoky Sauce
Serve this meal with burger buns and other bread items and baked potatoes. This vegan pulled pork recipe features shredded extra-firm tofu and sautéed white onions in a sweet and tangy barbecue sauce for a hearty dish with a chewy texture and crunchy golden-brown spots. Thinly sliced onions are sautéed in oil and brown sugar to caramelize. Grated extra-firm tofu is a good protein alternative because it doesn't fall apart during frying and has a good texture for retaining sauce. Other spices and seasonings, such as smoked paprika, garlic powder, hot chili powder, vegan Worcestershire sauce, and liquid smoke, can be added to barbecue sauce without making your own. Stir tofu while cooking to brown and add color before adding the sauce. Avoid overcrowding the pan, as too much tofu adds moisture and prevents browning. You may want to cook the tofu in separate batches. Tofu and sauce should be thoroughly coated and saucy, not watery, after adding sauce and water. Serve fresh with cole slaw and a burger bun or on a baked potato. Other serving ideas include Buddha bowls. Other ways to use the filling include nachos and salads. Leftover filling can be refrigerated for several days and used in other quick meals.
3. Fresh Tomato Gazpacho with Cucumber and Basil
This cold tomato gazpacho recipe can be incorporated into a summer meal plan with 20 minutes of preparation time and a blender. Olive oil, lemon juice, and fresh tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, garlic, and basil make a tasty soup. Blanch the tomatoes to remove the skins. Cool the blanched tomatoes in ice water. Cut the tomatoes and all other ingredients, including cucumber, red pepper, shallot, and garlic, and mix them with olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt, and pepper in a bowl. Let the mixture sit for 20 minutes or longer to blend flavors before pureeing. Serve with additional basil in the dish. Prepared soup ingredients should be blended after sitting. The soup can be fully blended at high speed. You should peel tomatoes to make the cleanest-textured soup. Let the soup chill in the refrigerator for two hours to develop more flavor. It takes two hours for the soup to go from blended vegetables to ready-to-serve summer soup. Serve in bowls garnished with chopped basil. One article suggests serving this dish with no-knead focaccia bread as a main course or side or appetizer. This dish can be made in advance when desired. Mix before serving, since other ingredients in the dish may separate when refrigerated.
4. Tofu Fried Chicken: Crispy Vegan KFC-Style Nuggets
Preheat the tofu by freezing and thawing it. Press and keep it in vegan chicken broth until needed for breading. This tofu recipe yields a vegan version of KFC chicken nuggets with a cornmeal and cornstarch breading and a more meaty texture. The ingredients used to create tofu products are frozen and defrosted extra-firm tofu. Plant milk, apple cider vinegar, and hot sauce are combined to create a buttermilk-style dipping sauce. Flour, cornstarch, and cornmeal are used as breading. Seasonings such as oregano, Creole seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and both peppers provide a fried chicken taste. Arrange breading and oil bowls to allow quick cooking of tofu nuggets. Tofu nuggets will sizzle when first placed in 370°F oil and brown as sizzling lessens over 3 to 4 minutes of cooking. A common mistake when cooking tofu nuggets is adding too many at once. Do not cook more than 5 or 6 tofu nuggets at a time to prevent them from sticking. Serve nuggets with vegan sauces such as BBQ, buffalo, tartar, and honey mustard. Nuggets should be eaten right away. You can make tofu nuggets early, but wait until you are ready to serve to fry them. Reheat leftover nuggets by baking them on a cookie sheet in an oven preheated to 400°F for 10 minutes to restore their crispness.
5. Vegan Chicken: Firm Seitan Fillets With Savory Miso Brine
Serve these vegan chicken strips at a family meal or cook multiple batches for other recipes. Steamed seitan strips with tofu, cannellini beans, miso, and vital wheat gluten can be torn or shredded after soaking in a wine and miso solution. Silken tofu and cannellini beans with soaking liquid are blended with neutral oil, salt, miso, and rice vinegar to create a smooth blend. Wheat gluten and garlic powder are blended into the smooth blend to form seitan dough, and more oil is added later. Fillets are seasoned with a brine of garlic, miso, dry white wine, sugar, vegan chicken seasoning, salt, and bay leaves. Steamed fillets should feel stringy and gumlike before steaming, a sign that the gluten has developed properly. Steamed, wrapped fillets should be firm and rubbery, not doughy. The most frequent problem with this recipe is wrapping the fillets incorrectly, resulting in a soft, spongy texture instead of a firm, meaty texture. Separate the fish fillets after cooking and before brining to allow them to absorb more brine. Brined fish fillets can be prepared in a variety of ways, such as stir-frying, grilling on skewers, frying like chicken, making fish curry, or adding to sandwiches. Brining for eight hours or longer is recommended. Shredded fillets can be flaked with a fork. Larger pieces of brined fillets can be torn by hand to leave chunks.
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