Unreal turkey, butternut squash puree, smoked gouda (made by Peaceful Rebel), baby kale, Granny Smith Apple slices dressed with olive oil, maple syrup, and ACV, Deep River rosemary & olive oil potato chips, and garlic aioli on grilled sourdough from Weaver Street Market in Carrboro, NC
Served with baba gannouj and fava bean hummus over harissa rice
Salt steak filet and add cracked pepper, and let filet rest for a bit. This used a Juicy Marbles filet.
While the steak is resting, slice some onions and then caramelize them. Start with a little olive oil, cook slow and low, and add a little water every so often.
Sear the steak filet on both sides. JM's directions say to use a nonstick pan, but if you have a carbon steel pan, use that. As long as the pan is seasoned, it shouldn't stick, and you can get a better sear on the filet. Let rest once cooked.
Dress your arugula. I used a peppercorn and rosemary olive oil and a little white balsamic, plus a little cracked pepper.
Shred the steak with a fork. I added a little drizzle of the peppercorn and rosemary oil to bridge the flavors of the steak and arugula.
Lightly butter two pieces of bread and grill in pan.
Add a thin layer of garlic aioli to one piece of bread. Hellmann's garlic vegan is accidentally vegan. I've been using the hell out of it lately. Top the bread with the dressed arugula.
Spread some of the pimento cheese on the other piece of bread. I used Dare smoked pimento cheese. It's fucking good -- the smoked flavor is 🤌
Place the steak shreds evenly over the slice of bread with the arugula. On the other piece of bread with the pimento cheese, lay down the caramelized onions evenly. The cheese will warm up and get real tasty. Add a few Fresno chili rings -- you want a little acidity in the sandwich to cut the richness, and they complement the pimento cheese well.
Wrap with parchment paper and compress lightly with your hand for a few seconds to let everything get to know each other. Slice, serve and enjoy.
Made with Peaceful Rebel gouda (based out of Denver), which is actually a different brand than Rebel Cheese (based out of Austin, TX). A local store stocks the Peaceful Rebel, and it's quite good.
Pre-cook onions and jalapeño pepper slices: Heat a lightly oiled carbon steel or cast-iron skillet over high heat. Add shaved red onions and thinly sliced jalapeño peppers. Cook until they sweat, char slightly, and release excess moisture. Transfer to a plate and set aside and wipe the pan clean.
Spread butter on the cut sides of the potato bun. (I used Trader Joe's potato buns.) Place cut-side down in the pan over medium heat until golden brown and toasted. Remove and set aside on cooling rack.
Form two three-ounce patties using Impossible beef. Season to taste with S&P. Wet your hands to keep meat from sticking and shape Impossible beef into balls. Add oil to heated pan, and place meat balls on the hot steel, and smash hard immediately using a heavy spatula and parchment paper to create thin, lacey edges.
Immediately pile half of the pre-cooked onions and jalapeños directly on top of each smashed patty. Once the bottoms form a dark crust, scrape underneath the patties with your spatula and flip so the veggies rest against the steel.
Press down hard a second time with a spatula to press the onions and jalapeños into the meat. Top one patty with a slice of American cheese (I used FYH) and the other with Swiss (I used Daiya), add a few drops of water to the pan, turn down the heat, and cover with lid until the cheese is melty.
Stack patties, spread a thin layer of Hellmann's garlic aioli (which happens to be vegan) on bottom bun and then place patties over bottom bun. Apply jalapeno-cilantro sauce over the patties, top with crispy onions, and close burger with top bun. Wrap with parchment paper and lightly compress before eating.
The "beef" was made with TVP, the cheez with potatoes, carrots and cashews. And there was some real damn Fire Sauce on this bad boy
Today was the Triangle Vegfest, so got to eat good in my hood.
Eggplant meatball sub from Uprooted Vegan Cuisine (Martinez, GA). The single best thing I ate: the marinara sauce was seasoned and spiced well, the pesto added a nice herbal richness, the crispy beet topping provided a nice crunchy element, and the meatballs had perfect texture. An easy 10/10.
Falafel loaded fries from Marigold Cafe (Raleigh, NC). Flavorful sauces, crispy fries, and great falafel -- what's not to love?
Banana pudding also from Uprooted.
Bread and cheese spoils from the event, plus some vegan bacon and popcorn. Bread was from Breadwaala (Durham, NC); cheeses from Harris and Ruddock and La Cremerie Crue, both out of Charlotte, NC. Bacon from GeoD's (Durham, NC), and popcorn from Uprooted.
Plantspired bulgogi, FYH cheddar, chopped iceberg lettuce, grilled onions, roasted tomatoes, garlic aioli, and sriracha on a butter-toasted sub roll.
Basmati rice
Rinse 1.5 cups long-grain white basmati until water runs clear. Soak in water for 30 minutes, drain completely in a fine-mesh strainer, and let sit dry in the strainer for another 30 minutes. Bring a large pot of salted water to a rapid rolling boil, add the rested rice, and boil uncovered for about 6 minutes (until rice is al dente). Drain through a fine-mesh colander and then return rice to the warm empty pot off the heat, cover tightly, and steam-rest for 10–15 minutes. Add vegan butter if desired and gently fold with a silicone spatula.
Wings, Sauces & Charred Lime
Bloom ¼ cup Kashmiri chili powder in hot avocado oil with tomato and paprika paste, ginger-garlic paste, agave, cumin powder, smoked sea salt, and black pepper. Emulsify and cool, then whisk into 4 oz (½ cup) vegan yogurt and a splash of vegan mayo to form your tikka sauce (this yields extra for squirt bottle plating). Finish with a touch of avocado oil to make sauce glossy.
Toss Blackbird wings thoroughly in the tikka masala marinade and air-fry at 400°F for 12–14 minutes, until deeply browned, crisp, and charred at the edges. (Note: Blackbird's standard air-fryer directions call for roughly 8-10 minutes at 400°F when wings are frozen. Because these wings are coated in a wet tandoori-like marinade before cooking, the additional cooking time is intentional—it allows the tikka marinade to cook down and the exterior to become crisp and charred.) Reserve the remaining tikka masala sauce for drizzling during plating.
For the green cilantro cream sauce, whisk vegan mayo with cilantro chutney (roughly 3:1 ratio) plus agave, lime zest, finely chopped fresh cilantro, and avocado oil for gloss. Sear a halved lime cut-side down in a hot dry skillet until heavily charred.
Assembly
Place a mound of rice on plate and top with crispy fried onions, stack the Blackbird wings, and drizzle with your reserved tikka sauce and cilantro cream sauce. Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves and the charred lime.
Udon noodles in a tomato-mushroom-mint broth with caramelized shimeji mushrooms, braised baby bok choy, gochujang-pickled carrots, and pickled red cabbage.
Seared Just chicken over yellow rice with cashew cream, red chimichurri, and a cucumber dill salad with Aleppo and Calabrian peppers.
Ajoblanco. Often called "white gazpacho," it's a cold Spanish soup made with almonds, bread, garlic and olive oil and typically garnished with a few cold grapes.
Dirty rice and chicken made with Daring chicken, seared oyster mushrooms and Campari tomatoes.
Dal tadka with basmati rice garnished with crispy onions.
Pan pizza baked in cast iron with BE Hive pepperoni, Daiya mozzarella, pesto and cherry peppers.
Berbere-roasted carrots over a whipped almond-tofu ricotta with toasted pistachios, pickled shallot rings, mint and fennel seeds.
Seared Beyond steak tips with red chimichurri, yellow rice and an Aleppo pepper cucumber salad.
Tofurky peppered slices, pan-seared green tomatoes, roasted Hatch chiles, avocado mash, pickled red onions, green leaf lettuce, red-streaked arugula, cilantro crema and mayo on a toasted sub roll.
Basmati rice
Rinse 1.5 cups long-grain white basmati until water runs clear. Soak in water for 30 minutes, drain completely in a fine-mesh strainer, and let sit dry in the strainer for another 30 minutes. Bring a large pot of salted water to a rapid rolling boil, add the rested rice, and boil uncovered for about 6 minutes (until rice is al dente) Drain through a fine-mesh colander and then return rice to the warm empty pot off the heat, cover tightly, and steam-rest for 10–15 minutes. Add vegan butter if desired and gently fold with a silicone spatula.
Wings, Sauces & Charred Lime
Bloom ¼ cup Kashmiri chili powder in hot avocado oil with tomato and paprika paste, ginger-garlic paste, agave, cumin powder, smoked sea salt, and black pepper. Emulsify and cool, then whisk into 4 oz (½ cup) vegan yogurt and a splash of vegan mayo to form your thick tikka sauce (this yields extra for squirt bottle plating). Finish with a touch of avocado oil to make sauce glossy.
Toss Blackbird wings thoroughly in the tandoori marinade and air-fry at 400°F for 12–14 minutes, until deeply browned, crisp, and charred at the edges. (Note: Blackbird's standard air-fryer directions call for roughly 8-10 minutes at 400°F when wings are frozen. Because these wings are coated in a wet tandoori marinade before cooking, the additional cooking time is intentional—it allows the marinade to cook down and the exterior to become crisp and charred.) Reserve the remaining tikka masala sauce for drizzling during plating.
For the green cilantro cream sauce, whisk vegan mayo with cilantro chutney (roughly 3:1 ratio) plus agave, lime zest, finely chopped fresh cilantro, and avocado oil for gloss. Sear a halved lime cut-side down in a hot dry skillet until heavily charred.
Assembly
Place a mound of rice on plate and top with crispy fried onions, stack the Blackbird wings, and drizzle with your reserved tikka sauce and cilantro cream sauce. Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves and the charred lime.
Made with Whole Foods plant-based steak, Chao slices, grilled bell peppers and onions, cherry peppers, pickled baby cucumbers, romaine and a Hatch chile mayo
Big Mac sliders made with Beyond beef and FYH American slices. Just needed that sesame seed crown, alas
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