Tempeh & Broccoli Rabe
Shared with generous permission from Terry Romero, from her and Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s phenomenal book, Veganomicon!
Serves 4
Total Time: 40 mins
Ingredients:
1/2 pound rotelle or other spiral-shaped pasta
1-2 Tbsp. olive oil
Spicy fennel tempeh:
1 (14 ounce) package tempeh
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. vegetable broth, purchased or homemade
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 Tbsp. fennel seeds
1+1/2 tsp. red peper flakes, or more to taste
1+1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Broccoli rabe or broccoli:
2 Tbsp. olive oil
5 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
1 bunch broccoli rabe (1/2 to 3/4 pound), tough stems trimmed, chopped coarsely or broccoli trimmed into bite-sized pieces.
Salt
2 Tbsp. white wine, water, or vegetable broth, purchased or homemade
2 tsp. red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta, and cook everything according to package directions, usually about 10 minutes. Drain the pasta, toss with a tsp. or two of the olive oil, and keep covered in a large, covered serving bowl or the cooking pot. While your pasta is boiling, prepare the other ingredients.
Prepare the tempeh.
First, we’ll steam the tempeh in a spicy marinade. In a measuring cup, whisk together the vegetable broth, tomato paste, soy sauce, garlic, fennel seeds, red pepper flakes, oregano, and vinegar. Combine the tempeh with the marinade in a large, non-stick skillet. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Then, lower the heat to medium, cover the pan, and steam the tempeh for about 8 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed, stirring occasionally. Transfer the tempeh to a bowl and crush about half of the cubes with the back of a spoon.
Wipe down the skillet to remove any leftover tempeh sauce, return the skillet to medium heat, then add the oil. To test the heat, drop a bit of tempeh into the oil- when it sizzles, the oil is hot enough. Add the tempeh and stop-fry for 4 to 5 minutes, until it begins to brown. Remove from the heat, add to the pasta, and keep covered.
Prepare the broccoli rabe or broccoli.
Heat the oil over medium heat and add the sliced garlic. When the garlic begins to sizzle, cook it, stirring, for about a minute.Add the vegetables, stir to coat them with the oil, sprinkle with a little salt, and cover the pan. Steam for 2 minutes. Sprinkle with about 2 Tbsp. of the white wine and steam for 4 to 6 minutes, until the broccoli rabe is bright green and its stems are tender. Depending on the size of your skillet, you may need to do this in two batches; just add the second batch of vegetable as son as the first batch has softened and hence shrunken slightly..
Remove the cover, sprinkle with a little salt to taste, and continue to sauté for an additional minute or two, until any excess liquid has evaporated. Transfer the cooked veggies to the bowl with the tempeh and pasta and toss with the vinegar and pepper.
