A Genius Way to Make Tofu Taste Like Fetta in a Pie

In every Vegan foundation cooking course I run the participants get to develop a signature dish with fresh organic produce bought from the local Mullumbimby farmers market. The ideas that are thought up in this session are always sensational and very often genius. This recipe I share with you today is very similar to what Holly and Guy created in the last course. They decided to make a spinach and fetta pie and use tofu for the fetta. They used an ingredient that I would never have thought of using. What was more impressive is the 'genius' ingredient was something that Guy himself didn't really like.

Are you all by now wondering what the genius ingredient is? It's capers. Guy and Holly put the tofu in the food processor with fresh garlic and capers and whizzed it up till it resembled crumbled fetta. With the combination of spinach and the rest of the ingredients it really did taste like spinach and fetta pie.

They also had another challenge in deciding to make a spinach and tofu fetta pie. At the time of their course it was incredibly hot and spinach or silverbeet is hard to source. So Holly and Guy did really well by using a combination of kale, collard greens and Ceylon spinach. You can substitute the spinach for leafy greens just be sure to check on the cooking times as the tougher leaves like kale and collards taken longer to cook than spinach and Ceylon spinach.

This is not a gluten free recipe as the pie crust is made with wheat or spelt. You could make a gluten free pastry though to put on top of the pie.

Mullum Kale and Spinach Fetta Pie

Victoria's Pastry

This recipe I found in Victoria Cosfords book it is an old Italian receipt
300g wheat or spelt flour
125ml olive oil
1 tsp salt
125 ml tepid water
pinch of salt

Pie filling

2 bunches of greens (could be silverbeet, a combination of Ceylon spinach and kale or collard greens , Swiss chard, if using English spinach you will probably need 4 bunches as they wilt down to nothing)
1 small red onion finely chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
¼ cup salted capers rinsed
3 tbsp finely chopped dill
2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
375 g firm tofu
1 spring onion white and green parts sliced fine
juice of 1 medium lemon
olive oil for frying onions

Make the pastry by placing the flour, oil and salt in a food processor. Process and gradually add the water until the pastry is the right consistency and not too wet. It will usually clump together in a ball. Take the ball and cover it and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour.
Destalk the greens (you can leave some of the white on the silverbeet or spinach but the rest need destalking). Wilt them in a steamer. Once cooled a little squeeze out the water and then slice.
In a food processor place the garlic, tofu and capers and blitz until it starts to resemble finely crumbed fetta.
Cook the spring onions and red onion in some olive oil for a couple of minutes.
Mix the onions, greens, herbs and tofu together seasoning with salt and pepper and adding the lemon juice until you get the desired flavour. It will need to be quite lemony but not over powering. Place this mixture in a pie or quiche dish.
Roll out the pastry on a floured board till it is a few mm's thick. Place the pastry on top of the pie and then cut the excess off.
Cut a little hole in the centre of the pastry to let air out and then brush the pastry with soy or rice milk. Place in a 200 C oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the pastry is browned and cooked through.

Note this pastry is robust so if you have any gaps just press down bits of pastry to fill them in. You can make little leaves with the left over pastry to decorate the pie.

Thank you Holly and Guy for your exceptional work in the last foundation course. There were three other wonderful recipes developed also from the other fabulous participants.

Tips on Getting Creative in the Kitchen

getting creative

Like I said last week we learn lots of tips in the Vegan foundation course to keep the creativity flowing in the kitchen which in turns helps you to feel inspired to cook night after night.

I would like to share another tip here with you now. Over the weekend I cooked for 260 people who were attending Deva Premal and Miten's ecstatic Chant retreat. It was a mammoth task but not new to me as this was the fourth year we have been doing it. It runs like clock work, I have a great team and the food is always good, everything is made well in time for an easeful service so people can get their food quickly.

The key to it running so smoothly is something you can apply to your own kitchen. The key is : Writing Everything Down. Before hand I make a list of all the tasks that need to be done and in the order I think will work best. Then I stick that list somewhere where everyone can see and we work our way through it.

When I am cooking for myself I also do this and I work out how much time I will need to cook. It may seem tedious at first but actually it gets easier and easier to do and it means I can stop worrying about what I have to do next. My time in the kitchen is more enjoyable as I can stay focused on the task at hand. I know this sounds quite mechanical and maybe not so creative but it actually is the opposite it allows creativity to flow more easily.

Do any of you have tips for the kitchen you would like to share with others? I find everyone has so much to share which can be so helpful to others, including myself. Let me know via email and I will share with everyone.

Have a great week of cooking everyone.

With love Veet

The photo is of the lists we did for last years graduation. These were huge lists as the graduating chefs catered a four course meal for 75 people.