Lemon – Vegan Nosh https://vegannosh.me Celebrating peace and non-violence with delicious vegan food. Mon, 29 Sep 2014 04:04:57 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.2.3 Seared Lemon Tofu Experiment https://vegannosh.me/2014/09/10/seared-lemon-tofu-exp/ https://vegannosh.me/2014/09/10/seared-lemon-tofu-exp/#respond Thu, 11 Sep 2014 03:49:04 +0000 https://vegannosh.me/?p=1182

I’ve been experimenting with refrigerator lemon pickles for a couple of years now. Tonight I wanted to work with lemon and other Japanese flavors, but didn’t have any preserved lemons in the fridge. Rather than put off using up some fresh shiso I had on hand, I decided to experiment with using other methods to infuse lemon flavors, plus make a garnish of the fresh lemon as well.

First I sliced up a large lemon in very thin slices. You might want a mandoline to get very thin slices, but it can be done with a very sharp knife (I used my nakiri). I layered the slices onto a plate then layered thick slices of extra-firm, water-packed tofu I’d pressed for 40 minutes, on top of the lemons. I sprinkled on a little Alaea salt and black sesame seeds. I let this sit for 15 minutes.

I heated up a cast iron skillet on medium-low heat and added a few tablespoons of avocado oil and let it heat up. I put the tofu sesame-side down into the hot oil and then layered the sliced lemons over the top of the tofu. It seared in a covered pan for 12 minutes before removing the lemon slices (reserve), spraying the tofu with oil, and flipping the slices over. Lemon slices where placed back onto the tofu slices and pan covered to let tofu sear for another 12 minutes.

I removed the lemon slices and set aside. Into the pan I poured half of a mix of rice wine vinegar, tamari, red miso, and mirin over the tofu and let the liquid reduce in the pan. Once all liquid had reduced I removed tofu from the pan and added back in the lemon slices. These were spread out in the bottom of the pan to sear lightly for a couple of minutes before turning to sear on the other side. Once both sides had seared I added the rest of the sauce I’d mixed and let it reduce with the lemons.

The whole thing was presented with the hot lemon relish topping the seared sesame tofu and a chiffonade of fresh shiso.

There was also some summer squash chips made with thin slices of patty-pan squash tossed with dried cilantro, avocado oil, and Alaea salt. These roasted on a pan in the oven on convection setting, 235 degrees.

All this was accompanied with brown rice tossed with lemon zest and shiso.

We ate all of it. It was amazing. There will be recipes.

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Fresh Lemon Relish! https://vegannosh.me/2012/04/30/fresh-lemon-relish/ https://vegannosh.me/2012/04/30/fresh-lemon-relish/#comments Tue, 01 May 2012 04:37:15 +0000 https://vegannosh.me/?p=924

While shopping at Uwajimaya recently Christie spotted a fresh lemon relish made with very thinly sliced lemon, sea salt, sugar and rice vinegar. Some was out to sample and it was delicious. Sweet, salty, sour, tangy. I had to get some.

The result was another Japanese-inspired feast! No recipes yet, this is nothing but Food P0rn, but I am working on a recipe for my own version of the fabulous, fresh lemon relish!

By the time I was done cooking, prepping and plating we were too hungry to take photos with the Nikon and the light tent, but I’ve decided that phone-taken photos with our kitchen’s lousy light are better than none at all.

Of course, there was a roll!

Shiso, Avocado, and Lemon Relish Roll

But the rice ball with avocado and the lemon relish was my favorite!

Don't you love the little rose of preserved lemon!

There also was miso-tangerine glazed, grilled tofu, snow peas and asparagus.

Thus Begins the 2012 Grilling Season!

Plus a simple carrot and daikon salad.

Hurrah for the Plum Blossom Food Cutter!

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Lemon Pulao https://vegannosh.me/2012/02/05/lemon-pulao/ https://vegannosh.me/2012/02/05/lemon-pulao/#comments Mon, 06 Feb 2012 04:55:34 +0000 https://vegannosh.me/?p=849

On Christmas Day friends of ours brought us a pint jar with 2 halves of Meyer lemon preserved in salt. I’ve been kicking around the idea of a pulao using slices of of the lemon. The result was absolutely fantastic.

This dish could be made without the preserved lemon, but it adds such an amazing flavor to the rice that it is worth finding it, making them, or befriending people who make them and give you some!

The Stuff

  • 2 cups* brown basmati rice
  • Juice and grated rind from a large lemon
  • 8 green cardamom pods
  • 1 small shallot, cut in half, then into very thin slices
  • 2 T Earth Balance (or your preferred vegan margarine)
  • 1 t ground turmeric
  • 1/2 t amchur
  • 2 T cashew halves
  • 4 cups* water
  • 2 1/4″ slices of preserved lemon, salt dusted off and any seeds removed
  • Additional salt, to taste (preferably the salt from the lemon if you have it)
  • 3 T chopped, fresh coriander

The Making

Rinse rise and soak in water 10-15 minutes. Drain well.

Bring a skillet to medium-high heat, add Earth Balance and bring up to heat. Add shallot and saute 5 minutes, until the shallot beings to caramelize. Add in the cashews and continue to saute another 3 minutes before carefully adding in the well-drained rice. Saute the mixture for 5 minutes, stirring often, until rice begins to brown, then sprinkle ground spices over the top and mix in evenly.

Add rice into cooker pot along with lemon rind, lemon juice, cardamom and slices of preserved lemon. Add water in to the 2 cup mark f0r brown rice, close lid and set to cook.

After rice finishes cooking open lid, remove lemon slices, and stir. Remove any remaining lemon from the rind, cut up and return to pot. Slice rind into small pieces and add them back to pot. Stir in sliced up lemon and add salt to taste. Stir in fresh coriander.

*When I mention “cup” here it is referring to the measuring cup that come with the rice cooker. I also don’t measure the water with the same cup, I use the lines inside the cooker pot to get the right amount of water.

Yes, you can totally make this on the stove. Just saute shallot and rice in a 3-quart stock pot, add water, bring to boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until rice is tender.

Serves 6-8

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