Celeb Inspiration: The Barefoot Contessa, Pt. 2

My Mimi was a pro at Ina Garten's spanakopita, or spinach pie. The original recipe calls for eggs, parmesan and feta, but as I am finding to be true with nearly all of Ina's recipes, it was easily veganized, and the result was serenely nostalgic for me. This luscious filling is more than I even hoped for. Best of all, I didn't have enough phyllo to use it all up in the pies, so I just re-purposed it the next night in some vegan dumpling wrappers - BAM, vegan ravioli!



Basically, this filling is a keeper, y'all.

Spanakopita
makes about 14 individual pies

1/4 cup good olive oil
1 large Vidalia onion, chopped
2 10-oz. packages frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
1 package firm tofu, blended
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
plain dry bread crumbs
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 1/2 cups raw cashews, blended
3 tablespoons pine nuts
24 sheets frozen phyllo dough, defrosted
1/2 cup Earth Balance, melted
sea salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat the olive oil in a medium saute pan, add the onion, and cook for 7-8 minutes over medium-low heat. Meanwhile, gently squeeze most of the water out of the spinach and place it in a large bowl. When the onion are done, add them to the spinach. Mix in the tofu, nooch, 3 tablespoons bread crumbs, nutmeg, salt, pepper, oregano and basil. Fold in the cashews and pine nuts.

Place 1 sheet of phyllo dough flat on a work surface with the long end in front of you. Brush the dough lightly with Earth Balance and sprinkle it with a teaspoon of bread crumbs. Working quickly, slide another sheet of phyllo dough on top of the first, brush it with butter, and sprinkle lightly with bread crumbs. (Use just enough bread crumbs so the layers of phyllo don't stick together.) Pile 4 layers total on top of each other this way, brushing each with butter and sprinkling with bread crumbs. Cut the sheets of phyllo in half lengthwise. Place 1/3 cup spinach filling on the shorter end and roll the phyllo up diagonally as if folding a flag. Then fold the triangle of phyllo over straight and then diagonally again. Continue folding first diagonally and then straight until you reach the end of the sheet. The filling should be totally enclosed.

Continue assembling phyllo layers and folding the filling until all of the filling is used. Place on a sheet pan, seam sides down. Brush with melted butter, sprinkle with flaked salt, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the phyllo is browned and crisp. Serve hot.

Ah, the comfort foods of home...

This visit to my hometown of Lake Worth has already been chock-full of delectable food, from last night's GF grilled vegetable pizzas to the palm cake sandwiches my momma and I wolfed down at Darbster's earlier today.

So what's next? An easily veganized rendition of the Barefoot Contessa's Roasted Tomato Basil Soup and a batch of GF imitation Red Lobster cheesy garlic biscuits!!! My mom had been raving about this soup since she had it at a dinner party over the winter holidays, and these biscuits have been on my list of things to make since my dear friend Morris teased me with a thoroughly non-vegan version he made a couple years ago.



Here's my take on 'em:

Red Lobster Cheese & Garlic Biscuits
makes about 14 biscuits

2 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Biscuit and Baking Mix
1/2 cup cold Earth Balance
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 cup shredded vegan cheddar (I used Follow Your Heart brand)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried parsley

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Blend the baking mix and EB with an electric mixer until, according to the biscuit package directions, "it resembles a course meal." Add the almond milk and blend until combined. Fold in the shredded cheeze, garlic and herbs, then dump the dough onto a lightly GF-floured counter. Knead it a little, then roll out to whatever thickness you like your biscuits to be, as these don't really rise. Cut out biscuits with an upside-down mug and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

I failed to realize they weren't gonna puff up any, so mine may look a little flat, but MY, are they tasty! Plus you can eat four and not even feel puffy yourself. I can personally attest to this. ;)

Celeb Inspiration: The Barefoot Contessa

Ina Garten, elegantly known otherwise as the Barefoot Contessa, was my Mimi's favorite Food Network chef. I think she liked her best because Ina is more than a cook - she's an entertainer. With all her experience in catering, she really has a way with selecting the right foods for any occasion, and presenting them beautifully.

All three of my grandma's Barefoot Contessa cookbooks are now in my hands. Though almost none of her recipes are vegan, they provide plenty of culinary inspiration anyway. Last night, I felt like using this adorable little fennel bulb freshly pulled from a Gainesville farm that my roommates visited this week. Having seldom worked with fennel before, I looked to Ina for direction. Found her recipe for Potato-Fennel Gratin and decided I haaaaad to veganize it! Here is the VERY successful result...



Potato-Fennel Gratin
serves 5 (she says it serves 10, but we were damn hungry!)

1 small bulb fennel w/ stalks
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Earth Balance
6 small potatoes, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
2 cups water
1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons tahini
1 teaspoon salt
Panko bread crumbs for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Ina says to chop off the fennel stalks, but I included them with a sprinkling of the leaves too to make up for only having one bulb instead of two. Anyway, throw the fennel and onion into a skillet with the olive oil and EB, sauteing until soft.

Meanwhile, saute the garlic in a sauce pan with a little more olive oil, just until fragrant. Whisk the flour into the 2 cups water. Add the onion powder, flour-water mixture, nooch, tahini and salt and whisk until thoroughly combined. Allow it to bubble and thicken.

Toss the sliced potatoes with the faux Gruyere, then mix in the fennel-onion saute. Pour it all into a baking dish, top with Panko and throw it in the oven for 1 hour. Allow it to set for around 15 minutes for optimum flavor-melding.