Baked Lemon and Herb Tempeh
Tempeh is traditionally steamed; we often pan fry it. This recipe shows you how to moisten the tempeh with flavor in a braise, then brown it with a finishing dressing in a hot oven.
Time: 50 mins
Prep: 10 mins
Yield: 2 people
Step 1: Brown your tempeh
Ingredients:
8oz tempeh (a whole block, un-sliced)
Coconut oil or neutral oil
Preparation:
Pre-heat oven to 400.
Heat a cast iron pan or sautee pan with just enough oil to lightly cover the pan. On medium-high heat, sear the tempeh on both sides until well browned but not burnt -- just about 1 minute on each side.
Step 2: Braise your tempeh
Ingredients:
Vegetable Stock (or any other flavored broth, homemade or not)
2 Pieces of thinly sliced lemon
2 cloves garlic, smashed or thinly sliced
Salt and pepper
Preparation:
Add enough vegetable stock or flavored broth to cover your tempeh halfway. Add a few pinches of salt, pepper, mix well, and then place the garlic and lemon in the pot. Cover your pan, and if the pan is oven proof, then put in the pre-heated oven for about 15 minutes, until most of the liquid has reduced but not all. If not oven proof, bring the liquid to a boil then pour then pour the mix into a baking pan (though we recommend baking, you could also just use your stovetop and cook at a low heat for about 10-12 minutes). Remove from heat.
Step 3: Glaze and bake
Ingredients:
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil (or your preferred fat)
2 tsp chopped rosemary
2 tsp thyme, de-stemmed
2 tsp oregano, de-stemmed
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp garlic, finely minced
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Salt to taste
Preparation:
Mix all ingredients in a bowl and taste for salt and seasoning. Adjust as needed. Pull the hot tempeh from the pan your tempeh to the bowl to coat the tempeh evenly. If your hot pan doesn’t have any stock left (it should have reduced a good bit), make sure to coat the pan with more stock just until the pan is covered. If this doesn’t make sense, just pour the dressing into the hot pan with the tempeh. Put back into the oven and bake for about 5-8 minutes -- until the tempeh absorbs the dressing and the herbs are toasted but not burnt.
Step 4: Finish the dish
You should have a beautiful tempeh roast! This goes well with grilled vegetables, vegetable purees, and over rice.
The big takeaway is that you can use this technique of a quick braise then coating in a rich glaze to then throw back into the oven to allow for deep flavor. A dressing with higher sugar content means more caramelizing, lower sugar and more oil will seep into the tempeh and crisp up deliciously.