This recipe was rustled up from a couple of sources.
I love the idea of the spinach-and-lentil pastries from King Ahiram's (the excellent and cheap kebab place in West End), but in reality they're too strong for my taste. I've been wanting to try making a less authentic alternative for a while now.
Tonight I read Smitten Kitchen's new baked spinach recipe, a streamlining of an original Julia Child creamed spinach recipe (from Mastering the Art of French Cooking).
I thought I could try veganising it and combined the two ideas into this savoury crumble. It may seem like a lot of steps but don't worry, this is quite a quick meal to cook. It doesn't look very pretty (especially because of the crappy flash photo), but it turned out super delicious and I'm definitely making it again soon!
The "crumble" topping was a very improvised affair so I recommend tasting throughout the mixing process... perhaps I added different amounts to what's stated here.
I used half a seedy breadroll that was left over from my snack to create a breadcrumb base but I think that some oats would work just as well. I used ground hazelnuts because that was what I have open at the moment, but ground almonds, crumbled walnuts, or even macadamia pieces would substitute well - basically any soft and oily nut!
I would also love to replace the tofu in the crumble with light or "tasty" flavoured tempeh but tofu was what I had in the fridge. Next time!
If you have access to fresh spinach, at Step 1, you would stem, wash and blanch / wilt the spinach in a pot, then let cool and chop. If you wanted to, you could use baby spinach and skip the stemming (still wilt it though). You want about enough chopped spinach to fill 1.5 to 2 cups once wilted - I estimate you'd need about a kilo of raw leaf for this? I might be wrong.
I am also keen to explore this recipe with silverbeet replacing some of the spinach, as I think the roux process would temper the strong flavour.
Half a white onion might work in place of leek in Step 2, or a red onion if you add it straight in with the lentils and spinach at Step 4. But I highly recommend leek, delicious!
I know it seems like this contains a lot of fat. This recipe works by creating a roux for the filling, "creaming" the spinach really effectively without dairy products. It is quite a rich recipe so you won't need to eat a large amount.
Filling:
Nuttlex (or other vegan butter substitute) x 6 teaspoons
One medium Leek, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon Allspice
1/2 teaspoon Paprika
Frozen spinach x 2 boxes (500g)
Canned brown Lentils (400g), well rinsed.
Freshly ground black pepper to taste (I recommend lots!)
2 teaspoons Nutritional Yeast
2 tablespoons plain Flour
"Stock" for filling:
1 teaspoon Balsamic Vinegar
2 teaspoons Tamari (or 3 tsp soy sauce)
1 to 2 teaspoon lemon juice
3/4 cup hot water
Optional: 2 pinches celtic salt (or half a tsp table salt)
Crumble:
1/2 seedy bread roll (or 1/3 cup oats)
2 tblsp sesame seeds
2 tblsp nut meal (I used hazelnut)
3 tblsp Nutritional Yeast (more to taste)
1 finely chopped garlic clove
1/3 to 1/2 small block firm tofu
2 pinches celtic salt
Small splash nice olive oil (or a little more butter substitute)
Optional: 1 teaspoon of flour
1. Defrost spinach. If you remember you could let it defrost at room temperature, or if not, microwave in a bowl for four to six minutes should do the trick.
2. Melt 4 tsp of the vege "butter" in a saucepan on low heat. Add leek and put on lid, stirring occasionally. When the leek starts to soften, add garlic, paprika and allspice and continue to let cook with lid. The leek should become translucent and the garlic fragrant.
3. While leek is softening, check spinach. When it's soft and warmish (but not hot or cooked), squeeze out as much liquid as possible - press into a strainer, use your hands or you can wrap in a teatowel and squeeze that.
4. When leek is ready, add the spinach and lentils. Mix well, making sure that the spinach is coated with melted "butter" (add the remainder if needed). Switch to moderately high heat, and cook for a few minutes with lid off, stirring frequently, until the remaining liquid in the spinach has evaporated. The mixture might become sticky.
5. Lower the heat and sprinkle in the Nutritional Yeast, a generous amount of pepper, and the flour. Heat through then cook for two minutes until incorporated well into the mixture. You are creating a roux at this step so you might notice a lightening and change in consistency of the mixture - this is a good sign of a successful roux!
6. Mix the "stock" in a cup and gradually add to roux mixture, stirring gently and continuously. Let simmer for a couple of minutes until cooked down. Taste and see if you need to add any salt. Err on the side of less salty as the crumb also has added salt.
Now might be a good time to preheat your oven to a moderate temperature, around 170*C.
7. While the filling is simmering, you can combine the crumb ingredients in a food processor. Check the taste throughout mixing. First either the bread or oats for the crumb base, then nuts and seeds, then nutritional yeast. Blitz away until the bread is small and evenly sized crumbs. Now add tofu, salt and garlic, mixing again. Add olive oil very gradually - the amount of oil and flour (if any) is up to personal taste. You want the crumble mixture to be damp and hold together when you squish it, but crumble apart easily.
8. Dump the filling into a baking dish and top with crumble, pressing down to an even top. Pop in the oven for 10 - 20 minutes, until the top is lightly browned. You want the tofu to be just cooked.
9. Try to let it stand for ten minutes before serving (good luck!) then tuck in and enjoy!
The leftovers aren't pretty either but it's still delicious the next day!
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