Mark Shadle, executive chef and co-owner of G-Zen Restaurant in Branford, visited the Fox CT kitchen to cook up a vegetarian dish in honor of World Vegetarian Day. G-Zen was recently named one of the top 10 upscale vegan restaurants in America by Shape Magazine.
Below is the recipe for G-Zen’s Thimble Island “crab” cakes:
Ingredients:
- ½ cup scallions (small dice)
- ½ cup celery (small dice)
- ½ cup red onions (small dice)
- ½ cup tri-pepper (small dice)
- 2 tablespoons Old Bay Seasoning
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- ¼ cup Nayo (vegan and store bought is OK)
- ½ cup Bread crumbs
- 1 12 ounce package of tempeh
- ½ cup bread cubes
- 1 Tablespoon mustard
- Pinch of salt and pepper
Preparation:
- Cut tempeh into cubes and boil for five minutes.
- Strain and cool tempeh.
- In a large bowl, mix the first eight ingredients together.
- Crumble cooled tempeh into the mixture and combine till the consistency resembles ground beef.
- Fold in bread cubes
- Portion out into 1 ½ ounce balls
- Pan fry with Earth Balance or bake at 350 degrees until golden brown.
Vegan “tarter sauce”
Ingredients:
- 1 cup vegan Nayo
- ½ cup dill relish
- 1/8 pinch cayenne
Preparation:
- In a large bowl mix well and it’s ready to serve.