It is cold here in New Jersey, and I’ve been craving warming comfort foods, like this Tempeh Fricassee. For those of you unfamiliar with tempeh, it’s a traditional Indonesian food made with soybeans, and it’s perfect for use in recipes that usually call for meat. Since tempeh is fermented, people have told me that the taste is too strong for them, and I usually recommend that the steam it before adding it into the dish that they’re making. Steaming cuts downs on the fermented taste and allows for the tempeh to readily absorb the flavors of what it’s being cooked with.

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon olive oil
2 8 ounce packages of tempeh, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 cup white wine
2 tablespoons Braggs Liquid Aminos or soy sauce
4 large leeks, thinly sliced
2 cups white button mushrooms, sliced
2 cups cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 cups shiitake mushroom caps, sliced
2 large portobello mushroom caps, chopped
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried parsley
10 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups vegetable broth
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped, optional

Directions:

Heat a large pot or Dutch oven coated medium-high heat. Add olive oil and tempeh; sauté 8 minutes or until golden brown. Add the wine and soy sauce and cook until almost all of the liquid evaporates.
Add leeks and mushrooms to pan and sauté for 5 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook 1 more minute, stirring frequently. Add the celery seed, thyme, dried parsley, garlic and broth to pot and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.
Uncover and cook 3 minutes or until thick. Stir in the lemon juice, salt and pepper and sprinkle with parsley, if using.

Makes 4 to 6 servings