Bangers and Mash

Ugh. That's a good 'ugh', not a bad one. Day two of Irish week and I'm stuffed! Phil's brother Sean just arrived from San Diego this morning, so I got to include him in tonights feast. I'm not sure if I could take potatoes another day in a row, but I think we're going to have soup tomorrow, so hopefully I won't have to.

For the bangers I used tempeh, and it worked really well. Phil and Sean are both omni's and seemed to like it. The gravy I used wasn't anything special, so if you have a favorite gravy recipe, use that. However, I will include mine if you don't have one!

I already had the bangers steaming before I realized I hadn't planned a 'vegetable dish'. I like vegetables. But a salad wasn't very exciting, so I made use of the ginormous bag of carrots we have and made some roasted carrots in lemon-butter. The recipe is at the very bottom!

One more note. We recently received an awesome spice rack from Phil's dad and stepmom, and it's chock full of spices I never would have known existed. Because of this, for the first time I can actually accurately use the spices a recipe calls for. Before this, however, I got spices from the bulk section in my local health food store (Whole Foods sells some spices at bulk prices, but the selection is pretty lame). All I can say is that the spices used in most Irish cuisine are generally the same from dish to dish and are really important! So invest in a little mace in you can. You'll probably find other uses for it, too.

Bangers and Mash
Serves 3-4
Ingredients:

Bangers:

• 1 8-0z. packpage tempeh, grated
• 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• 1 c. vital wheat gluten
• 1/4 c. bread crumbs
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp. mace
• 1/8 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/8 tsp. dried marjoram
• 1 tsp. dried, rubbed sage
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1 c. soymilk
• 1/2 tsp. paprika

Mashed Potatoes:

• 5 medium potatoes, washed and cubed
• 3/4 c. soymilk
• 1 tsp. salt
• black pepper to taste

To make bangers:
In a large bowl, combine grated tempeh, soy sauce and lemon zest until well mixed. In a medium bowl, combine vital wheat gluten, breadcrumbs, sugar, salt and remaining herbs and spices. Mix the dry mix into the tempeh mixture so that the tempeh is mixed in evenly amongst everything else. Stir in the soymilk with a fork, then knead once it's too stiff to stir. You may need to add another Tbsp. or two of vital wheat gluten if the mixture is too moist. Knead for about five minutes or until it begins to draw in to itself.
Around now you can begin to heat the water in your steamer. Divide the dough into six parts and roll them into sausage shapes. Then tightly roll each sausage in tin foil and twist the ends shut, like a tootsie roll. Once they are all wrapped, place them in the steamer and steam for 30-40 minutes.
Let cool a bit before handling-- they hold that hot water for a while. Unwrap and brown in a skillet for a few minutes. Serve with mashed potatoes and gravy!

For mashed potatoes:
Plop the taters in some cold water and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15-20 minutes. Drain. Mash with soymilk and salt. Pepper to taste. Add more soymilk or water to make it more creamy!

Want gravy? Okay.

Basic Gravy
Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. oil or margarine
• 3 Tbsp. whole wheat pastry flour
• 3/4 c. soymilk
• 1/8 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp. dried rosemary
• 1/4 tsp. poultry seasoning (i have something called 'seasoning for meat' that works for this stuff)
• 1/4 tsp. onion powder
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce

IF you need it: 1 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 1 tsp. water

Note: I've found that, when making a roux, it's best to add the flour to the oil before it gets too hot. So keep an eye on it.

Heat the oil over medium heat. Add the flour and cook for a minute or so, stirring constantly. Add the soymilk slowly, still stirring, and stir some more, and a little more, until it thickens. (Now you can stop stirring, but you still have to every now and then to keep the bottom from burning). Lower the heat and stir in the spices and the soy sauce. Add water in you want to thin it. Once it reaches your desired consistency, remove from heat.

Finally, the carrots. This was a nice little contrast of flavors, being slightly sweet but still very savory. Here's a slightly better picture of them:


Roasted Carrots in Lemon Butter
Serves 2-3
Ingredients:

• 5 carrots, quartered long-ways
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. margarine, melted
• 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp. rosemary
• 1/8 tsp. thyme
• black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Combine margarine, lemon juice, and spices. Spread carrots on a baking dish so that they are all touching the bottom and pour margarine over top. Use your hands to coat the carrots evenly. Place in the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes. Yum!