Nutritional Yeast Looks Like Fish Food.

I was intrigued by a recent article about meatloaf in the Arizona Republic. It featured a vegetarian recipe by some fancy chef from here in the Valley, and I thought I'd give it a try. It was definitely tasty, but meatloaf it was not. Don't kid yourself. It's a yummy veggie burger in loaf form that would be a nice option for a vegetarian guest, but I wouldn't go to the trouble again just to make it for the two of us. To Nate's credit, he did eat a whole serving and pronounced it passable. (Oh hey, even as I type this he's going for seconds...)



I made a few changes out of necessity, but pretty much followed the recipe, even down to the nutritional yeast. Which brings me to the question, why do people eat that stuff? Aren't you getting enough B vitamins from the rest of your food without having to resort to fish food? I am puzzled by this ingredient, as it doesn't add anything to the final dish, as far as I can tell. So now I can add nutritional yeast to my list of bottomless ingredients that I will have to find a use for.

Nutritional yeast and whole wheat pastry flour waffles, anyone??

Menu:
Tempeh "Cheat" Meatloaf
Sauteed Greens
Roasted Sweet Potato

Tempeh "Cheat" Meatloaf
submitted to the AZ Republic on 10/20/10 by Chef Damon Brasch of Green restaurant



serves 6

1 T red miso paste
3 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 can (6 oz) tomato sauce
1/2 c water or vegetable stock
3 T brown sugar
2 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
1/4 c olive oil (I omitted this)
3/4 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced roasted green chiles
3/4 cup diced carrots
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 pound organic tempeh, pulsed to a crumble in a food processor
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon Phillips Blackening Seasoning (I omitted this)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup tapioca starch for binder (I used rolled oats)
Barbecue sauce for basting (I omitted this)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a small bowl, combine miso paste, soy sauce, tomato sauce, water or vegetable stock, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce.

3.Heat a saute pan on medium high. When hot, add olive oil (or cooking spray). When oil is hot, lightly saute onions, green chiles, carrots and garlic for about 5-8 minutes.

4. In a large bowl, combine tempeh, bread crumbs, yeast, chili powder, pepper flakes, thyme, onion powder, black pepper, blackening seasoning, salt and tapioca starch. Add sauteed vegetables and three-quarters of the wet tomato mixture.

5. Use your hands to form into loaf. Lightly oil a shallow 7- by 10-inch pan or bread-loaf tin, and place loaf on top of oil. Pour remaining wet tomato mixture over meatloaf to coat. Bake for 1 hour, basting occasionally with a favorite barbecue sauce.

Nate says everything tastes better with ketchup. Lots and lots of ketchup.