Serves 4
Chilli & Orange Zest Filletti in Rich White Wine & Aniseed Sauce
This is a semi-hot dish I created. Having soaked some soya filletti chunks in hot water for half an hour, I then wrung them out well, and sliced them lengthways with a sharp knife to create a kind of pull effect. I assembled some ingredients that I felt were complementary, yet created enough of a contrast to make the flavours sing well on the tongue. Slithers of fresh orange zest, dry white wine, aniseed and chilli. I added a wonderful mixture of porcini mushrooms to add dynamic to the texture too. The result - a rich sauce fit for marriage with spaghetti to soak up all the incredible delicate juices, or simple rustic Mediterranean bread. You can have this served on a bed of jasmine rice, or else with my Lemon Drowned Potatoes (see recipe page 55). What could be better ? A truly stunning dish.
INGREDIENTS
extra virgin olive oil
1 medium sized red onion, chopped
4 to 5 cloves garlic, cut into slithers
1 cup of soya filletti (or similar faux meat), soaked, wrung out, and cut into thin slices
¼ tsp chilli powder
1/8 tsp ground aniseed
1/8 tsp all spice
2 to 4 whole dried red chillies, very finely chopped
½ tsp garlic granules (yes, more garlic)
2 Tbsp tomato paste, dissolved in ½ cup (125 ml) hot water
1 cup porcini mushrooms (choose a mixture) - leave whole if very small, but cut if they're larger than an inch diameter
¾ cup (175 ml) dry white wine
zest of 1 orange
Himalayan salt to taste
1 tsp stevia, or other sweetener of your choice
¼ cup either golden sultanas or whole raisins
1 tsp veg thickener (such as Bisto) dissolved in ½ cup (125 ml) water
METHOD
Gently heat up the olive oil in a large saucepan, and add the onion. Stir until transparent, then add your garlic, and within a minute add the slithers of soya 'meat'.
Now add all the spices, the garlic granules, and a little more olive oil.
Next, stir in the tomato paste mixture, and let the 'meat' absorb it. Add the wine, and the rest of the ingredients, except for the Bisto and water mixture.
Allow to simmer until it reduces, and then slowly stir in the Bisto mix about 15 minutes later. Again, simmer for a further 20 minutes on a low heat.
Taste for salt, and serve.
Yasou: A Magical Fusion of Greek & Middle Eastern Vegan Cuisine by Miriam Sorrell (Greenhouse Publications) is out now.