fridgecleaner.

I've made this recipe a few times without ever writing it down or really talking about it, a lack of commitment that probably exists because there's something just a little not quite right about it in me opinion. There's too much going on in its original configuration, reminiscent of a certain style of  vegan cooking that throws things into a dish all willy-nilly in a desperate effort to make it taste like something.

But here the combo of textures and flavors is really promising (why ginger and rosemary go together always mystifies me a bit, but they continue to do so). The quickest and easiest solution to the overcomplicatedness of the original was to eliminate the sourdough bread that it is supposed to be served on. So now it's just tempeh, gravy, slaw, potatoes, spinach.

EDIT: HBF/tc showed up in the Comments section to emphasize the gravy. And she's totally right: when I started putting this dish back together to figure out what parts went great together, the tempeh and the gravy were indisputably chompable. I didn't post the gravy recipe b/c mine wasn't vegan, but I will maybe re-amend this post eventually with the real thing.

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de-sandwich-ized open faced tempeh sandwich with herbed mushroom gravy, garlic-rosemary mashed potatoes, fresh spinach, and ruby kraut.

tempeh
400gr tempeh
1/3 cup olive oil
2/3 cup apple cider
1/4 cup tamari
1/4 cup brown rice vinegar

Cut tempeh crosswise into 0.5 cm thick slices. Combine rest of ingredients and marinate tempeh in this for a couple of hours. Bake uncovered in a single layer for 35 minutes at 350F.

ruby kraut
almost a head of red cabbage, sliced as thinly as you have patience for
2 cloves garlic, minced fine
2 tbsp ginger syrup
2 tbsp light olive oil
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tsp sesame oil
3 tbsp cilantro, chopped
salt and pepa to taste

Combine.

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