Delightful Dish for Veggie Lovers

Sauteed Tempeh with Butternut Squash and Red Swiss Chard in a Maine Maple Syrup Curry Sauce

Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending a class where I learned about a number of weird Maine fermentables.  I learned about things I have never heard of in my life and I tasted things that I have never considered tasting.  My favorite dish of the day was prepared with tempeh.  I have eaten tempeh before but I have never had this particular kind of tempeh that is made right here in Maine.

Lalibela Farm in Bowdoinham, Maine makes organic soy bean and black bean tempeh.  Tempeh is a product made of fermented soy beans that is typically packed into a fairly thin patty.  It originated in Indonesia so it is not a native Maine product but Lalibela Farm has been successfully making their delicious tempeh since 2009.  There is something different about their tempeh.  It is more flavorful and the texture and consistency is better than that of any I have tried before.

Tempeh is a raw, living food so you must cook it before eating just like any meat product.  It is as versatile as any meat and can be cooked in a number of different ways.  It has a great texture that I much prefer to other soy bean products such as tofu and it is so easy to work with.  The woman instructing the class last weekend served us tempeh in a similar dish that I am posting here tonight.  It was absolutely delicious so I decided to share it with you after making several alterations to give it my own special touch.

Here are the ingredients for the dish

I have a big bunch of red Swiss chard, a quarter of a medium butternut squash cut into small chunks, salt and pepper, light soy sauce, curry powder, Maine maple syrup (from Harris Farm in Dayton, ME), a cup of crushed tomatoes from a can, crushed red pepper flakes, a large clove of garlic, and organic tempeh from Lalibela Farm; which you can find at Whole Foods or the Portland Food Co-op.

Preparing the ingredients

I have already cut the butternut squash into large chunks so the next order of business is to remove the large ribs from the Swiss chard by holding a leaf straight in front of you and running a sharp knife down either side of the rib shaving off the leafy green part.  Once you have removed the ribs, give your bunch of chard a rough chop. 

Next you will cut the tempeh into long thing strips as shown above.

Finally, you will thinly dice your large clove of garlic.

In a medium pot, bring liberally salted water to a boil and add the chunks of butternut squash.  Cook the squash until it is soft enough to stick a fork into but is still firm.  Remove from the pot and set aside.

Next, add a tablespoon of olive oil to a large saute pan.  Once the oil is hot, add 1 1/2 tablespoons of soy sauce and then add the tempeh to the pan and give a good stir to coat with the olive oil and soy sauce.

Saute the tempeh over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until each side is golden brown and beginning to crisp.  Remove the tempeh from the pan and set aside.

Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the pan then add the garlic and saute for about a minute.  Add the Swiss chard to the pan and give a good stir to coat with the olive oil and garlic, then add about a quarter teaspoon of sea salt and a half teaspoon of cracked black pepper. Add 1/4th of a cup of water and cover to let steam for no more than a minute until the Swiss chard has softened.  Do not be alarmed when the Swiss chard makes loud popping noises as you add it to the pan.  It is the water content in the leafy green that causes this to happen when it hits the hot oil.  

 Once the Swiss chard has softened, add about 2 tablespoons of a good quality (preferably Maine made) maple syrup.  Then add two teaspoons of curry powder and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Finally, add to the crushed tomato and cooked squash to the pan, give a good stir and saute for just a couple more minutes to blend all of the flavors together.

It may seem that several of these ingredients are strange to pare together in one dish, but trust me when I tell you, they all work amazingly well together.  You have the saltiness from the soy sauce, the slightly fermented flavor of the tempeh, the bitterness of the greens, the spice of the curry and red pepper flakes, the acidity of the tomato and the smokey sweetness of the Maine maple syrup.  

When you combine all of these incredible ingredients together in one dish, you get a burst of flavor in that first bite that you will not soon forget!  This is an easy and healthy vegetarian meal with flavors that are so complex, anyone you serve it to think that you spent an entire day preparing it.  These flavors are so amazing that even the most dedicated carnivore in your life forget that there is not even an ounce of meat in this dish!

Enjoy!