Crispy Jerk Tempeh with a Caribbean Stew and Coconut Rice

Recipe by @rebeccalovesveg

Marinade Time: 4-8 hours

cooking time: 30 minutes

serves:3-4

Ingredients

for the marinade

- 200g Tempeh Meades Tempeh

- 1 onion

- 4 garlic cloves

- 3 spring onions

- 1 inch of ginger

- 1 small red chilli

- 1 orange (juiced)

- ½ lime (juiced)

- 2 tbsp soy sauce

- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

- ¼ tsp nutmeg

- 1 tsp cinnamon

- 1 tsp ground allspice

- 2 tsp dried thyme

- 4 tsp soft brown sugar

- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

- Salt & pepper to taste

for the tempeh batter

- ¼ cup gram flour

- ½ tsp onion granules

- ½ tsp garlic powder

- ½ tsp paprika

- Pinch of salt & pepper

- ¼ cup water

for the tempeh coating

- ½ cup millet or polenta

- 4 tbsp nutritional yeast

- 1 tsp onion granules

- 1 tsp garlic powder

- Pinch salt & pepper

for the stew

- 2 medium/large sweet potatoes

- 2 red peppers

- 2 onions

- 1 red chilli

- 4 garlic cloves

- 250g pineapple (fresh is best but tinned is fine)

- 1 tsp ground allspice

- 1 cinnamon stick or 1 tsp ground cinnamon

- 2 bay leaves

- 3 thyme sprigs

- 1 tsp coriander leaf

- Salt & pepper

- 200ml vegetable stock

- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

- 1 tbsp soy sauce

- 1 inch of ginger

- 1 tbsp leftover marinade

- 2 tbsp pineapple juice (if using tinned pineapple)

For the rice

- 1 cup brown rice

- 1 tin coconut milk (refrigerated for at least 4 hours)

Method

to make the marinade

- Add the onions, spring onions, garlic, chilli, and ginger to a food processor or blender and blend until finely chopped.

- Add the orange and lime juice, soy sauce, and vinegar and continue blending.

- Add the remaining ingredients and blend until you have a juicy but slightly chunky sauce.

- Slice your tempeh into about 1cm thick slices.

- In a glass container (not metal or cast iron), place a layer of the marinade then place the tempeh slices on top. Cover with the remaining marinade and leave in the fridge for 4-8 hours.

to make the stew

- Preheat your oven to 180℃

- Chop the onion, sweet potatoes, and pepper into roughly 2-3cm chunks and place into a baking tray. Thinly slice the chilli (deseeding it if you want less heat), and chop the pineapple into 3-4cm chunks (reserve the juice if you are using tinned pineapple). Add these to the baking tray along with the allspice, bay leaves, cinnamon, coriander, thyme, salt, and pepper. Crush the garlic cloves with the side of a knife and remove the skin, add these (whole) to the baking tray.

- Place in the middle of the oven and roast for 1 hour, stirring after half an hour. Remove the bay leaves, cinnamon stick, and thyme sprigs once roasted.

- Take a third of the roasted vegetables (ensuring you get the garlic cloves) and place them in a blender along with the stock, soy sauce, cider vinegar, ginger, marinade, and reserved pineapple juice, and blend until smooth.

- Pour this back into the baking tray and coat the remaining vegetables in this sauce.

to cook the tempeh

- Heat your oven to 180℃ and line a baking tray with baking paper.

- In a bowl, combine the ingredients for the batter and whisk well to ensure there are no lumps. In a separate bowl, add all the coating ingredients and stir.

- Gently remove a piece of tempeh from the marinade and dunk into the batter until fully coated, then place this into the coating mixture. Gently toss the bowl so that the piece is completely covered and place on the lined baking tray.

- Repeat this with all of the tempeh and place in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the tray and flip each tempeh slice, then return this to the oven for a further 10 minutes or until dark brown and crispy.

- Make sure to keep any of the leftover marinade. It will keep for at least a week in the fridge and can be used to marinate your next batch of tempeh, or it makes a delicious jerk curry paste.