Pan Fried Tempeh with Wild Garlic, Spinach and Avocado

Recipe by Anna from LOVES Cafe (@loveswsm), Weston-Super-Mare

I made this dish to serve as part of a tapas menu, but it’s perfect to have as a light lunch with some salad and bread, or as a main course with some roasted spuds or rice!

My favourite part of this recipe is the bit where we go out on the wild garlic hunt. Finding the younger, smaller, punchiest leaves, and taking them home like I won first prize at the fair! We have a couple of places locally where we can usually guarantee a good hoard from March-June. If you’re looking for a spot head toward the edges of dense woodland with damp ground. You’ll notice the garlic by its smell, and also the small white flowers, which I also harvest and use to decorate my finished plate!

cooking time: 20 minutes

serves: 2

ingredients

1 pack of Tempeh Meades Tempeh

250g Spinach

1 Avocado

1 lemon

1 jar of Wild Garlic Pesto (please see recipe below)

Salt and pepper to taste

notes

- The beauty of Tempeh is it takes on flavours easily. So you can use it as a protein source to transform any dish. This Tempeh is particularly easy to work with.

- We always use Bristol’s Tempeh Meades. It’s a local product and we know it’s origins, from maker to plate.

method

- Slicing your tempeh in 1-2cm pieces. You should get around 8 slices per pack. Use the pesto to coat your tempeh thoroughly, and leave in the fridge to marinade. If you are short on time half an hour should suffice, but the longer the better to absorb flavours.

- Warm some oil in a pan and gently fry the tempeh a few minutes on each side. If you keep an eye on and keep moving the tempeh in the pan whilst cooking you will end up with a golden and slightly crispy edge which is delicious. This process should take around 8-10 minutes.

- Once you are happy that your tempeh is cooked you can add a couple of handfuls of washed spinach. Turn these through the cooked tempeh until they start to wilt and then turn the heat off.

- Pile the goods onto your favourite plate! Adding some diced avocado. A grind of salt and pepper and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

- You can garnish with your wild garlic flowers if you brought any home! Lemon zest, pumpkin seeds or pine nuts scattered on top would also be a nice addition.

Wild Garlic Pesto