This week I hosted a dinner party for two non-vegan couples. When cooking for non-vegans I try to shy away from using too many “imitation” foods (fake meats, vegan cheese, etc), as the focus becomes how well the substitute holds up to the real thing and not the quality of the dish at hand. Bearing that in mind I decided upon a wild mushroom risotto and a marinated tempeh to fill the role of the protein. Reserve the liquid used to reconstitute the dried mushrooms and use it as part of your broth. It will add an extra punch of mushroom flavor. I soaked the dried mushrooms in about five cups boiling water for 30 min then added 2 cups of vegan “chicken” broth to make the 8 cups liquid for the recipe.

Serves 6 (with plenty of leftover risotto)

Wild Mushroom Risotto

2 Cups Arborio Rice
1 lb fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped.

I used button and crimini mushrooms, but chanterelle or portabello would be excellent.

1 onion, diced and divided
about 1.5 oz dried mixed wild mushrooms or dried porcini mushrooms, reconstituted and finely chopped.
8 cups reserved mushroom liquid plus vegetable or vegan chicken stock.
1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp Earth Balance or more olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Flat leaf parsley for garnish.

Marinated Tempeh

1/2 Cup dry red wine
1 Quart vegetable stock
1/4 c tamari soy sauce
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp dry rosemary
1/2 tsp dry thyme
1/2 tsp dry sage
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp agave nectar or maple syrup
3 packages tempeh

To make the tempeh

Combine all marinade ingredients in a large sauce pan and bring to boil. Cut each pice of tempeh into four trianglesand add to marinade. Reduce heat and simmer for 30-40 min. Remove tempeh. Reduce the remaining marinade until thickened into a sauce. When ready to serve, briefly sear the tempeh on a grill or lightly oiled pan.

To make the risotto

In a large skillet or saute pan, heat the Earth Balance or olive oil and saute the half the onion and one clove of garlic until soft. Add the mushrooms (fresh and reconstituted) and saute over medium heat until the mushrooms are soft. Remove mushroom mixture and set aside.

Heat the remaining olive oil over medium heat. Add remaining onion, garlic, and rice and stir to coat the rice well. Add one cup broth, bring to a boil, and reduce to simmer, stirring frequently, until most of the liquid is adsorbed. Continue adding liquid, on cup at a time, and stirring till absorbed. When all the liquid has been added and rice is cooked (risotto should be creamy and rice should be slightly al dente), add the cooked mushrooms and the fresh thyme and stir to incorporate.

To Serve

Place a large scoop of risotto in the center of each plate. Place two tempeh triangles on top. Garnish with chopped flat leaf parsley and spoon the reduced sauce around the edge of the plate.