Last Saturday I had the day to myself, which is a pretty rare occurrence. I'd been out late the previous night, and slept in until around ten, waking up ravenously hungry. It was one of those times when you aren't sure exactly what you want, but feel that a "perfect choice" does in fact exist, if you could only put your finger on it. There wasn't a ton of stuff in the house, but I got it in my head that some sort of Benedictish (Benedictine? Do you think that's what he and the brothers are enjoying for their monastic brunch?) affair involving English muffins might be just the thing. There was some leftover cashew ricotta and a few random vegetables in the fridge, so what I wound up doing was toasting the muffins, then adding a thin layer of ricotta, some sauteed veggies and a super-easy "hollandaise" sauce. I slid the whole mess into the oven, and within minutes I had a breakfast that would deserve a place on the menu of my completely hypothetical vegan diner, if it actually existed. I used the ricotta because it was already made, but you could certainly skip it and just layer the vegetables on top of the toasted muffins; if you have potatoes, make some home-fries to go alongside, and you should be at least as contented as St. Benedict himself. (Make sure to follow the Rule which says: "let thy animal friends lick the sauce from thy plates when thou hast had enough." I don't think those dogs are hanging around for sext or terce!)
The Sauce
Ingredients:
~ 1 tbsp. Earth Balance
~ 1 tbsp. flour
~ 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
~ 1/2 tsp. each: salt, thyme, paprika, black pepper
~ 1 tsp. tarragon
~ A pinch of dried mustard, or 1 tsp. prepared
~ 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper and/or hot sauce (optional)
~ 1.5-2 cups unsweetened soy milk
~ 1 tbsp. lemon juice
Directions:
~ Preheat the oven to 500 degrees fahrenheit.
~ Over low heat, melt the Earth Balance in a saucepan. Add the flour and stir to make a roux, adding about 1/2 cup of the soy milk gradually, to keep it from getting too thick.
~ Add the seasonings, nutritional yeast and remaining soy milk, stirring constantly. Cook for about 2-3 minutes, or until the mixture begins to reach the thickness of a hollandaise sauce.
~ Add the lemon juice, stir to combine, and remove from heat.
The Vegetables
Ingredients:
~ 1 tbsp. olive oil
~ 1 tbsp. minced garlic
~ 4 scallions, thinly sliced
~ 1.5-2 cups chopped mushrooms
~ 2 cups baby spinach, chopped (you could also use chopped asparagus or broccoli)
~ 1/2 tsp. each: salt, pepper, paprika
Directions:
~ In a large skillet or wok, heat the olive oil and saute the garlic and scallions over medium heat about 2 minutes.
~ Add the mushrooms and chopped spinach; cook another 5 minutes or so, until the mushrooms are soft and the greens are wilted. If the mixture seems too wet, raise the heat to high for a minute to let the liquid cook off.
The Cashew Ricotta
(slightly adapted from Veganomicon)
Ingredients:
~ 1 lb. firm tofu
~ 1 cup raw, unsalted cashews
~ 1/4 cup lemon juice
~ 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
~ 2 tbsp. minced garlic
~ 1 tbsp. dried basil
~ 1 tsp. each salt, dried rosemary
~ Fresh black pepper
Directions:
~ In a food processor, mix all ingredients to form a smooth, delicious paste.
~ (NB that this recipe makes a whole batch, of which you will need very little for this dish, but my philosophy is always to make a lot and then use the leftovers for something else. If you only want enough for the current recipe, you could just quarter it, but why not make it all, and do another yummy thing this week?)
The English Muffins
~ Split English muffins and toast lightly (wasn't that easy?!).
Assembly
~ Place sliced muffin halves on a greased baking sheet.
~ Spread a thin layer of cashew ricotta on each muffin slice.
~ Spoon roughly equal portions of the vegetable mixture atop the ricotta. (If you have extra just serve them on the side).
~ Ladle sauce over the vegetables; you should have plenty of extra sauce left to spoon over the finished product, too.
~ Bake at 500 degrees for 5-10 minutes, keeping an eye to make sure things don't burn.
~ Serve with extra sauce and, in a perfect world, home fries.
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