Ginger Tempeh Pasta Salad
You may remember I mentioned we were doing less meat so I dug through my archives and found this recipe. This is from the coop I went to for 5 years in Austin; Wheastsville. I am pretty sure my best friend lived on this pasta salad for 4 years, Yeah - its that delicious and its nutritious! I’ve taken the liberty of changing it a bit, but it doesn’t take away from its scrumptiousness at all!
Ginger Tempeh Pasta Salad
2- 8 oz packages of tempeh (TJ’s makes a great one, but the 5 grain is the best)
1/4 c tamari
2 tbls of brown sugar
1/8 c of minced ginger
1/8 c of rice vinegar
1/8 c crunchy almond butter (but smooth works just as well)
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (you can skip if you’re feeding to kids)
2 tbls nutritional yeast
1 lb fusilli pasta
4 large carrots, peeled and sliced
1/2 c of sesame seeds
1/4 of canola oil
1 bunch of green onions, thinly sliced
Cut tempeh into matchsticks and set in bowl. In a separate bowl combine tamari, brown sugar, ginger, vinegar, almond butter, nutritional yeast and red pepper. Mix until almond butter is well integrated. Pour over tempeh & coat, set aside.
Cook pasta as package requires, but throw carrots into pot the last 3-5 mins so they can cook.
In a large frying pan, toast sesame seeds until golden brown. Add canola oil and lift out tempeh from bowl; leaving behind as much of the marinade as possible. Fry until tempeh has a nice browned crust. Break into smaller chunks and turn heat off.
In a large bowl combine pasta and carrots, green onion, left over marinade and tempeh chunks. Stir until well combined. This pasta salad works well warm or cold!
Enjoy!
As a side note - this recipe is fun for kids too. I measured everything and let my daughter pour it in the bowl and whisk! You can also add a couple dashes of liquid aminos too.
Posted by: Jessica Glorieux
Recipe: Wheatsville - stop by if you’re ever in Austin!