Greek Salad Tempeh Wraps

IMG_0773

Uhhhhh, tempeh.  I have to admit, it’s a love-hate relationship for me.  You’ll see me standing in front of the “fake meat” section in Whole Foods (totally blocking the aisle with the massive carts…by the way, why is it that Whole Foods-or at least mine in particular-makes aisles that literally 1.5 carts can fit through with giant columns in the middle of the aisle…it’s panic-inducing at times…especially after work, when you are in heels that you really shouldn’t be wearing for your own safety…and there are a lot of people in a rush to go home and eat the green bell pepper they just purchased…)

Back to tempeh.  I look at it, trying to convince myself that it’s a good substitute for my protein at times.  I turn the vacuum-packed plastic around and around in my hands, wondering if I should get the whole-grains or the soy-based version (“umm, excuse me, miss, can you please move your cart?”)…really, what’s the difference?  And which version would pair best with whatever dish I’m making that time. (“Oh, excuse me, I just need to get to the miso right there.  No worries.”)  Can this stuff actually taste good…will it break apart if I try to cook it…it majorly needs some color.  Oh, screw this.  I’m just taking one package to try for this recipe.  Moving along to the cheese section where I hear the sirens calling me…..

I’ve made recipes with tempeh before.  And the thing is, I’m usually pleasantly surprised.  The reubens and the TLT’s were pretty delicious, I have to say.  But, this recipe also looked promising.  Knowing that the tempeh would be sauteed in a lovely and light lemony sauce, I figured that this would provide a little oomph to the (in my humble opinion) usually pretty bland/slightly bitter tempeh flavor.  And, with the additions of salty feta, some briny Kalamatas, and a tangy paprika yogurt sauce (for a vegan version, omit the cheese and sauce entirely or use a vegan-appropriate alternatives…), I knew that any bland tempeh-ish flavors would be hidden.

And, so, tempeh, you win again. I was surprised at the combination of flavors, textures, and ease of preparing these guys.  I even took the leftovers for lunch (double points.)

IMG_0721

Greek Salad Tempeh Wraps

Servings:  enough for 4 small wraps

 

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

One 8-ounce package tempeh, cut into 2 or 3-inch pieces (I ended up going with the soy-based, no particular reason why)

1 cup water

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided

2 tablespoons nonfat Greek yogurt

1 and 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, divided

1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 clove garlic, minced

For the wraps: (adjust the amounts here to your own preferences)

Spinach, chopped  (I used about a cup here and found that this worked.)

Tomato, chopped

Cucumber, chopped

Feta cheese, crumbled

Kalamata olives, chopped

Whole wheat wraps or tortillas

IMG_0793

Instructions

1. In a skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil until shimmering.

2. Add the tempeh and cook, turning once, until lightly browned, about 4 minutes or so.

3. Add the water and 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice, stirring gently to thoroughly coat the tempeh pieces.

4. Decrease the heat to medium and simmer the tempeh, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes (or until most of the liquid has been absorbed).  Set aside but keep warm until you assemble the wraps.

5. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1/2 teaspoon oregano, the paprika, salt, and garlic.  Set aside.

6. In a medium bowl, combine the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of oregano, and the spinach, mixing to coat the spinach thoroughly.

7.  To assemble the wraps:  Spread your desired amount of the yogurt blend onto each wrap.  Layer the remaining ingredients and roll up each wrap tightly.  Enjoy.

Scout in her normal "shrimp" position on the couch.

Scout in her normal “shrimp” position on the couch.

Source:  Slightly adapted from Cooking Light.

 

February 16, 2013 - 3:04 pm

Jen - I’m not so sure about tempeh, either, but your pup is adorable! (Can’t let my boxers see the pic, though, as I’m sure they’d use it in our arguments over whether or not boxers belong on couches!)

February 18, 2013 - 7:23 pm

Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar - This is so fabulous!!

February 19, 2013 - 10:33 am

Tali - This recipe has me intrigued. I think my kiddos would like it, and I’m going to give it a try. I’ve never cooked with tempeh before and I’m hoping our grocery store has it!

(And I love the shrimp position. How can a big boxer curl up into a tiny ball like that? Our Gus does it as well. It’s magic.) 🙂

February 19, 2013 - 11:32 am

Maria Tadic - These look so yummy! I love tempeh…i’m always pleasantly surprised at how yummy it comes out!

February 24, 2013 - 6:31 pm

Rachel - Yum! I read once that steaming tempeh will remove the bitterness, so I do that before sautéing it now. I think it really helps!

April 28, 2013 - 7:21 pm

Greek Salad Tempeh Wraps - […] source:  thecurvycarrot.com […]

July 10, 2013 - 12:48 am

What’s for dinner? Farro Greek salad with tempeh | Megan's Island - […] cubes. Oftentimes I just stop here and heat the tempeh up a bit, but today, I branched out. I found this Greek Salad Tempeh Wrap recipe so I decided to try out her tempeh technique: place the cut tempeh in a frying pan with a […]

Chocolate-Dipped Vanilla Bean Shortbread Cookies

IMG_1223

 

Happy Valentines’ Day, world!  Regardless if you celebrate or not, who could go wrong with some last minute chocolate-dipped vanilla bean shortbread cookies….in the shape of hearts….(side note:  I find it incredibly ironic that I cut these hearts out, yes, with the heart-shaped cookie cutters that last year’s particular Valentine gave me as a Valentines’ Day gift….my, how times have changed….)

But I digress.

These can be made in a pinch.  No chilling time required (my pet peeve with most traditional sugar cookie recipes.)  And you can completely skip the chocolate-dipping part if you are really short on time.  I added in some additional vanilla bean here to up the flavor quotient here, and I liked the end result.  I dipped my cookies in a simple dark chocolate, but you could use whatever kind of chocolate you like here.  And, sprinkle yourself away here.  It’s Valentines’ Day, people…time to get a little love-crazy.  I love all of you!  Have a good one!

 IMG_1197

Chocolate-Dipped Vanilla Bean Shortbread Cookies

Servings:  varies according to cut-out size.  I used a 2 and 1/2-inch cutter and made about 12 cookies.

 

Ingredients

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting work surface

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 ounces dark chocolate (or whatever kind of chocolate you like), chopped

Sprinkles, for garnish, optional

 IMG_1132

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, vanilla, and vanilla bean seeds on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.

3. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour and salt, mixing until thoroughly incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

4.  Transfer the dough to a lightly floured flat work surface and roll the dough out so that it is about 1/3″-inch thick.

5. Using whatever shape cookie cutter you like, cut out each cookie and transfer each one to your prepared baking sheet, re-rolling and cutting out more shapes as necessary until all of the dough is used.  Space each cookie about 2 inches apart from one another.

6. Bake until the cookies are light brown around the edges, about 6-8 minutes (Since my cookies were a bit larger than the original recipe called for, I was at right about 8 minutes.  Make sure to check yours frequently so that they don’t burn.)  Let the cookies cool completely before dipping in chocolate.

7. In a heatproof bowl set over simmering water, melt the chocolate, stirring until smooth.

8. Carefully dip each cookie, face down, into the chocolate and place face-up on the baking sheet.  If you are using sprinkles, lightly sprinkle each one. Let sit until the chocolate has completely set.

 

Source:  Slightly adapted from Saveur.

February 14, 2013 - 11:23 am

Maria Tadic - Those are really cute! And I absolutely love shortbread cookies – they’re the best kind!

February 14, 2013 - 1:25 pm

Michael - I’ll take 1,200 of these, please. No chilling time required means these babies are going in the oven tonight. And no, I don’t have a valentine so they’re all mine!

February 19, 2013 - 11:20 pm

natalie@thesweetslife - these sound fantastic! I have a bunch of vanilla beans that I need to use too…even better!

February 21, 2013 - 12:26 am

Liz - How many cookies does this recipe make?

February 21, 2013 - 1:10 pm

srlacy - Hi Liz-

I have included this information right before the ingredient list. It will vary depending on the size of cookie cutter that you use.

Chocolate Red Wine Truffles

IMG_1053

So it’s Valentines’ Week.  Yes, I just officially made it a “week”. Why?  Because I have an excuse to post insanely decadent treats like these without any guilt.  I also can have an excuse to open a bottle of wine to “cook with” and then have a glass (or two) while “cooking.”

And these little treats combine two of my favorite things in life:  chocolate and wine.  Can I get an “amen” here?

Now, these did take a little bit of tweaking (or I must have insanely warm hands) because I personally found that I had to take breaks every so often and pop these guys back in the fridge to cool a little bit (and harden).  I opted to roll them in a bittersweet chocolate because I was a little concerned that they might be a little bit too sweet, but feel free to roll them in whatever type of chocolate (or cocoa powder) you like.

Happy Valentines’ Week.

IMG_1031

 

Chocolate Red Wine Truffles

Servings: about 20 truffles

 

Ingredients

1/2 cup heavy cream

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup red wine (I used a cabernet sauvignon.  My expert friend, Andy, says you could also use a merlot or cab/merlot blend.)

For the coating: 16 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Sprinkles, optional

 

Instructions

1.  Place the chopped chocolate into a medium bowl; set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, bring the heavy cream to a simmer.

3. Add the butter to the cream, and stir until the butter is completely melted.

4. Remove the saucepan from the heat and pour the butter/cream mixture over the chopped chocolate.

5. Stir the mixture until the chocolate is completely melted.

6. Add the red wine and mix until thoroughly incorporated.

7. Pour the mixture into an 8×8-inch baking pan, cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours (preferably overnight.)

8. Once the mixture has chilled and slightly hardened, gently roll the mixture into approximately 1-inch balls, taking breaks to chill the mixture as needed.  I used a small melon baller to help me shape the balls; I found this incredibly useful.

9. Place the balls onto a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and chill until you are ready to coat the truffles with chocolate.

10. For the coating: In a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, melt the bittersweet chocolate, stirring until smooth.

11. Remove the chocolate from the heat and carefully roll each truffle in the melted chocolate with a fork, gently tapping each truffle to remove the excess chocolate.  Sprinkle with sugar or sprinkles, if using.

12. Keep refrigerated until serving.

 

Source:  Barely adapted from Food.com.

 

February 13, 2013 - 2:05 am

Limefish Studio - You’ve been featured in my Valentine’s Day Recipe Roundup! http://limefishstudio.blogspot.com/2013/02/recipes-12-last-minute-valentines-day.html

February 15, 2013 - 10:30 pm

Beth - Yum. I am making these over the weekend & sharing at work next week! This recipe is exactly what I was looking for…

February 26, 2013 - 10:58 pm

Emily - In my (not vast) experience with truffles, my hands have always been to warm as well. My secret is an ice pack. Whenever my hands are too warm, I grab an ice pack & cool them down 🙂 Works wonders!

December 18, 2013 - 5:19 pm

Seven days without chocolate makes one weak. | For the love of oatmeal! - […] Red Wine Chocolate Truffles Adapted from The Curvy Carrot […]

December 20, 2013 - 12:24 pm

Easy (boozy) Christmas candy | Salt City Style - […] red wine truffles were the most difficult to make, but only because of the patience it takes to roll them into little […]

February 13, 2014 - 1:55 pm

Alicia - I am making these for Valentine’s Day and I’m so excited! Right now the mixture is in the fridge, but I tasted a little bit and the wine/chocolate combo tastes amazing! I’m using a merlot.

Thanks for the recipe! I can’t wait until they are done 🙂

March 7, 2015 - 11:41 pm

Recipe Roundup: Last-Minute Valentine’s Day Ideas » Limefish Studio - […] the Happier Homemaker  10. Pancake Art via More Design Please  11. Chocolate Red Wine Truffles via The Curvy Carrot  12. Valentine’s Popcorn via Blissful […]