Tamasin Noyen, author of American Vegan Kitchen, over at Vegan Appetite, holds these really neat convert-a-Food-Network-recipe-to-vegan affairs. It is a lot of fun and anyone who is game is invited by her to join in. All you have to do is convert the assigned recipe to vegan - with your own spin, if you wish. This time around yours truly was asked to choose the destined recipe - not as easy as it sounds - and my pick was Paula Deen's Crabcakes. I chose this because it is open for interpretation (as Tami said) and there has not been a recipe of Paula's picked, yet.
I made Tami's 'Fried Corn Salad' (out of her cookbook) to accompany the cakes; very appropriate since they are both American. I also made a Horseradish-Tartar sauce to go with my cakes. I didn't want to do an old-stand-by-tartar and I knew that cocktail sauce would be too overpowering for the delicate flavor of my cakes, so I mixed the two ideas.
The 'crab' I made using extra firm tofu, shredded, that I simmered with Old Bay, seaweed (to invite the sea and a whole bunch of nutrients to the festivities) and onions. I let it cool in the fridge overnight with some sauteed green peppers, red peppers and garlic. I used fresh cashew cream infused with garlic and rosemary to bind the cakes, as well as ground panko, and dredged them in crushed saltines. I only used a few teaspoons of olive oil to pan-fry my cakes - not the tons of oil that most recipes call for.
The cakes emerged from the whole experience tender and flaky, slightly sweet and salty with a crispy crust and a mild sea-flavor infused by the use of seaweed.
Verdict: I did not have enough for the kids and David. It was so delicious and really quite easy to make - if you subtract the experimental phase!
Cost Breakdown:
tofu: $1.50
vegetables: $1
crackers and panko: $.50
cashews: $.75
seasonings and oil: $.50
corn salad: $2
horseradish-tartar sauce: $.50
Total to make appetizers for 12:
$6.75
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