cutlets and lay out on a kitchen towel that has been folded several times. Place another folded kitchen, on top of the tofu and press with your hand until as much water as possible has been removed from the tofu. Follow the instructions for the remainder of the recipe.
SHIITAKE MUSHROOM VEGETABLE CAKES
When we serve meat or fish as our main dinner course at Esalen, we always offer a vegetarian alternative. This recipe is served to our vegetarian guests when we have crab cakes on the menu. It’s a wonderful dish loaded with creamy pine nuts and meafy-tasting shiitake mushrooms.
Serves 4
1 cup pine nuts
1 cup cooked couscous (see page 96)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large yellow onion, minced
2 teaspoons minced garlic
¼ pound shiitake mushrooms, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh oregano
2 eggs
½ cup ricotta cheese
1½ cups finely grated Parmesan or Asiago
cheese
2 teaspoons ground dry porcini mushrooms
2 tablespoons nutritional food yeast
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Place the pine nuts on a baking sheet and toast in a preheated oven at 400 degrees F for 5 minutes or until they start to turn a very light brown. Remove from oven and finely chop them in a food processor or seed grinder. Place ground nuts, along with the couscous, in a mixing bowl.
In a saute pan over high heat, saute onion with the olive oil until translucent; then add garlic, shiitake mushrooms, and fresh herbs. Lower the heat to medium and cook until all the moisture has evaporated. Set this mixture aside to cool.
Whisk the eggs, ricotta, Parmesan or Asiago, porcini powder, yeast, salt, and cayenne together in a bowl and add to the couscous and nuts. Pour in the cooled vegetables and mix well. Let this sit for about 1/2 hour in the fridge before cooking. The mix should have a consistency like thick paste.
Take a spoonful of the mix and shape with your hands into cakes, about 3 inches in diameter and 3/4 inch thick. The cakes can be baked in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 45 minutes or until golden brown. If you bake them, be sure to oil the baking sheet. Or they can be pan-fried in a heavy-bottomed skillet with a little oil. This takes about 4 minutes on each side over medium-high heat.
BLACKENED CATFISH
Hot red peppers have been a common seasoning in Cajun cooking since the French refugees, called Cajuns, were deported from Canada to the bayous around New Orleans. Peppers are like wine grapes; the soil where they are grown makes a big difference. Avery Island is in a bayou outside of New Orleans and the island is made of sodium chloride—salt. It’s this salty soil that produces the special fiery taste of Tabasco sauce that can be found from the simplest to the most elaborate of Cajun and Creole cooking. This recipe uses Tabasco in a classic Louisiana manner to blacken catfish.
Serves 4
2 cups tomato juice
2 tablespoons Cajun Spice Blend (see sidebar)
2 tablespoons Tabasco
½ teaspoon sea salt
4 catfish fillets (½ pound each)
½ cup vegetable oil
Mix the juice, Cajun Spice Blend, hot sauce, and salt in a bowl big enough to hold the catfish. Prick the fish on both sides with a fork to help absorb the marinade. Place fish into marinade and let soak in the fridge for at least 2 hours. This is also the base for the Grilled Catfish Burrito recipe (see page 118) that we served at the Esalen dining lodge.
Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat; drop the fish into the pan and fry until golden brown (about 5 minutes). Flip the fillets and brown on the other side for about the same amount of time. Drain on paper towels to absorb any excess oil.
Note: If you really want a hot spicy catfish, baste the fish as it cooks with the leftover marinade.
CAJUN SPICE BLEND
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon oregano
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon freshly ground black
SHIITAKE MUSHROOM VEGETABLE CAKES
When we serve meat or fish as our main dinner course at Esalen, we always offer a vegetarian alternative. This recipe is served to our vegetarian guests when we have crab cakes on the menu. It’s a wonderful dish loaded with creamy pine nuts and meafy-tasting shiitake mushrooms.
Serves 4
1 cup pine nuts
1 cup cooked couscous (see page 96)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large yellow onion, minced
2 teaspoons minced garlic
¼ pound shiitake mushrooms, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh oregano
2 eggs
½ cup ricotta cheese
1½ cups finely grated Parmesan or Asiago
cheese
2 teaspoons ground dry porcini mushrooms
2 tablespoons nutritional food yeast
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Place the pine nuts on a baking sheet and toast in a preheated oven at 400 degrees F for 5 minutes or until they start to turn a very light brown. Remove from oven and finely chop them in a food processor or seed grinder. Place ground nuts, along with the couscous, in a mixing bowl.
In a saute pan over high heat, saute onion with the olive oil until translucent; then add garlic, shiitake mushrooms, and fresh herbs. Lower the heat to medium and cook until all the moisture has evaporated. Set this mixture aside to cool.
Whisk the eggs, ricotta, Parmesan or Asiago, porcini powder, yeast, salt, and cayenne together in a bowl and add to the couscous and nuts. Pour in the cooled vegetables and mix well. Let this sit for about 1/2 hour in the fridge before cooking. The mix should have a consistency like thick paste.
Take a spoonful of the mix and shape with your hands into cakes, about 3 inches in diameter and 3/4 inch thick. The cakes can be baked in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 45 minutes or until golden brown. If you bake them, be sure to oil the baking sheet. Or they can be pan-fried in a heavy-bottomed skillet with a little oil. This takes about 4 minutes on each side over medium-high heat.
BLACKENED CATFISH
Hot red peppers have been a common seasoning in Cajun cooking since the French refugees, called Cajuns, were deported from Canada to the bayous around New Orleans. Peppers are like wine grapes; the soil where they are grown makes a big difference. Avery Island is in a bayou outside of New Orleans and the island is made of sodium chloride—salt. It’s this salty soil that produces the special fiery taste of Tabasco sauce that can be found from the simplest to the most elaborate of Cajun and Creole cooking. This recipe uses Tabasco in a classic Louisiana manner to blacken catfish.
Serves 4
2 cups tomato juice
2 tablespoons Cajun Spice Blend (see sidebar)
2 tablespoons Tabasco
½ teaspoon sea salt
4 catfish fillets (½ pound each)
½ cup vegetable oil
Mix the juice, Cajun Spice Blend, hot sauce, and salt in a bowl big enough to hold the catfish. Prick the fish on both sides with a fork to help absorb the marinade. Place fish into marinade and let soak in the fridge for at least 2 hours. This is also the base for the Grilled Catfish Burrito recipe (see page 118) that we served at the Esalen dining lodge.
Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat; drop the fish into the pan and fry until golden brown (about 5 minutes). Flip the fillets and brown on the other side for about the same amount of time. Drain on paper towels to absorb any excess oil.
Note: If you really want a hot spicy catfish, baste the fish as it cooks with the leftover marinade.
CAJUN SPICE BLEND
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon oregano
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon freshly ground black
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