Serves 2

Total time: 90 minutes (1-hour marinade) || Active time: 20 minutes

A few things happened this week that had me searing up this succulent tempeh with a bright, fresh, tangy, garlicky, herby sauce.

One was a long conversation at Omaha Vegan Drinks with our friend Hector, who is from Argentina, the land of chimichurri. I would love to visit someday, and he was telling me about some of the traditional foods. (PS They are verrry meat-centric.)

And then the next day, I heard this fabulous story on NPR about a tempeh cooperative in Jakarta, another place on my travel wish-list: “Journey To Java’s ‘Tempeh Village’: Where Soybean Cakes Are Born.” You can read or listen here.

It got me thinking about traditional vegan foods and food history and food future. And how vegan cuisine plays with traditions from all over the world bringing together every corner of our little planet. And so here we are, with Tempeh Chimichurri.

One of my favorite quotes from Hendeko, the tempeh coop manager: “My world revolves around tempeh, I have tempeh every day. Even though there are other dishes, a meal just wouldn’t feel the same without tempeh.”

Soulmate!

I sliced the tempeh thin here so that it would soak up plenty of marinade. Simply slice tempeh into four slabs, then cut each slab in half, like a sandwich. See?

And then I reserved plenty of chimichurri for pouring over the finished dish, so that you get all those bright, fresh flavors. Saute up some asparagus for a few minutes, before cooking the tempeh, and you can serve with a baked potato as well.

And there you have it, a trip to Indonesia and Argentina, all in one.

Notes

~This recipe serves 2 as an entree, but if you’d like to serve 4, it’s easy. Simply make an extra half serving of the marinade, no need to double it. That will be enough for a pound of tempeh.~If this is your first time working with tempeh, I wrote a tempeh primer for the Washington Post awhile back. Give it a read! ~If you wanna’ just make the chimichurri, that’s cool, too! It makes a great sauce for black beans, kale and quinoa.

Ingredients



4 cloves garlic

1 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro

1 cup loosely packed fresh parsley

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup veg broth 8 oz tempeh, sliced into 8 thin slabs (see pic above)For the chimichurri:4 cloves garlic1 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro1 cup loosely packed fresh parsley1 teaspoon dried oregano1/4 cup red wine vinegar2 tablespoons olive oil1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes1/2 teaspoon salt3/4 cup veg broth For the additional marinade:

1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce Also:

Olive oil spray To serve:

Sauteed or steamed veggies

Baked potato or rice

Directions