Marinated Citrus Tempeh Bowls with Cilantro and Hummus

Makes 2 Huge Bowls

Ingredients

For the marinated tempeh (best when prepared the evening before)*:

• 16 oz tempeh, cut into 4 steaks 1/4 inch thick each, then chop the steaks lengthwise in quarters to obtain 16 tempeh strips of about 1 oz each (be sure to use grain-free tempeh if you are avoiding gluten)
• Fresh juice of 1 orange (5-6 Tablespoons)
• Zest of 1 orange
• 2 Tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon raw honey
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

For the salad (prepare 15 minutes before you plan to eat):

• 1 bunch kale, washed, de-stemmed and chopped to bite-sized pieces (150 grams, measured after de-stemming)
• 1/4 of a medium red cabbage (100 grams), shredded
• 1/8 of a medium white cabbage (50 grams), shredded
• One large handful each fresh parsley and cilantro, roughly chopped
• 1 cup (155 grams) frozen shelled edamame, steamed and strained
• 2 seasonal oranges, peeled and chopped
• 1 jalapeno, diced (de-seeded with white membranes removed if less heat is desired)
• Zest of 1/2 an orange
• Fresh juice of 1 orange
• 2 teaspoons fruity extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons raw honey
• 1 teaspoon flakey sea salt (or to taste)
• To serve: hummus

For preparing the tempeh (begin 20 minutes before you plan to eat):

• 1 teaspoon heat stable oil (such as light olive oil or avocado oil)
• 1 teaspoon raw honey (or liquid sweetener of choice)

* If you’re short on time, you can always do a quick version of the marinade 30 minutes prior to cooking the tempeh. The result will still be tasty, but won’t be as flavorful as the long-marinade.

How to do it:

Begin by marinating the tempeh. Place cut tempeh strips in a small bowl and add the marinade ingredients (fresh orange juice, orange zest, white vinegar, liquid sweetener, and salt). The bowl should be sized so that the marinade covers all the tempeh strips. You can also use a ziplock bag. Then cover the bowl and place it in the fridge to marinate overnight*.

Once you are ready to prepare the bowls, remove the marinated tempeh from the marinade, and pat the strips dry. Then heat a large non-stick or ceramic skillet over medium heat.

If you use a non-stick skillet, do not add oil.

If you use a ceramic skillet, coat the surface evenly with 1 teaspoon of heat-stable oil (such as avocado, light olive oil, or vegetable oil) and wait 10 seconds for the oil to warm.

Then cook the tempeh. Simply add the tempeh strips to the pan and then cook–turning the temepeh onto a new side every 40-80 seconds–for 10-12 minutes. If the strips start to burn or the skillet smokes, turn the heat down. Each stove’s flame is a bit different so use your judgement. You are looking for a nice slow browning. After 10-12 minutes when the tempeh is nicely browned, pour the marinade over the tempeh. Continue cooking over medium-low heat until the marinade has been reduced. Turn off the burner and toss the tempeh strips with 1 teaspoon honey while they are still in the skillet.

While the tempeh is cooking, prepare the vegetables (kale, cabbages, fresh herbs, edamame, orange slices, orange zest, and jallapeno) add them all to a large bowl. Drizzle the salad with the honey (if its thick you can microwave it to make it easier to pour), fresh orange juice, and olive oil. Sprinkle the coarse sea salt. Now for the fun part: with clean hands, massage the “dressing” into the salad. Keep going until your kale has about halved in volume and seems well-coated and soft. At this point, taste the salad and adjust the dressing to your own preferences, adding more sweetener, orange juice, olive oil, or salt as desired.

Portion out the salads and divide the tempeh among them. Top the bowls generously with hummus and enjoy!