Instapot Pea Soup and Tempeh Crunchies

vegilante.ca

This is a recipe adapted from www.veggieinspired.com

I wouldn't make the tempeh crunchies the same way again... I will write what I did but then also write what I think I will do next time.

Have you tried Vegilante Tempeh yet? It is just awesome.

1SP for the entire pot on WW Purple.

Pea Soup

1 tsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 large potato, peeled and grated or chopped into small pieces
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp liquid smoke
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups split green peas, rinsed well
6 cups vegetable stock
salt

Select sauté on the instapot and set the temperature to medium. Add the oil. When it is warm, fry the onion, carrot and celery until they soften.

Add the potato, thyme, liquid smoke, pepper, and garlic. Stir for a minute until everything is well mixed together.

Add the stock and scrape the bottom of the pot to deglaze it. Add the peas, a tsp of salt and bay leaf and stir all together making sure the peas are under the liquid.

Press cancel on the instapot. Put on the lid and make sure the vent is turned to "sealing".

Press manual and make sure the temperature is set to high. Set the timer for 12 minutes. Leave the pot to do its thing and allow it to vent at least 10 minutes when it is done before releasing the vent to allow the rest of the steam to escape. Be careful not to burn yourself.

Remove the bay leaf and enjoy! I didn't blend the soup - that is up to you. I did add more salt.

Tempeh Crunchies

1 pkg tempeh
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
Spray of oil

Cut the tempeh into small pieces. You can crumble it if you want but I found it became more of a mushy mess.

Lay the tempeh on a pan and spray with oil then sprinkle with salt, paprika, cayenne and liquid smoke.

I air-fried the tempeh for 5 minutes, tossed then fried again for another 5 minutes. You could put them in the oven for 10 minutes at 350 then toss them and put them in for another 5, You want them to be crunchy but not burned!

It made little crunchy bits but I found them a bit tasteless. We sprinkled them into the soup and it added a nice crunch but I think that next time I would marinate the tempeh pieces in 1 tbsp soya sauce, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp cayenne, 1 tsp liquid smoke, and 1 tsp sugar. It will add a point to the mixture but I think the flavour will be better.

Instapot Mung Bean and Brown Rice Stew

Back again! Been a while but never mind.

I want to try to make meatless meals using our Instapot as much as I can and try to make them as low fat as possible.

If you are on WW purple, this whole pot has 1SP from the oil only. If you are on WW blue, you need to add the brown rice to your SP count.

This recipe is an adaptation from kneadtocook.com.

Mung Bean and Brown Rice Stew

3/4 cup dry mung beans
1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
1 tsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp garam masala or curry powder
1/2 tsp cayenne powder (or to taste)
2 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp salt
1 bottle tomato passata (675ml or so)
4 cups water

Before starting anything else, put the rice and mung beans into a bowl and cover them with water. You can leave them to soak overnight or all day or 15 minutes. Just as long as they soak a bit first.

Turn the Instapot onto sauté (medium heat) and add the oil. Let it heat and fry the onions until beginning to brown. Add the garlic and fry until aromatic, making sure to stir so that it doesn't burn.

Add all the dry spices and fry them with the onions and garlic. Add the ginger.

When the spices have coated the onions and garlic and are starting to stick to the bottom of the pan, add the full jar of passata. Add some water to the jar (about 5cm) and swirl it around to get all the tomato sauce out of the jar and add it to the pot. Stir and scrape the bottom to get all the spices mixed into the tomato. Stir in the salt. Stir occasionally so that it doesn't stick and let it bubble for about 5 minutes. Press cancel on the Instapot.

Drain the mung beans and rice. Add them to the pot. Add the 4 cups of water and stir it all together, making sure all the rice and beans are stirred into the water and none are stuck on the side of the pot.

Lock the lid on the pot making sure it's set to "sealing". Press manual and increase the time to 15 minutes. Make sure it is on high heat. Leave it to cook.

Once the 15 minutes is done, leave the pot to vent on its own for about 10-15 minutes.

Serve with the side of your choice.