When I was a caterer and more into the conventional way of cooking, I used to love serving sliced filet mignon on top of cylindrical shaped mashed potatoes. I would call it a mashed potato “timbale,” at the time. Now, I have come up with a completely vegan and far more nutritious version of the same. This could be the vegan entrée that finally conquers over the “roast beast” at your Christmas dinner table. The kale is put in at the end so it retains its raw, live nutritional value. Although it isn’t in the recipe, you can finish this off with a ladle full of some vegetable stock reduction or mushroom ragout featured earlier this month.
(scroll down for interactive, printable recipe card, grocery list and more!)
rustic mashed & kale timbale with portobello mushroom “steak”
2 medium or 1 large portobello mushroom cap
olive oil
for brushing
about 8 new potatoes, various colors and types are
fine, unpeeled and cut into uniform sized pieces (about a pound)
1/2 cup basic unseasoned cashew cream (see recipe below)
1
clove garlic, chopped
2 scallions, chopped
2 handfulls
chopped kale (de-stemmed)
salt & pepper to
taste
2 tbsp. vegan butter like smart balance
(optional)
2 tbsp. nutritional yeast (optional)
Preheat oven to 400º F. Put the potatoes on the stove in a pot of water to boil, until they are tender to a fork. Remove the stems from the mushroom caps, brush both sides with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and roast in the oven for about 20-30 minutes, or until tender.
When the potatoes are ready, strain them and put into a medium mixing bowl. Add the garlic and chives, then the kale. The warm potatoes will soften the garlic a little, so make sure they make contact with each other. Mix with a potato masher or wooden spoon. You want the consistency to be chunky but creamy, with pieces of skin and kale to give it substance. Taste for salt and pepper seasoning and add accordingly. The vegan butter and nutritional yeast can be added if you want a more buttery and cheese-like taste in the potatoes. I like the vegetables to shine sometimes so I keep that stuff to a minimum. Set aside in a warm place to keep warm.
When the mushrooms are ready, slice on the bias as thin as possible. Using a cat food with both ends removed, round biscuit cutter, or other feasible mold, shape the mashed potatoes into the “timbale.” Place the slices of mushroom on top of the potatoes. If you don’t want to be that fancy you can just serve them next to each other on a plate and they will still taste the same, of course! Serve with a green vegetable or spinach salad.
basic cashew cream:
1 cup raw cashews
1/2
cup water, plus some extra
Blend the cashews and water in a high
speed blender until it becomes the constancy of smooth cream. You may need to
add a little extra water and scrape the sides of the blender once or twice.
This will yield more than you need for this recipe but any less won’t blend
properly in the blender. Use the rest mixed with a little sweetener as a
dessert topping.
Rustic Mashed & Kale Timbale with Portobello Mushroom "Steak"
Ingredients
- 2 medium portobello mushroom cap or 1 large portobello mushroom cap
- olive oil for brushing
- 8 new potatoes various colors and types are fine, unpeeled and cut into uniform sized (about a pound)
- 1/2 cup basic unseasoned cashew cream see recipe in notes section below
- 1 clove garlic chopped
- 2 scallions chopped
- 2 handfuls chopped kale de-stemmed
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp. vegan butter like smart balance optional
- 2 tbsp. nutritional yeast optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400º F.
- Put the potatoes on the stove in a pot of water to boil, until they are tender to a fork.
- Remove the stems from the mushroom caps, brush both sides with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and roast in the oven for about 20-30 minutes, or until tender.
- When the potatoes are ready, strain them and put into a medium mixing bowl. Add the garlic and chives, then the kale. The warm potatoes will soften the garlic a little, so make sure they make contact with each other. Mix with a potato masher or wooden spoon. You want the consistency to be chunky but creamy, with pieces of skin and kale to give it substance.
- Taste for salt and pepper seasoning and add accordingly. The vegan butter and nutritional yeast can be added if you want a more buttery and cheese-like taste in the potatoes. I like the vegetables to shine sometimes so I keep that stuff to a minimum. Set aside in a warm place to keep warm.
- When the mushrooms are ready, slice on the bias as thin as possible. Using a cat food with both ends removed, round biscuit cutter, or other feasible mold, shape the mashed potatoes into the "timbale." Place the slices of mushroom on top of the potatoes. If you don't want to be that fancy you can just serve them next to each other on a plate and they will still taste the same, of course! Serve with a green vegetable or spinach salad.
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