Recipe: Tempeh Waldorf Salad

I recently returned to the set of WWLP-TV's "Mass Appeal" entertainment program for my monthly cooking segment.  I've been thinking about picnic food, warm weather ahead, and upcoming Earth Day, so I wanted to prepare a simple, traditional recipe but with a vegan twist to demonstrate that it's easy to enjoy eating your favorite foods but without any animal products.  

I flipped through my cookbook, Easy Peasy Vegan Eats, for some ideas and my eyes were drawn to a recipe I haven't made in quite awhile.  Hmmm... Waldorf Salad... the unexpected pleasant combination of savory and sweet, tempeh substitutes for chicken, and it's quick and easy to make.  Perfect!  Plus I had an idea for a presentation that would make this simple salad look lovely and special.

You can serve it on top of lettuce for a hearty salad, use it as a sandwich filling on a roll or pita, stuff it in a wrap, or arrange endive leaves around it for easy scooping.  Whatever way you plate it up, it's sure to please.

You can watch me demonstrate how to make this recipe here.

I like the sweet and savory combo of this salad. This classic recipe was originally created in the late 1890s at the Waldorf Hotel as a simple, yet elegant salad for classy patrons.  Substituting tempeh is an easy way to veganize a traditional chicken salad recipe which many of us remember as a sandwich filling on white bread and packing it into our lunchboxes as we headed off to school.  Fortunately, this version’s much healthier with the added antioxidant benefits of apples and grapes.  Green your diet in celebration of Earth Day, for you, the animals and the planet.  

Ingredients

8 ounces tempeh (Lightlife), cut into cubes 

1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise 

1 Tbl Dijon mustard

1 Tbl fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/4 tsp garlic powder 

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 stalk celery, diced fine

1/4 cup red onion, diced fine

1/2 cup Granny Smith apple, diced fine

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup red seedless grapes, sliced in half

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add tempeh cubes and boil 5 minutes, then drain and rinse with cold water until cool to the touch.  Squeeze tempeh cubes over colander to remove excess water and set aside.  In a large mixing bowl, whisk together vegan mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, garlic powder, and sea salt.  Combine with crumbled tempeh and remaining ingredients, mixing lightly but well.