Isa Chandra Moskowitz

Cheezy Broccoli Bake

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Preparation info

  • Difficulty

    Easy

  • Serves

    6 to 8

Appears in

I Can Cook Vegan

I Can Cook Vegan

By Isa Chandra Moskowitz

Published 2019

Sometimes nothing but broccoli and cheese will do! This is one of those Americana-style recipes you’d find in a recipe box at a thrift store, only Granny didn’t use quite as much nutritional yeast. If you would rather use fresh broccoli, just steam it for five minutes first.

Ingredients

  • 1 large onion, chopped into medium dice
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 (16-ounce/450 g) package frozen broccoli
  • 1 (12-ounce/340 g) package extra-firm silken tofu (the vacuum-packed kind)
  • ½ cup (120 ml) vegetable broth
  • ½ cup (120 ml) tahini
  • ¼ cup (60 ml) fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon sweet paprika, plus more for garnish
  • ¼ cup (35 g) nutritional yeast flakes
  • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • Several dashes freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup (100 g) breadcrumbs

Method

  1. Preheat a large pan over medium heat. Sauté the onion in the olive oil with a pinch of salt until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute. Add the broccoli, raise the heat a bit, and cook until the broccoli is thawed.
  2. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly grease a 10 by 10-inch (25 by 25 cm) casserole dish. In a food processor, combine the tofu, vegetable broth, tahini, and lemon juice and blend until completely smooth. Add half of the broccoli mixture, the paprika, nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper and pulse a few times until well combined. Without running the food processor, stir in the breadcrumbs with a spatula. I do this just to save a dish, but you can transfer to a mixing bowl to stir in the breadcrumbs there if you prefer. You just don’t want to food process them at this point because it would make the dish gummy.
  3. Transfer the mixture from the food processor to the casserole and spread it out evenly. Top with the remaining broccoli mixture and lightly press it into the bottom layer.
  4. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden on top. Let cool slightly, sprinkle with additional paprika, and serve!

© 2019 All rights reserved. Published by Abrams Books.