This is my entry for #hivetopchef by @qurator
The theme is layered. The possibilities are endless so I chose some ingredients, and spices ending up with a Mexican or Latin American inspired appetizer dish.
I saw a root called eddoe which is related to taro. I wasn't sure if I had tried it before. It is a funny unattractive thing that I just had to check out.
In my opinion it beats potato hands down. This is why you shouldn't just a book by it's cover. It was really familiar to me but it may be that it is similar to other roots that I have had.
After boiling it until it was thoroughly cooked, I mashed it with a dollop of vegan butter and chopped green onions. Apparently it is toxic when raw so don't bother trying it until it's cooked.
Another part was a mixture of tempeh and mushrooms. I chopped both of them quite small, mixed them together with a little olive oil and put them in the oven.
I left them in the oven at 350f for around half an hour or a little more. I didn't bother seasoning it because of the spice mix that I would add later.
When the mixture was done I took it out to mix with the spices.
There are variations of chorizo seasoning which most call for ancho chili powder however I happen to have a pepper close to this called mulato. I used this instead ground up.
The spices I used were: 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon coriander, 1 bay leaf, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon thyme, 2 teaspoons ground mulato pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon fennel.
I ground everything together and used around two teaspoons for the mixture.
I cooked 1 chopped onion, 3 cloves minced garlic, added the spices to the hot mix than added 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, the juice of a lime, 2 tablespoons apple cider, 1 tablespoon agave, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, salt to taste and two tablespoons chipotle sauce.
When the spice sauce was mixed, I added the mushroom tempeh mixture and folded it in really well.
I returned the mixture to the oven along with the eddoe mash to warm. I kept the oven at 300 f. Meanwhile I made tortillas for a crunchy garnish.
Using masa harina tortilla flour I added around two cups of flour to almost two cups water. You should add slowly kneading it until it's like a playdough consistency. You could also do the most convenient thing and buy ready made tortillas from the store. I just like the taste of these better. If you don't have a tortilla press which the majority of Canadians do not, than use plastic wrap on the bottom and top, press down with a plate than roll out thin. When they were browned a little on both sides I cut them in thin slices and fried them in a little oil until they were crispy.
Meanwhile I had already prepared a cashew cream by simply soaking 2 cups of cashews in hot water for twenty minutes or so, then blending them with around 1 teaspoon of salt, juice of a lemon, 1 teaspoon cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast, and a little water from the soaking, just enough to be able to blend.
When everything was ready I started to layer in a ring mold. First layer was the eddoe mash.
The second layer was the chorizo tempeh mushroom mixture.
I added some steamed peas for the next layer.
The next layer was cashew cream.
I topped it with avocado.
I garnished with the crunchy tortilla strips.
The sauce that I put on the bottom of the plate was a problano corn sauce.
Problano sauce was made by grilling two fresh green problano peppers plus one sweet green pepper, then blending them with around 1 cup of corn kernels, I used frozen, a squeeze of lime juice, 1 pan browned onion and some soy cooking cream but you could use any cream. None of the peppers in this dish were spicy but they have a nice smoky taste.
Pomegranates were on sale so I cracked one open and threw that on the plate as well to accompany the sauce.
Have a good day everyone and thanks for dropping by.