Tempeh Bacon

    By
    Ann Gentry
    -
    Tempeh-Bacon_105603530

    Ingredients

    • 1/4 cup maple crystals
    • 2 tablespoons sea salt
    • 1 1/2 (8-ounce) packages soy tempeh
    • 2 tablespoons canola oil

    Directions

    1. Mix maple crystals and salt on a large plate. Dip tempeh into water, then into the maple mixture, turning to coat both sides evenly.
    2. Wrap tempeh pieces in plastic and place on a small baking sheet (such as one used for a toaster oven). Press the tempeh by topping it with a small baking dish and adding about 3 pounds of weight to the dish, such as two 28-ounce cans of tomatoes. Refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours.
    3. Prepare a stovetop smoker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Smoke tempeh over medium heat for 40 minutes, or until it is golden brown. Cool.
    4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large, heavy baking sheets with aluminum foil. Lightly coat foil with 2 teaspoons of oil. Using a very sharp large knife, cut tempeh lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick strips. Arrange tempeh strips in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets. Brush strips with 2 teaspoons of oil. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn strips and brush them with the remaining 2 teaspoons oil. Bake 10 minutes longer or until they are crisp and golden brown.
    5. Cool tempeh bacon to room temperature, then store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

    Read More:
    Cornmeal-Crusted Tempeh
    Tempeh & Potato Salad
    Coconut Noodles With Tempeh

    Ann Gentry
    Ann Gentry, host of Naturally Delicious, has spent the past 20 years raising the standard of vegetarian cooking. As a chef, restaurateur, food educator and visionary, she has succeeded in combining macrobiotic food preparation with the richness of her southern upbringing to create a gourmet vegetarian cuisine even meat lovers covet.As the executive chef of Vegetarian Times magazine, Ann creates original vegetarian recipes and contributes articles on healthy eating and living. Ann also writes her own bimonthly column about food and children for the British magazine Junior: The World’s Finest Parenting Magazine.Ann is the creator, founder and operating owner of Real Food Daily, the only restaurant in the Los Angeles area that serves a 100 percent vegetarian menu using foods grown exclusively with organic farming methods. Bon Appetit magazine wrote that “Ann Gentry, the creator of Real Food Daily, has taken two different California trends — vegetarian foods, and the organic seasonal cooking popularized by Alice Waters of Chez Panisse — and come up with a cuisine that is as interesting and delicious as it is healthful.” With two California locations, in Santa Monica and West Hollywood, Real Food Daily has “developed a loyal following.” Its patrons range from the someday to the everyday vegetarian, to celebrities, to trendsetting young eaters with sophisticated palates or the mature diner seeking gourmet, health-supportive cuisine. Ann’s first cookbook, “The Real Food Daily Cookbook,” published by Ten Speed Press, is available for purchase on her website www.realfood.com and at bookstores. As the spokesperson for SOYJOY, an all-natural nutrition bar made with whole soy, Ann has appeared on many radio and television shows as well as various food lifestyle shows promoting a healthy lifestyle. She has also been a guest chef at Canyon Ranch, Pritikin Longevity Center, Robert Mondavi Wine Center, L.A. Times Festival of Books, the Environmental Media Awards, North American Vegetarian Society and Central Market. In the spring of 2008, Ann will be a featured guest chef on a Caribbean cruise ship, in the program “A Taste of Health” on Holistic Holiday at Sea. Ann lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Robert Jacobs, and their two vegetarian children, Halle and Walker.