Mock Chicken Loaf Florentine with Chickenless Gravy
from The Compassionate Cook, (c) Ingrid Newkirk
My daughter, Adair, tags this as her favorite cookbook for crowd-pleasing recipes like this one, which can take the place of the turkey and keep your holiday table cruelty-free.
For the loaf:
1 10-oz. package frozen spinach, thawed
2 Tbls. vegetable oil or water
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 Tbls. imitation chicken-flavored powder, or 1 vegetable boullion cube
1 1/4 cups boiling water
2 cup TVP granules (Textured Vegetable Protein)
1 pound soft tofu
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 Tbls. nutritional yeast falkes
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp. onion powder
3 Tbls. vegetable oil
Chickenless Gravy
2 cups boiling water
2 Tbls. vegetable oil
3 Tbls. nutritional yeast
1 vegetable bouillon cube
1/2 cup diced fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
Onion salt to taste
Unbleached all-purpose flour
Steam the spinach and drain well.
Heat the oil or water in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until transparent, about 5 minutes
Dissolve the imitation chicken-flovored powder or bouillon powder in the boiling water. Add the TVP and let stand for about 10 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Pat the tofu dry, then mash. In a large bowl, combine the TVP mixture, spinach, and tofu. Stir in the remaining ingredients and pour the mixture into a lightly greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2″ loaf pan. Smooth the top and bake for 45 minutes, or until brown on top. (If the loaf begins to get too brown on top, cover with aluminum foil.)
Make the gravy: In a large saucepan, simmer all the ingredients except the flour for approximately 5 minutes. Slowly add the flour, tablespoon by tablespoon, whisking after each addition until desired thickness is reached. Keep the gravy warm.
Let loaf stand for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edges and turn out onto a platter. Serve with gravy.