Concordia’s Food Services launches a six-part cooking series

From vegan meals to homemade comfort food, Concordia’s Food Services team has joined forces with Aramark to create a six-part cooking series. It will run online from November 2020 through June 2021.

Featuring Aramark guest chefs, the series will mirror the same sustainable eating standards in place at Concordia and use seasonal and locally sourced ingredients.

Follow along with step-by-step video tutorials and learn how to make nutritional meals with pro tips, such as how to use leftover ingredients to ensure nothing goes to waste. Get insider information on the local farmers that supply food on campus and find out how to support them by buying local and sustainable ingredients from the source.

This month, chef Daniel Poulin celebrates the fall harvest with a vegan tofu leek cake on parsnip and buttercup squash purée.

Jump to recipe.

Tofu leek cake

2 cups organic firm tofu, crumbled

1 cup thinly sliced leek

4 cups loosely packed baby spinach

6 tbsp rolled oats

½ cup nutritional yeast

1 tsp camelina oil

1 small garlic clove, crushed

1 cup rice milk

½ tsp kosher salt

Freshly cracked black pepper

Canola oil to coat the pan and prevent sticking

Buttercup squash crumble

4 cups buttercup squash, diced

1 tbsp camelina oil

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, whole

2 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped

⅓ cup apple cider vinegar

⅓ cup maple syrup

Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

½ cup panko breadcrumbs

¼ cup freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley

Parsnip purée

2 cups parsnip, peeled and sliced

1 small garlic clove, crushed

1 sprig of fresh thyme, whole

1 tsp camelina oil

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

½ cup rice milk

Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

Roasted heirloom carrots

8 to 10 small heirloom carrots

2 sprigs of fresh thyme, whole

1 garlic clove

Crushed kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

For plating

2 tbsp microgreens

18 paper-thin slices of red radish

Preparation

Step 1 – Pre-heat oven and prep

Pre-heat the oven to 350˚F / 180˚C. Then line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray a muffin tin with canola oil or cooking spray. Set both aside for later.

Step 2 – Prepare your tofu and leek cake

• Fry your the camelina oil, garlic and leek in a frying pan over medium-low heat. Then sauté for about 10 minutes or until the leek becomes tender without browning.
• Season with salt and pepper and add your spinach. Sauté for another 3 minutes.
• Transfer everything to a blender and add your tofu, rolled oats and nutritional yeast and blend. While the blender is running, add your rice milk and blend smooth.
• Divide the mixture equally into your muffin tins and cook for approximately 30 minutes, until the cakes are slightly firm and slightly browned.

Step 3 – Prepare your roasted squash

While the tofu cakes are in the oven, prepare the sweet and sour roasted squash.

• In a bowl, combine squash, camelina oil, rosemary, garlic, vinegar, maple syrup, salt and pepper. Toss everything together and transfer onto your baking sheet.
• Place in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes, or until slightly browned.
• Once cooked, divide it into two different bowls and set it aside.

Step 4 – Prepare buttercup squash crumble

• Sauté your panko breadcrumbs with a little camelina oil over medium heat, until browned. Add chopped parsley and season with salt and pepper.
• In a bowl, mix half of the roasted squash you just made with the seasoned panko. Set aside in a warm place until plating.

Step 5 – Prepare parsnip purée

• In a small saucepan, add camelina oil, apple cider vinegar and sliced parsnip; cook without browning for about 2 minutes over medium heat.
• Add rice milk, garlic clove, thyme, salt and pepper, then cover and simmer on a low temperature until the parsnip becomes very soft.
• Transfer this mixture to a blender and blend smooth.

Step 6 – Prepare buttercup squash purée

• Place the second bowl of squash in a blender and add rice milk. Season with salt and pepper and blend smooth.

Step 7 – Prepare heirloom carrots

• Preheat your fry pan with a bit of camelina oil.
• Add your carrots, 1 or 2 sprigs of fresh thyme, 1 clove of crushed garlic, salt and pepper and sauté on medium heat to brown a little.
• Place everything in the oven (350°F /180°C) for about 10 minutes.

Plating and presentation

To add a little crunch on the tofu cakes, preheat a fry pan with camelina oil and pan-fry the cakes for about 2 minutes on each side. Place 1 tofu cake in the centre of each plate and top it with the buttercup squash crumble. Add about 3 to 4 dots of different sizes of parsnip purée around the cakes; repeat with the butternut squash purée. Place 2 roasted carrots on top with 3 slices of radishes. Add microgreens around the plate and finally a drizzle of camelina oil.

Check back next month on Concordia’s Food Services page for a new recipe.