Roasted Tempeh Cauliflower Quinoa
June 12, 2012 9 Comments
The other weekend Alex had a potluck to attend. The last potluck he went to with this particular group of people, he brought along marinated tempeh at the request of several people who had never tried it before. Since it was so well received and devoured in minutes, he considered bringing it again but wanted to add something to turn it from a snack into a full dish, so he asked me for advice. This ever-so-tasty Roasted Tempeh Cauliflower Quinoa dish is what I came up with. The bowl came back empty with nothing but positive reviews so I’d say we can chalk this one up as a winner!
Don’t be afraid of the seemingly long list of ingredients as it’s actually quite easy to put together. You first want to make your marinade for the tempeh by whisking all of the ingredients together in a small bowl.
While you’re making the marinade, steam the tempeh for 10 minutes. When it’s done, place it in a medium bowl or pan and while it’s still warm, pour the marinade over the tempeh. I find that when it’s steamed, it plumps up a bit and is able to absorb the marinade better than if you marinade it straight from the package.
Make sure to cover all of the cubes by stirring it a few times. Then chop your cauliflower into florets, meanwhile stirring the tempeh every few minutes so that the bottom ones get rotated to the top and there is an even distribution on each piece.
Then lay the tempeh on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet and place in a preheated 375 degree oven.
Place your florets in the same bowl you used for the tempeh, drizzle toasted sesame oil and sprinkle salt on them, and toss to combine it all. Place the cauliflower on a separate parchment-paper-lined baking sheet and place it in the oven along with the tempeh.
Measure and rinse your quinoa with cold water in a fine sieve and then add it and the water to a medium saucepan, cover, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Chop the rest of your veggies. Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat, then add the onion and saute for 7 minutes. Add the carrot and saute for another 5 minutes. Finally, add the bell pepper, peas, and corn and saute for 4-5 more minutes.
After 15 minutes of roasting pull the tempeh and cauliflower out of the oven and turn them all over. Place back in the oven for another 15 minutes.
Once the quinoa is done, your veggies are sauteed, and your tempeh and cauliflower roasted, whisk together the second marinade and pour it over the quinoa. Mix well and then add the sauteed veggies and cauliflower, salt and pepper to taste, and mix well again. Lastly, fold in the tempeh.
Roasted Tempeh Cauliflower Quinoa
Ingredients
Marinated Tempeh
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 8-ounce package tempeh, cut into small cubes
- 3/4 cup white quinoa
- 3/4 cup red quinoa
- 3 cups water
- 1/2 small head cauliflower, broken into small florets
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 medium carrot, diced
- 1 small yellow pepper, diced
- 1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed (I simply place them in a colander and run them under warm water for a minute)
- 1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon paprika
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Steam Tempeh: Cut the tempeh into small cubes. About 1/8 inch square. Place it in a steamer and steam for 10 minutes.
Whisk Marinade: Meanwhile, measure and place the water, soy sauce, extra virgin olive oil, toasted sesame oil, and paprika in a small bowl and whisk together.
Marinate Tempeh: When the tempeh is done, place it in a medium bowl and pour the marinade over it. Make sure to toss a few times so that every piece is coated. Empty the bowl of tempeh onto a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet.
Cauliflower: Chop your cauliflower into small florets and place them in the same bowl the tempeh was in. Drizzle about a tablespoon of toasted sesame oil and sprinkle salt on top of the cauliflower. Toss to evenly coat all of the florets then place on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet.
Roasting: Place both the tempeh and cauliflower in the oven at 375 degrees for 30 minutes stirring and turning over halfway through.
Quinoa: While the tempeh and cauliflower are roasting, thoroughly rinse the quinoa in a fine sieve and then add it to a medium saucepan with the water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce the heat to a simmer and then cook until all of the water is absorbed—about 15 minutes.
Saute Veggies: Chop your onion, carrot, and bell pepper. Heat the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and saute for 7 minutes. Add the carrot and saute for another 5 minutes. Add the bell pepper, peas and corn and saute for another 4-5 minutes.
Put it All Together: Whisk the ingredients of the second marinade and drizzle it over the quinoa. Stir thoroughly so that the marinade is well incorporated. Add in the sauteed veggies, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir so that everything is well combined. Lastly, add the tempeh and gently fold it into the dish.
Fruit of Adventure 
Christina this sounds so good; I can’t believe you made the time to do this dish.
Haha! With how crazy busy life has been lately, I can’t believe it either! 🙂
This looks incredible, Christina. No wonder the dish came back empty! I really like the mix of red and “regular” quinoa, too. The colors just pop!
Thanks, Dana! I too love the different quinoa combo—of course, it’s not necessary for taste so if you only had the default (white) quinoa on hand, that would totally work. Unless you’re going to a potluck and want to make it look prettier…then maybe you want to use both. 🙂
I’m all about impressing people at potlucks, so the combo of quinoa colors would be a must!
This looks yummy! Great idea for a potluck. I saw this the other day and was planning another dish with tempeh (didn’t have cauliflower handy and didn’t want to drive to town just to get it) so opted for your suggestions for marinade and baking. It was good! Will try this one of these fine days.
Glad you liked the marinated roasted tempeh, Kathy! I really love eating the it straight-up like that. Delicious little nuggets with tons of flavor!
Looks YUMMY! Perfect for summertime! Stunning photos as always!
Thanks for the nice comment!!