The Vegetarian Times starter kit recommended TVP, or texturized vegetable protein, as an excellent low cost protein source easy to slip in to recipes you would have used ground beef in. Intrigued, I picked some up from the bulk food bins at Fred Meyer to add to some spaghetti sauce some night when I didn't feel like doing anything elaborate.I didn't find much on the internet that I thought was super helpful other than add water at a 1:1 ratio and that TVP is frequently used in veggie burgers and other faux meat products.
Here's what I discovered: TVP quadruples in size when you add water. It's like I dumped one of Alice's potions on the stuff. I thought I was making a good amount to go into a jar of pasta sauce, but I made enough to go into 10 jars of pasta sauce. That is some of my extra TVP pictured. The good news is that what the Vegetarian Times said is true. It is a great low cost protein reminiscent of ground meat. And you feel full after you eat it! The trick is to get your portions right and it definitely needs a flavorful sauce.
I haven't tried this the right way yet, but here's what I think I will do next time:
Ingredients for 4 servings
3/4 Cup TVP
3/4 Cup warm water
1 - 16 oz jar of marinara sauce
8 oz dried wholewheat spaghetti
1 Tb olive oil
salt and pepper
Add TVP to warm water, add a shake of salt, and set aside for at least 10 minutes.
Set pasta water to boil.
Saute rehydrated TVP in olive oil, add another shake of salt and a grind of pepper.
Add the pasta to the boiling water
Add the jar of sauce to the saute pan with the TVP, simmer until pasta is ready.
Top pasta with sauce and enjoy.
This picture shows what it should look like with a good ratio of TVP to sauce, this was my second attempt and much tastier than the first.
We ate this with a salad I would definitely recommend: mixed baby green salad topped with sun dried tomatoes, sliced mushrooms and a truffle oil balsamic mix.
that food looks awesome! i'm going to try TVP. what section of the store should i be looking in?
ReplyDeleteI am thrilled with TVP, going to try TVP tacos next. Will post on that soon. In the mean time you can get TVP at Fred Meyer - they have it in the bulk foods area, if you are facing the bank of bins it's on the far left. They also have it packaged in the Bob's Red Mill area of the natural foods section, just like in the picture above. We got some of that Killer Bread you guys had, it's delicious!
ReplyDeletecool! i'll look for that at fred meyer. the killer blues bread is the best but gets sold out fastest. killer bread is on sale at fred meyer right now for $3.89 each, which is pretty decent. regular is usually $4.89 or something like that.
ReplyDeleteMy friend Cheryl said the same thing. We will have to check it out soon - we got the Good Seed Bread at Costco of all places, you get two loaves for $6ish. It's awesome, but I wish it were completely whole grain.
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