Dinner Party: Winter brunch (v, gf)

VIBE CHECK

You could…meet your friends on the sidewalk outside the restaurant and try to guess if they’re for real when they say it’ll be an hour; you can sit on your coats crowded around the table and wait for some eggs that a perspiring line cook banged out in 2 minutes…OR you can wander into your kitchen at 10am to toss some marinated tempeh into the oven and mix together a waffle batter, pour yourself a light vermouth spritzer and be sitting around your table by 11 with the sun lighting up the oranges in your favorite salad bowl, talking with your friends at a regular volume.

This winter brunch menu is warming, comforting and filling. It’s also full of nutrition and vegan and gluten-free, but it doesn’t feel like it’s missing anything. It’s great for scaling up for a bunch of people, especially if you have a big waffle-maker. If there are any kids, a Nutella-like spread for the waffles will probably keep them happy. The main flavors in the salad — orange and olive — are both great garnishes for vermouth drinks, which is why I thought a vermouth spritzer would be nice if you want a brunch cocktail. Something with Campari could work too.

THE MENU

This would serve 6-8 people, but leftovers also keep well, so feel free to scale up a bit.

Buckwheat and almond waffles

These have the texture and heft of Belgian waffles, rather than fluffy diner waffles, but they’re not very sweet. Serve with butter (or vegan butter), maple syrup, Nutella, honey, yogurt, labne, and maybe a hot sauce if you have friends like that. Recipe in my Friday newsletter.

Tempeh bacon

A smoky savory side dish. If you can’t find tempeh, you could marinate and cook tofu the same way, or even carrots, peeled and halved (lengthwise). Recipe below.

Orange, olive, and pickled onion salad with endives and hazelnuts

Briny, sweet, and bitter, a very refreshing salad with grown-up flavors. Recipe below.

Vermouth spritzers

Keep it light with just vermouth and grapefruit Spindrift, or add a little gin.

GROCERY LIST

You can do all your shopping well ahead of time — the only thing that might go bad is the endives/bitter leaves, but just keep them wrapped in plastic or in a Ziploc bag and they should be fine.

Fresh produce

• 3 small navel oranges (15 oz), or 1 grapefruit and 1 orange

• 1 endive or another kind of bitter leaves (like radicchio or castelfranco)

• ½ small red onion

Specialty Items

• 1 lb tempeh OR 1 lb tofu OR 4-6 medium carrots

Pantry Items

• 3-4 oz pitted black olives, with juice reserved

• Apple cider vinegar

• Optional: Another fun fruity vinegar for the salad

• ½ cup hazelnuts

• 1 cup buckwheat flour

• 1 cup finely ground almond flour

• 6 tablespoons confectioners sugar

• Baking powder

• Ground flax seed

• ½ cup refined coconut oil

• 2 cups non-dairy milk

• Neutral oil

• Olive oil

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

• 3 tablespoons molasses

• 1 tablespoon miso

• Grapefruit Spindrift

• Sweet vermouth

• Ice

• Waffle accompaniments: butter (or vegan butter), maple syrup, Nutella, honey, yogurt, labne, hot sauce

Spices/Seasonings

• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• Ground cinnamon

• Ground cardamom

• Ground cumin

• Garlic powder

• Smoky paprika

• 1/8 teaspoon liquid smoke (optional)

• 1/8 teaspoon msg (optional)

PREP:

Must be done in advance (the night before)

Marinate the tempeh

Marinade ingredients:

• ¼ cup apple cider

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

• 3 tablespoons molasses

• 1.5 teaspoons paprika

• 1.5 teaspoons cumin

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 tablespoon miso

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1/8 teaspoon liquid smoke

• 1/8 teaspoon MSG

1. Slice 1 lb of tempeh (or tofu) into thin slices and put them into a big Ziploc bag. (If using carrots, scrub them well and slice them in half lengthwise.)

2. Mix together all the marinade ingredients. Pour the marinade into the bag and gently toss to evenly coat the tempeh slices. Leave in the fridge overnight.

Can be done in advance (Up to 2 days)

Make the salad

Ingredients

• ½ small red onion

• 3 small navel oranges (15 oz), or 1 grapefruit and 1 orange

• 3-4 oz pitted black olives

• 1 tablespoon olive juice

• 1 teaspoon vinegar (apple cider, champagne, or something else cool if you have it)

• 1 endive

• ½ cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped

• Freshly ground black pepper

1. Thinly slice the red onion with a knife or a mandolin if you have one.

2. Peel and segment the oranges and chop into 1-inch pieces.

3. Roughly chop the olives.

4. In a big bowl, toss together the red onion, orange pieces, olives, olive juice, and vinegar. Let sit for half an hour or put in the fridge overnight (it will keep for up to a week, but is probably best within 1-2 days of preparing).

5. To serve: In a large shallow bowl or platter, arrange the endive leaves in a circle around the edge. Scoop the orange salad at the center and sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts. Top with freshly ground black pepper.

The last hour

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Lay out the tempeh bacon in a single layer on a parchment-lined sheet tray. Drizzle, or use a pastry brush, to spread 1 tablespoon of olive oil on top of each slice. Bake for 15 minutes, flip the pieces and cover the other side with another tablespoon of olive oil, then bake for another 15 minutes.

3. Turn the oven down to 200°F to keep the tempeh bacon and waffles warm until ready to eat (you may need to open the oven door for a bit to let it cool down).

4. Plate the salad: In a large shallow bowl or platter, arrange the endive leaves in a circle. Scoop the orange salad at the center and sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts. Top with freshly ground black pepper.

5. Mix together the waffle batter and preheat the waffle iron. You can begin making the waffles before guests arrive, or wait until the first person does. Just keep in mind that it’ll be about 10 minutes per batch. Put the waffles into the preheated oven until ready to eat.

6. Set the table with waffle accompaniments: butter (or vegan butter), maple syrup, Nutella, honey, yogurt, or labne. A bottle of hot sauce if you have a die-hard savory friend.

7. Serve vermouth spritzers to guests as they arrive. Measure 2oz vermouth (or eyeball a glug) into cups with ice and top off with grapefruit Spindrift.