Yield: approximately 4 servings

I’ve been out of the country/state for the last 11 days and have truly missed blogging. But my travels to London and to see my family in MS were fun and rewarding on many levels, not to mention filled with delicious vegan food. Stay tuned for Three Bean-Sundried Tomato Cakes with Ale Chutney from one of the many pubs we visited in London and a couple of terrific recipes from my mother and aunt.

But, first, I wanted to post this faux chicken salad inspired by my family’s visit to The New Yokel Market and Side Door Cafe in Hattiesburg, MS (see link under “Platters for Purchase” in my sidebar). We fortified ourselves there before going to see “Julie and Julia” (more on a dinner party inspired by the movie and Child’s August 15 birthday in an upcoming post). Mom is remarkably tenacious at sniffing out vegan food in a state known for rendering vegan food the opposite by virtue of ingredients like fatback.

This utterly charming and rustic market and cafe sells goods otherwise challenging to find in MS and turns out simple mouthwatering vegan chow like this tempeh chicken salad and a curried vegetable soup over dense vegan cornbread. I’d never made chicken salad with tempeh because I don’t think tempeh tastes much like my faint and distant memories of chicken, but it turns out not to matter one bit (or bite).

This salad–as close as I could come to their version–is some very good eats. The addition of fresh red grapes adds color similar to dried cranberries, but without that intense flavor that tends to overpower everything else. They also add moisture and natural sweetness. Lightly toasted walnuts add depth of flavor, crunch and nutrition. And celery, of course, provides even more juicy crunch while contrasting beautifully with the red grapes. My secret ingredients are a mere teaspoon of maple syrup to offset tempeh’s slight natural bitterness and minced fronds of fresh fennel to impart a subtle anise flavor because I think it goes perfectly with “chicken.” Fresh or dried tarragon would be nice too, but I happened to have some fennel with overly abundant fronds that I was going to have to wrestle into the fridge. Dill would be lovely as well. If you use fennel fronds, be sure to mince them very finely or you’ll feel like you’re eating a little lower on the food chain than you intended.

Enjoy this salad in a wholegrain sandwich; with crackers, celery sticks or sliced tomato; or just with a spoon!

2 cups faux chicken stock or vegetable stock
1-8 ounce slab of tempeh, cut in half crosswise (I used the soy variety)
rounded 1/3 cup finely diced celery
rounded 1/3 cup red seedless grapes, quartered
rounded 1/3 cup chopped walnuts, dry roasted for about 3 minutes in a small skillet over medium-high heat
*optional (but delicious!): lightly packed 1/3 cup minced fennel fronds (or minced fresh tarragon or dried tarragon to taste); just use the fine fronds and not the thick stems
4 tablespoons vegan mayonnaise
4 tablespoons vegan sour cream
1 teaspoon maple syrup
sea or kosher salt and freshly pepper to taste

*Note: Fresh or dried dill would be lovely as well, though it would impart a slightly different taste. Also, you can change the proportion of mayo to sour cream, even using all of one or the other.

In a large cast iron skillet, bring the 2 cups of stock to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat so that the stock is just simmering, add tempeh, and simmer for 8 minutes, turning once halfway through. Remove from heat and allow tempeh to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, use this cooking time to prepare other ingredients, placing them all in a medium bowl. With fingers, crumble tempeh into the bowl and stir everything together with a spoon or fork.

Serve in a sandwich, with crackers or veggies, or on a bed of lettuce.