[lauren] what?
[lauren] oh this?
[lauren] oh do i do that?
[lauren] do i do it all the time?
[lauren] i don't know
[lauren] that's not something i ever have control over.
[lauren] hey everyone it's lauren from hot for food
[lauren] and i'm back with another recipe for ya
[lauren] today i'm gonna show you how to make a greek salad with mushroom walnut souvlaki, tofu feta, and a creamy cucumber dressing.
[lauren] now that sounds like a lot of things but it's not that hard to put together, and i know you can do it.
[lauren] i'm gonna walk you through it and it's gonna end up being a delicious, light summer dinner salad.
[lauren] so let's get to it!
[lauren] so let's start with the tofu feta. we're gonna use a brick of firm tofu,
[lauren] and then we're gonna make like a vinegar marinate and that's gonna give it that tangy,
[lauren] taste that feta sorta has.
[lauren] now, you might be like "there's no way this is gonna taste like feta!"
[lauren] but honestly, once it's mixed with the dressing, the souvlaki patties we're making and the whole salad,
[lauren] it really does give you that sense of feta cheese, except it's vegan friendly.
[lauren] we're gonna cut these into cubes, make the marinate and it's gonna sit for a few hours.
[lauren] the brine for the tofu feta is rice vinegar, almond milk, lemon juice,
[lauren] dried basil, garlic powder and sea salt.
[lauren] kay so we're gonna let these marinate for at least three hours but i usually just do it overnight.
[lauren] and when it's done, it looks like this.
[lauren] kinda looks like feta.
[lauren] tastes good too.
[lauren] once that marinate goes in there, it's very tangy.
[lauren] alright, now we're gonna make the dressing because you can make the feta and the dressing ahead of time, just leave it in the fridge.
[lauren] till you want the salads.
[lauren] so here's how you make the dressing:
[lauren] so in a blender you're gonna combine olive oil, white wine vinegar,
[lauren] vegan mayonnaise,
[lauren] shredded cucumber,
[lauren] dried oregano, dried basil,
[lauren] garlic powder,
[lauren] ground mustard,
[lauren] sea salt,
[lauren] ground pepper,
[lauren] and agave nectar.
[lauren] now just blend this until it's smooth and creamy.
[lauren] alright so the dressing's in the fridge chilling, so is the tofu feta.
[lauren] now we're gonna make the mushroom walnut souvlaki.
[lauren] now i'm calling it souvlaki because that's what's normally on a greek salad which is normally lamb, or pork i think.
[lauren] but we are gonna make it out of mushroom and walnuts and we're gonna make these
[lauren] nice little patties that we're gonna pan fry,
[lauren] and they're gonna be great served warm on top of this refreshing salad.
[lauren] so to start, we're gonna make a chia or flax egg mixture
[lauren] which is one tablespoon of flax or chia with three tablespoons of water.
[lauren] now just refrigerate that while we prepare the rest.
[lauren] so before we put everything in the food processor, we are gonna slice up some onion.
[lauren] and saute that with mushroom, garlic and thyme so you don't need to cut this properly,
[lauren] because you're gonna process it anyway.
[lauren] so you're gonna add that to your food processor with one cup of walnuts,
[lauren] i'm using whole wheat flour but you can probably use any flour.
[lauren] soy sauce, tomato paste,
[lauren] parsley.
[lauren] onion powder,
[lauren] cumin,
[lauren] ground mustard, smoked paprika,
[lauren] sage, salt and ground pepper.
[lauren] and now just process this until it comes together to form kind of a pâté consistency.
[lauren] everytime, every video we do, where i make a flax mixture, i forget to put it in!
[lauren] put that in before you process it.
[lauren] i bet it would even work without it, i don't know.
[lauren] this just makes it a little more moist.
[lauren] so the patties i'm gonna form are about two and a half inches wide by a quarter inch thick,
[lauren] approximately.
[lauren] uhh, it's gonna be sticky so you wanna have a little bowl of water and wet your hands when you do this.
[lauren] then the patties won't stick to your hands.
[lauren] and they look like dog food but they're not gonna taste like that
[lauren] so you might be wondering, "why is there so many ingredients in this?"
[lauren] well, when you've been cooking vegan as long as i have, you know that flavour's very important.
[lauren] especially when you're trying to call something meat, when it's not meat,
[lauren] it has to have a lot of flavour for people who aren't used to eating vegan ,
[lauren] these are very tasty, as you can see we've injected a lot of flavour.
[lauren] by cooking the mushrooms and onions and garlic and thyme together you get a lot of aromatics in that,
[lauren] then we're adding in walnuts for texture and meaty texture.
[lauren] some flour to bind it,
[lauren] the flax egg for moisture.
[lauren] and then we put in a lot of spices and herbs like parsley
[lauren] because we just wanna elevate that flavour and once we cook it, it's all really gonna come out
[lauren] and it's gonna be very tasty so never skimp on the spices, that's what i say.
[lauren] so these are going into a hot pan for about 2-3 minutes a side.
[lauren] now you can make your greek salad however you want because as you're gonna see
[lauren] this is not like a traditional greek salad with huge chunks of stuff in it that you can barely put your mouth around.
[lauren] i prefer to use arugula,
[lauren] alright. and we're gonna use cherry tomatoes cut in half, thinly sliced red onion and kalamata olives.
[lauren] and that's all i'm putting in mine but you can do whatever you want.
[lauren] the important thing here is that all the flavours of what is a greek salad are gonna come through.
[lauren] even if you assemble the way i'm doing it. so
[lauren] let's go.
[lauren] and there's our greek salad.
[lauren] it's beautiful. i'm starvingg
[lauren] mm
[lauren] this is one of my favourite salads.
[lauren] it's so flavourful.
[lauren] alright i better finish this video before i keep eating.
[lauren] tastes exactly like a greek salad.
[lauren] i hope you try this one out this summer
[lauren] you're gonna love it. your friends, your family will love it.
[lauren] bring it to a potluck, make it for a barbecue,
[lauren] take it on a picnic, it's a perfect picnic salad.
[lauren] and we'll be back next week with another brand new video for you
[lauren] of course, we post every wednesday here on hot for food,
[lauren] and if you make anything from our website or our youtube channel,
[lauren] please tag us on social media #hotforfood or @hotforfood cos we love seeing all the photos you guys post!
[lauren] they're so good!
[lauren] and i know you're getting inspired and excited about cooking,
[lauren] so i hope this is another one to add to your repertoire,
[lauren] and i'll see you guys next week. bye!