MEAT(LESS)LOAF BOURGUIGNON WITH MASHED POTATOES, ROAST VEG & RED WINE SAUCE

When CD Young opened the doors to her Winnetka restaurant Spirit Elephant in January 2020, she and her team were focused on making vegan food that was delicious and approachable for every kind of eater. “We knew we would have the hearts of vegans,” she says, “but we wanted omnivores to taste and see that eating plant-based was not a sacrifice in any way.” Even when the pandemic threw a wrench in the works, Young and her team held tight, never straying from the “approachable, delicious, plant-based” theme. Using what they learned from Spirit Elephant’s necessary pivot to take-out service during the crisis, Young and her team opened two fast-casual restaurants dubbed Elephant Vine in Lincoln Park and Evanston in 2022.

Their hard work paid off with a big win in the Chicago Tribune 2023 Readers’ Choice Food Awards for “Best Plant-Based Menu.” But no one is resting on their laurels. Expansion is planned, as are new plant-based dishes.

Executive Chef Jorge Esparza is constantly at work on items with menu potential. He loves working with mushrooms of all sorts, trimming king oysters into calamari-ring lookalikes, and featuring lion’s mane as a main course in Spirit Elephant’s Thanksgiving feast. But for approachability, dishes made with plant-based beef products, like the Impossible™ Beef brand used here, are always favorites.

Esparza’s recipe for Meat(less)loaf Bourguignon (adapted here for the home cook) makes for a satisfyingly savory meal stacked over mashed potatoes and served with roasted vegetables and a rich red wine sauce.

To bake the loaf, Esparza portions it into mini loaf pans. Or, for more guests, double the loaf recipe using three 12-ounce packages of Impossible™ Beef, which—when mixed with the other loaf ingredients, fits perfectly into four 6 1/2 x 3 1/2 x 2-inch-deep disposable pans.

Esparza likes to sprinkle a little flour into the onion and mushroom base for the red wine sauce to thicken it, but, since you’ll be reducing the liquid quite a bit, the sauce will still have good body should you choose not to use flour.

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

For the meatless loaf

• 1/2 medium carrot, peeled, cut into thin sticks, and diced fine
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 yellow onion chopped to make 1/2 cup
• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped to make 1/4 cup
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 pound Impossible™ Beef
• 1/4 cup green peas
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black peppercorn
• 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard powder

For the mashed potatoes

• 6 to 8 new potatoes, peeled to make 2 cups
• 2 teaspoons salt, divided
• 2 tablespoons plant-based butter
• 1 teaspoon olive oil

For the roasted vegetables

• 1 small bunch (six thick spears) asparagus, stem ends trimmed
• 1 small bunch thin tri-colored carrots, washed and peeled
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black peppercorns

For the red wine sauce

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup button mushrooms, chopped
• 1 shallot, peeled and chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoon aged red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1 teaspoon tamari sauce
• 1 teaspoon finely ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons canned or bottled lingonberries (sauce or preserves are fine)
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 cup water

METHOD

For the meatless loaf: Preheat oven to 350 degrees with oven rack at center position. Place carrots and 2 tablespoons of water in a microwaveable dish and microwave for 3 minutes. In a sauté pan over low heat, add olive oil, chopped onion, and celery. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally until soft and translucent. Stir in cooked carrot and garlic and cook until garlic softens. Stir in tomato paste until well incorporated and increase heat to medium. Cook another 3 minutes until the flavor of the tomato paste deepens. Scoop mixture into a bowl and add Impossible™ Beef, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and peas. Sift dried mustard over the ingredients. Using a large wooden spoon or your hands, mix well. Portion into mini loaf pans. Cover with foil. Bake for 45 minutes.

For the roasted vegetables: A few minutes after you begin baking the loaves, place peeled carrots and thick asparagus stalks on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with kosher salt and a few grinds of black peppercorn. Place on the second rack in the oven. Roast for 30 minutes until tender. Note: if asparagus finishes more quickly than the carrots, remove spears and set aside, keeping warm, until carrots finish roasting.

For the mashed potatoes: While the loaves and vegetables roast, prepare potatoes. In a heavy-bottomed pot over medium- low heat, add peeled potatoes and cover with water. Add 1 teaspoon of the salt. Simmer potatoes, always keeping water to just below a boil, until easily pierced with a fork. Drain. Add olive oil, plant-based butter, and salt. Mash until fluffy.

For the red wine sauce: In a sauté pan over medium-low heat, add butter, olive oil, and chopped shallot. When shallot begins to become translucent, add mushrooms and continue cooking until they have released their liquid. Stir in garlic and continue cooking until softened. Stir in remaining ingredients and simmer over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes until the liquid has reduced by half. Pour all through a fine mesh strainer. Discard solids. Place sauce in a small pitcher.

To assemble: Place a mound of mashed potatoes on the plate. Top with slices of the meatless loaf. Artfully arrange roasted asparagus spears and carrots next to the potatoes. Serve the red wine sauce on the side.