Veganising the Wasteland - Broccoli and Cave Fungus Casserole

Following total atomic annihilation, the duty of carrying on the culinary traditions of the Old World may fall to you. That’s why the good folks at Vault-Tec have created the VaultDweller’s Official Cookbook.

Actually, it was Victoria Rosenthal who created it. It’s a great book. Laid out like mandatory reading materials provided by Vault-Tec, every recipe has a Fallout-themed description with occasional edits by a wastelander that make everything seem even more Fallouty.

Fallouty. That’s a word, right?

However, there is one major problem. It’s not a vegan cookbook. And, since I took the Animal Friend perk and don’t want to hurt the brahmin or the molerats or the cute, fluffy yao guai, I’m having a shot at veganising the recipes inside. With some, it’s basically impossible (how do you veganise meat wrapped in other types of meat anyway?), but some meals are easily mutated.

This was my attempt at Broccoli and Cave Fungus Casserole.

Frying Pan Ingredients:

2 heads of broccoli, chopped

2 tablespoons olive spread or vegetable/coconut oil (omit for an oil-free dish, like I did)

½ medium yellow onion, chopped (or sub in celery with a teaspoon of fenugreek/asafoetida mix for IBS sufferers)

4 garlic cloves, minced (omit for IBS sufferers)

10 shiitake mushrooms, chopped

10 button mushrooms, chopped

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon dried thyme

2 teaspoons dried basil

1 cup coconut milk (Rude Health does a low-fat, oil-free coconut-flavoured rice milk that is excellent)

½ cup vegetable broth (9 Meals from Anarchy does great stock mix with no yeast extract, it just isn’t oil-free)

1 and ½ cups rice, cooked (I used risotto rice for a creamier finish)

Sauce Ingredients:

2 packs firm silken tofu (I use Clearspring)

5 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1 tablespoon of tamari

To Finish:

½ cup wholegrain breadcrumbs (I use Clearspring brown rice breadcrumbs)

Step 1: Cook the rice according to the packet instructions and set aside.

Step 2: Cook the broccoli in your preferred way. I usually microwave for speed, but you can steam if it suits.

Step 3: In a frying pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter (or just heat a little water). Add the onion and garlic (or celery and spices), and cook for 2 minutes.

Step 4: Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook until tender, 8-10 minutes. Now’s a good time to preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F.

Step 5: Add the flour, thyme and basil and stir well to fully incorporate. Maybe add a little water if you need to.

Step 6: Add the coconut milk and vegetable broth, then the broccoli. Then add the rice. Let the dish cook until you’ve boiled some of the liquid out of the pain.

Step 7: Meanwhile, put the tofu, tamari and nutritional yeast into a food processor and process until smooth.

Step 8: Scoop the contents of the frying pan into a casserole dish. Add the tofu sauce and the breadcrumbs. Stir well to combine.

Step 9: Bake in the oven for 18 minutes, uncovered, until the surface has kind of browned and solidified.

Verdict

This was a very easy dish to veganise. I just replaced 2 cups of cheese with a cheesy sauce made from tofu and nooch. I added breadcrumbs for some extra texture and I was very pleased with the result.

If you don’t have IBS, aren’t concerned about your oil intake and can find shiitake mushrooms (I had to make do with chestnut), this dish might be even more of a winner for you. As it was, I omitted onion, garlic, oil and shiitake and still had a very happy dinner time.

This meal and the more-or-less-vegan Bobrov Brothers’ Cabbage Soup have already been winners with my vault. I’ll be trying some of the more Fallouty food items over the coming months. Power Noodles, Perfectly Preserved Pie, and I’m even going to try brewing my own Nuka-Cola.

Give this adapted recipe a try and let me know how you get on, and answer the question, ‘do you know what makes you V.E.G.A.N?’