You’ve certainly heard about it: vegetable steak or vegetarian steak or vegan steak is (almost) everywhere!
But what is hidden behind this name? What are plant-based steaks made from, what are the benefits or not of eating them and why not take the plunge and make homemade plant-based meat? We will explain everything to you !
Vegetable steak: composition
Plant-based meat is a food whose texture, taste and appearance seek to imitate a type of meat.
The vegetable steak or vegetarian steak is made from substitutes, legumes, cereals, soya, wheat, peas, mushrooms, etc. For vegan steaks, products of animal origin such as dairy products or eggs are excluded from the recipe.
We then add condiments, seasonings or spices.
An organic vegetable steak is made using the same recipes but with organic foods.
Vegetable steak : taste and appearance
The ingredients making up plant-based meat influence its appearance, texture and taste. The result differs depending on the ingredients used. If you opt for industrial plant-based meat, experiment to find the product that suits you best. If soy remains the most popular component, know that there are soy-free vegetable steak recipes, based on legumes or mushrooms.
If you prefer to control the composition of your plant-based meat, make it at home. Many recipes abound on the Internet, we give you two at the end of the article. Here again, experiment, and don’t hesitate to also try vegan or vegetable sauces to enhance them, it can really make the difference.
You can cook the vegan steak like a regular one, on barbecue or in air fryer with delicious smashed potatoes.
Easy vegetarian steak recipe
Vegetable steak with lentils
Ingredients: 100 g of lentils, 100 g of oat flakes, 15 g of vegetable cream or tomato sauce, herbs de Provence, 1 onion, 1 clove of garlic, olive oil, flour, salt and pepper
Cook your lentils (or take a can of cooked lentils). Brown chopped garlic and onion in the pan. Mix lentils and oats, add the onion and garlic then the cream. Season.
Shape your steaks using a little flour (or breadcrumbs) then cook for 8 minutes in the pan.
Vegetable steak with mushrooms
Ingredients: 500 g of button mushrooms, 1 onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 4 tablespoons of tomato sauce, a little flour, olive oil, cumin (or other spices according to your taste), salt and pepper.
Preparation
Brown onions, garlic and mushrooms then mix them. Mix with tomato sauce and thicken if necessary with a little flour. Season then form the steaks, and cook in the pan or air fryer for about 10 minutes over low heat.
They can be kept cooked or raw in the fridge for 1 or 2 days or frozen.