This story is part of On Repeat, a series in which we ask top chefs, cookbook authors, and other famous foodies about the dishes they just can’t quit.
For this week’s edition of On Repeat, we’re putting our very own Gabriella Favilli-Vigoreaux in the spotlight. Her bakery, Bandidas Bake Shop, officially opened its brick-and-mortar location in Lakeland, Florida, last week—and Gabriella still made time to tell us about a recipe she’s been whipping up for years: dijon mustard marinated tempeh.
It comes from Amy Chaplin’s At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen (and also lives on the author’s blog). “I’ve had that cookbook since I was in my early 20s and this was the first recipe I made tempeh with,” Gabriella says. “Every time I ate tempeh and it wasn’t marinated I was like, It’s not that good.”
Why I love it
“Tempeh is my favorite kind of soy protein, and honestly, this recipe is why. Tempeh requires a little more effort than other vegetable proteins to make it taste good, and marinating is the easiest way to get rid of that bitter taste and infuse it with flavor.
“I always have these ingredients, so it’s the perfect pantry meal. The caramelized tempeh nuggets instantly boost any sad stir-fry!”
What I’ve changed
“The marinade has mustard, apple juice or cider, tamari, and apple-cider vinegar. I love to use cider when I can find it unfiltered, but I often sub in orange juice. And I add coconut aminos. Chaplin doesn’t call for this, but I sometimes add maple syrup. That’s the only thing I’ve done to zhuzh it up, because it gets more caramelized when you cook it.
“My favorite thing to do with the tempeh is make a TLT—basically a BLT with tempeh instead of bacon. This exact dish is my favorite food! I’ll do a swipe of vegan mayo and roasted cherry tomatoes (because I like them more than raw in this), and a couple slices of the marinated tempeh, and some avocado if I’m feeling luxurious, and sprouts. I like it on rye, but I make sourdough at home so I usually do sourdough.”
What else I’m into right now
Staying grounded. We make cold brew at our bakery and we’ve been having so many coffee grounds left over, so I’ve been making the coffee & coconut compost cookies on repeat for my staff. But also I’ve been using the grounds in my yard, because they are a natural bug repellent. Mosquitos hate coffee. So I scatter them in the places we hang out the most in the yard.
Vegan labneh. One of the dairy things that’s been hard for me to give up is labneh, a Middle Eastern–style yogurt. A couple weeks ago I went to Whole Foods and found coconut-based labneh from Cocojune, and they have different flavors and it’s really delicious. There’s a red pepper flavor and a lemon-dill that are so good.
Popcorn nirvana. Diaspora Co.’s Popcorn Masala is an umami bomb. It has nutritional yeast in it, and one of their smoky chillies, turmeric, amchur (mango powder), and their pink garlic. All the spices are sourced by Diaspora. If you cook the popcorn in coconut oil and then put this on top, it’s transcendent.