We wind up going to our favorite diner every few weekends, and they have a really great menu with lots of options, and are really happy to make substitutions which is why I like them so much. I usually wind up ordering the gyro platter and they're happy to hold the feta and use portabellos instead of meat! I know they marinate them in balsamic vinegar, so I was trying to recreate that and try my hand at vegan tzatziki, which believe it or not was so tasty, I was actually impressed with myself!
Let's start with the tzatziki sauce because that takes a little forethought and time/prep
Cashew Tzatziki Sauce (adapted from Addicted to Veggies' recipe)
- 1 3/4 cup raw whole cashews
- 1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. unfiltered apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 1/4 cup water
- juice of 1-2 lemons
- 1/2 tsp. dill
- 1/2 tsp. tarragon
- 1/2 cucumber
- pepper, to taste-optional
Cover the cashews with water and soak overnight (6-8 hours; I do this in a quart mason jar)
After soaking, add cashews, vinegar and salt to a food processor and whizz until it forms a thick, oily paste. Scrape this paste down the sides and off the bottom. Measure out 1&1/4 cup water, start whizzing again and add 1/4 cup of water at a time, letting it run 30 seconds to a minute between each addition of water. Taste test to see if this is how you would like it. For me, I wanted a tangy, yogurt-y, sour creamy sauce, so I wound up adding the juice of half a lemon and pureeing until I got the flavor I wanted, so I wound up adding the juice of 1&1/2 lemons, total.
Once you have finished pureeing, put into a container and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. It will thicken as it chills.
To make this into Tzaziki, chop up half a cucumber, and combine with about half the batch of sour cream, dill, and tarragon. Mix, and serve with gyros, or on salad.
Balsamic Marinated Portabellos (adapted fromVegan American Princess's recipe)
- 4 large portabello caps
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 small white or yellow onion, or 1 shallot
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp. minced ginger
- 1/2 tsp. dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp. dried tarragon
- salt & pepper, to taste
Measure out oil and vinegar in a 2-cup measure.
Mince onion/shallot, garlic, and ginger, and add to the oil and vinegar. Add herbs, salt and pepper, and mix together with a fork to emulsify it as much as you can. I let that sit for a minute or two while I prepped the mushrooms, so everything would meld together.
Take out the stems of the mushrooms, and scrape out the gills. Slice into strips and throw into a bowl for marinating(just as a quick tip: you can keep the stems and gills in the freezer to make mushroom broth when you need it).
Pour the marinade over the mushrooms and let stand for about a half hour, or honestly however long you want. Shorter/longer times won't really make a difference, this is just how long I left it while I was chopping up toppings.
Cook mushrooms in a skillet at medium-low heat, covered, with all the marinade for about 20 minutes or so- you want these to be soft but not mushy, and have some body, to take the place of what would normally be a strip of steak or shawarma or whatever.
Throw on a pita with lettuce, and top with green onion, red onion, cucumber, tomato, some tzatziki, or whatever other veggies your heart desires!
