Grilled Tempeh with Red Onion & Eggplant

This is a summer grill plate that takes tempeh from dull to dinner-party. Sliced thin and bathed in a punchy red wine marinade with garlic, rosemary, and fennel seed, the tempeh picks up the charred edges and deep winey flavour you’d normally get from grilled lamb or beef.

The marinade is the whole show. Tempeh on its own is bland and spongy, but its open, porous structure soaks up marinades faster and deeper than tofu. An hour at room temperature is enough for the wine, oil, and herbs to drive right into the centre of each slice.

Slicing the cakes in half and then splitting them horizontally gives you thin cutlets that marinate fast and grill in just a couple of minutes per side. Thick slabs never get the same smoky penetration.

Brushing the eggplant rounds with olive oil before grilling is non-optional, dry eggplant soaks up smoke but sticks and burns. The oil is what lets you get those beautiful cross-hatch grill marks.

Served open-faced on toasted whole wheat with peppery arugula, this eats like an upscale Tuscan crostino.

Chef Tips

• Steam tempeh for five minutes before marinating if you find its flavour too beany, it mellows out and soaks marinade even better.
• Salt eggplant slices for 20 minutes and blot dry before grilling if using larger fruit, it pulls out bitterness.
• Grill onion rings whole so they don’t fall through the grate, then separate into rings on the plate.
• Toast the bread over low, indirect heat, high heat turns bread to charcoal fast.

Variations

• Swap red wine for balsamic vinegar and a splash of water in the marinade for a sweeter, more Italian finish.
• Top with a smear of pesto or a spoonful of olive tapenade before adding the vegetables.
• Swap arugula for fresh basil leaves or watercress for a different peppery note.