How to cook with textured protein (with recipes and weekly menu)

When it comes to consuming vegetable proteins, in addition to opting directly for vegetable foods rich in them, we have more and more options products that make things easy for us. One of them is, without a doubt, the textured protein.

Here I will tell you what it is and how to incorporate it into your menuswith sample recipes so you have where to start (or more variety of proposals than you already know).

You will find these recipes naturally integrated into the healthy weekly menu of this post, in which proteins are, as always, fundamental. It is a menu designed with seasonal foods, but one that easily adapts to other times of the year.

Download your healthy weekly menu with different vegetable proteins here.

Textured protein: what it is and how to prepare it

The textured protein is a presentation of soy, pea or sunflower in a format that is very easy to preserve, transport and work in the kitchen, since it once hydrated it can be used as meat.

Although it is true that at a nutritional level it is somewhat lower than tempeh or tofu, and that these should be the first options to obtain our vegetable protein, textured protein It comes almost ready to use.. So it’s especially practical.

The best known is soybean, but you have already seen that doesn’t have to be soy. It is something that also happens with tempeh, of which we now have versions of other legumes: there are chickpea and pea tempeh.

It is often said that a serving is about 30-40 grams dry, taking into account that it usually triples the size. This is not always the case, since we have many different presentations of textured soy protein today, and this means that the amount of liquid needed and the time to hydrate vary greatly.

In some cases, and this is usually indicated on the package, it may even be necessary to cook the textured protein to make it soft, usually in medium or thick presentations.

My advice is that, in general, removing the textured proteins that are of fine grammage and you will not be able to “strain”, leave them in soak in hot water with or without mild vegetable brothplus a little salt or soy sauce.

During hydration is when we can take advantage to soak them well in flavor and for this they are very good powdered spicesbut there is a second step where we can add flavor.

Once we have the textured protein already hydrated, we drain it well, removing all the water it may have inside. We add a little oil and the powdered spices, Mix by hand and let it rest.

We can also add at this point a little corn starchso that the species that we put are more hooked, but this will depend a lot on the recipe.

In the case of fine textured protein, the humidity of the rest of the ingredients can be enough. In fact, it is very easy to use in sauces, since we can add it at the moment in which we are reducing. In this way, it will absorb part of the liquid that we were going to evaporate, it will cook very quickly and without soaking, and we will have shortened the time of the recipe.

Use it without rehydrating

Well yes, maybe it’s something you didn’t know: in general, it can also be consumed unhydrated and uncooked, as a crunchy snack. Especially in the case of fine textured or small grain protein, which can be used in salads or as a final addition to your creams.

Soybean, pea or sunflower: how are they different?

The truth is that there are differences between each type of textured protein, starting with the taste and texture.

Flavor: The flavor of the soybean is more like soybeans, the pea flavor is much more mild, and the sunflower flavor tastes like sunflower seeds.Texture: The most common pea protein is fine, while textured soy protein, the cheapest and the one we find in most stores, is usually small or medium grade.

When using them this will also mark us:

The textured pea protein, being thinner, usually needs much less liquid and is more “sticky” and less hard. It is ideal for meatballs, sausages and veggie burgers homemade. Instead, the textured soy protein It is, being thicker, it is more suitable to emulate minced meat in traditional recipes such as lasagna and dumplings or to prepare a delicious Bolognese sauce vegan.The sunflower textured protein it’s not as mushy as pea, so it’s also great for when you want to add more texture to your Homemade burgers, nuggets or meatballs. You will need an ingredient that amalgamates in greater quantity. The medium grain is ideal for stuffed with sachets, dumplings, burritos or empanadas.

In addition, it must be taken into account that nutritionally They are 3 different products and both the protein and the minerals they provide are not the same.

3 recipes with textured protein

In these three recipes you will see different ways to incorporate textured proteins during cooking. You’ll find:

The textured soy protein consumed like crouton in a melon cream.dumplings made with textured pea proteinA sandwich made with textured soybeans in the shape of a fillet

The three recipes are included in the downloadable weekly menu of this post.

1. Melon soup with soy croutons

Complement your creams with crunchy textured protein, giving it an extra flavor, texture and nutrients.

Ingredients for 2 or 3 servings:

500 g melon, without shell or seeds 100 ml nata de coco or other vegetable cream 2 tablespoons virgin olive oil 50 g dry soy protein, medium grain water 1 pinch of freshly ground black pepper to taste spices of your choice or liquid smoke (optional)

Preparation:

We rehydrate textured soybeans with hot water. You can add liquid smoke once it is well drained, as well as spices to taste.We saute it in the pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil until golden and crisp. Season it with salt and pepper and reserve it, taking the opportunity to temper it. To prepare the melon soup, we beat the melon clean and cut into cubes with the coconut cream. You can add a few tablespoons of water or coconut water if it is too thick for you. We add a point of salt and serve in bowls with the crunchy textured soy above.

2. Pea Protein Meatballs

Very easy to make and ideal for your weekly batch cooking. Not only can you freeze them, but it is a very good way to make them more compact and do better. you can fry, grill or bakeaccording to your needs.

Ingredients for 2 or 3 servings:

120g textured pea protein2 tablespoons cornstarch1 teaspoon garlic powder1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper1 tablespoon dried oregano40ml extra olive oilwater or vegetable stocksalt of your choice for flouringyour favorite meatball sauce

Preparation:

We rehydrate the textured protein with hot water and drain it once it is soft.Place the protein in a bowl and add all the spices and olive oil, mixing well.Sift the cornstarch and add it to the bowl.We have to have a malleable mass and not very sticky. This will depend on the type of protein and how drained it is. You may need a little more liquid, which will be added by teaspoons, or cornmeal, also added by teaspoons. Another option in case they are very wet is to add wheat germ or nutritional yeast, so as not to use as much starch. If it is a non-fine protein, you can grind the ingredients.We cool the dough to help us work it, especially in summer, at least two hours.we shape to the meatballs and flour them.To make them in sauceI recommend you brown them first in the pan with some oil and then add the sauce with a small amount of water.We cook over low heat and we serve hot or weather.

Also we can serve them golden cold and with some cold sauce that we like. In this case it is advisable to make them small.

3. Textured Protein Steak Sandwich

When we talk about textured soy, sometimes we forget that there are textured vegetable protein fillets, many of them large. They are not necessarily soy and, in fact, there is what is known as “legume”, a mixture of soy and beans, which we have been able to find in specialized stores for many years.

These steaks can be served in sauce, but also as part of a sandwich.

Ingredients for 1 sandwich:

1 large “legumbreta” or textured soy steak2 tablespoon of soy sauce1 teaspoon of garlic powderwater2 tablespoons of olive oil1 roll or piece of bread the size of the steak already hydrated1 sliced ​​tomato2 tablespoons of romesco sauce or another sauce of your choice2 teaspoons black olive pâté roasted or roasted peppers (optional)

Preparation:

We start hydrating the fillet in hot water with soy sauce and garlic powder. We can let it marinate in the fridge for a few hours to absorb more flavor.To assemble the sandwichwe begin by spreading the sauce on the bread. Then, we will spread the black olive pate, 1 teaspoon per side. On one of the sides we put the peppers and, later, part of the tomato. We place the fillet and, on top, the tomato that we have left. We close the sandwich and that’s it!

you can add raw onion or cucumber slices so that it also has a crunchy texture.

Include them in this weekly menu with all the proteins you need

In this weekly menu you will see more textured protein than usual, something that does not have to be right or healthy for you. You can always make variations with less processed foods, such as cooked legume, tofu or tempeh.

In other cases you can exchange it for seitan, if you consume gluten, but remember that its protein is of lower quality. That does not imply that you eliminate it, but it is better that it does not displace the rest of the quality protein sources.

In general, It is not necessary that all meals have protein intake, especially if we are going to make a sufficient intake at lunch and dinner. We can also spend the protein intake at breakfast or snack and have a lighter lunch or dinner, according to our needs. A sandwich with tofu or with a textured soybean fillet can be a good breakfast, but also a lunch or dinner.

Remember to add a bowl of raw salad in your meals at least once a day if cooked dishes prevail at lunch and dinner.