Asparagus with vegan Hollandaise sauce recipe

Happy International Worker’s day! It feels so good not to work during worker’s day… It should remind us what the workers situation just a century and half ago was, when people rarely had the privilege of a holiday day. They even didn’t have something as common now as the 8 hours working day (although I am conscious that many people still don’t have it). As a student of Social High School, I study History, and we have seen all the labor movements and the battle for decent working conditions that workers kept up for centuries. And I can say that we are very fortunate.  For people who don’t know how the worker’s day began, here I copy from Wikipedia:

"International Workers' Day is the commemoration of the Haymarket Massacre in Chicago in 1886, when Chicago police fired on workers during a general strike for the eight hour day, killing a dozen demonstrators.

In 1889, the first congress of the Second International, meeting in Paris for the centennial of the French Revolution and the Exposition Universelle, following a proposal by Raymond Lavigne, called for international demonstrations on the 1890 anniversary of the Chicago protests. These were so successful that May Day was formally recognized as an annual event at the International's second congress in 1891."


Today I didn’t go to school of course,  but I have been studying at home anyway. The end-of-year exams will start in less than one month, and I don’t want to be studying like a mad the last week. 

Asparagus are in season now, and although they are still an expensive vegetable, this is the time when they are cheaper.  So, I bought a bunch a few days ago. I am subscribed to Vegetarian Times newsletter, and this week, just at the right time, the recipe was asparagus with vegan Hollandaise. When I saw it, I knew immediately what would be my next post.

I have been looking for more raw recipes, because I want to introduce more raw food in my daily diet. I already switched to raw breakfast. I have been eating green smoothies for two weeks now, and I love them every day more and more, because I can eat a different green smoothie every day. They are so versatile!. But my lunch is still cooked, and I would like it to bee raw too (or at least partially), but without eating salads every day.  And I thought that sprouts would be a great idea. So, I am trying to sprout beans on myself for the first time of my life! I chose to begin with chickpeas, because I would like to try raw hummus and raw chickpeas burgers.  They should be ready in a couple of days.

My chickpeas on the second day of sprouting

Asparagus with vegan Hollandaise  sauce

Adapted from Vegetarian Times
I have never tried classic hollandaise sauce, but according Vegetarian Times website, is mostly egg yolk and butter. So, it’s not very suitable for vegans, as you can imagine. I don’t know how the classic sauce tastes, but the vegan version tastes great. Be careful not to add too much pepper or cayenne, and remember that flavors will develop after leaving it standing in the fridge (it always occur with tofu) I served it with a mix of barley, basmanti and short grain brown rice, but it will be great with any grain. You can also but some sauce over the grain (I did, and it tasted even better than over the asparagus)

Serves:  6
Ingredients:

-1/2 cup silken tofu (about 250g) *I used regular soft tofu, not silken
-2 Tbs. lemon juice
-1 Tbs. nutritional yeast *I didn’t have, so I substituted it for 1 teaspoon of tahini
-1/2 tsp. salt
-1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper *I substituted it for 1/8 black pepper, but I would suggest use a little less
-1/8 tsp. turmeric
-2 Tbs. corn oil *I used olive oil instead
-2 lb. asparagus, trimmed

Preparation:

Heat tofu on plate in microwave 30 to 45 seconds, or until warmed through. If you don’t have microwave, or you don’t like it, you can just heat it on a sauce pan with a few drops of water (to don’t burn it)

Transfer to food processor, and purée until smooth.

Add lemon juice, nutritional yeast (or tahini), salt, cayenne (or black pepper), and turmeric; pulse until well combined. With food processor running, add oil in steady stream to finish sauce.

Steam asparagus 2 minutes, or until crisp-tender. Drain, and serve with sauce.