Lemon Broiled Tempeh
      Contributed by the American Institute for Cancer Research

Enhance your menu by taking advantage of tempeh’s versatility and delicious taste with this easy to prepare recipe.

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Expand your menu options by incorporating unusual ingredients with traditional items to create powerhouse nutritional dishes that provide exciting textures and taste. This easy to prepare recipe features tempeh and is an excellent way to start.

Tempeh is made by fermenting cooked soybeans, although specialty tempehs can be made from other types of beans, wheat or a mixture of beans and whole grains. A protein staple in Indonesia for several hundred years, tempeh is a good source of several vitamins and minerals and contains health-promoting phytochemicals, such as isoflavones and soy saponins. Tempeh also is high in fiber because it retains the whole bean.

It has a firm texture and a nutty mushroom flavor. Often referred to as “Javanese meat,” tempeh is made by a controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans into a cake form that can be easily sliced. It is readily available in many markets both fresh and frozen. When selecting tempeh, look for solid cakes with a whitish bloom. Black flecks or veining are also acceptable, but any other color suggests that the tempeh may not be fresh or has gone bad.

Tempeh can be grilled, baked or, as in this recipe, broiled. Naturally bland, it easily absorbs the flavors of its companion ingredients, such as soy or tamari sauce and lemon. Zucchini and red bell peppers provide color and contrasting texture while mushrooms accentuate the earthy flavor of the dish.

Sesame seed oil dates back to 3000 BC in the Middle East and is often referred to as the “queen of oils.” Sesame seeds are thought to be one of the oldest condiments and were an integral part of the varied cuisines of India, Egypt, Persia—now modern day Iran.

Because sesame pods readily burst open at the slightest touch when they are ripe, they provided Ali Baba with the magic words “open sesame” to instantly gain access to a robber’s cave in the story “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.”

Sesame seed oil was the major oil used in the U.S. during the 1930s but with the rise of inexpensive soybean and cottonseed oils in the 1950s, its use declined. A 1956 bake-off contest reversed this trend when a Washington, DC winner created an Open Sesame Pie that inspired commercial bakers to sprinkle the tasty little seeds on a variety of breads and crackers. They were later added to hamburger buns, a trend which continues today.

Enjoy this tasty tempeh dish!

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