A Tasty Veggie Treat!

 

Vegetarian Scrapple

Scrapple is a traditional Pennsylvania Dutch concoction of pork scraps and trimmings combined with spices and cornmeal to make a mush. The mush is then formed into a loaf, sliced into slabs and fried. This was a way to avoid wasting any part of the butchered pig. The saying goes “it has everything but the oink!”

This version is a hearty and tasty alternative that in no way tries to mimic the original with the exception of the cooking method.

Ingredients:
12 oz. sliced mushrooms
4 oz. diced celery
4 oz. peeled and diced carrots
5 oz. diced onion
5 oz. diced asparagus (diced red pepper may be substituted)
3 cloves of garlic chopped
1 cup of chopped fresh spinach

1 tablespoon black pepper
1 ½ tablespoon slat
1 tablespoon ground dried sage

2 cups water
1 ½ cups cornmeal
3 tablespoons olive oil

Procedure:
Put the olive oil in a large skillet and heat. Sauté The mushroom and spinach together until all the liquid has evaporated. Add in the carrots, celery, onions, asparagus and garlic and sauté until the carrots are tender. Add the water, salt, pepper and sage and bring to a boil. Add the cornmeal and turn heat down to simmer. Simmer and stir occasionally for 10 minutes until the cornmeal is cooked and the mixture is thickened (extra water may be added to make the mixture the consistency of thick mush).

Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray and transfer the mixture to the pan. Pat the mixture firmly into the loaf pan cover with waxed paper and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or until firm.

To finish, tap the loaf out of the pan onto a cutting board and slice to the desired thickness (approx 1” thick works well).
Melt some butter or margarine (or use olive oil) on a griddle set at medium heat. Place the slices onto the hot griddle and fry each side until golden brown. Enjoy!