Vegan Cranberry Braised Jackfruit
Building on our Thanksgiving dinner theme, we have an entree. Vegan Cranberry Braised Jackfruit is entirely vegan, beautifully paired with apple & onion stuffing, maple roasted brussels sprouts and Pumpkin pie for dessert. Simmered in vegetable stock, this dish is lightly tangy, sweet and savoury with a sauce to spread on stuffing that completes the meal.
Like most stews, vegan cranberry jackfruit is better when made a day ahead. Allowing the flavours to pair will make the meal more enjoyable and truly, making Thanksgiving dinner will be an easy task with only side dishes to make on the day.
We used fresh fennel to add some sweetness to balance our tangy frozen cranberries. Cranberry Braised Jackfruit is thickened with arrowroot at the beginning to steep the cranberries, although you could use non-GMO cornstarch if it is your friend. We also added some guar gum; I suggest this is added close to the end so you can get the thickness to your liking. Beware when whisking it in, it can get lumpy so adding it to come left over cold stock and blending it and adding as much as you need like cornstarch might be better.
Jackfruit is a hearty fruit, it has neutral flavour on its own and allowing fennel cranberry jackfruit to steep, gives it more flavour. The structure of the jackfruit is perfect for a vegan holiday meal. We bought organic jackfruit in a can. It is packed in coconut vinegar and we used some of the brine in our recipe. It keeps the recipe tart and tangy. If you would rather rinse the jackfruit, use equal amounts of vegetable stock in its place.
A good vegetable stock recipe is on Cookin’ It Easy’s blog. I use it all the time and a good stock will make this meal sing!
Vegan Cranberry Braised Jackfruit
Equipment
- skillet
- knife
- cutting board
- whisk or blender
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
Ingredients
- 2 cans (14 oz) jackfruit, cut to bite sized pieces
- 1 can saved jackfruit brine
- 3 tbsp arrowroot powder
- 1 tsp coconut sugar
Spice mix
- 2 ¼ tsp ground cumin
- 1 ½ tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground cloves
Sautee
- 2 tbsp olive oil (truffle infused olive oil is better)
- 1 each onion, medium, sliced
- ½ cup fennel bulb, sliced
- 2 tbsp fennel fronds, chopped
- 3 cloves roast garlic
- 2 ribs celery, sliced
- 1 cup cranberry, frozen
- 4 cups vegetable stock
Add last to desired consistency and taste
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp guar gum, if needed
Instructions
Prepare
- Slice onions, fennel bulb to look the same.Slice celery and fennel flute, if using to look the same.
- Whisk arrowroot powder into jackfruit brine, add spices and coconut sugar
Saute
- In a large skillet, heat oil.Saute onions, fennel, celery and garlic. As garlic breaks down, squish it into paste with the back of a wooden spoon.
- When aromatics are soft, add jackfruit and saute until jackfruit just changes colour slightly.
- Add cranberries, brine, spice and arrowroot solution and stock. Arrowroot solution will tighten up when cooking so , be sure to keep stirring to prevent sticking and ensure uniform texture.
- Bring to a boil, turn down to a low simmer, cover and let simmer for 1-2 hours
- When stew flavours have married, add fennel fronds, black pepper to taste and guar gum to desired thickness.
- Stew is always more flavourful the next day, so letting this sit overnight in the fridge will make it better.
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