Chef Marcos Arana in Ventura Blvd Magazine

Chef Marcos Arana, of The Sportsmen’s Lodge Events Center, and his original dish “The V. Stack” will be featured in the May/June special issue of Ventura Boulevard Magazine, The Valley Table 2013.  The feature announcement came only days after we were notified that Chef Arana would be included in the prestigious 2013 edition of Best Chefs America – an honor bestowed on less than 1 percent of Chefs in the US.

Chef’s featured recipe may be vegan, but everyone will love this delicious, light summer dish:

The V. Stack

• 6 oz. Tofu (Extra Firm) Cut in 4”L x 3” W x ½“ Thick; 3 slices each (2 oz. per slice)
• 1 small roasted portabello mushroom
• 2 oz. Miso Glaze
• 4 roasted baby carrots
• 4 roasted asparagus
• 1 tablespoon Chinese chili oil
• 2 tablespoons Mustard Oil
• 1 tablespoon Sweet Tamari (gluten free) Reduction
• 1 tablespoon chives, fine diced
• ½ tablespoon red bell peppers, fine diced
• Bunch of micro greens

Sweet tamari reduction: Place 3 oz. of rice wine vinegar in a sauce pot and reduce by ½.  Add 3 oz. of granulated sugar until dissolved.  Add 8 of tamari and reduce by 1/3.  Remove and cool.

Vegetables:  Add oil, salt and black pepper (to taste) to portabello mushroom.  Place in oven for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from oven and cool.  Slice portabello mushroom on an angle as thin as possible.  Coat tofu slices with a generous amount of miso glaze then add 2 slices of portabello mushroom on each slice of tofu.  At the same time, toss your asparagus and baby carrots with mustard oil.  Place in oven for about 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees along with the tofu and portabello mushroom.  Remove from oven.

To assemble: Place carrots and asparagus on bottom.  Stack up the tofu slices and place on top of carrots and asparagus.  Drizzle with mustard oil, chili oil and sweet tamari reduction.  Garnish with chives, red bell peppers and micro greens.