The first time I ate this dish – with chicken and prunes instead of tempeh and dates – I was blown away by the flavors from this seemingly strange combination of ingredients. Prunes and olives?! Who came up with that nutty idea? Whoever it was: nice going! Sweet, salty, earthy, comforting, and savory – everything you ask for in a main dish.
I shared this oil-free Tempeh, Date, & Olive Marbella with Tastespotting for their National Medjool Date Day celebration on February 4.

Oil-free Tempeh, Date, & Olive Marbella
2015-05-26 13:44:31

Yields 4
Tangy, complex flavors meld together in this cozy and comforting main dish.
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Cook Time
1 hr 30 min
Total Time
24 hr
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
275g
Yields
4
Amount Per Serving
Calories 217
Calories from Fat 51
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 6g
9%
Saturated Fat 1g
6%
Trans Fat 0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2g
Monounsaturated Fat 2g
Cholesterol 0mg
0%
Sodium 754mg
31%
Total Carbohydrates 30g
10%
Dietary Fiber 4g
18%
Sugars 17g
Protein 10g
Vitamin A
11%
Vitamin C
28%
Calcium
15%
Iron
20%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Ingredients
- 2, 8 ounce packages tempeh, cut in half
- 10-12 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 Tbsp. dried oregano
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth
- 1 Tbsp. tamari or liquid aminos
- 1 Tbsp. water
- 1/2 cup pitted dates, chopped
- 1/4 cup green olives, chopped
- 1/4 cup Kalamata olives, chopped
- 1/4 cup capers with a small amount of juice
- ground black pepper, to taste
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 10 ounces fresh greens (such as kale and/or spinach)
- cooked brown rice, enough for 4 servings
Instructions
- Fill a medium-sized saucepan with water and place the tempeh halves so that they are covered with water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer the tempeh for 10 minutes. Remove and drain the tempeh. Set aside to cool slightly.
- In a large baking pan, combine garlic, oregano, red wine vinegar, vegetable broth, tamari, water, dates, olives, capers, and black pepper. Stir to combine. Cut the tempeh into small, bite-sized pieces and add to the bowl, stirring to coat the tempeh with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350-degrees F. Pour the orange juice and white wine into the bowl with the tempeh and marinade. Bake the tempeh for 60-90 minutes, stirring occasionally. The tempeh should start to brown at the edges. Add more vegetable broth if needed - you want a little juice in there.
- Meanwhile, steam up a batch of brown rice and steam or sauté the greens.
- Serve the tempeh over the rice and greens; garnish with parsley and orange slices, if desired.
an unrefined vegan http://www.anunrefinedvegan.com/
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OOO I like dates. I eat them for snacks and put them in smoothies! This looks yummy 🙂
Dates are the best!
YAY I found the comment box 😛
I LOVE your marbella, who can ignore the delicious of dates with any combo!
Cheers
CCU
So glad you persevered, CCU!
OH MY GOODNESS! its like you delved into the furthest part of my mind and created a recipe that will most likely be my favourite meal ever! Thank you, thank you, thank you. Loving the makeover too xxxx
I loved this dish back in the day! Salt, sweet, tangy…amazing. Why it only just occurred to me to recreate is puzzling :-).
Bless you for giving us a vegan version of the classic Marbella. This sounds fabulous. Love it.
And it’s darn easy to make. Best part.
I love all the flavours going on here! And of course I love the tempeh- I am addicted to the stuff recently!
I love it, too – the texture, that slightly sour flavor, and of course its versatility. Throw in olives and I’m a happy girl.
This looks incredible Annie! Anything with olives and i’m in!
Oh my gosh, you and me both!!
I would love this! Beyond the fact that I adore anything tempeh I love the sweet and salty thing going on here. I’ve used prunes in tagines and a really tasty lentil, vegan sausage and prune stew. Love how they melt into the dish when they’re cooked down. Dates are just as good, if not better though.
Ooh, that lentil stew sounds delicious! Any chance the recipe is on your blog :-)?? I agree – something about sweet/salty – good stuff!
It is indeed! I used vegan sausages we can get here in the UK but I think any would work well.
Thanks!
This looks amazing! I wonder if it’s doable with tofu instead of tempeh! I’m not super into tempeh for some reason.
I think tofu would be great – it would soak up all those good flavors!
Olives and dates? I would never have thought of that but I can sort of imagine how it might work with the salty and the sweet and those textures together. I didn’t know there was a day for dates and I think I might celebrate by….eating some dates. Any excuse!
It is kinda weird, but it just works!
This sounds so delicious! I adore dates and olives. What a great way to give some pizazz to tempeh! I always default to my boring seared tempeh and need some new recipes to shake things up. This is the perfect recipe! Thank you! (Are you proud of me? I found the comment bubble! Ha!)
Woohoo! You found it :-)!
This looks so great! And the new site looks wonderful!!
Thanks so much, Kristen!
There’s a national date day for real? That’s a kick! They should have made it on Valentine’s Day so you could make a date dish for your date (okay, that was a really bad joke!). Anyway, I’m glad to hear that there is a Mejool date day – I love those suckers. This dish looks like a keeper, I’m gonna try it. Celeste 🙂
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This is really tasty and worth the extra prep time! Thank you!
Glad you liked it!
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