Vegan Vichysoise

Vegans and nonvegans alike will appreciate Pat Crocker’s latest cookbook, The Vegan Cook’s Bible. But vegan cooks especially will benefit from her considerable food expertise and winning ways for creating recipes with no animal products but plenty of taste and texture. Here, Crocker shares five tips for better vegan cooking, along with a sample from her recipe collection.

Pat Crocker’s Top Five Tips

Pay attention to seasonings. Fresh herbs, spices, and different sea salts and peppercorns are essential tools that take dishes from ordinary to extraordinary.
Learn how to make glazes and sauces—even your own vegetable stock—because they transform both fruit and vegetable dishes. The first section of my book is loaded with basic sauces, molasses, glazes, seasonings, and spreads that make a big difference to vegan recipes.
Eggs serve to thicken sauces and baked goods and cannot simply be omitted in recipes. There are several plant thickeners (for example, chia seeds and flaxseeds) that add omega-3 fatty acids in addition to acting as emulsifiers or thickeners.
Many Eastern cultures have centuries of vegetarian practices from which we can gain insight. My curry section gives how-to instructions for combining and toasting whole spices for garam masala and other curry blends for vegan recipes.
To punch up vegan recipes, use a variety of cooking techniques. For example, roasting vegetables and fruit caramelizes the natural sugars on the outside, concentrating and deepening the flavors.

Avocados are actually a semitropical fruit native to Mexico and Central America. Now grown in California for export, the Hass variety accounts for up to 85% of the more than 80 varieties known. Rich in dietary fiber, vitamins K, A, B6, C, and folate, avocados also provide unsaturated fats containing oleic acid. It is the fats in avocados that lend their creamy texture to this soup and to other dishes such as sauces and dips.

Serves 4

2 large ripe avocados
Juice of 1 lemon
4 cups Mushroom Broth (recipe follows)
Vegetable stock or water
1 potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
1/2 cup rice milk or soy milk
4 tablespoons chopped fresh chives or Basil Pesto, optional

Peel, pit and slice avocados in half and place in a bowl with lemon juice.

In a saucepan, bring broth to a gentle boil over high heat. Add avocados with lemon juice and potato. Season to taste with salt, pepper and hot pepper flakes. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until potato is soft. Let cool.

In a blender, combine rice milk and avocado mixture and blend until smooth. Transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until well chilled. Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with chopped chives, if using.

Tip: Avocado Vichyssoise may be made up to 2 days in advance and stored tightly covered in the refrigerator.

TD&N Nutrient Analysis: Calories: 387; Total Fat: 22 g; Saturated Fat: 3 g; Polyunsaturated Fat: 3 g; Monounsaturated Fat: 15 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 1,108 mg; Carbohydrates: 47 g; Fiber: 10 g; Protein: 7 g

Mushroom Broth

This broth is brown and rich, full of earthy mushroom essence.

Serves 4

8 ounces shiitake mushrooms
1 leek, white and light green parts, sliced
1 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups vegetable stock or water, divided
1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon salt

Trim and discard mushroom stems. Slice caps and set aside,

In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine leek, onion, garlic and oil. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes or until very soft. Add mushrooms and 1/2 cup of the stock. Bring to a gentle boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add remaining 21/2 cups of the stock, maple syrup and salt. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes.

For a clear broth, strain through a sieve and discard vegetables. For a thicker soup, using a slotted spoon, lift out half the vegetables and transfer to a food processor or blender. Process for 30 seconds or until smooth. Pour into a bowl. Repeat with remaining vegetables. Keep remaining broth liquids hot in the saucepan over low heat. Return purée to the saucepan and stir into the liquids.

Store stock in clean jars with lids in the refrigerator for up to 2 days or freeze in 2- or 4-cup portions in freezer containers for up to 2 months.

TD&N Nutrient Analysis: Calories: 134; Total Fat: 7 g; Saturated Fat: 1 g; Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g; Monounsaturated Fat: 5 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 1,085 mg; Carbohydrates: 17 g; Fiber: 2 g; Protein: 2 g

Recipes from The Vegan Cook’s Bible by Pat Crocker, Robert Rose, April 2009, www.fireflybooks.com

— Photo by Gary Dolgoff for Today’s Diet & Nutrition