Every year, Well goes vegetarian for Thanksgiving to celebrate the fall harvest and the delicious vegetable dishes that take up most of the space on holiday tables.
This year, we have another terrific lineup of vegan and vegetarian recipes from some of your favorite food writers and chefs. Cooking up a meat-free celebration will inspire you to be more creative in the kitchen all year round, preparing vegetarian and vegan main courses and side dishes that burst with the flavors of the seasonal harvest. Even if you still plan to serve a traditional bird (although plenty of people skip the turkey), Well’s Vegetarian Thanksgiving series will give you some new recipes and inspiration for meat-free cooking to be enjoyed by all the omnivores and herbivores at your table.
To kick off Well’s 2012 Vegetarian Thanksgiving, I asked my favorite vegan chef, Chloe Coscarelli, to offer some of her fall favorites. I first learned about Ms. Coscarelli when I saw her bake her way to victory with dairy-free and egg-free vegan cupcakes on the popular Food Network program “Cupcake Wars.” Since then, she has released a new cookbook, “Chloe’s Kitchen,’’ appeared on the “Today” show and other programs and now plans to release another book, “Chloe’s Vegan Desserts,” in February.
The key to successful vegan cooking, says Ms. Coscarelli, is not to try to replicate meat and cheese dishes with fake no-meat products. Instead, the goal is to develop dishes with rich, satisfying flavors and textures that will make you forget you’re eating vegan food.
“It’s more about finding other flavors,” she said. “That’s a huge principle of my cooking and my recipes. I’m not throwing a bunch of fake cheese and fake meat on top of something and calling it a pizza.’’
I wanted to start our Vegetarian Thanksgiving series with recipes from Ms. Coscarelli because I have had so much success making many of her dishes. Her chocolate pumpkin bread pudding, made with coconut milk and organic canned pumpkin, is now a personal holiday favorite. At my house, we fill our plates with her Maple-Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Hazelnuts and love her Harvest-Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms.
One of my favorites, a homemade fall pizza prepared with squash, caramelized onions and a decadent garlic and white bean purée, is featured below. Ms. Coscarelli also offers a unique vegan take on mashed yams (no butter!) and a delicious cauliflower and black-eyed pea dish that may become a new holiday tradition.
“Chloe’s Kitchen”
Roasted Apple, Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Pizza
This fall vegetable pizza is a great vegetarian main course, or it can be cut into pieces as an appetizer. The creamy consistency of the white bean purée makes this dish seem like a decadent treat, and you won’t even notice that it doesn’t have cheese.
Garlic White Bean Purée:
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini or other white beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons water
Pizza toppings:
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cups butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup spinach
1 apple, peeled and thinly sliced
Pizza dough (store-bought is fine, or make your own)
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Make the Garlic White Bean Purée by blending the beans, oil, lemon juice, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper in a food processor. Add water, as needed, until a smooth consistency forms. Set aside. Can be made two days in advance.
2. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat and sauté onions until soft and lightly caramelized, about 20 to 30 minutes. Season generously with salt and pepper.
3. While the onions are cooking, toss remaining 2 tablespoons oil with squash and season generously with salt and pepper. Transfer to a large-rimmed baking sheet and roast for 30 to 35 minutes until squash is fork-tender, turning once or twice with a spatula. Remove from oven and set aside. Turn heat up to 450 degrees.
4. Prepare pizza. Brush a large-rimmed baking sheet (approximately 9 by 13 inches) with oil. Stretch homemade or store-bought pizza dough into a rectangle and fit it into the prepared baking sheet. Spread a layer of the Garlic White Bean Purée evenly over the rolled-out dough. (You may not want to use all of it.) On top of the dough, arrange the spinach, caramelized onions, roasted butternut squash and apple slices. Season with salt and pepper, and brush the edges of the crust with olive oil.
5. Bake at 450 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes, rotating midway, until the crust is slightly browned or golden. Let cool, slice and serve.
Yield: 4 servings
“Chloe’s Kitchen”
Coconut Mashed Yams With Currants
Try these easy butter-free, dairy-free mashed yams, dressed up with creamy coconut and an infusion of warm autumn spices. Every so often you’ll catch a plump currant that will make that bite even better.
3 large garnet or other yams, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 cup canned coconut milk, mixed well before measuring
1/3 cup maple syrup or packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/3 cup currants, soaked in warm water for 10 to 15 minutes and drained
1. Place yam pieces in a large pot and cover with cold water. Cover and bring to a boil. Cook until fork-tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and return to pot.
2. Add coconut milk, maple syrup, salt and spices, and mash with a potato masher until smooth. Adjust seasoning to taste. Add more coconut milk for a creamier texture and more maple syrup for a sweeter flavor. Mix in currants and serve.
Yield: 6 servings
“Chloe’s Kitchen”
Southern Skillet Black-Eyed Peas and Cauliflower With Quick Biscuits
Add a new flavor to your Thanksgiving table with this sweet and saucy black-eyed pea dish. Leftovers can be eaten in a bun, sloppy-Joe style. The biscuits are easy — no rolling or folding required.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 cups cauliflower florets, roughly chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 (15-ounce) cans black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
1 (14-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup packed brown sugar or maple syrup
2 tablespoons white or apple cider vinegar
Quick Biscuits, recipe below
Whipped Maple “Butter,”recipe below
1. In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high heat and sauté onions and green peppers until soft. Add cauliflower and cook, stirring frequently, until it is lightly browned, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, chili powder, cinnamon, cayenne and salt, and cook a few more minutes.
2. Stir in black-eyed peas, tomato sauce, water, soy sauce, brown sugar and vinegar. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes. Adjust seasoning to taste. Serve in soup bowls with biscuits and whipped maple “butter” on the side.
“Chloe’s Kitchen”
Quick Biscuits With Maple “Butter”
Quick Biscuits
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for work surface
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegan margarine, plus extra for brushing
3/4 cup soy, almond or rice milk
Whipped Maple “Butter”
1 cup vegan margarine, at room temperature
1/4 cup maple syrup
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. You can make the dough by hand or using a food processor.
2. By hand: Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Add margarine and cut it roughly into flour using a pastry cutter, until mixture is the texture of coarse meal with a few larger margarine lumps. Work quickly so the margarine does not melt. Add nondairy milk and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Do not overwork.
3. Food processor: Combine flour, baking powder and salt in the food processor and pulse for about 5 seconds until ingredients are combined. Add margarine and pulse in the food processor until mixture is the texture of coarse meal with a few larger margarine lumps. Work quickly so the margarine does not melt. Add nondairy milk and pulse a few times until just combined. Do not overwork.
4. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and pat into an oblong shape, about 1 inch thick. Using a 2 1/2-inch floured cookie or biscuit cutter, cut the biscuits out and place them on a baking sheet. Brush the tops lightly with melted margarine and bake for about 12 to 15 minutes, or until they begin to turn golden. Remove biscuits from oven immediately and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
5. Make the maple “butter.” In a mixing bowl, using a whisk or electric mixer, whip margarine with maple syrup until light and fluffy. Refrigerate until serving.
