Gourmet vegan recipes

Imagine sinking your teeth into swoon-worthy vegan meals created by over two dozen of today’s top chefs. Committed vegan for 30 years, Linda Long delivers such a delectable opportunity in her vegan cookbook, Great Chefs Cook Vegan.

Vegan recipes from world-renowned chefs

Because the vegan diet centers around whole grains, vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts and seeds, it lends itself to being a clean, healthy way of eating. However, it also lends itself to a need for culinary creativity that results in truly scrumptious meals that don’t leave the vegan hungry for flavor and satisfaction.

Professional photographer and writer, Long worked with 25 of today’s most respected chefs – many James Beard award-winners – to create Great Chefs Cook Vegan, a veritable vegan cookbook that is nothing short of gourmet.

Each chef, including Charlie Trotter, Cat Cora, Thomas Keller, Daniel Boulud, Eric Ripert and David Burke, presents recipes for a three- or four-course vegan meal with mouthwatering photographs of every vegan recipe.

Though many of these high caliber professional chef recipes are complex, they give vegans the excitingly delicious opportunity to impress their vegan friends as well as surprise the vegan naysayers who believe vegan recipes are scant, bland and unsatisfying.

Gourmet vegan recipes

Following are three vegan recipes courtesy of three of Long’s well-respected, hand-picked professional chefs.

Vegan puree of sunchoke soup with pickled red radishes

Serves 4

Start your vegan meal – or make a meal – with this silky sunchoke soup, created by renowned chef Thomas Keller, founder of The French Laundry in Napa, California as well as Couchon, Bouchon Bakery, Per Se in New York, and, most recently opened, Ad Hoc in Yountville, California.

Ingredients:

• 2 bunches of radishes, cleaned, trimmed
• 2-1/2 cups water, divided
• 1 cup champagne vinegar
• 1 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar, divided
• 4 slices country bread
• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 ounces yellow onions
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 14 ounces sunchokes
• Micro greens

Directions:

1. Place radishes in a medium glass bowl. Bring 2 cups of water and vinegar to a boil in a small pot. Dissolve 1 cup sugar in liquid and pour over radishes. Allow to cool at room temperature and strain. Slice to desired shape.
2. Slice the bread into small cubes. Saute in ½ cup oil until golden brown. Season with a pinch of salt and drain well on paper towels.
3. Sweat onions in remaining oil until completely soft. Add remaining sugar, salt, stock and sunchokes. Cook over medium heat until sunchokes are completely soft. At this point, the stock should be reduced by half. Add remaining water, bring to a boil, and taste for salt. Transfer soup to a blender. Puree soup and pass through a fine mesh sieve.
4. To plate, place a small pile of pickled radishes and croutons in the middle of a soup bowl. Carefully pour soup into warm bowls. Garnish with micro greens.

Vegan curried cauliflower with currants and pine nuts

Serves 6 to 8

A side dish created by Cat Cora, author of Cat Cora Cooks and Cooking from the Hip, this vegan recipe is simply scrumptious – tender cauliflower, crunchy nuts and seeds, tossed in a flavorful curry vinaigrette. Cat Cora is also the president and founder of Chefs for Humanity and is Bon Appetit magazine’s executive chef.

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1-1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons curry powder or garam masala
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup olive oil

Cauliflower:

• 2 pounds cauliflower crowns
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1 cup pine nuts, toasted
• 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• Cilantro leaves

Directions:

1. To make the dressing, in a large bowl, mix vinegar and sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Whisk in curry powder, salt and pepper. Very slowly drizzle in the olive oil and whisk into the vinegar mixture until incorporated. Taste and add more salt and pepper if desired. Set dressing aside.
2. To make the cauliflower, blanch cauliflower in boiling water with salt. Drain add pine nuts, currants, sunflower seeds and onion. Pour dressing over the salad, tossing lightly to mix thoroughly. Chill for 1 to 2 hours before serving.
3. To plate, mound salad onto plate in a pyramid shape. Garnish with a few cilantro leaves.

Vegan stir-fried fruit and peach sorbet

Serves 8 to 10

Dessert by David Burke, restaurateur and author of Cooking with David Burke and David Burke’s New American Classics. Sauteed fresh fruit infused with ginger and lemongrass served with a peach sorbet makes for a lusciously sweet end to a vegan meal – or any other meal, for that matter.

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons blended oil (90% vegetable/10% olive) 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 small piece gingerroot, peeled, boiled, julienned
• 1 stalk lemongrass, smashed, minced
• 1/2 pineapple, cored, cut
• 2 mangoes, peeled, diced
• 2 peaches, sliced in wedges
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 4 star fruit, sliced
• 4 kiwi, peeled, sliced
• Peach sorbet, purchased

Directions:

1. Heat a saute pan and add oil, salt, gingerroot and lemongrass. Cook a few minutes. Add pineapple, mangoes and peaches and cook until juices pull out.
2. Add sugar and star fruit. Cook a little longer, turn off heat, and gently add the kiwi. Serve at room temperature with a scoop of peach sorbet.

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