The Sexy Vegan Cookbook (10 page)

1 cup white wine

1 cup diced red potatoes

4 cups vegetable stock

2 cups unsweetened almond milk

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (see WTF,
page 27
)

1 tablespoon seaweed powder (see WTF, next page)

Pepper

6 strips Tempeh Bacon (see recipe,
page 32
), fully prepared and roughly chopped

In a small pot, cover the cashews with water and bring to a boil. Boil for 8 minutes, then drain and set aside. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat and add the onion, carrot, celery, and a pinch of salt. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the mushrooms, thyme, and bay leaf, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 4 more minutes. Add the wine, and simmer for 2 minutes.
Add the potatoes and stock, and continue simmering for about 10 more minutes.

Meanwhile, in a food processor, puree the boiled cashews, almond milk, and nutritional yeast until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Now that your potatoes are fork-tender, fish out the bay leaf and stir in the cashew cream and seaweed powder, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle the tempeh bacon on top just before serving.

It’s dried, ground-up seaweed that’s a great source of vitamin B
12,
calcium, minerals, iron, and iodine, and it makes things taste of the sea. Find it at health food stores or in the Asian section of your supermarket.

1 head fennel

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for coating the fennel

Salt and pepper

1 cup diced yellow onion

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 russet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets

3 cups vegetable stock

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cut off the fennel stalks and cut them into ¼-inch pieces. Set aside. Cut the fennel bulb in half and coat each half with a little olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. On a baking sheet, roast the fennel bulb halves, cut side down, for 30 to 40 minutes, or until tender and browned. Remove from the oven, let cool, and cut into large chunks.

In a pot, heat the 2 teaspoons of oil to medium, and add the onion, sliced fennel stalks, and a healthy pinch of salt. Cook for 4 to 6 minutes, or until tender. Add the garlic and cook for 4 more minutes, then add the potato, cauliflower, and roasted fennel. Add the vegetable stock, bring to a simmer, and cook for 20 minutes, until the cauliflower and potatoes are very tender. Use a handheld blender or pour the soup into a food processor or blender, and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup diced yellow onion

1 leek, halved lengthwise and sliced

½ cup diced carrot

2 stalks celery, sliced

Salt

½ cup diced red potatoes

4 cups vegetable stock

¾ cup cooked barley

1 large leaf Swiss chard, stemmed and roughly chopped

1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley

Pepper

In a medium pot, heat the oil over medium heat, and add the onion, leek, carrot, celery, and a pinch of salt. Cook the veggies for 5 to 7 minutes, or until softened. Add the potatoes and stock. Simmer until the potatoes are fork-tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the barley and chard, and simmer for 2 more minutes. Turn off the heat, stir in the parsley, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

½ cup small elbow pasta or other small pasta

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup diced yellow onion

1 large leek, sliced

1 cup diced carrot

1 cup sliced celery

Salt

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons tomato paste

One 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, with juice

2 cups vegetable stock

1½ cups thinly sliced green cabbage

2 cups drained freshly cooked white beans (cannellini, navy, etc.) or one 15-ounce can white beans, rinsed and drained

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley

Pepper

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. When the pasta is al dente, drain, cool immediately under cold running water, and set aside in a colander to drain.

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, leek, carrot, celery, and a healthy pinch of salt. Cook until soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, and cook for 3 to 4 more minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, and cook for 1 minute. Add the diced tomatoes (with juice) and vegetable stock, and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the cabbage and beans, and cook for 2 more minutes. Turn off the heat, and stir in the cooked pasta, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste.

1 tablespoon vegan margarine

2 pounds yellow onions, thinly sliced

Pinch of salt

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

1 cup white wine

2 tablespoons vegan Worcestershire sauce (see WTF,
page 12
)

4 cups vegetable stock

2 teaspoons arrowroot dissolved in 1 teaspoon water (see WTF, next page)

Pepper

Six ¼-inch-thick baguette slices, toasted

6 tablespoons Not-zzarella Sauce (see recipe,
page 214
) or 6 slices other vegan cheeze

In a large pot, melt the margarine over medium heat. When it begins to sizzle a bit, add the onion and a healthy pinch of salt, and stir it all around. Let it cook for about 3 minutes without stirring, then add your garlic and do not stir. Let it continue cooking without stirring for 2 more minutes, then stir. Lower the heat to medium-low, and stir in the thyme.

After 20 more minutes (stirring every so often), the onions should be very soft and smell sweet. We’re looking for caramelization, so they should be starting to brown a bit. Now is the time to add the wine…it’s tough to part with, I know, but trust me on this one, you want it in there. Let the wine cook for 2 minutes, then stir in the Worcestershire. Cook for 1 more minute, then add the vegetable stock. Raise the heat to medium, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. After this time has elapsed, stir in the arrowroot slurry, and cook for 1 more minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Now it’s ready to serve. Set your broiler on high. Divide the soup into ovenproof bowls or those fancy crock things, float a toasty baguette slice on each, and hit each one with 1 tablespoon of not-zzarella sauce or 1 slice of fake cheese. Put them under the broiler for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the cheese is melted or slightly browned. Now it’s ready to eat. Let the tongue scalding begin!

It’s a plant-based thickening agent much like cornstarch. You simply dissolve it in a little water (this is called a slurry) and add as much as you need to a simmering soup or sauce until the soup or sauce reaches your desired thickness. Find it at a health food store or on the interwebs.