By Louise Palmer-Masterton, founder, Stem + Glory
Do you have a vegan friend coming for dinner? Or are you considering taking part in Veganuary this year. Perhaps you’re planning to work some vegan dinners into a flexitarian lifestyle or are looking to go completely vegan.
So, what do vegans eat? Well, let’s start by defining what a vegan does NOT eat (as there is so much we do eat – the list would go on forever!) Vegans avoid all animal products, so that means no meat, no fish, no dairy, no eggs and no honey. Basically, if it has come from animal, whether the animal has been killed to provide it or not, a vegan won’t eat it.
So that leave a huge list of foods they do eat, which means cooking up a vegan storm isn’t as scary as it may initially sound.
Here are a few tips to help you make some seriously tasty vegan food:
Dream Up Your Ideal Menu
Dream up your ideal menu and then veganise it! Ok, this might not work if you were thinking of steak and chips, but say you love Indian, Italian, Asian or middle eastern – pretty much any style of cuisine works actually. Compile your signature dishes and then google a vegan version. There are stacks of vegan recipes online and you can literally put in your ingredients, then add ‘vegan’ and ‘recipe’ and you’ll find something.
Cook Up Deliciousness
Success with vegan cooking depends on being able to cook up deliciousness. Nature has given us a fifth taste – umami – which in a nutshell is ‘deliciousness’ and often it is the umami in food that makes it ‘mouth watering’.
Italian food is generally rich in umami and a great choice to veganise if you are new to vegan cooking. Tomato paste is very high umami as are olives (also umami), olive oil and sun dried tomatoes.
If you are feeling a little more adventurous, Japanese food is also rich in umami and easy to veganise. If you feel like going for a classic meal, there are a huge number of vegan burger recipes out there. Add mayo, pickles (high umami), ketchup (high umami) to a meat free burger.
Toasted seeds and many spices are also high umami and can be used liberally. Cumin – vegetable curry? Smoked paprika – vegetable paella?
Stock Up
If you are not such a keen cook, get down to the health food shop and stock up. You can get vegan alternatives to almost anything now. For example, vegan mayonnaise is easy to make, but there are a number of off-the-shelf versions that are really tasty. There is even vegan cheese, plenty of plant-based milks and creams too (e.g. soya, coconut-based, oat, rice, almond, cashew…) so dessert is easy to veganise too.
Vegan Wine/Beer
Search out vegan wine/beer. Co-op is best for vegan wine labelling and there is a really good website http://www.barnivore.com/ which lists all vegan wine, beer and spirits you can buy in the supermarkets.
Dessert
Eat out in a non vegan restaurant, and finding a vegan dessert is almost impossible. The best you’ll find usually is a fruit salad! So here’s your chance to shine. Raw ‘cheesecake’ is super delicious and really easy to make. It’s usually made with cashew nuts, and my favourite is raspberry or chocolate. You literally just blend all the ingredients and pour over a crust made from nuts and dried fruits. That’s for a completely raw version, but you can also buy vegan digestive biscuits (Doves Farm brand – get them on your trip to the heath food shop). Mix crushed digestives with melted coconut oil for a more traditional cheesecake crust.
Be Creative
Be creative! Be bold! I’ve lost count of the number of times I have visited a non-vegan restaurant and asked what they can provide for me only to be offered a risotto or a ‘salad’. Worse, when probed that the ‘salad’ contains that exciting combination of lettuce, tomato and cucumber!
Cooking vegan is easy, a lot easier than you think. It’s also cleaner, healthier and a more sustainable way to live. Rise to the challenge of vegansing your menu. Remember to liberally add high umami vegan flavours and you’ll be on track to produce a delicious and satisfying meal, and finish your meals feeling very proud of yourself.
About The Author
Louise Palmer-Masterton is founder of multiple award-winning restaurant Stem + Glory; a hip and trendy but accessible plant-based restaurant, serving delicious gourmet vegan food from locally sourced ingredient 100% made on site.
Stem + Glory offers all day casual fine dining, fast breakfast, brunch and lunch, juices, smoothies and great coffee. All available to eat in or take away. Stem + Glory also offers mouth-watering and hugely popular tasting menu evenings and special event menus. The restaurants have an extensive vegan bar, offering the best craft beers and fine wines, alongside cocktails, mocktails and smart drinks.
