Vegan adVentures
Actor takes to the road to find new flavours
Mena Massoud regularly cooked vegan meals for his friends in his Los Angeles home before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Egyptian-born and Toronto-raised star of the bigbudget 2019 Disney live-action movie version of Aladdin said he often heard the same thing from them after they'd enjoyed their meal: If they could cook like him, and make the food he was putting on the table, they too would be vegan.
It was those home dinners and inquiries about his diet while on various TV and film sets — Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, Reprisal and Run this Town to name a few — that helped inspire his new cookbook Evolving Vegan.
The book is a bright, engaging and unstuffy journey toward veganism through recipes collected on a North American restaurant road trip.
Massoud and his team visited about 50 plant-based restaurants and, in the end, shared 25 recipes in Evolving Vegan.
“For the book, I wanted to show people how accessible it was by travelling around North America going to all these different cities and showing people that there are great plant-based options no matter where you go,” said Massoud, who is busy these days developing projects within his own production company Press Play Productions.
Throughout the book, cities and local vegan “heroes” are highlighted, giving the reader a look into the scenes that Massoud discovers on his travels.
Canadian representation includes Vancouver's Heirloom, Chickpea, Indigo Age Café, Meet Restaurant and Virtuous Pie. The book also highlights menu items from Toronto's Sweet Har t Kitchen, Rosalinda, PLANTA Yorkville and Yamchops restaurants.
The recipes are wide-ranging and draw on many cultures including Egyptian, Ethiopian, Taiwanese, Indian and Chinese fare.
“Recipe selection was like working on a jigsaw puzzle,” said Massoud.
“We've got all sorts of recipes in there. I wanted to include recipes that were culturally diverse but I also included recipes that were a range of very easy to difficult.”
Joining the easy-to-make list are home favourites from Massoud and his mother.
While Massoud can serve up a mean vegan omelette with roasted potatoes, fresh mango rolls or veggie-packed veggie burgers, he did not grow up vegan. Actually, quite the opposite, as he tells it.
“I'm Egyptian, so I have probably eaten more parts of an animal than 95 per cent of people in North America, at least,” said Massoud, who was born in Cairo and moved with his family to Toronto when he was three. “I grew up eating everything. Stomach lining, heart, brain, I've eaten it all.”
His journey to veganism
I wanted to show people ... there are great plant-based options no matter where you go.” Mena Massoud
began in 2015 when he and a couple of friends decided they wanted to make changes in their diet. He said the trio did research on the benefits of a plant-based diet, not just from a personal dietary point of view but from the planet's point of view, as well.
With that information in hand, Massoud began to make changes.
“I slowly started cutting things out from there. I started by cutting out red meat first, then eggs, then chicken and as I was doing that I felt better and better physically, mentally. I felt like I had more energy. I was more clear headed,” said Massoud. “I was making progress at the gym that I had never made before. So, I wanted to tell people about my experience doing it slowly.”
“I think a lot of people have a misconception that if you go vegan you have to do it all at once and that you can't break at all from it, that it's a strict regime — which it is not. At the end of the day it's your diet you can do whatever you want.”
Massoud emphasizes the idea of easing into the plantbased world.
Think of it like starting a new exercise program. You wouldn't just jump off the couch after 10 years of inactivity and run a marathon. That's not only a recipe for injury and disappointment, but it's also not a successful lifestyle change.
The same can be said for changing your diet. Begin with little successes. Learn to cook and learn to recognize the way you feel after lessening animal products in your diet. Take baby (spinach) steps.
“If you try to give up everything you have known your whole life overnight, naturally it's not going to work. You're going to be lost. You're not going to know what to do. You're going to start stressing out about not getting enough vitamins and minerals and nutrients, which is a real thing, a real concern,” Massoud said.
“You are going to feel like a fish out of water, no pun intended, so it is important to give up things slowly.”
He suggests beginning by going vegan once or twice a week, doing so on consecutive days. That small consistency, he says, will allow you to listen to how your body is reacting to the switch.
If cooking is overwhelming and not something you can do every day, Massoud is happy to report that the marketplace is changing and plant-based foods are easier and easier to find in commercial restaurant spaces.
“There are 50 vegan burger places I can go to and if I took any meat-eater there they wouldn't know the difference,” Massoud said.
“We are living in a fantastic time for all these meat alternatives and meat substitutes.”
He points out his favourite comfort food is one of those traditional choices, like a burger, that has easily made the jump to an animal product-free offering.
“Pizza has always been my comfort food, vegan or not,” Massoud said.
“The vegan options are plenty.”
From PLANTA Yorkville in Toronto
Having worked at a tapasstyle restaurant for three years, I know that most people are moving toward communal eating experiences, whether it be for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Diners want to share their food and try other people's food.
Heck, if it weren't so taboo, I'd ask the people at the tables next to me if I could try their food!
Even when couples go out to eat, many prefer to order a few dishes to share, react to together, and talk about, learning about each other's palates as they eat. That's why I love this dish.
Not only is it packed with flavour and spice and so incredibly light and healthy, but it's made to share. It pairs beautifully with drinks
because it's crisp and fresh, but it can also be eaten as a full meal.
What I absolutely love about it is that it takes two foods most people raise an eyebrow at — tofu and brussels sprouts — and transforms them into an interactive dish that will have the whole table clawing for more.
— Mena Massoud
GOCHUJANG SAUCE 1 brown cup (250 sugar ml) packed
1/2 (125 ml) cup rice vinegar 1/2 cup (125 ml) tamari
1/2 cup (125 ml) pickled white ginger, drained
1/2 cup (125 ml) gochujang (Korean red chili paste)
2 tbsp (30 mL) white miso paste PICKLED CUCUMBERS 1 cucumber, thinly sliced 1 tbsp (15 mL) white wine vinegar
Pinch Pinch of of cane sea salt sugar FILLING 1 pound brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
4 tbsp (60 mL) safflower oil
1 (14-ounce) package extra-firm tofu, drained
2 tbsp (30 mL) sesame seeds
2 romaine hearts, leaves separated, washed, and patted dry
Leaves from 1 bunch cilantro
A few sprigs Thai basil (regular basil will do in a pinch)
1/2 cup (125 mL) vegan kimchee METHOD
Preheat the oven to 450 F. Make the gochujang sauce: In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, vinegar, and tamari. Cook over medium heat until the sugar has completely dissolved, about five minutes, then
remove from the heat and transfer to a blender. Add the ginger, gochujang, and miso and blend until smooth. Set aside.
Pickle the cucumbers: In a medium bowl, toss together the cucumber slices, vinegar, sugar and salt. Let marinate while you finish the recipe.
Make the filling: On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the brussels sprouts with 2 tablespoons of the oil and bake until slightly softened and golden, about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, cut the tofu into 1/2-inch-thick slices and toss with the remaining 2 tbsp oil. Push the sprouts to one side of the baking sheet and add the tofu to the other. Bake until the sprouts are tender and browned and the tofu is golden, 10 to 15 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine the hot brussels sprouts and tofu with 1 cup of the gochujang sauce (save the rest for another use); toss to coat.
Spoon the sprouts and tofu onto a serving platter. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Serve family-style, with the romaine leaves, cilantro, basil, kimchee, and pickled cucumbers in separate dishes alongside, and assemble the wraps at the table.
TIPS: The gochujang sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge overnight or up to one month, if desired — the flavours will keep getting better as it sits. Vegan kimchee can be found at specialty grocery stores such as Whole Foods. Gochujang, pickled white ginger, and white miso paste can be found at Asian markets and high-end grocery stores such as Whole Foods.
Serves 2 to 4.
Excerpted from Evolving Vegan by Mena Massoud, published by Tiller Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. Copyright 2020 by Evolving Vegan, Inc. All rights reserved.