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‘Vegan food is not just for vegans.’ More meat lovers are opting for plant-based foods in their diets.
“Vegan food is not just for vegans. We’re starting to see a breakdown in this absurd divide of vegan and omnivore.”
— Brian Kateman, president of the Reducetarian Foundation and editor of “The Reducetarian Cookbook”
January and diets always seem to go hand in hand. It’s that whole New Year’s resolution thing. But in recent years, an increasing number of Americans are taking a different route — instead of counting calories, they’re changing up their diets to include more plantbased meals. Think of it as a happy — and sustainable — compromise between bacon-loving omnivore and full-fledged vegan.
According to a recent Gallup poll, the number of selfdescribed vegans in the U.S. rose from just 2 to 3 percent between 2012 to 2018, but the sale of plant-based foods was up more than 8 percent last year. The cookbook section at bookstores has swollen from a few lonely tomes dedicated to vegetarian and vegan cooking to shelves bursting with them. Even the latest season of “The Great British Bake Off” on Netflix featured its first-ever vegan baking challenge.
“Vegan food is not just for vegans,” says Brian Kateman, president of the Reducetarian Foundation and editor of this fall’s “The Reducetarian Cookbook” (Center Press, Hachette Book Group), which is aimed at encouraging people to eat less meat. “We’re starting to see a breakdown in this absurd divide of vegan and omnivore.”
The owners of Oakland-based S+M Vegan, Marie Chia and Shane Stanbridge, have noticed the shift, too. The pair frequently hosts pop-ups in bars and recently did a takeover of Berkeley’s Butcher’s Son restaurant during the holidays.
They’ve watched as oblivious omnivorous bar patrons gobble up their arancini, fried balls of risotto, and bowls of laksa, a curry noodle soup from Chia’s native Singapore she’s adapted into a vegan version.
“People order food and it doesn’t register that there’s no animal products,” Stanbridge says. “They’re just having a few drinks and enjoying the food that’s available.”
Enjoying vegan food that someone else makes for you is one thing, but making plant-based meals at home can be intimidating, especially for neophytes. Navigating recipes requiring nutritional yeast and knowledge of the finer points of tofu types can foil one’s best-laid plant-based plans.
But there are plenty of naturally vegan dishes that don’t require overhauling a pantry or employing culinary sleight of hand to mimic meat or dairy.
Years ago, I made a lentil recipe for dhal several times before realizing it was vegan. I’ve added my own spin to this simple, quick dish over the years.
Served over basmati rice with a side of potato and pea samosas from the Whole Foods freezer section — by all means, allow some conveniences if you need them — it makes for a cozy, filling dinner.
Stanbridge’s grandmother’s caponata, a recipe he says has been in his family for a century or more, is another naturally vegan dish. The slightly sweet and tangy mixture of vegetables, vinegar and a little sugar is common in southern Italy. Stanbridge and Chia make a meal of it served with homemade Italian bread, over polenta or tossed with pasta.
A sprinkling of Parmesan over pasta may be reflexive but to be totally plant-based, Stanbridge notes that in Sicily, it’s common to top pasta with toasted bread crumbs tossed with olive oil and lemon zest.
“It’s called poor man’s Parmesan,” Chia says.
“It gets even better when you use sourdough bread,” Stanbridge adds.
The sprinkling of bread crumbs adds such a nice, light crunch, you may find yourself using it on all kinds of dishes, even as a garnish on soup.
Home cooks trying to get others on board with a plant-based eating plan may find it helpful to go with a familiar favorite, sans meat.
Kateman’s vegetable pot pie is a good one to win over the meat and potatoes type.
“I grew up with Boston Market. I ate chicken pot pie all the time,” he says. The veggie version uses coconut oil pastry over a filling chock-full of vegetables in an almond milkbased sauce.
By including stick-toyour ribs potatoes along with carrots, corn and peas, chicken pot pie lovers likely won’t even miss the meat.
Adding sauteed mushrooms to the mixture for their meaty, umami appeal is also an option.
“It reminds me of home on a winter evening,” Kateman says. “It fills my heart with joy and hope.”
When you’re ready to dive a little deeper, the lentil sliders in the new “Reducetarian Cookbook” offer a bit more challenge, while still using common ingredients.
Curry-scented lentils, walnuts and sauteed vegetables are formed into patties and baked. Rich in protein, these sliders will satisfy a hamburger hankering.
Though a bit crumbly, they are infinitely better than some freezer-section burger substitutes that have long passed as vegan cuisine.
Bottom line? Even omnivores will be delighted by plant-based meals, say Stanbridge and Chia, when they know “It’s not just going to be alfalfa sprouts and bad hummus.”
Serves 6to 8 INGREDIENTS
10 cups water
1cup, plus ¼ cup white wine vinegar, divided
½ cup, plus 2teaspoons salt, divided
2medium globe eggplants, unpeeled, cut into ¾ to 1-inch dice ½ cup plus ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1teaspoon fennel seed
2teaspoons dried oregano
10 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
10cloves garlic, smashed with the side of a knife and roughly chopped
1medium onion, cut into ¾- to 1-inch dice
4small celery stalks, sliced into ½-inch thick
1small red bell pepper, cut into ½-inch dice
3fresh or canned Roma tomatoes, cut into ¾- to 1-inch dice 2tablespoons sugar
½ cup dry white wine
2tablespoons tomato paste
1cup pitted green olives, such as Castelvetrano, roughly chopped 2tablespoons capers in brine, drained
1cup loosely packed parsley, roughly chopped
DIRECTIONS
In a large pot, bring the water, 1cup vinegar and ½ cup salt to a boil. Add eggplant and cook for 3minutes; strain and set aside. In a wide skillet, heat ½ cup olive oil over medium heat. Add eggplant and cook for 10to 12minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid
burning, until about half the eggplant has browned.
Use a spoon to move the eggplant to the sides of the skillet. In the center of the skillet, add the crushed red pepper, fennel seed, oregano, thyme and bay leaf. Stir-fry until fragrant.
Add garlic and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are slightly translucent, 8to 10minutes. Add celery and bell pepper and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for 8to 10minutes. Add tomatoes and sugar; continue cooking for 3minutes more or until tomatoes have started to soften.
Add white wine to deglaze the pan. Cook for about a minute to let the alcohol evaporate, then add remaining ¼ cup vinegar, tomato paste, olives and capers. Gently stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Remove from heat and let cool. Fold in parsley and remaining ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil.