Plant-Based Holiday Cooking Tips From Chef Morgan Jarrett
If you eat plant-based and have meat eaters coming to your Thanksgiving, don’t double up your work – make veggie dishes that everyone at the table will enjoy. These 15 plant-based suggestions will help you set a table that even meat eaters will love this Thanksgiving.
1. Honeynut Squash
This squash is easier to work with than thick-skinned butternut. Now available at grocery stores as well as farmers’ markets, honeynut is smaller, more tender, and has a delicious flavor.
2. Use Lesser-Known Veggies
They can make an occasion feel even more special. For example, try purple sweet potatoes, trumpet mushrooms, and kohlrabi.
3. Step Aside Caviar
Tiny Champagne grapes are an elegant, luxe, and affordable choice to top salads and garnish holiday platters.
4. Swap Poultry Stocks And Butter For Vegetable Stock And Plant Butter
Vegetable stock can take the place of turkey stock for stuffing, and with the addition of poultry seasoning, you will never miss it. Use plant-based butter for holiday tarts and sauces.
5. Keep Your Food Colorful
Enchant everyone at the table with edible pops of color. A sprinkle of pomegranate seeds can jazz up green beans or a roasted squash dish. Purple sweet potato pie with maple crème fraiche brightens up the array of desserts.
6. Think Outside The Box Of Black Pepper
Arm yourself with an arsenal of spices that will separate your food from the basic holiday table. Chef Morgan always keeps Urfa Biber/Isot, Aleppo, Espelette, togarashi, and chili crisp within reach.
7. Use Honeycomb
Honeycomb dresses up a cheese board and is also a great topping for shareable crostini at cocktail hour with fresh figs and creamy ricotta. You can also do a vegan cheese board and add vibrant dried cranberries, cherry tomatoes, and olives. At STATE Grill, we are lucky to source our own honey from our rooftop hive at the Empire State Building.
8. Don’t Skip The Sprouts
Crispy Brussels sprouts are a classic holiday vegetable. Give yours an upgrade with a spicy and sweet mix of gently caramelized shallots and chilies, or try these maple roasted sprouts.
9. Pro Tip For Vegetables
After cooking vegetables, avoid stacking them so they do not continue to steam each
other. Overcooked vegetables are never enjoyed.
10. Upgrade Your Mac & Cheese
To upgrade mac and cheese, blend a custom mix of cheeses – four is the magic number. Try topping with breadcrumbs and baking until golden. If you want to make it fancy, use individual cocotte, but it’s also fun to have a big casserole for everyone to dive into.
11. Salad Toppers
Prepare a warm salad by grilling radicchio and fennel, then top with fresh citrus, black pepper, and pecorino.
12. Eat Locally, Think Globally
Source your fresh ingredients locally, but find inspiration from global cuisines and sources. Many global cuisines are plant-based, think India, Italy, and Jamaica for
example.
13. Marinate Those Veggies
For an all-purpose, universal vegetable marinade, mix high-quality balsamic vinegar of
Modena, olive oil, and chili flakes. Interchange any acid, fat, or heat and experiment with
Calabrian or Urfa biber chiles, as well as sherry or chardonnay vinegar. To sweeten, swirl in honey or pomegranate molasses. Want to start with an easy recipe? Try this Pickled Refrigerator Cauliflower.
14. Don’t Forget The Finishing Touches
A bright flavor like Agrumato tangerine oil drizzled on side dishes adds a vibrancy to earthy fall flavors. For deeper, more intense tasting notes, use smoked olive oil. This adds a bit of meaty depth to vegetables; Chef Morgan recommends O-Med from Spain.
15. Add Maple Dressing
Maple dressing is sweet, spicy, and tart – peak cool-weather flavors and gorgeous color. Below is a recipe from Chef Morgan, who enthusiastically says: “I put it on everything. It’s a dressing, it’s a marinade, it works on roasted carrots or fresh salads.”
Maple Dressing
by Chef Morgan Jarrett, STATE Grill and Bar
2 shallots
4 garlic cloves
3 cups maple syrup
1-quart cider vinegar
2 quarts of blended oil
1 tablespoon Aleppo pepper (or 1⁄2 tablespoon chili flakes)
Salt and pepper to taste
Simply blend all ingredients together in a blender. Use as a dressing or marinade. It will keep in the fridge for several days.
Planning Thanksgiving?
It’s never too early to start planning for the big meal this year. Thanksgiving takes careful planning, especially if you are the one cooking. Here is an entire outline of dishes you can make for the big day.
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Want to keep it healthy this Thanksgiving? Tired of feeling like you have a brick in your tummy after Thanksgiving dinner? Try one of these 20 healthy side dishes. Nobody will know the difference.
Recipes For Turkey Leftovers That You Won’t Get Tired Of Eating!
Do you always have leftovers that go bad after Thanksgiving dinner? Don’t let that happen this year. Use some of these recipes to make sure nothing goes to waste.
This originally appeared on The Gracious Pantry.