As the months of dining on warm-weather salads and early-autumn soups come to an end, the shorter days and colder nights are sparking cravings for heartier (read as: heavier) comfort foods. And yet just one trip to the farmers’ market is all it takes to feel the call of the season’s healthiest fruits and vegetables. Inspired to find inventive ways to incorporate winter’s colorful, antioxidant-rich produce into our own kitchen adventures this month, we called on Tal Ronnen, the chef behind Los Angeles’s popular Crossroads vegan restaurant and the force behind its new Crossroads cookbook.
Known for dishes that evoke the smokiness of chorizo, the richness of fresh pasta and cream sauce, and the smoky char of grilled steak through unique vegetable preparations, Ronnen’s Mediterranean-inspired dishes are as flavorful as it gets. Here, he shares three exclusive nutritious recipes based on the freshest produce of the moment—creating gnocchi made from vitamin C–laden sweet potatoes, chopped salad with fiber-rich persimmons and kohlrabi (a cruciferous veggie laden with antioxidants and potassium), and oven-roasted squash (with immune system–supportive vitamin A) paired with folate-rich shallots covered in black garlic and hazelnut gremolata. Eating your vegetables has never sounded so good.
Sweet Potato Gnocchi With Broccolini Florets Agliolio
Yields: 4–6 servings
Ingredients
4 large sweet potatoes (about 2 pounds)
1 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 1/2 cups “OO” pasta flour, plus more for dusting
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Put the potatoes on a baking sheet and pierce each one several times so that moisture can escape during baking. Bake the potatoes for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until they are easily pierced with a fork.
Carefully halve the potatoes lengthwise while they are still hot. Scoop out the flesh and press through a potato ricer into a large bowl. Add the oil and salt. Sprinkle in the flour a little at a time, mixing with your hands until a rough dough forms; take care not to overwork the dough, or it will become tough. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and gently knead it for 1 to 2 minutes, until smooth, adding a little more flour if necessary to keep it from sticking.
Break off a piece of the dough and roll it back and forth into a snake about the thickness of your index finger. Cut the rope into 1-inch pieces. Gently roll each piece down the back of the prongs of a fork while pressing on it with your finger to make a small dimple. The gnocchi should be slightly curved and marked with ridges; this will allow them to hold sauce when served. Place them in a single layer on a baking sheet dusted with flour, and cover with plastic wrap. Repeat with the remaining dough.
To cook the gnocchi: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the gnocchi in batches and cook until they float to the surface, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the gnocchi with a slotted spoon and toss with the sauce of your choice.
Sauce
4 T extra-virgin olive oil
4 T Earth Balance butter stick
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small shallot, minced
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup dry sherry
1 cup vegetable stock
2 T nutritional yeast
4 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs, finely chopped
1 pound broccolini florets
Place a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the oil and butter substitute. When the butter substitute has melted, add broccolini florets, garlic, and shallot, and sauté until fragrant and softened, about 2 minutes. Season with the red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper. Pour in the sherry and cook until nearly evaporated, 30 seconds. Add the stock, stirring to incorporate, and simmer for 4 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, sprinkle in the nutritional yeast flakes and parsley, and simmer until the sauce has thickened slightly, about 5 minutes. Season again with salt and black pepper.
Cover and keep warm.
Put gnocchi in the pan of sauce, and gently toss to coat. Add the parsley and toss to combine.
Autumn Chopped Salad
Yields: 4–6 servings
Ingredients
1 pound baby arugula (about 6 cups)
2 kholrabi, peeled and diced into quarter-inch cubes
2 persimmons, diced into quarter-inch cubes
2 Honeycrisp apples, diced into quarter-inch cubes
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup fresh pomegranate seeds
1/4 cup crushed Marcona almonds
Mint Vinaigrette
Yields: 1 cup
1 1/2 cups fresh mint leaves, coarsely chopped
1 T fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 small shallot, coarsely chopped
1 tsp. light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup grapeseed oil
Combine the mint, parsley, vinegar, garlic, shallot, sugar, salt, and pepper in the bowl of a food processor and process for about 1 minute, until smooth and green. With the motor running, pour in the oil in a steady stream, making sure it directly hits the blade (this is the best way to distribute the oil and emulsify it evenly and quickly). Pour the vinaigrette into a container or jar, cover, and shake it well just before using. Leftover vinaigrette can be kept covered in the refrigerator for up to five days.
Toss all chopped salad ingredients together and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Drizzle mint vinaigrette over salad.
Oven-Roasted Dumpling Squash With Harissa-Roasted Shallots and Black Garlic and Toasted Hazelnut Gremolata
Yields: 4–6 servings
Ingredients
Dumpling Squash
4 whole dumpling squash, cut in half and scooped clean, then quartered
3 T olive oil
Pinch of salt
Pinch of black pepper
Harissa-Roasted Shallots
4 large shallots, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into large slices
1 T olive oil
Kosher salt
Black pepper
1 tsp. harissa
Black Garlic and Toasted Hazelnut Gremolata
1 bulb black garlic, cleaned and minced
1 T olive oil
1/4 cup crushed toasted hazelnuts
Pinch of salt
Pinch of black pepper
1/4 cup chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large mixing bowl, drizzle olive oil over quartered pieces of squash, then season with salt and pepper. Gently massage each piece so it’s well coated. Transfer squash to a parchment-lined sheet pan and roast in oven 15 to 20 minutes until tender and golden brown.
In the same oven, while the squash is roasting, you can also roast the shallots. Start by mixing shallots with olive oil, salt, pepper, and harissa. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet and also roast 15 to 20 minutes.
Whisk all ingredients for black garlic and toasted hazelnut gremolata together in a small bowl, except for the parsley. Then fold in parsley last. Serve over warm oven-roasted dumpling squash and harissa-roasted shallots.
Crossroads: Extraordinary Recipes From the Restaurant That Is Reinventing Vegan Cuisine is currently available at amazon.com; for more information, visit crossroadskitchen.com
The post 3 Vegan Recipes Worth a Trip to the Farmers’ Market—From Crossroads Chef Tal Ronnen appeared first on Vogue.
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