Great Chefs Cook Vegan - Linda Long [13]
Simple Syrup
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup water
To make the Simple Syrup: Place sugar and a large spoonful of water into a heavy-bottom saucepan and cook over high heat until dark brown and well caramelized. Add the remaining water and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes until completely dissolved. Strain and reserve.
Sweet Potato Custard
2 quarts water
2 cinnamon sticks
5 cloves
2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into large dice
3 tablespoons agar-agar
2 (13.5-ounce) cans coconut milk
3 tablespoons Simple Syrup (recipe above)
To make the Sweet Potato Custard: Set up a steamer basket or perforated pan over a steam bath of 2 quarts water, cinnamon sticks, and cloves. Place the sweet potatoes in the steamer basket and cook over medium heat for about 30 minutes, or until tender. Remove sweet potatoes and drain for a few minutes. Transfer to a blender or food processor. Meanwhile, combine agar-agar with coconut milk and simmer over low heat to dissolve, stirring frequently. Slowly add coconut milk mixture and Simple Syrup to sweet potato mixture and blend until very smooth. Pour into Flexipan or cupcake molds that have been sprayed with nonstick spray. Allow to set for 4 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
Pumpkin Seed Tuile
1 pound store-bought prepared fondant
2 tablespoons glucose
2 tablespoons walnuts
6 tablespoons unsalted pumpkin seeds, divided
To make the Pumpkin Seed Tuile: Combine fondant and glucose in a heavy-bottom saucepan and heat over medium heat until amber in color. Toss the nuts and 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds into the mixture and stir to combine. Pour mixture onto a Silpat or parchment paper, and let cool completely. When cooled, crush to a powder in a food processor; sift. Form small circles of powder on a Silpat or parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees F for 3 to 4 minutes. Allow to cool completely. Use remaining pumpkin seeds to garnish when plating.
How to Plate: Unmold custard directly onto serving plates. Pour Caramel over custard, forming a very shallow pool at the base. Artfully place pumpkin seeds around the custard and top with the Pumpkin Seed Tuile.
Cat Cora
“One of my first plant-based recipes was a mushroom pâté, and I loved every bite of it. How wonderful to enjoy pâté and still feel healthy. Cooking with plants forces more creativity and resourcefulness with the ingredients on hand.”
By the time she was fifteen, Cat Cora had already developed a business plan for her own restaurant. Raised in a small Greek community in Jackson, Mississippi, her first cookbook was inspired by her Greek and Southern heritage and included her favorite family recipes. Cat left Mississippi to attend the Culinary Institute of America in New York on the advice of her legendary mentor Julia Chef. After graduation, she worked at Arcadia with Anne Rozenweig and at Beekman Tavern with Larry Forgione of An American Place. Her culinary education continued in Europe as an apprentice with two of France’s three-star Michelin chefs, George Blanc and Roger Verge, who taught her the cuisine of the French countryside and classical French cuisine.
Cora returned to New York as sous chef with Melissa Kelly at The Old Chatham Shepherding Company before planting her roots in northern California as chef de cuisine of Napa Valley’s Bistro Don Giovanni. In 1999, Cora made her television debut as co-host of Food Network’s Melting Pot with Rocco Di Spirito and, in 2005, she made television history as the first and only female Iron Chef on Food Network’s Iron Chef. She is the president and founder of Chefs for Humanity, an emergency relief culinary community organization founded in response to the 2004 tsunami disaster. Cora also serves on the Macy’s Culinary Council and is Bon Appétit magazine’s executive chef. She is the author of two books, Cat Cora Cooks and Cooking from the Hip: Fast Easy Phenomenal