Something Totally Vegan (G^2 Mystery Dish Challenge #1)

So the vegan challenge had perplexed me for a bit. I was committed to offering something that was not a "risotto only cop-out", so I researched the vegan food pyramid and found that calcium was a difficult thing to incorporate from non-animal sources. This lead me to some research on calcium rich vegetables, the most preeminent of which are various types of greens. Greens are such a good source of calcium in fact that they have been cited as one of the reference examples of the recently discovered 6th taste: calcium. No really, while the recent discovery has only been validated on mice, there is a strong probability of people having the same taste receptors as calcium rich foods have a tendency to seem bitter in a specific way (dairy is not identifiably calcium-y in taste due to the binding with fats).

My goal was to make something flavorful, eye catching, and satisfying. Since I felt compelled to incorporate calcium rich foods, I decided to seek a balance among bitter / calcium, sweet, acidic, pungent, and piquant elements, while also having a base and an element with a substantial mouth feel. What I arrived at is pictured below.



Let's call it a vegan tart, and while I did not add a binding element, I could have bound this with a combination of xanthan gum and guar gum. What you're looking at is a base of mustard greens poached with a touch of sherry vinegar, yuzu soy sauce stir fried peppers and onions, and sauteed mushrooms with aleppo chile flakes and sweet smoked paprika, paired with garlic risotto. While the tart is a harmonious circus of nutritional and flavorful elements, the risotto is the base that ties everything together.

To prepare, I chopped onions and red peppers into a medium dice, sauteed in spanish olive oil, and deglazed with organic 100% soy sauce (wheat free) and yuzu juice, finishing with a hint of salt and black pepper. The mustard greens were just poached in a quart of water and a tablespoon of sherry vinegar. The mushrooms were sauteed in spanish olive oil and tossed with aleppo chile flake and sweet smoked paprika. Finally, the risotto was prepared by placing three topped garlic bulbs into a quart of water and a little kosher salt, bringing this to a simmer, tempering the arborio rice in spanish olive oil, then combining and cooking for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. At the last moment, the garlic bulb were removed, and three cloves were passed through a garlic press and incorporated into the risotto. The risotto was finished with artisanal olive oil from the Abruzzo region of Italy.

I was the happy diner to this vegan mystery dish, and I enjoyed every bite. I shared a little with my little ones and the verdict is that Anthony Bourdain would be proud, as neither of my girls would touch this, but I must say that my eyes have been opened to vegan cuisine, and my tongue is happy that they have.