Are you searching for the perfect gift ideas for chefs and culinary aficionados that will add flavor and creativity to their kitchens?
Look no further! Here are my top three plant-based books for holiday gift-giving: “The Vegetarian Flavor Bible” a landmark book by Karen Page; the inspirational “California Vegan” by Sharon Palmer, R.D., and the festive “Meat Lover’s Meatless Celebrations: Year-Round Vegetarian Feasts (You Can Really Sink Your Teeth Into)” by Kim O’Donnel.
These books make for timely presents, as chefs can use them to plan their plant-based menus for the upcoming year. According to the Whole Foods Food Trends survey for 2024, “plant is back in plant-based,” and the Food Institute has revealed that cleaner labels with fewer ingredients are more positively perceived by shoppers. However, regardless of consumer willingness to try plant-based alternatives, taste still matters most.
My three picks focus on flavor-rich tips and recipes, and I’ll describe each book while also sharing insights and recipes from the authors on how chefs (or home cooks) can delight curious palates, whether they’re carnivores, omnivores, vegetarians, or vegans.
The Vegetarian Flavor Bible
by Karen Page, photographs by Andrew Dornenburg (Little, Brown, 2014)
This book is the ultimate reference for flavor pairings and affinities, helping professional chefs create innovative and flavorful vegetarian-driven cuisine. Page’s engaging, aspirational, and instructional writing style, combined with Andrew Dornenburg’s captivating photographs, make The Vegetarian Flavor Bible a must-have for any chef looking to elevate plant-based cooking to an exciting new level.
At the heart of the book is an A-to-Z guide to herbs, spices, and seasonings that enhance the flavor of hundreds of ingredients. Page inspires chefs with techniques to maximize flavor and offers tips for creating vegetarian versions of standard dishes and veganizing vegetarian ones.
So what insights from their book can Page and Dornenburg share with chefs who are sometimes challenged to be innovative when developing plant-based menus that can offer a new taste experience, while ensuring healthful benefits?
The Vegetarian Flavor Bible is there to be your companion in the kitchen at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of the cooking process, no matter what you’re making. For example,
– Use it at the beginning to plan your shopping, looking up seasonality in the listings to find out what’s in season when. Or if you want to swap out ingredients for a recipe that’s your starting inspiration, you can get ideas for possible substitutes (e.g., subbing Swiss chard for spinach). If you’re subbing one type of bean for another, you can look up which seasonings enhance the bean you’ll be using and adjust the herbs, spices, and other seasonings you’ll be using accordingly.
– During the middle of the cooking process, if you’re looking to make adjustments to a dish, you can look up the country that is serving as your reference point for ideas. For example, turn to the pages for Greek cuisine (p. 270), or Indian (p. 285), or Mexican (p. 331), to get ideas for flavorings that are rooted in the maxim “If it grows together, it goes together.”
– At the end of the cooking process as you finish your dish, you’ll want to pay special attention to balancing tastes (e.g., saltiness, sourness, sweetness, bitterness, umami). If something is missing, scan the lists of the dish’s main ingredients for ideas of the best way to provide balance. To season black bean soup that’s a bit too salty, turn to pages 124-126 for help deciding whether you might like to add a squeeze of lime juice or orange juice — or possibly vinegar (e.g., apple cider, red wine, or sherry).
California Vegan – Inspiration and Recipes from the People and Places of the Golden State
by Sharon Palmer, MSFS, RDN, aka “The Plant-Powered Dietitian” (Globe Pequot, 2021)
Recognized as one of Prevention Magazine’s top 10 vegan books for 2023, Palmer’s “California Vegan” tells the diverse story of California veganism, featuring recipes that showcase local produce and celebrate the cultural roots, historical legacy, and future of plant-based pioneers in the state. California is where vegan culture began, and a diverse group of innovators continues to push the boundaries. From the first glimpses of California cuisine in the 1970s to today’s Silicon Valley startups revolutionizing the way America eats, this book sets the veggie trends that the rest of the country follows.
How can chefs capture the fresh, California-casual and healthy vegan cuisine that celebrates the best of everything plants have to offer? Happily, you don’t have to be a Californian to explore and enjoy this consciously chill style of eating. Join Palmer on an edible tour of her home state, filled with local lore, sun-drenched photography and over 100 California plant-based recipes.
Palmer invites chefs to try this flavorful recipe from California Vegan that will evoke California Dreamin’ to virtually all palates.
Whole Wheat Maple Walnut Cinnamon Rolls
Makes 12 servings
Ingredients:
Bread Dough:
- 1 cup warm (110 F) soymilk, plain, unsweetened
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 .25-ounce package (2 ¼ teaspoons) rapid-rise yeast
- 3 tablespoons melted, dairy-free margarine
- 2 tablespoons flaxseeds, ground
- ½ teaspoon salt (optional)
- 2 ½ – 3 cups whole wheat flour
Maple Walnut Cinnamon Filling:
- 3 tablespoons dairy-free margarine
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon water
Maple Topping: (optional)
- 1 tablespoon dairy-free margarine
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
Instructions:
1. In the bowl of an electric mixer stand (or use a hand-held electric mixer), gently stir together soymilk, maple syrup, and yeast. Let stand for 10 minutes.
2. Using electric mixer with dough hook attachment, mix in melted margarine and flaxseeds until smooth.
3. Mix in salt (optional) and 2 ½ cups whole wheat flour. If needed, add just enough additional whole wheat flour to make a soft, slightly sticky dough.
4. Continue to mix with the electric mixer on medium low for 6 minutes.
5. Remove dough from mixer bowl and place in a clean large bowl sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Place in a warm place (about 80-90 F), cover with a clean towel and let rise for 1 hour, until about doubled in size.
6. While dough is rising, make Maple Walnut Cinnamon Filling: Heat dairy-free margarine in a small skillet and stir in walnuts, maple syrup, cinnamon, and water. Stir until melted and bubbly. Set aside.
7. Punch down dough and turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Using a pastry roller, roll into a rectangle about 12 x 17 inches.
8. Spread Maple Walnut Cinnamon Filling evenly over the surface of the dough.
9. Tightly roll up the dough horizontally, so that you are left with an approximately 17-inch tube of dough.
10. Slice roll with a serrated knife into approximately 1 ½-inch slices to create 12 cut cinnamon rolls.
11. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray, and arrange cinnamon rolls in dish, cut side down.
12. Cover with a clean dish cloth and let rise for 45 minutes.
13. Preheat oven to 350 F.
14. Place baking dish in oven, uncovered, and bake for about 35 minutes, until cooked
through and slightly golden.
15. Remove from oven. If desired (optional), dot top of rolls with small pieces of margarine and drizzle with maple syrup.
16. Serve immediately.
The Meat Lover’s Meatless Celebrations — Year-Round Vegetarian Feasts (You Can Really Sink Your Teeth Into)
by Kim O’Donnel (Da Capo Lifelong Books, 2012)
While O’Donnel is a meat eater, she has been cooking up delicious you-won’t-miss-the-meat fare for the vegetarian-curious and vegan-passionate crowd. For the past 25 years, Kim O’Donnel has been working in food as a chef, journalist, and teacher. A former food writer for The Washington Post and several other newspapers big and small, Kim is the author of three vegetable cookbooks.
O’Donnel’s “The Meat Lover’s Meatless Celebrations” focuses on holidays and celebrations, offering versatile recipes that cater to eaters of all dietary preferences and ensuring everyone leaves the table satisfied. These dishes inspire, surprise, and are so tasty that “meatless” becomes an afterthought, with allergy- and animal-free options to boot.
Recently, O’Donnel served as the recipe editor for an upcoming cookbook by Philadelphia chefs Michael Solomonov and Steven Cook. She’s most proud of her work as a World Central Kitchen volunteer cooking for Ukrainian refugees in Poland in April 2022.
Without a doubt, these three plant-based books are gifts that keep on giving, inspiring chefs and culinary enthusiasts alike, regardless of their dietary preferences. Here’s wishing everyone deliciously Happy Holidays!
