Christina Cooks: Back to the Cutting Board

Compassion for all living things is a guiding principle in my life.

In the kitchen, I feel a deep gratitude and respect for all the blessings of abundance in my days.

And I cook with that feeling in my heart for each and every meal I prepare.

Compassionate cooking is cooking without harming a living thing.

I will do that today.

On Christina Cooks: The Macroterranean Way.

Underwriting for Christina Cooks is provided by Suzanne's Specialties, offering a full line of alternative vegan and organic sweeteners and toppings.

Suzanne's Specialties.

Sweetness the way Mother Nature intended.

and by Jonathans Spoons.

Individually handcrafted from cherry wood, each designed with your hand and purpose in mind.

Additional funding provided by: Hi, Im Christina Pirello and this is Christina Cooks, where each week we take fresh seasonal ingredients and whip them into amazing dishes.

Will they all be plant based?

Yep.

Will they all be delicious?

Absolutely.

Sit down and buckle up.

I'm going all vegan on you today.

It's all about compassion in everything we do, From the way we move through the world to the foods we choose to eat.

And I'm going to get right into it with you because we are starting with dessert.

Fran!

Ciao!

Nice to see you.

Its wonderful to see you.

Everybody, this is Fran Costigan, a wonderful old pastry chef known as the Vegan Queen of Pastry or author of chocolate cookbooks and a master at chocolate desserts.

So she's the pastry chef for Rouxbe online cooking?

I'm the director of vegan pastry Tell me while I heat this.

at the Rouxbe Online Culinary School.

And it's really exciting because my students are some are vegan, some arent vegan yet, many professional chefs.

Because today, if you don't know how to do vegan desserts, you are just.

You are not getting the job.

Not getting the job.

Exactly right.

And our desserts will be, with care, and understanding, as delicious or better than a traditional dessert.

This no, this is good for what it is kind of business.

Yeah.

No, no, we don't want that anymore.

You know, it's like it's like for dinner.

We don't want a baked potato, an artfully arranged snow peas.

And we don't want a...

Pasta with broccoli... salad.... Well, the thing is, sorbet.

I'm going to trade spots with you cause youre cooking.

You sent me a recipe.

She sent me this recipe for a vegan ganache tart.

And I was like, okay.

Ganache, who doesn't know how to make a vegan ganache?

Id never made it the way you make it.

It turned out so beautifully.

And I really, really want you to show us how you did it.

I will.

It's so simple.

to make a ganache.

And for anyone who doesn't know what ganache is, it's an emulsion.

At its simplest, it's a percentage of chocolate a percentage typically of heavy cream, sometimes butter's added, sometimes natural flavors.

Sometimes sugar.

Sugar or cornstarch and so on.

We're doing a two ingredient, maybe, with a pinch of salt, ganache.

And by changing the proportion, you get a lovely pouring ganache for a tart, right?

Use a different proportion and you can make truffles.

So, Fran, talk to me a little bit about, while the milk is heating, the oat milk, because we're using that because it's richer.

Talk to me a little bit about one of the things we don't understand a lot in our culture is the qualities of chocolate.

Yeah.

And more than quality, the... the source.

There's a dark side to chocolate.

Let's be honest, we love it.

But I say that the right chocolate to use is the one that tastes good to you right out of the package.

So you start with that.

You need to do some tasting.

However you use a percentage that's listed in the recipe.

So I tend to use a higher percentage, 70 to 72%.

Then the higher the percentage of chocolate solids, the less sugar there is.

But I know for sure that I'm here.

You're here.

My grandchildren are here having this wonderful life and not in the jungle.

Picking cocoa.

Picking cocoa.

It's an accident of birth, right?

At best.

This is really hard work.

It's the jungle, it's hot, there's machetes, and there is still slavery today.

Child labor as well Child labor.

So we have to be really careful that its ethically sourced.

Right and it's really easy to find out, go, you know, go to the manufacturer and look...

Many people say it on their labels now.

And it isn't only, you know, fair trade was... oh, that's it!

Fair Trade was one label.

Now there are people doing even more, and leaving the cacao farmers and their communities better with schools.

Well, they're also making sure that they get paid so that they can grow something other than cocoa so that they can actually eat.

So it's really critical.

So you let this steam stop.

Right.

So here I see that you have measured out...

Thank you very much!

This is seven ounces?

Seven ounces and it's finely chopped.

You want, thats tip number one is to make sure that the chocolate is quality, tastes good to you, and is the percentage listed in the recipe and chopped.

When I have to do a quantity, I grind it in the food processor.

Of course, why not?

to powder.

Number two, you get the milk really, really hot and you have to pour it all at once, all at once.

I know, this was amazing to me.

Over the chocolate.

And Ill tell you why.

Chocolate doesn't like liquid.

It doesnt.

It will sieze if you trickle it in, and what that means is if you're chocolate ever got gray and gritty.

And goopy, and you cant get it to break.

Right.

Thats why.

So then I just I do this on a flat surface because otherwise.

And then cover.

It and by turning the bowl what Fran's doing is just making sure that the chocolates all submerged.

Exactly.

And this is just, you know, a minute or two, I want to treat this chocolate with respect.

With the compassion, with compassion.

Because let's face it, guys, chocolate is a luxury product.

You know, we don't have to have chocolate, but the fact that we can means that we need to buy it with respect, buy it from an ethical source and actually treat it as all food with respect, no waste, sustainability.

You know, it's... we agree on everything.

I agree 100%.

I did not put salt in this.

Yet.

Okay.

So, you know, sometimes I use, I will... put the salt in with the milk and I see you have chili powder here.

This basic recipe can be varied.

You you infuse the milk with chili powder, with curry.

With anise... Espresso.

Oh, well, now you're talking.

I happen to love espresso and let it infuse bring it to a boil.

Just chill out for a while.

And then proceed?

And then strain it, maybe.

Yeah, And if any of the milk has dissipated, you do it.

The reason I'm using oat milk for a number of reasons, it is creamy and rich.

I'm a soy milk person, which I have been for 30 years.

Me too.

But today I assume a couple of things.

I assume they'll be soy avoiders.

Too bad.

There are some.

Nut allergic.

There are some.

There are some.

Oat milk seems to be ticking all the boxes.

Pretty benign at the moment.

Pretty benign.

Now when I was in culinary school and I went much later than most people, I had two teens at home.

We were taught not to use a whisk to make ganache that it would add too many bubbles.

So you can do this with a rubber spatula.

I find if I just again, you're gentle, respectful to the chocolate.

Do you want some vanilla in there?

We can put some vanilla in here.

But I tell you, what I do is I always do a test because let's say every chocolate's different.

Let's say for some reason, this hasn't set up the way I want it or we want it, for your tart exactly the way we expect it.

We can add more milk.

If it's too thick, we can add more melted chocolate if we have to.

But you can.

You guys can see how creamy this is getting and how smooth and shiny, and that's what you're looking for.

So I don't even dirty something else.

I go like that.

All right.

And this will go in the refrigerator for like five minutes.

And see if it set.

And we know if it's set.

We know if it sets.

Well I did your recipe, so I know it sets.

Yeah, I know it works.

It works.

Doesn't that smell good?

Smells delicious.

Is there a better smell?

Well, maybe garlic and onions.

Well, yeah.

So pull that crust out.

So look at this beauty.

Tell me about this.

So what we made here today was a...

It's a no bake tart.

And what I did was I combined almond flour, cocoa powder, almond butter, and a little bit of brown rice sirup, some salt.

And we just pressed the crust.

It sat for 15 minutes, as you do.

And then in the fridge, dun-dun!

I'm going to give you the honor of cutting it.

Oh man... Come on.

Because were tasting this puppy.

This is so perfect.

And as you cut it and we taste it, I have to tell you what I'm doing.

As I say ciao, leaving for Florence, I am going to a tiny restaurant in the middle of Florence, Italy, run by a chef who cooks to serve the purpose of your life.

I cannot wait for you guys to meet Serenella.

All right, let's taste.

Oh, I want to hear about that.

That sounds incredible.

This.

Look how nice that cut.

And I can see that it's creamy.

I mean, who wouldn't like this?

Who wouldnt like this.

Oh, shall we?

Yeah.

My friend.

Grab a fork.

Don't mind if I do.

Mm.

Oh, thats perfection.

Come on!

Wow.

Wow.

That's so creamy and delicious.

Frannie, Thank you so much.

Thank you so much.

I wish you were coming with me, but I'm headed to Florence.

Ciao Thanks for having me.

See you guys in Florence [Italian music plays] Every time I travel the world, I look for some of the best vegetable based, plant based foods that I can find.

And every now and then, I'm surprised by what I find, by the depth of understanding, by the uniqueness of the chef.

I'm here today with Serenella Monicchi and her restaurant is La Fat here in Firenze Serenella's restaurant is based on the philosophy that food has energy.

There is a surprise.

We know food has energy and that what we choose to eat creates the person that we are.

So it's completely aligned with the way I think about food.

Que facemo?

What are we making?

(Speaking Italian) A pesto of sage and almonds.

(Speaking italian) And pumpkin seeds.

Okay.

Right.

Okay.

(speaking Italian) Okay.

Okay.

(speaking Italian) So, dimi, Serenella... (speaking Italian) This is called a mezzaluna.

So Serenella said that she kind of had no choice except to open this restaurant because of her ethics when it comes to food, meaning that the idea of compassion and cooking is in her blood.

This is what she's meant to do.

(speaking Italian) (speaking Italian) Okay, So now we're going to take a piece of garlic.

(speaking Italian) Okay.

(speaking Italian) So what I'm going to do now is that little bit of garlic is going to get blended in with the sage with the mezzaluna to help to create a flavor that's sort of more balanced.

And then we add a little bit of blanched almonds for the pesto.

So we were just saying that when I was growing up, my grandmother from Naples always made pesto, always various pestos, but always by hand.

She said the flavor was better and Serenella agrees the flavor is better.

Much, much better.

Much better.

And now we're going to mix into this some extra virgin olive oil and the juice and the rind of an orange So just a little bit of orange juice.

And what this is going to do is lift up the flavor of the sage and then a tiny bit of orange zest.

And she's carefully taking away the pith because she doesn't want any bitterness.

We're just going to cut this into small pieces.

(speaking Italian) To Piccolo.

A little.

Okay?

Okay.

(speaking Italian) A little bit of salt.

(speaking Italian) Okay.

And now we just mix this together.

(speaking Italian) Yeah.

It's amazing.

You smell the orange and the oil and the even the almonds and the garlic.

And the sage, of course, is amazing.

So now we're going to take we're going to sort of saut the rice, (speaking Italian) And put a little bit of oil.

So the rice is totally cooked.

But what she's doing with a little bit of oil is just sort of warming it up.

It's almost a small version of fried rice.

And then she'll put a little bit of the pesto in.

(speaking Italian) Mix it up.

(speaking Italian) This is amazing.

The smells in this kitchen are so complex and beautiful and fresh and you're just going to cook this until it warms through.

It's not like it's a big process around 20 minutes it takes to cook the rice.

So even if you're slow in chopping while the rice is cooking, you make your pesto, put it all together and you have this lovely, nutritious dish.

(speaking Italian) (speaking Italian) And the almonds are her substitute for parmesan cheese.

That gives you that richness that we expect when we eat pasta.

And that's it.

Turn off the flame.

And so it just gets served up and watch.

What Saranellas doing now is serving the rice in a way that's more beautiful.

Yes, you can just put a pile on the plate.

You can.

Absolutely.

But doing it this way, you go to a kitchen store, you buy a flan ring.

That's what it's called.

You put your rice inside, you press a little bit.

And it's the difference between gorgeous and just a pile of rice on your plate, A little bit of oil, and then you taste.

(speaking Italian) Buonissimo!

Completely balanced.

The rice is chewy.

You would swear there was cheese inside.

The sage is gorgeous.

Buonissimo, buonissimo!

Grazie!

I always learn from you.

sAnd so now you see, once again, I'm not the only chef who thinks that the energy of food is supremely important.

Because it is.

And when you eat food that's appropriate for you energetically and physically, you can lead your best life.

[Italian music ends] [gentle music plays] I love cooking with Serenella.

She always brings me right back to center of what it means for conscious cooking and what could be a better transition to conscious cooking then sausage and pepper sandwiches.

Wait, what?

Trust me, these are conscious.

They're plant based and you're going to love this dish.

So we are going to light a burner with some olive oil, some extra virgin olive oil.

Please use really good extra virgin olive oil, please.

And then we're going to take these little plant based sausages that look scarily like sausage.

But that's okay, because I know what's in them.

And then we're going to let those start to brown over the heat.

Then as they start to come to a sizzle, you'll notice I didn't really heat the oil because I want the flavor of the extra virgin olive oil.

And if you heat it, that flavor can go away.

So we're going to just put that there.

You hear the sizzle already.

All right.

So now we're going to take and smash a whole clove of garlic.

Sometimes it works better than others.

Okay.

We want to be stubborn.

You can be stubborn.

Garlic's allowed to be stubborn.

We're just going to need one clove.

And I'm going to use it, as we say, sort of in Italian.

And it's a dress which means still in.

It's what we call in America its paper, its wrapper.

Cut the... the little bit of the rough bottom off.

And that's going to go into my other skillet with some extra virgin olive oil.

We're going to put that on heat.

And while the garlic begins to sort of simmer.

In the oil, we're going to take a pepper and put that on a burner.

Over very high heat and roast it.

This is how you roast a pepper.

For once you get to consciously burn something.

So go for it.

I'm going to take these little guys and turn them because they're starting To brown In we go.

And the pepper is going to turn really charred.

Dark.

And when it's done, they'll go into a sack set for 10 minutes and then they'll come out and they'll look like this.

Right?

All charred.

The seeds are there, beautiful with our garlic, which is simmering away.

Some people take the garlic out, which I'll do at the end.

I'm going to take some yellow onions cut into half moons, and now we'll start to season.

Pinch of salt.

And we're going to let these sweat rather than actively saut.

I want to let the onions sweat a little bit.

Now, I'm also going to take some raw pepper.

You can use all roasted.

You can use all raw.

I don't like a lot of raw peppers because of the salinity, which is an alkaloid that lives just below the surface of the skin, which is one of the reasons that we roast peppers, not only for the smoky taste, but that alkaloid affects people's joints.

But in this case, since I'm going to cook it for a while and I kind of want a differentiated texture, I'm going to use a little bit of raw pepper that I cook as well as the roasted pepper that I cook.

And that's going to go on top of our onions and garlic.

It's just a quick chop.

This dish is not fancy.

This is very rustic.

I grew up on a dish like this.

We're going to put this these little sausages on the lower flame so that they sort of now just simmer in the oil.

Before they go on top of our veg.

And if they stick a little bit, that's okay.

Don't panic.

That's all good.

Okay, Next, I'll take my roasted peppers and just give those a quick rough chop so they go right on top.

No escaping.

And now we start to stir.

And this is going to sort of saut, simmer in oil with the garlic cloves or to until the onions wilt.

Now, we'll come over here with tongs.

Please use tongs and check our pepper.

And as it starts to blacken, you just keep turning it.

And as you turn it, it gets darker and darker and darker.

Now we'll take some plum tomatoes, maybe a little bit of a coarse chop.

We quartered them, but let's make them a little more bite size.

We're going to do two batches of those.

When you make something like the sausage and peppers, whether it's vegan or not vegan, you want to use a lot of veg.

It's really not about it's about the combination of the two things.

Okay, now we're going to season this up.

You can go light on your salt.

You don't need a ton.

You want to remember that salt is used to bring out the flavor.

Salt should not be used to make your food salty, but you see the colors building here in this dish and you don't want the onions to color very much.

You want them to kind of maintain their their texture so that there's a little bit of crunch because the sausages themselves are a little bit soft and they're going to go right on top.

I'm going to give this a tiny stir and just let the flavor of the veg sort of build into the sausage because plant based meat can be less flavorful than sort of the real thing.

So what you want to do is get some flavor with the veg and count on that.

So now we're going to take our filling.

Take one of our little sausages.

Put some more veg on top, and we're just going to continue to build these little sandwiches so that everybody gets their own bite.

Be careful not to put the garlic in there unless you peeled it, because it'll just be a weird mouthfeel and we're going to build these sandwiches up and there you go.

Conscious sausage and peppers.

So what are you waiting for?

Let's get back to the cutting board, and I'll see you next time on Christina Cooks: The Macroterranean Way.

Underwriting for Christina Cooks is provided by Suzanne's Specialties, offering a full line of alternative vegan and organic sweeteners and toppings.

Suzanne's Specialties: Sweetness, the way Mother Nature intended.

And by Jonathans Spoons individually handcrafted from cherry wood, each designed with your hand and purpose in mind.

Additional funding provided by: You can find today's recipes and learn more by visiting our website at ChristinaCooks.com, and by following @ChristinaCooks on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Learn how to add delicious plant-based dishes to your daily diet with the companion cookbook VegEdibles, featuring more than 80 easy-to-make recipes.

To order your copy for $29.95+ handling, call 800-266-5815 Or visit ChristinaCooks.com.

Add Back To The Cutting Board and get both books for $49.95 plus handling.