13.4 Cooking without meat

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More than taking the meat away

A meatless main course needs as much thought as any other: "it is not necessarily enough to simply remove the meat from the center of the plate." A plate of side dishes, a starch and a few vegetables, is not a full meal either.

People have eaten little or no meat for thousands of years. Some did it for religion or belief, some for health or the environment, and some because meat was hard to get. The Greek thinker Pythagoras taught that all living things are related, and refused to eat animals. The word "vegetarian" came into wide use in 1847, when England's Vegetarian Society took it up.

Who eats what

Diners who call themselves vegetarian do not all eat the same way. Know the terms:

• Vegan: eats no meat, fish or poultry, and nothing else that comes from an animal. That rules out milk, cheese, eggs, honey and gelatin. Also called a strict or pure vegetarian.
• Raw foodist: usually a vegan who eats plant foods raw or only slightly warm. Raw foodists hold that heating food past 47°C (116°F) ruins its enzymes and nutrients.
• Fruitarian: eats only fruit, nuts, seeds and other plant foods that can be gathered without harming the plant.
• Ovo-vegetarian: eats eggs, but no dairy foods.
• Lacto-vegetarian: eats dairy foods, but no eggs.
• Lacto-ovo-vegetarian: eats plant foods, dairy foods and eggs. This is the most common pattern, and most people mean it when they say vegetarian. Some will still refuse cheese made with rennet, an enzyme from animals, or eggs from factory farms.
• Demi-vegetarian: a vegetarian who also eats fish.
• Macrobiotic: a diet built on brown rice, whole grains and vegetables, from a Japanese teacher in the 1920s, based on balancing yin and yang. Fruit, nuts, refined sugar and refined foods are avoided; fish is eaten now and then.
• Flexitarian: not a true vegetarian diet. Mostly plants, with lean fish and some poultry from time to time.

Feeding a vegetarian well

A diet of plants needs planning to give enough protein, minerals, vitamins and energy. The American Dietetic Association holds that eating a mix of plant foods across a day can supply every essential amino acid. Soy protein counts as fully as protein from animals.

• Calcium comes from greens and from vegetables of the cabbage family, from soy products with calcium added, and from dairy foods for those who eat them.
• Iron from plants is not taken up by the body as well as iron from meat.
• Vitamin B12 has no natural plant source. Vegetarians get it from fortified foods, supplements or dairy.
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• Fatty acids found in oily fish can be short. Nuts, seeds such as flax, canola oil and soy foods help.

Vegetarians who eat eggs and dairy find it easier to meet their needs. Beans, whole grains, vegetables and fruit are high in fiber and fill people up quickly, which matters on a low-fat diet where calories can run short.

Building the plate

Vegetarian cooking follows the same rules as any other cooking. Balance the flavors, choose good ingredients, and prepare them with skill. Only the ingredients change.

Think about how each ingredient feels in the mouth. A ripe avocado, for example, is rich and creamy, close to a soft cream cheese.

Ways to put a vegetarian dish on a menu:

• Start with what you already serve. Soups, salads, pasta and stir-fried vegetables often need little or no change.
• Put grains and beans in the center. They fill a diner up in a way a plate of steamed vegetables may not. Chewy grains such as bulgur, barley and millet add the bite that plant dishes can lack.
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• Use meaty vegetables. Eggplant, mushrooms (portabellas above all), okra, sweet potatoes and parsnips have body. Breaded eggplant slices fried in a pan, or a whole grilled portabella cap, can take the place of a piece of chicken or beef. see chapter 8: Dry heat: sauté, grill, roast, fry
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• Mix colors. Pair black beans with red rice, or yellow lentils with black-eyed peas.
• Mix textures. Set a crisp risotto cake or fried zucchini beside something soft, such as mashed sweet potatoes.
• Layer flavors. Use more than one cooking method in a dish. Sun-dried tomatoes stirred into a fresh tomato sauce give it depth.
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• Look to cuisines where meatless food is normal: Indian, Mexican, Asian, South American and Middle Eastern.

The vegetarian pantry

Without stock made from meat, a vegetarian dish can taste thin. Stock up on these instead:

• Fresh and dried mushrooms, to give stocks, soups and stews more body.
• Kombu, a dried sea kelp, for a briny taste close to fish stock.
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• Soy sauce, miso and wine reductions, to give vegetable broth a savory taste and a darker color.
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• Nut oils such as sesame, hazelnut and walnut, to stand in for the richness of butter or meat stock.
• Olives and dried fruit for strong flavor, and toasted seeds and nuts for crunch.
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Some swaps for animal ingredients:

Plant swaps for animal ingredients, by use.

Baking without eggs is hard, because eggs do so many jobs in a cake. Quick breads raised with chemical leavening adapt more easily than cakes made by creaming butter and sugar.

Soy foods

Soybeans have been used in Asian cooking for centuries. Most are yellow, but there are brown, black and green ones too. The United Soybean Board calls soy the one plant protein equal to animal protein. Soy is made into flour, oil, cheese and a milk.

Soymilk. Dried soybeans are soaked, ground fine and pressed to give a milky liquid. It probably began in China, where it is drunk at breakfast, sweet or savory, or used as a soup base. It tastes a little of beans and nuts and looks like skim milk. It is sold as a liquid or a powder.

• Unopened liquid soymilk in sealed sterile cartons keeps for a year. Once open, refrigerate it and use it within 5 to 7 days, or as the maker says. Soymilk powder keeps a year at room temperature.
• Use soymilk cup for cup in place of dairy milk.
• It can separate when it gets too hot. Simmer it gently, and add it near the end of cooking.
• Soya milk and other soy protein foods are potentially hazardous foods.

Miso (said MEE-so) is a thick, salty paste. Soybeans are soaked, steamed and crushed, then mixed with water, rice or barley, and salt. A living mold culture called koji is added, and the paste ferments and ages, often for as long as a year.

• White miso (shiro miso) is pale and creamy, mild and a little sweet, because it holds a lot of rice.
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• Dark or red miso has more soybeans and ages longer, so it is stronger and saltier.
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Use miso in cold or warm dishes, but never boil it. Its live enzymes and bacteria die at high heat. A little goes a long way: about 1 teaspoon (5 mL) a portion can season a plain broth. It is so salty that it keeps in the refrigerator without limit.

Plant-based meat

Textured soy protein is soy with the fat taken out, dried, and then pressed into granules or chunks or pushed through a die into shapes. Manufacturers use it to stretch meat and to make meat replacements.

• Soak the granules in liquid before cooking. They take on a texture close to meat.
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• Simmer larger pieces after soaking. A little vinegar or lemon juice in the liquid makes them take up water faster.
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• Dry and tightly sealed, it keeps up to a year at room temperature. Once soaked, refrigerate it and use it within a few days.

Ready-made meat look-alikes are made from soy, wheat, grains or other plants to look and feel like nuggets, burgers, sausages, hot dogs, ground meat, bacon, cold cuts, even pastrami. Their texture comes closer to meat than their flavor does. Seasoning helps: sage, for example, makes a stuffing taste more like turkey.

Cook them as you would the meat they copy: steam, sauté, simmer, grill or bake. Most are already fully cooked and need only heating and crisping, so follow the maker's directions and do not overcook them. Reheated food must reach 74°C (165°F) and stay there for at least 15 seconds.

Plant milks made from almonds, hazelnuts, oats and rice can replace stock or dairy in soups, sauces and custards. They have less fat and more carbohydrate than dairy milk, and no cholesterol.

Dishes that show the ideas

• A bean burrito. Drained canned black beans and kidney beans simmer for 10 minutes with garlic, chile powder, salt and a little water. Off the heat, stir in salsa and mash the beans partly with a fork. About ⅓ cup goes into each warm tortilla, with cheese, tomato, lettuce, green onion and sour cream.
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• A bulgur and mushroom burger. Soak fine bulgur in boiling water for about 20 minutes and press it dry. Soften mushrooms and onions with balsamic vinegar, pulse them in a food processor with toasted pecans, then add the bulgur and an egg to bind. Shape eight patties and pan-fry them about 4 minutes a side. Because of the egg, a vegan cannot eat it.
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• A portabella burger. Brush the caps and onion slices with oil and season them. Cook the caps in a hot skillet about 4 minutes, in two batches so the pan is not crowded. Fill them with golden onions and roasted red pepper and serve on buns spread with mashed avocado.
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• A store-bought patty. Sauté eggplant slices about 3 minutes a side, then cook meatless patties in the same pan about 3 minutes a side, until heated through.
• A quinoa salad. Rinse the quinoa, stir it in hot oil for a minute, cook it in stock, cool it flat on a sheet pan, then dress it with lemon, oil and vinegar and add almonds and dates. Leave out the Parmesan to make it vegan. Chill it for at least 15 minutes before serving.
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