Supersize me, vegan-style: ‘Big Vegan’ puts preaching aside, aims to convert with great-tasting food

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Supersize me, vegan-style: ‘Big Vegan’ puts preaching aside, aims to convert with great-tasting food

Fill up with the latest — and largest — in the vegan cookbook genre, Robin Asbell’s “Big Vegan.” This 3-pound, 544-page recipe box contains, first and foremost, a whole lot of inspiration for preparing delicious food.

“It’s better to share good food than to preach,” Asbell said. “My challenge to myself was just to make the food so tasty that people would love it even if they weren’t vegan.”

That’s right. “Big Vegan” [Chronicle Books, September 2011; 544 pages; $19.50] is foremost about food. Asbell mostly sidesteps the environmental and ethical arguments for a diet without animal products — and gets right to the point.

“You catch more flies with honey,” Asbell said. “I just want to make great food that people will try and maybe, eventually think, Wow, I could do this more often.’ “

So, what’s for dinner? “Big Vegan” goes global, gourmet, and even handles the basics.

Eat your way around the world with appetizers like Vietnamese Spinach-green Mango Salad Rolls, Squash Quesadilla with Cranberry Hicama Salsa, Olivada and Tomato Bruschetta. Impress the dinner party with a Wild Rice and Blueberry Salad and an entree like Creamy Triple-Mushroom Fettuccine with Walnuts or Sweet Moroccan-Glazed Tofu with Couscous, and wind it all up with an Almond-Fudge Cake with “Ganache” or Espresso-Almond Cookies.

Or just keep it simple with Mac and “Cheese,” Thin-Crust Pesto Pizza, or Spicy Nachos. The nice thing about “Big Vegan” is there’s room for

all of it.

The book also includes just enough nutritional information and background to guide the new vegan convert, without alienating the omnivore who just wants to eat more plant-based foods.

Like any enormous and well-organized cookbook, there are easy-to-find sections on pantry staples, breakfast, breads, sauces and condiments, appetizers and snacks, salads, soups, side dishes, main courses, grilling yes, grilling! and desserts.

While it’s tempting to flip directly to desserts, take a peek at Pantry Staples. Mock beef, Smoky Maple-Tempeh Bacon, Tofu Steaks, and Almond-Cashew “Chevre” are just a few of the meat and dairy substitutes that “Big Vegan” includes.

“What was nice about doing such a big book was that I was able to cover a lot of basics, things you can make and have around, like sauces and making your own cashew cheese,” Asbell said. “I find it really helpful to have things ready so I don’t feel like I need to run out and buy something like cream cheese.”

Asbell’s own journey into veganism began more than two decades ago, before the vegan diet was popularized by Hollywood celebrities and widely accepted by the public.

“My first real interest in it was when the book Diet for a New America’ came out, which was the mid-’80s, and I was cooking in a little health food deli and bakery where vegans ate,” Asbell said. “That was a really pivotal book for me. I had been a vegetarian for a long time already, but Diet For a New America’ really opened my eyes.”

“Big Vegan” leaves most of the visuals to the imagination — the book’s one downside is the lack of photographs. There are only two small sections of drool-worthy full-page images, but, in the publisher’s defense, an 1,110-page cookbook might have been biting off more than even the most enthusiastic vegan could chew.

An experienced recipe developer, Asbell also wrote “The New Whole Grains Cookbook” and “New Vegetarian.”

“When I first went vegetarian, I thought everyone was going to come around any day,” Asbell said. “It’s been a lot slower than I thought originally. What I’m seeing now is that it’s much more mainstream for people to eat vegan or vegetarian some of the time. I see that as a very positive thing. Now that people know what vegan is, it’s not quite such a strange thing as it was 20 years ago, and more restaurants are open to offering vegan options. Eating vegan can be a real celebration of great food.”

RECIPE

Winter squash and holiday cranberries take on a slightly south-of-the-border pose as they collaborate in this quesadilla. The crunchy cranberry is a completely different berry once you take away all that sugar and give it some room to salsa! — Robin Asbell

Squash Quesadillas with Cranberry-Jicama Salsa
Serves 4

Salsa
2 cups [200 grams] fresh cranberries
1/2 cup [60 grams] chopped red onion
1 red jalape o, seeded and minced
1 cup [120 grams] diced j cama
1/4 cup [7 grams] fresh cilantro/coriander
1/4 cup [7 grams] fresh mint
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Quesadillas
1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup [60 grams] chopped shallot
3 cups [720 grams] mashed roasted winter squash
1/4 cup [30 grams] toasted hazelnuts, skinned and chopped
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Eight 8-inch whole-wheat/wholemeal tortillas

1. To make the salsa: In a food processor, chop the cranberries coarsely. Add the onion and jalape o and pulse a couple of times to combine. Scrape out the mixture into a medium bowl, and stir in the j cama, cilantro/coriander, mint, sugar, salt and cumin. Cover and refrigerate if not using right away.
2. To make the quesadillas: In a medium saute pan over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Add the shallots and saute until they are soft and golden, for at least 5 minutes, or longer if you have time. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the squash, hazelnuts, chili powder, and salt. Lay out 4 tortillas and scoop 3/4 cup [180 ml] of the squash mixture on each one. Spread it evenly, then top with another tortilla and press lightly to adhere.
3. Heat a large cast-iron frying pan over high heat. When it is hot, place a quesadilla in the pan and cook until the bottom is toasted, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip it, then cook the other side just until it is toasted. Transfer the quesadilla to a cutting board and use a chef’s knife to cut it in 6 wedges. Continue cooking until all the quesadillas are done, then serve them with the salsa.
– Recipe from Robin Asbell’s ‘Big Vegan’ [Chronicle Books, September 2011;
544 pages; $19.50]

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