Sarah DorioSorghum Whipped Sweet Potatoes

Southern Flavors for a Vegetarian Table

A Vegetarian Thanksgiving

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Hugh Acheson made a name for himself in the culinary world for his fresh take on Southern cooking, but many people know him from a stint this year on “Top Chef Masters.” Now he’s back, both as a regular judge on “Top Chef” and the author of a new cookbook that celebrates the flavors of the South.

Mr. Acheson notes that true Southern cooking goes beyond the stereotype of fried chicken and barbecue.

“The most important thing is to use the agrarian landscape around you,” said Mr. Acheson. “There’s a lot of healthy vegetarian stuff in Southern food. Southerners grew up on fresh-cut corn with tomatoes just as much as they did on fried chicken and grits.”

In his cookbook, “A New Turn in the South: Southern Flavors Reinvented for Your Kitchen,” vegetables play a prominent role.

“The most intriguing things we can do at the restaurant are vegetable plates,” said Mr. Acheson. “It’s pretty much the most exciting part. A roasted turkey is a roasted turkey. It kind of ends there.”

For the Well Vegetarian Thanksgiving series, Chef Acheson is offering three flavourful vegetarian fall dishes, including sorghum whipped sweet potatoes, chanterelles on toast and an artichoke and spinach gratin. Visit the interactive recipe collection to see all the dishes in Well’s Vegetarian Thanksgiving so far; we will be adding new dishes daily.

A New Turn in the South’s
Sorghum Sweet Potatoes

The chili in this dish balances the sweetness of the potatoes, and the butter makes everything richer and more opulent. Chef Hugh Acheson says, “I left off the little marshmallows because I think we need to evolve. And my dentist friends would get mad at me.” You can garnish sweet potatoes with a variety of things, from cooked apples to more cooked chilies to hazelnuts, or even a dollop of yogurt.

3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 red jalapeño chili, minced
1/4 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup vegetable stock
2 tablespoons sorghum or maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1. Place the sweet potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, season with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and cook until tender.

2. While the sweet potatoes are cooking, melt the butter in a small saucepan, and when the butter bubbles and froths, add the jalapeño and the orange zest. Cook for 1 minute, turn off the heat and then add the cream. Set aside.

3. When the sweet potatoes are fork-tender, drain them in a colander set up in your sink. Let them drain completely, and then pass them through a ricer or mash them well with a potato masher.

4. Add the flavored cream, stock, sorghum, nutmeg and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Mix well and transfer to a serving bowl.

Yield: 8 servings.

Rinne AllenChanterelles on Toast

A New Turn in the South’s
Chanterelles on Toast

Mushrooms are like sponges full of water. When subjected to heat, they release their liquid, and after some of it evaporates, they will suck the rest back up. So start by letting them hit the hot oil, sizzle and then color a bit. Liquid will exude into the pan, partly evaporate and then return to the mushrooms. Once the pan is pretty much liquid-free, it’s time to introduce flavorful liquids, which the mushrooms will also take up.

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 pound fresh chanterelles
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup vegetable stock
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon cold butter
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 slices toasted sourdough, for serving
4 tablespoons shaved vegetarian Parmesan

1. Heat your largest fry pan over medium-high heat, and when it is hot, add the olive oil. Once the olive oil is hot, add the chanterelles. Cook for 4 minutes without moving them around too much.

2. Add the sherry vinegar and the lemon juice and cook down until fully reduced. Add the stock and reduce by half (you are not exactly reducing so much as hydrating the mushrooms). Add the rosemary, thyme, parsley and butter. Stir with a wooden spoon to incorporate the butter. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Evenly spoon the chanterelles over the 4 pieces of toasted bread and garnish with shaved Parmesan.

Yield: 4 servings.

Rinne AllenArtichoke and Spinach Gratin

A New Turn in the South’s
Artichoke and Spinach Gratin

This gratin contains less cream than you might expect, and it’s a simple dish, although preparation of the artichokes might take a little extra time. Chef Acheson says: “Everybody thinks there is a lot of complexity to artichokes. Cooking and cleaning an artichoke is not difficult. There is just that time. We should take the inconvenient route away from canned artichokes, which taste like canned.”

For the gratin:
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and minced
1 1/2 quarts cleaned fresh spinach
3 large, fresh globe artichokes, trimmed and cooked, then quartered lengthwise
3 soft-boiled eggs, peeled and cubed
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 cup Leek Crema (see recipe, below)
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
Pinch of kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup grated vegetarian Parmesan
1/4 cup freshly toasted breadcrumbs

For the Leek Crema:
1 teaspoon unsalted butter
1 leek, white only, cleaned and minced
Pinch of kosher salt
1 cup heavy cream

Prepare the Leek Crema:

1. In a small saucepan, melt the teaspoon of butter over medium heat. Add the leek and 1 tablespoon of water. Cover and cook, steaming the leeks for about 5 minutes, until very tender.

2. Add the salt, then the cream, and warm through. Remove the saucepan from the heat, purée the mixture in a blender and strain through a fine strainer. Makes 1 1/2 cups.

Prepare the gratin:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Butter a gratin dish with 1 tablespoon of butter. Set aside.

3. In a large frying pan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the onions and sweat them down, cooking for 20 minutes until they are caramelized and full of flavor. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.

4. To the pan, which is off the heat but still warm, add the spinach, artichokes, eggs, thyme, parsley, Leek Crema and nutmeg. Gently mix together and season with the salt and pepper. Pour this into your buttered gratin dish and top with Parmesan and breadcrumbs.

5. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve warm.

Yield: 6 servings.

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