It’s late summer here in New York and I’m not ready to fill my kitchen with root veggies and hearty greens. I know in a matter of weeks that the tomatoes at the farm stand will be disappearing or so overripe that the fruit flies will be like Jabba the hut at a slimy frog buffet. But right now, at this moment, the tomatoes are hanging on and they got me thinking… should I have one last cooking and eating marathon to send summer out with a bang? Well, of course, I should!
Once I settle on this idea in my mind it consumes me… it’s just the way I’m built. One of the first thoughts that came to mind is these roasted tomatoes with garlic that I read about years ago in Tom Colicchio’s book- “Think Like A Chef”. Back then I thought it was a pretty cool method of cooking tomatoes so I gave it a try. To be honest, I don’t remember what I made from the roasted tomatoes but I do remember how intense and delicious tomatoes were when roasted like this. Ok, the first plan of action is to roast tomatoes and see where we go from there.
I grabbed my trusty copy of “Think Like a Chef” and went straight to the roasted tomatoes recipe. Reading through the recipe actually brought back the memory of making these years ago… it was like I could almost taste it again! I wasn’t ready to make them again just yet, I was just putting my plan together before deciding what to look for at the farm stand and how I would tackle this tomato extravaganza.
I started flipping through “Think Like A Chef” and remembered why I loved this book so much. I had bought this when I wasn’t vegan and since becoming vegan I hadn’t looked at it much. But, the message of the book is so inspiring and in tune with how I seem to approach working with food that I read through the whole book again.
The chapter that the Roasted Tomatoes with Garlic starts on is on a concept he calls “studies”. This is where he highlights a building block, in this scenario Roasted Tomatoes, and then builds out dishes from there all using the building block ingredient. In the book, he builds out on Roasted Tomatoes and uses them in dishes with tuna, lamb, sea bass, and cheesy lasagna… all of which do not work for me, of course.
So, I thought- what if I actually follow the message of the book and think like a chef? What if I veganize this study in the book? It’s probably not what Tom had in mind when writing it, but I think he would approve of the approach anyway. I often watch cooking shows, read through social media, and the like for inspiration… and to be honest, it’s usually not vegan meals or chefs. Why? I dunno… maybe because when I look at a dish and break it down the elements speak to me and I like to veganize non-vegan dishes. It’s fun and it drives me to keep learning. This would be another version of that in my mind.
Now you have a little back story of what’s to follow. In keeping with the message of Tom’s wonderful book, use this concept as a source of inspiration and not just a collection of recipes. I have to include recipes, but experiment with the concept and see what you create. Also, buy a copy of “Think Like A Chef” and learn from the legend himself.
Without further delay, here is what I came up with-
Recipe #1- Roasted Tomatoes with Garlic and Chili. This is a must and is the building block for all the recipes that follow.
Recipe #2- Corn and Roasted Tomato Risotto. Roasted Tomato Risotto is in the book but the corn at the farm stand looked wonderful and I thought it was a natural addition to this recipe. It was.
Recipe #3- Roasted Tomato, Eggplant, and Zucchini Lasagna with Pesto Tofu Ricotta. I previously had made recipes for Vegan Fresh Pasta without eggs (fresh pasta almost always uses eggs) and a Pesto Tofu Ricotta for different recipes on the blog. This was an easy veganization in my mind.
Recipe #4- Vegan Fish Fillet with Roasted Tomatoes. Here’s where things get tricky. The book calls for sea bass stuffed with roasted tomatoes. My only experience trying to create a vegan fish dish was for a menu I was creating for a restaurant. I took tofu slabs and coated them in dijon and fresh herbs and then pan-roasted them. I served them with sauce Vierge and they came out great but ultimately didn’t end up on the menu. Could I use tofu for this? If so, I needed to get closer to a fish fillet than I had previously done. For this, I cut 3/4 way through each tofu “fillet” to recreate a fish fillet texture and then created a “fish skin” using nori and rice paper. I’m thrilled with the results… hope you are too!
Recipe #5- Watermelon “Tuna” with Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette and Fennel Salad. As you can probably tell the book calls for seared tuna and I substituted watermelon for it. It is absolutely crazy how watermelon changes once you cook it. It looks so close to bluefin tuna that it will blow everyone’s mind that experiences it for the first time. Does it take like tuna? Not exactly, but the nori gives it a sea flavor and the texture is so close!
Recipe #6- Braised Seitan with Roasted Tomato and Cannellini Beans. The recipe in the book is for braised lamb shanks. Using seitan here is a natural meat alternative and it came out exactly how I wanted it to. Using the braising technique and the accompanying flavors of the dish really gives this dish a meaty taste and look. Jen said it would be great for a Christmas dinner or other special occasion… I tend to agree. I know I’ll probably hear comments from non-vegans like “if you want it to taste like meat then just eat meat” blah blah blah. The depth and layers of flavor will not disappoint.
Recipe #7- Caramelized Tomato Tart. I only had to substitute veg stock for chicken stock and I found a frozen vegan puff pastry dough at the grocery store. This was really good, but honestly, I don’t think I would’ve ever come up with something like this on my own. Making a savory tomato tart adapted from an apple tart Tartin is kinda brilliant.
The only recipe I didn’t attempt from the study was the clam ragout with pancetta. I just didn’t have a good take on it…. Yet! Making and shooting this feast took me two full days. Editing and writing was another bunch of time but the eating was the best part of it! I don’t expect many people to attempt making all of these dishes but I hope you can appreciate the reasons why I gave it a shot. Thank you Tom Colicchio- I know you’ll probably never see this, but it doesn’t matter. You’re an inspiration in many more ways than I was able to say here. Tom does amazing work to fight hunger and I hope our readers learn a little more about him after this post.
Do you have a favorite dish or recipe that you want me to veganize? Let me know in the comments!