g CONTENTS
Practical tips and recipe building blocks
Sebastian offers practical tips for everyday vegan cooking and explains the importance of different flavors, textures, and temperatures in a dish. Once we have described the building block system in detail, we can get started!
Practical tips and recipe building blocks | CONTENTS
High-quality gastronomy and healthy eating—a contradiction in terms?
Temperature, texture, and consistency
Version 1: The 5-component system
Version 2: The 3-component system
Basics: Date paste and vegetable stock paste
The perfect sweetener—Copien’s date paste
Reduced-salt vegetable stock paste—never be without good-quality stock again
High-quality gastronomy and healthy eating—a contradiction in terms?
If you are going to serve high-quality food from a gastronomic perspective, you need to get to grips with the theory of cooking and taste. Only then can you really understand how your palate works, allowing you to create healthy dishes that are also incredibly delicious and enjoyable to eat.
The fundamentals of good vegan cuisine
Anyone can make tasty food by using lots of sugar, white flour, fat, and salt, because our sense of taste has evolved to appreciate all these flavors.11 However, there is plenty of evidence that excess salt, sugar, and calories elevate the risk of chronic-degenerative illnesses.22 On the other hand, healthy food is often accused of tasting bland, making you feel as if you are missing out. The following recipe section will show in detail how—with just a little bit of practice—
you can create healthy food with high gastronomic standards.
We will show you how to cook food that is good for you and tastes delicious. To achieve this, it is crucial to understand the fundamental principles behind flavor and mouthfeel. The model behind this theory of taste is illustrated in Figure 31. Once you have assimilated the vital basic knowledge, you can build on it and use your own creativity to produce delicious food from all sorts of plant-based raw ingredients. After all, fabulous food involves far more than just a single taste sensation—there needs to be a balance between different flavors and a perfect interplay among a variety of smells, temperatures, and consistencies.
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Fig. 31: The fundamentals of good vegan cuisine
The 5 + 2 flavors
Food that harmoniously combines different flavors tastes particularly good. That is the goal in all of Sebastian’s recipes. Essentially, there are five main gustatory perceptions that are important in this context, but two others are also worth mentioning. The five fundamental taste perceptions are: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami.3
The two others are fat and spice. In fact, most recent scientific publications refer to fat as a sixth gustatory perception, for which there are separate receptors in our mouth.4
Taste preferences that are essential for survival
A sense of taste and natural preference for fatty, calorific foods were just as important in human evolution as our liking for sweet and salty foods. These preferences allowed our ancestors to reliably identify foods that were safe, and high in calories and nutrients thanks to their rich (fatty), umami (high in protein), and sweet (rich in carbohydrate) flavors.55 Although there are also lots of very healthy sour and bitter foods in the human diet, in the past our taste buds often used these flavors to detect poisonous plants. Nowadays, however, with a surplus supply of salt, fat, and sugar, these natural human preferences are proving detrimental to our health.66 That is why it is important to recognize and respond to these preferences without eating too much of the substances that are associated with such negative consequences. While fat is a distinctly promising candidate for classification as an official flavor, the picture for spice is quite different: spicy flavors are only detected thanks to a burning sensation on the tongue and not in the classic manner via our taste buds.77 Nonetheless, in the right proportions, spicy flavors can make all the difference to the taste of our food.
Balance is vital for good taste
Interesting food relies on the interplay between these 5 + 2 flavors, with one or another flavor being given slightly more prominence in a dish. It is this complexity that ensures you derive pleasure from eating, from the very first spoonful until you have cleared your plate. When the flavors in a dish are perfectly balanced, this can transform your perception from “tastes okay” to “tastes incredible.”
A first impression might suggest the need for some more salt, but closer consideration could reveal that additional acidity or sweetness would be a better way to enhance the overall flavor. However, it is not necessary for every individual component on the plate to be in total harmony to make food interesting.
The 5 + 2 recipe building blocks
Using recipe building blocks is a concept that will automatically ensure all the important flavors are present in one dish. It also means that the two cornerstones of great taste are incorporated: consistency and temperature.
The issue of smell is also hugely significant because a large component of what we describe as taste is actually perceived via our sense of smell. Just try tasting a dish while holding your nose and you will notice how much of the flavor is lost. To get a better understanding of the five key flavors, a brief description of each is given on the next page.
Bitter
Foods with bitter components help promote digestion.8 Lots of the bitter substances they contain also have other health benefits. These substances can be found in foods such as brassicas, citrus fruits, cocoa, herbal teas, and many other plant-based sources.9 However, bitter flavors should never dominate and are best when subtly perceptible, rounding off the overall profile of the dish.
Sweet
Sweetness is one of the two flavors most often lacking in savory dishes. In traditional cuisine, it is often introduced through the subtle addition of some sugar or a syrup, but it can also be produced by using alternative sweeteners, such as date sugar or sugar alcohols like erythritol. From a nutritional health perspective, we recommend adding a sweet note by using nutritious fresh or dried fruit or sweeter vegetables, such as sweet potatoes or carrots. In this book, in addition to wholesome fruit, we primarily use our homemade date paste.
Salty
Very few cooked dishes lack salt, yet most people instinctively reach for the salt when seasoning their food. However, too much salt is bad for our health Tip 7.10 That is why salt is only added in small quantities to the recipes in this book; instead we work with homemade stock paste, miso, and soy sauce. Some foods, like celery, also introduce a salty flavor to recipes.11
Sour
Sourness is another component that is often lacking in food. But a subtle sour note is an excellent way to introduce a fresh flavor to a recipe. Citrus fruits are a great way to incorporate this flavor, but a couple drops of vinegar or other fruits (such as some varieties of apples) can also add a pleasant sour element. In the recipes from Zen oats with poached pears and almond cream, we focus primarily on lemon juice, lime juice, cider vinegar, and sour fruits.
Umami
The term “umami” was coined in Japan in 1910 and essentially means flavorful, savory, hearty, and meaty.1212 This rich flavor is found in particular in foods containing glutamates, which are found in protein-rich animal products but also in a range of plant-based foods. These should not be confused with the flavor enhancer monosodium glutamate (MSG).13 Preparation techniques, such as baking and roasting, can also introduce plenty of umami to a recipe by creating toasted notes. This can even be achieved at low temperatures between 320 and 350°F (160 and 180 °C). This book uses lots of different sources of umami to ensure our plant-based cuisine incorporates this popular savory flavor. This includes the following ingredients:
High-quality soy sauce: There are huge differences in the quality of soy sauce, which are usually also reflected in the price. Try to choose the highest-quality organic product. Shoyu is a variety of soy sauce that contains gluten, while tamari is gluten-free. The recipes in this book deliberately avoid the use of low-salt soy sauces; instead, they simply use smaller quantities of the tastier, high-salt varieties.
Dried mushrooms: When they are dried, mushrooms develop an incredibly intense umami flavor. Shiitake mushrooms are particularly rich in glutamates, as are maitake mushrooms and porcini. For example, you can grind dried shiitake mushrooms in a food processor and add a level teaspoon to any dish to produce a heartier flavor.
Miso paste: Originally from Japan, this is a spice paste usually produced from fermented soy beans, with lots of different varieties and qualities available. Nowadays you can even get miso made from lupines, lentils, and peas. Varieties like hatcho miso, which are matured for a long time, are dark, firm, and have an intense flavor, while paler varieties like shiro miso are matured for a shorter period and have a more subtle flavor. In our recipes, we mainly use shiro miso as it has a pleasantly mild, slightly sweet taste that is suitable for lots of different dishes. If you are allergic to soy, you should use a pale lupine miso instead.
Nutritional yeast/yeast flakes: These involve yeast that has been deactivated by heat. In addition to containing a high density of B vitamins, this product has very high levels of glutamates. Yeast flakes are a healthy seasoning ingredient; however, people with autoimmune conditions like Crohn’s disease should avoid all kinds of yeast (yeast flakes, baking yeast, and brewer’s yeast) because it can exacerbate their symptoms.1414 There are lots of different brands which vary in quality and flavor. Good-quality yeast flakes have a pleasantly savory flavor and should not taste bitter.
A list of specific product recommendations for miso paste, soy sauce, yeast flakes, and other products can be found at www.nikorittenau.com/healthy-vegan.
Fat
Fat is an important flavor carrier, which makes it an essential component in all cuisines. Certain fats also play an important role from a health perspective. The addition of fatty ingredients greatly improves the subjective taste of a dish—whether the fat is from nutritious foods such as nuts, seeds, or avocados, or from virgin vegetable oils. However, oils and margarines, etc. should be used in moderation. Good vegan food can be created with a moderate quantity of fat and, in order to maintain your ideal weight in the long term, it is important to learn how to make things taste good without adding large quantities of fat. Our recipes predominantly use nutritious sources of fat like nuts, seeds, nut butters, and moderate amounts of high-quality oils, e.g. virgin olive oil.
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Spice
Spice is not a flavor in the proper sense, being perceived instead as a physical burning sensation. Nonetheless, the right level of spice can create interesting recipes. Caution is needed here, because too much spice can quickly make a dish inedible. Our recipes mainly use pepper, ginger, and hot ground paprika to add a pleasant spicy note to the food.
Temperature, texture, and consistency
In addition to balancing different flavors, the use of different temperatures is another important technique for creating food that tastes and feels more interesting. By incorporating something hot in a dish with cool components, the resulting contrast creates a real wow factor that would be absent if everything was the same temperature. Whether it is a chilled vegetable component as part of a warm dish, a salad as part of a bowl, or a cool “nice cream” served with a slice of freshly baked cake—these temperature differences can greatly enhance the overall impact of a dish.
The third cornerstone for creating delicious healthy food involves texture and consistency. A good example to illustrate the importance of different textures within a dish is a creamy soup. Even if the soup is beautifully seasoned, it can soon seem rather dull thanks to its homogeneous, smooth consistency: every spoonful tastes identical and has the same mouthfeel. The addition of different texture elements helps introduce some variety to the dish. So, you can elevate your pumpkin soup to a whole different level by adding a couple of cubes of umami tofu, plus some of the crunchy apple and cilantro topping and a blob of the cold yogurt and garlic sauce.
The recipe building blocks
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The recipe building blocks in this book are a simple way of creating unbeatable food both in terms of flavor and from a nutritional health perspective. We have both been working with this system for a long time and it has been used as the basis for compiling all the main recipes in this book. That is why the main courses section consists of lots of separate recipes, which can be freely combined depending on what you feel like eating. By combining individual components within this building block system, you can create tasty, nutritious food that is easy to prepare, making it extremely practical for everyday life. The recipe building blocks in this book are limited to main courses. The sections on breakfast and dessert include a whole range of variations and extra ideas to allow for more variety, but these recipes are not building block dishes.
How the recipe building blocks work
Every main dish that is prepared using the building block system should always consist of the following five components:
(whole) grains, vegetables, leafy vegetables, pulses, topping
The recipe sections incorporate the main food groups in a vegan diet, which were discussed in the theory section of this book. An optimal supply of nutrients can be ensured by combining these recipes. While the three main food groups—(whole) grains, (leafy) vegetables, and pulses—turn up in the building block system under the same names that are used in the preceding theory section, the other two categories—fruit and nuts/seeds—are incorporated in the building block system as part of the toppings and also, to some extent, within the other building block components. The combination of recipes ensures the synergistic effect of the individual components from a nutritional perspective, while also creatively incorporating all the previously discussed elements that are vital for gastronomic enjoyment, such as different flavors, textures, and temperatures. The result is healthy food that tastes absolutely delicious. As a bonus, these practical recipes are also perfect for implementing in your everyday life.
Each recipe within the building block system comes from one of the categories for the five components that are described in more detail below. These recipes can be freely combined because they all go beautifully together. For even greater variety, many of the recipes include extra suggested alternatives. This offers an incredible number of combination options for greater variety and more flexibility in the kitchen.
Version 1: The 5-component system
In the 5-component system you combine at least three gourmet components with two basic components to create a nutritious meal. Of course, other combinations are also possible, such as four gourmet components + one basic dish, or even five gourmet components.
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Version 2: The 3-component system
If you are short on time, reduce the combination to three components, keeping the grains, pulses, and vegetables. At least two gourmet components should be included to make the meal as interesting as possible.
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The 5 components
1. Grains
Serve them up in risotto, salads, rissoles, bread, pasta, polenta, or sushi—grains are incredibly versatile and have formed part of the human diet for tens of thousands of years.15, 16 On Building block basics: grains, you will find the basic components. These are followed by recipes for transforming the basic ingredients into gourmet components for the building block system (see Citrus quinoa onward). The recipes involve simple yet sophisticated techniques that can be used with all sorts of grains to create meals packed with flavor. There is always the option of preparing a basic component and serving it just as it is. Adding a suitable topping is another way to create a delicious meal.
2. Vegetables
Root vegetables, onions, inflorescence vegetables, and fruiting vegetables—there is such diversity on offer within the vegetable category. With the right preparation, there is something for everyone. We start quite simply with some steamed basic components on steamed basic components, which you can jazz up with an appropriate topping. The gourmet components in the vegetable category include plenty of tips and are all packed with umami flavors, so vegetables can take a starring role on your plate. If vegetables do not taste great, this is usually down to how they have been prepared rather than the vegetables themselves.
3. Leafy green vegetables
Arugula, kale, spinach, and a wide variety of (wild) herbs make up the group of dark leafy green vegetables. All these plants are very rich in nutrients and should be included in the human diet every day. That is why these foods have been given their own category alongside the other vegetables. You can prepare leafy green vegetables very simply as a basic component—either served raw with a dash of lemon, or steamed. From Tahini spinach, you will find recipe ideas for gourmet components using leafy green vegetables, some of which are served raw while others are cooked to create exceptionally delicious dishes.
4. Pulses
Whether used as a topping on bread, or as a veggie burger, in salads, or processed to create tofu and tempeh—pulses represent a high-quality, cheap, and delicious source of nutritious protein. You can easily get started with the straightforward basic components on pp.189–191. After this, you will find the gourmet pulse components (see Copien’s lentil hummus onward) with hearty recipes that are packed with flavor while also being really filling and providing the perfect, protein-rich focus for your meal. From the Umami bean stew, to the Mediterranean bean salad, the Tempeh rissoles, and the Umami tofu, there is something here to suit every taste.
5. Toppings
Last but not least, we have the cherry on the cake: the topping. All the topping recipes in this book are quick and easy to prepare. The toppings are an important part of the building block system that can enhance even the simplest basic components, so a gourmet topping should always be part of your building block dish. The toppings are particularly interesting because they incorporate ingredients from the food groups containing fruits, nuts, and seeds, enhancing the overall dish both in terms of flavor and from a health perspective. You do not need to prepare toppings from scratch every single day. We always recommend tripling or quadrupling the quantities because all the toppings keep for at least three days if stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
If you are short on time, you can use three components instead of five. There is more information about this on Version 2: The 3-component system.
Preparing components
When using the recipe building block system to create healthy, nutritious meals, you soon come up against two components that can be tricky to fit into your everyday routine due to the time and flexibility they require. These are the nutritious grains on the one hand, and the pulses and beans on the other. Both these food groups involve long preparation times; they often need to be soaked overnight and are cooked for a very long time. This can be something of a hindrance in our hectic everyday lives. From a nutritional perspective, there is nothing against using beans and lentils from a can or jar because these have similar nutritional values to the freshly prepared varieties.17 From a culinary perspective, however, there is a huge difference in quality between the convenience varieties and the ones you cook yourself, which taste far better. So to make the recipe building blocks work in everyday life, you will need to cook larger quantities of both these components in advance and keep a constant supply in your fridge or freezer.
Soaking and cooking do not take time
All you need to do is soak some pulses overnight once or twice a week, then cook them the following day alongside some grains. How difficult is that? Not at all. You just need to make it a habit. Soaking takes less than a minute: put the pulses or beans in a bowl with some water and transfer it to the fridge.
The next day, the soaked pulses can be rinsed and cooked (see Cooking lentils onward). The cooking process does not require any intervention on your part and afterward you will have supplies for almost the whole week. While the pulses are cooking, you can use the time to do other things. You do not need to be constantly standing over the stove as they boil. If you cook the soaked pulses in a pressure cooker, the cooking time will be even shorter. By having these basics in your fridge, it only takes 15–30 minutes to conjure up a dish that is delicious to eat and incredibly good for you, too.
If the precooked grains and pulses are stored as recommended in the recipes, they can be used for a good four to five days without spoiling. Once you have used up all your supplies, you can always use the quick pulse and grain recipes with shorter cooking times. For grains, these include whole wheat couscous or pearl barley, and for pulses you can use tofu, tempeh, or lentils. Alternatively, of course, you could simply start a new cycle of soaking and cooking to make fresh supplies of pulses and grains for the recipes with longer cooking times.
We recommend choosing one or two days in the week specifically as soaking days, so you can cook the grains and pulses the following day. Friday is a good soaking day for lots of people. Just soak your pulses the evening before the weekend starts, then while you are cleaning the house or having a relaxed breakfast the next day, get the grains and pulses cooking at the same time.
The healthy and delicious challenge
The challenge here is to change your old habits. People need to repeat things a few times to make them part of their normal routine. That is why we challenge our readers to implement this system for at least ten weeks. Research shows that people need this long (66 days to be precise) to incorporate new habits permanently in their everyday lives.1818 After a while, you will notice that soaking and cooking the grains and pulses no longer seems like an arduous chore, it just happens seamlessly as a routine part of your everyday life.
Once you are familiar with the recipe building blocks, you will find it greatly enhances the way you feel about everyday food and you won’t want to eat any other way.
The implementation
Once your fridge is fully stocked with precooked whole grains and pulses, you have all the basics you need to make nutritious meals in just a few steps. Now there are lots of options for using the recipe building blocks to suit your individual preferences. Whether you need a quick and easy meal, or you have time for more laborious preparation for a real culinary treat, this system opens all sorts of possibilities.
If you are short on time, you should always get at least three components from the building block system on your plate (see opposite). For the full nutritional and culinary scope, however, we recommend using a total of five building block components.
If you choose version 1, so you prepare a recipe from each of the five categories (grains, vegetables, leafy vegetables, pulses, toppings), this may take slightly longer depending on your choice of components and recipes and how skilled a cook you are. If you choose the simplified version 2 of the recipe building blocks, with three components, the preparation time will be much shorter but the result nonetheless delicious. So, you can create satisfying, healthy meals in a short time even on days when life is stressful.
Meal with 5 components
min. 3 gourmet components
max. 2 basic components
Meal with 3 components
min. 2 gourmet components
max. 1 basic component
You should also watch the video at www.nikorittenau.com/healthy-vegan
There are the following four basic components:
1. Precooked grains (already in the fridge—see recipes). Briefly reheat in a pan with no additional fat (e.g. brown rice, millet, couscous, etc.).
2. Precooked pulses (already in the fridge—see recipes Cooking lentils and Cooking beans and chickpeas). Briefly reheat in a pan with no fat (e.g. chickpeas, white beans, beluga lentils, etc.).
3. Steamed vegetables. These should be served with your choice of topping to round off the flavor.
4. Steamed leafy green vegetables or dressed leaves. Here you can simply season a handful of leaves with a dash of lemon juice and add them to the meal.
In the 5-component system, your menu plan should include no more than two of these basic components to avoid the final meal being too monotonous. You can then add in your chosen gourmet components. Opposite you will find a couple of examples of possible combinations.
Practical tips and recipe building blocks | High-quality gastronomy and healthy eating – a contradiction in terms?
5-component combinations
Of course, we all have days when we are lacking the energy or motivation to cook. That is why we always recommend preparing a bit more of all the components in a larger batch, because you can happily eat the same dish at least twice in a row. By using our meal prep techniques, you can even prepare meals in advance for several days and store them in the fridge, so there will always be something ready to eat on the more stressful days in your week.
As well as using the advance meal prep strategy, you can use a slimmed-down version of the recipe building blocks and make meals using just three components. Below we show a few 3-component combinations that work particularly well in our experience. But all sorts of combinations are perfectly possible. If meals are being prepared following the reduced version of the system, we recommend always including one grain component, one pulse component, and one vegetable component (see table below). The three components should include no more than one basic recipe to avoid the meal being too dull.
Practical tips and recipe building blocks | High-quality gastronomy and healthy eating – a contradiction in terms?
3-component combinations
Quantities and preparation
This book uses quantities such as tbsp (tablespoon), tsp (teaspoon), cups, and g (grams). Digital scales are always the most accurate way to measure ingredients because cups often vary and they can result in inaccurate quantities.
The terms tbsp and tsp refer to average spoon sizes and these are always slightly heaped. This means a slight curve in your serving of ground paprika, not a mountain! For liquids, tbsp and tsp indicate full level quantities. In some cases, a level tsp is required even when not measuring a liquid. This is always explicitly noted in the relevant recipe.
When you follow a recipe for the first time, it is best to keep strictly to the specified quantities and preparation method. The quantities and process have always been chosen for good reason. Of course, once you have tested the results, we certainly recommend creativity and experimentation. It’s a fun way to cook and you will learn a huge amount, too.
To make sure you can follow the instructions easily, we recommend first having a large, clean area to work in, and secondly, good “mise en place”—the preparation of the ingredients in the work area. First, prepare the ingredients. Clean, chop, and put them in little bowls ready for when you start the actual cooking process. Tasks like preheating the oven or boiling water can naturally also be done in advance to save time. But this is always described in detail in each recipe.
If you want to make one of the main meals from the recipe building blocks, we recommend that you read through all the instructions first and check which tasks will take most time. For example, if you are making the umami bean stew, which should ideally simmer for at least 15 minutes, you should put this on to cook at the beginning and then perhaps focus on preparing the Mediterranean grain salad. The vegetable side dishes can be steamed in the meantime, and it takes no time to add a dash of lemon juice to a handful of arugula for the leafy greens component. As a simple topping, you could scatter over some smoky umami gomasio, and you have a quick, delicious, and exceptionally healthy meal.
Digital scales are the best way to measure precise quantities.
Basics: Date paste and vegetable stock paste
Instead of seasoning with salt or adding sugar, in our recipes we use Sebastian’s date paste and the reduced-salt vegetable stock.
This has lots of nutritional benefits as well as being very tasty. Both these recipes are ideal for making in advance because they will keep for a while in the fridge.
The perfect sweetener—Copien’s date paste
Makes about 1lb 2oz (500g) paste
11⁄2 cups (200g) soft Deglet Noor dates, pitted and chopped | 11⁄4 cup (300ml) water | 1 slice of organic lemon (about 3⁄4 in/2 cm thick) | 1 tbsp lemon juice | 1 pinch of salt
Put the dates in a pan with 11⁄4 cups (300ml) of water, cover, and heat. Simmer for about 10 minutes to destroy any possible spores on the fruit. This will prevent the paste going moldy later.
Now put all the ingredients in a food processor with cooking water and puree until smooth. Transfer the paste to a clean container, screw on the lid, and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Practical tips and recipe building blocks | High-quality gastronomy and healthy eating – a contradiction in terms?
If the dates are very hard or you do not have a powerful food processor, just soak them in water overnight before blending.
Instead of the lemon, you could use 1 slice of organic orange and add 2 dried rose petals. This gives a wonderfully fruity, floral aroma. To create an Asian umami sauce blend 1⁄3 cup (100g) of date paste, 1 piece of ginger (1 in/3 cm), 5 tbsp + 2 tsp (100ml) of soy sauce, 1 garlic clove, 1 tbsp of shiro miso and 1 tbsp of peanut butter. The sauce will keep for 1–2 weeks in the fridge and can be used to round off various recipes, either cooked with the ingredients or just added at the end.
Reduced-salt vegetable stock paste—never be without good-quality stock again
Makes about 41⁄2 cups (1kg)
2⁄3 cup (100g) onions, peeled and diced (about 3 small onions) | 1 cup (100g) leek, sliced in rings | 11⁄2 cups (200g) celeriac, cubed | 1 cup (100g) celery with greens, diced | 11⁄2 cups (200g) carrots, peeled and finely chopped | 3 garlic cloves, peeled | 1⁄2 cup (30g) parsley, finely chopped | 1⁄2 cup (100g) tomatoes, diced | 2 tbsp dried celery flakes | 10 black peppercorns | 6 juniper berries | 1⁄8oz (5g) dried porcini (or dried shiitake mushrooms) | 7 bay leaves | 6 Deglet Noor dates, pitted | 4 tbsp shiro miso | 5 tbsp olive oil | 3⁄4 cup (110g) sea salt (or rock salt)
Put all the ingredients except the salt into a food processor and puree until you have a thick but slightly coarse-grained paste. Stir in the salt. Transfer the vegetable puree to a pan and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Decant the hot paste into clean screw-top jars, seal, and turn upside down before leaving to cool. Keeps for a couple months in the fridge.
Important: The consistency should be very slightly coarse and not like a smoothie, otherwise the stock paste will froth up too much. The salt is essential as a preservative. Normally my stock pastes have a ratio of six parts vegetable to one part salt. In which case you can also preserve them raw. In this recipe, we use a ratio of eight parts vegetable to one part salt and we boil the paste so it keeps longer. This paste can also be made with a standard blender. In which case, add no more than two handfuls of roughly chopped vegetables to the container and use the pulse function to process to a rough consistency. Then empty it out and continue until everything has been processed. Otherwise there is a danger that the mixture can end up being too fine or runny.
Use: Add as much paste as required to a pan with water (roughly 2 tbsp to 41⁄4 cups/ 1 liter of water) and simmer gently for 15 minutes. This will produce a wonderful stock.
Sometimes in this book, we recommend replacing salt with your stock paste to further reduce the quantity of salt. It makes a perfect salt substitute to add flavor to your food.
Practical tips and recipe building blocks | High-quality gastronomy and healthy eating – a contradiction in terms?
The quantity is designed for a large clip-top jar with a capacity of 61⁄3 cups (1.5 liters), which will accommodate about 41⁄2 cups (1kg) of vegetable stock paste. If that is too much for you, simply halve the quantities for all the ingredients.
For more flavor, just fry the paste in a pan with no oil until brown. Add a splash of water, loosen the bits that have stuck to the pan, let the water simmer off and fry the paste once more. This process is known as deglazing and it helps produce a more intense flavor. Repeat this process two to three times, then cover the paste with water and simmer for at least 15 minutes.
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