I Need Plant-Based Protein Recipes

CM: Oh, okay. Smart.

G: And then I made the tofu a couple of days later.

CM: Before we get into the specifics of these dishes, just curious, did you also make quinoa?

G: I did. So I actually had to go search for black quinoa.

CM: Red would’ve been okay. I just want to point out, red would’ve been just fine.

G: So I did all three. And cooking it like pasta, it definitely achieved what I wanted.

CM: And so ultimately it met your expectations, maybe has kind of redefined how you would think to cook quinoa in the future?

G: Yes, because it no longer was that cream of wheat, grit, texture. Yeah. I was able to finally achieve like when you go to Kava or whatever and they have quinoa there, I finally got that instead of the porridge, soupy texture.

CM: Glad you’re on the right path now. Okay, turning back to other plant-based proteins and some of these dishes you made, I cannot believe you made three. Talk to me about the other recipes. Can we start with the lentils?

G: Oh, so I made, it was the green lentils, and the first one I made was the sweet potato and the second one I finished obviously was the kale.

CM: Okay. And so talk to me, let’s start with the sweet potatoes. Was that a new technique for you?

G: Yes. I roasted them for 50 minutes, and when I pulled them out a lot of the sugar started leaking out of it.

CM: Yeah.

G: And it made like-

CM: Caramelized.

G: It did. It was so amazing. I actually took a little bit with my knife and just kind of shivied it off the parchment paper and it was sweet and syrupy. It was almost like a taffy.

CM: Yeah. Oh yeah, absolutely.

SU: Mm.

G: It was amazing. And then I will say the sauce that it was in for the sweet potato is going to be my go-to for if I just need to do like a quick sauce for like an Asian stir-fry or something, I’m 100% making that sauce every time. It was amazing.

CM: Oh, I’m just looking this up. One quick sec.

G: And so it was maple syrup, mirin, pepper flake, miso. And there was one other thing.

SU: Sesame oil.

G: Sesame oil.

CM: It’s like the Chris Morocco playbook.

G: Oh, it was so good.

SU: I was going to say.

CM: Yeah, that is a great all-purpose sauce because I think it can work with a range of proteins. I’ve used similar flavors on tofu, I’ve used similar flavors on salmon, things that have strong flavor, things that have more mild flavor because ultimately it has a lot of flavor to it, but it’s a highly malleable one. And for a sweet potato, something that’s right there in the name, it is a little bit on the sweeter side. I find that searing it, once it’s already been roasted and then doing the soy, maple kind of glaze treatment just gives it that wonderful lacquer, makes them very compelling in a much more satiating base for a vegetable main than if you just… And listen, there’s nothing wrong with just splitting open a roasted sweet potato and having at it, but it adds that additional layer of consideration and intention that I think really makes it work as a main course, as opposed to an ad hoc meal. Tell me more about the lentil salad. How did you feel about it in the end?