Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Eating the Past: From meat dish to vegan dish

Vegetables cooking on an outdoor grill
korneker, Photographer
/
Pixabay

This is a rebroadcast from May, 2024

This is Tammy Proctor, and this season on Eating the Past, we have
spent some time discussing vegan and vegetarian history. Today, I want
to talk about how to turn much-loved food traditions into vegan or
vegetarian friendly offerings.

This a two-part episode, with the first focusing on British cooking, often
seen primarily as a meat-and-potatoes-and-gravy kind of cuisine. Today for
the second part, I want to look at how innovative James Beard award-winning
chef, Bryant Terry, has turned his soul food favorites into vegan dishes.

I should say at the outset that Terry has been featured on The Splendid
Table, so you can listen to the episode for more information and a proper
interview.

For this program, however, I want to talk about how much I
enjoyed trying some of Bryant Terry's recipes for favorite southern
dishes that he has made vegan.

As background, it is important to note that Terry is a chef, an artist, and an
activist, and he seems to have embraced the notion that food, art and life are
intertwined.

Some of his work focuses on food insecurity and food justice, and
part of his interest in vegan eating is tied to his commitment to a sustainable
and just food ecosystem. He has written and spoken about race, food, and justice
in really profound ways.

So what about these vegan recipes? One of the cool things about Terry's
cookbooks is that they take common dishes—collard greens, barbeque—
and transform them into vegan foods.

I grew up in Missouri eating greens and wilted salads, all of which were drenched
in bacon grease and hamchunks, but Terry's recipes keeps the feel-good nature of
a plates of beans and greens, for instance, while adding unusual spices or
ingredients to make up for the lack of meatiness.

One recipe of his substitutes orange juice and raisins for a citrusy take on the
humble collard green. Another way that he adds flavor to his dishes is by using
versions of traditional spice combos such as jerk spice.

Imagine slicing a cauliflower head into thick slices, slathering them with olive oil,
and then coating them with jerk seasoning. Then throw those slices onto an outdoor
grill and cook them as you would barbecue chicken. They can then be served
over rice or on a salad or with other barbecued vegetables or tofu.

In fact, tofu can be marinated in spicy seasoning and then cooked as a
blackened item – this is a great substitute for blackened catfish.

Although Bryant Terry is extraordinary in his commitment to preparing
vegan versions of what his latest cookbook calls "black food", he is not
the only one who is embracing plant-based versions of regional cuisines.

There are restaurants that are resuscitating older home cooked dishes
and then updating them as new vegan classics. As a vegetarian, I often
still use dairy, and there are even more ways to eliminate meat in this
style.

If you love biscuits and gravy, try making homemade buttermilk
biscuits and then smother them with a mushroom-based gravy that is
filled with sliced portabellos. The thick mushroom slices make for a
fantastic breakfast – with no sausage.

I encourage you to think about fun ways to adapt meat dishes to vegan
or vegetarian treatments. It’s an entertaining way to enliven your old
standards.

Tammy Proctor is a specialist in European history, gender, war, and youth. Dr. Proctor has written about Scouting, women spies and the way war affects the lives of ordinary people. Currently she is writing a book on American food relief to Europe during and after World War I. She has worked at Utah State University since 2013 and is a native of Kansas City, Missouri.