Vegetable luxury: gourmet options for vegetarians

Let’s be clear: greens and vegetables they do not have a good reputation in gastronomy. They are necessary and should be abundant in our diet, but we tend to consider them bland or at best boring.

So today at Summum we have set ourselves a challenge: to demonstrate that plant ingredients, apart from healthy, they can also be rich, surprising and, why not, very in vogue.

The healthy world of Teresa Carles

With almost 40 years of experience, Teresa Carles is a reference in the world of restoration Vegetarian

It has two locations, in Barcelona and Lleida, and offers a cuisine based on seasonal and local products with a wide range of dishes, some of them also suitable for the vegan public.

The quinoa salad, red berries and miso vinaigrette, Les Braves de la Tere (a “veggie” tapa of potatoes, carrots, beets and baked sweet potato with brava sauce) or the table of Tofu, shiitake, aubergines, spinach, teriyaki sauce and sesame are some of the most attractive options on the menu.

These two restaurants are part of the group Teresa Carles Healthy Foods, to which several businesses focused on healthy food belong. Among them, a brand of juices «cold-pressed» which can also be purchased online.

Kale, the standard-bearer of the super-vegetable revolution

We could say that the planetary fashion for superfoods began with the success of a specific vegetable: the kale.

This vegetable from the cabbage family is especially rich in iron, calcium, vitamin K and antioxidants, in addition to being a source of vegetable protein and fiber and being low in calories.

But, above all, the kale is delicious and its texture, crispy if fresh, endure any kind of challenge in the kitchen.

Fried, roasted, grilled, boiled, cooked, grilled, sautéed. The kale has no limits and, in addition, it is very fashionable.

Do you know what “zoodles” are?

They are one of the vegetarian trends of the moment. Zoodles are spirals of vegetables to add raw or just cooked (not boiled) to any recipe.

An original, versatile and fun way to eat almost all kinds of greens and vegetables: from zucchini to celeriac, through pumpkin and sweet potato.

You just have to have a spiralizer at home, a brush to clean it, a frying pan and some tweezers to turn the «zoodles» without breaking.

La editorial Lunwerg has just published a cookbook signed by Anna Helm Baxter exclusively dedicated to them.

The Spring Pasta with Peas and Mint and the Thai Salad with Zucchini Zoodles are some of the suggestions to get the most out of this new vegetable cut.

A meal at The Greenhouse

The chef Rodrigo de la Calle He has been practicing one for years vegetable cuisine, not vegetarian, within the framework of Gastrobotany, a revolutionary concept that refers to the rescue of some plant species through their use in the kitchen.

In his hands, vegetables, greens, shoots, flowers, roots reveal all their flavor and versatility, showing off surprising shapes and textures. His restaurant El Invernadero, in Madrid, has 1 Michelin star and has three menus (65, 95 and 135 euros) that can be 100% vegetable or even include cheeses, meat, seafood and fish. The pairing can also be done with vegetable drinks such as water kefir or smoothies. «Green power».

Stylish fruit juices

Cloudy apple (with Fuji, Gala, Granny Smith and Golden varieties), Smooth Clementine, Delikata Pineapple, Late Peach (with three varieties of peach), Ripe Mango, Pink Tomato.

The Cuckoo range of ‘premium’ juices and nectars can be found in specialty stores for around 2,50 each bottle. All the power of fruit, in the most stylish format.

Seeds, grain health

Gourmet seeds have been the subject of a true cult in recent years. The reasons? These ingredients are rich in fatty acids essential, proteins and in some cases –such as chia– show binding properties, essential for those who follow a vegan diet and dispense with eggs in their recipes.

Flax, sesame, quinoa, amaranth, psyllium. The success of these powerful grains has gone hand in hand with that of the bulk stores, which have ceased to be the typical stores of a lifetime to become one of the most fashionable businesses.

In several Spanish cities, those who have a weakness for healthy food, novelties and the environment (they save a lot on paper and plastic) can count on the Pepita y Grano and Casa Ruiz outlets. The latest arrival is Unpacked, in Madrid, a supermarket sustainable and plastic-free.

In Arpège, one of the best vegetarian dishes in the world

In Arpège, one of the best vegetarian dishes in the world

It’s in Paris, it looks 3 Michelin stars and it is one of the best establishments in the world. Without being, yes, a vegetarian restaurant, Arpège is a temple for those who trust in the gastronomic wealth of the plant world.

El TOP chef Alain Passard Twenty years ago he energetically turned the wheel of his kitchen towards the delicacy of vegetables and greens. Currently, one of the menus –which is priced at 320 euros– is focused only on vegetables.

The restaurant has, no less, three orchards located in different areas of France, each with different peculiarities of the soil. One of the most emblematic dishes of Passard’s green cuisine is the Multicolored planter served with semolina with argan oil and vegetable merguez sausage (with beets replacing the meat). This dish is reinvented each season according to the seasonal products.

Kombu seaweed, very rich in calcium

Algae are some of the densest plants since the nutritional point of view.

They are very rich in vitamins, antioxidants and, above all, minerals, among which stand out iodine and calcium.

El kombu seaweed, which belongs to the group of brown algae, is a true vegetable luxury, as it is rich in vegetable proteins, vitamins, is easy to digest (and increases the digestibility of legumes) and above all it holds the primacy of being one of the most rich in calcium: 134 milligrams per cup.

Furthermore, puro umami (It is rich monosodium glutamate) and it is a good trick for dishes to acquire a certain taste and aroma of the sea.

The phenomenon of the «plant-based milks»

There was a time when drinking soy milk without a precise medical reason was, apart from an eccentricity, the only option.

The health food market has been shaken in recent years by the multiplying of «plant-based milks» or vegetable drinks, a phenomenon that both those who cannot and those who do not want to drink rejoice milk of animal origin. The almonds, rice, oats, soybeans, walnuts and coconut. Natural or flavored.

There is one for every taste. Among them, the oatmeal from the Swedish brand Oatly is undoubtedly one of the best – and one of the most beautiful – on the market. With chocolate or orange and mango flavor, enriched in calcium and vitamins and even in a special edition for baristas, professionals and passionate about «Latte art». That there are so many options is a real luxury.

Crazy about nuts

Each filtering bag nuts are a great ally in diets that dispense with foods of animal origin, because they are, among other things, a good source of proteins and mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids. They also stand out for their high caloric intake, vitamins (such as the antioxidant vitamin E) and minerals, of course, they tend to be very expensive.

Nutnut is the new must-have address for nut lovers – it’s a grocery store premium dried fruit which has its own toaster.

It has around one hundred references from the best production areas and among its peculiarities is the one that each customer can create their own unique mix. Natural, freshly toasted or seasoned with ingredients such as wasabi, lemon or chili.