Vegan Guide to Michelin Restaurants: Gauthier, Soho

• 1 cup dry polenta/corn meal
• 2 1/2 to 3 cups water
• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
• 1 cup loose fresh basil leaves (like a small bunch), and about 10 leaves reserved
• 1/4 cup olive oil, halved
• 2 teaspoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup water
• black pepper

Directions:

1. First, make the polenta. In a saucepan, mix the polenta, 1T olive oil, and water and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. As soon as it starts bubbling, turn the heat to medium and stir constantly like really I mean it. Stir and cook until it starts to thicken, about 5 minutes. If it feels too thick, add more water. It should be thick but still pourable. 
2. Pour the polenta into a casserole dish, about 6×6 or 8×4 or something medium sized. Set aside. 
3. Now to make the bruschetta topping. In a saucepan over medium heat, saute half the olive oil and all the garlic for a few minutes. Add the salt.
4. This is the fun part. Take your tomatoes and squeeze and tear and demolish them over the pan and drop them in. Just tear those little mofos apart into a few pieces each. Keep stirring.
5. Add 1/4 cup of water. Mix and stir. 
6. Add the tomato paste and the 1 cup of basil. You’ll probably need the rest of the olive oil here to prevent sticking. 
7. Bring to a boil, then bring down to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes until reduced. If it reduces too fast/gets sticky, add more water and turn your heat down lower. 
8. Good time to preheat your oven to 300F. 
9. Your final product should not be sticky but it should be spreadable and thick. Add the 10 reserved fresh basil leaves and the black pepper and stir through. Check for salt. 
10. Pour the tomato topping over the prepared polenta in the pan. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes. 
11. Let sit for a good 10 minutes. The polenta should be hard and crispy on the edges, and you should be able to pick up squares with your hands. 

• 1 1/2 cups dry polenta/corn meal
• 4 cups water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• black pepper
• 1 pint mushrooms, sliced (about 2 cups loose)
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup cannellini/white beans
• 1/3 cup grated vegan cheese (I used Violife and I love it forever now)

Directions: 

1. First, make the polenta. In a saucepan, mix the polenta, olive oil, and 3 cups of water and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. As soon as it starts bubbling, turn the heat to medium and stir constantly. Stir and cook until it starts to thicken, about 5 minutes. Add the 4th cup of water if it feels too thick. It should be pourable.
2. Pour the polenta into a medium-sized casserole dish. It should be quite deep, because polenta in this casserole stays soft.
3. Preheat your oven to 300F.
4. Arrange your mushrooms evenly over the polenta. Spread the beans and the parsley as well.
5. Now spread the grated cheese over the pan evenly. Add some freshly ground black pepper.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Let sit for 10.
7. Enjoyyyy! 

     First, we’ll make Ross’s potatoes, with lumps. Get about 3-4 pounds of potatoes. I really like cooking with a bag of mixed colors, it’s so cheerful! Boil the potatoes until soft, then drain. Add half of those potatoes back into the pot, and add salt, pepper, olive oil or butter, a dash of unsweetened plain almond milk, and mash! Careful – do not overmash, because we need to keep some lumps in there! 

POTATOES WITH PEAS & ONIONS – PHOEBE

     Next, chop up an onion and saute it over medium heat in a bit of olive oil in a saucepan. You know how do to this! I believe in you! After about 5 minutes, add in about 1/2C frozen peas, and cook for about 5 more minutes. 
     Then, in a new pot (or the pot from Ross’s potatoes, if you move them to a bowl), add the remaining 1.5-2 lbs. of potatoes, add your salt, pepper, olive oil or butter, dash of milk. Get your immersion blender or hand-blender out now, because we are going to whip these babies! Once they are really well blended and whipped, add the onions and peas and mix through with a wooden spoon. 
      

          TOTS – JOEY’S

I’m still really beat from my weekend, and from my full week now of being sick, so we’re going to use frozen tots instead of making them from scratch. I bet Trader Joe’s fantastic frozen (and vegan-marked) tots would still trump anything I tried from scratch. They cook really well, for about 20 minutes in a 400° oven. I let them cook an extra 10 minutes because crispy Tots are the work of heaven.