Wicked Healthy by Chad and Derek Sarno and David Joachim is truly a masterpiece. A work of art. Insanely stunning photography and deliciously creative recipes make this book absolutely jaw-dropping. Every page is filled with incredible plant-based dishes that both sound and look unbelievable. It’s as much a gorgeous coffee table photo book as it is a kitchen tool.
I salivated over every, single, solitary visual in this book. It’s also full of beautiful personal stories, helpful kitchen tips and tricks and recipe after recipe of vegan food porn.
The only true downside? Some of this mouth-watering recipes seem almost impossible to make. Not because they’re too difficult. No, even though most of them SEEM super fancy and time consuming, a lot of them are fairly simple. The real issue?
Mushrooms.
It’s no secret I’m somewhat of a mushroom hater. They are probably my least favorite veggie along with eggplant. BUT. This book had me yearning for mushrooms. A huge percentage of their recipes call for fancy shrooms like Lion’s Mane, King Oyster and Lobster to create things like satay skewers, lobster rolls, scallops and other extraordinary dishes. The only problem is, it was super difficult for me to find any of them! And if I did stumble across a few in a grocery store, there were either not enough to purchase to make a full recipe OR it was going to cost like $30 for the amount of mushrooms the recipe called for. I have literally been dreaming about their lobster mushroom recipes, only to find out they can only be foraged in the fall! So now…I wait until I become a shroom forager!
In the meantime, I opted to make gorgeous recipes, in which the ingredients were much more accessible. Which left me with super simple dishes like poutine, corn chowder and a roasted zucchini pasta dish that were absolutely incredible, yet, made with staple pantry items. Their creative use of other veggies like cauliflower, jackfruit, carrots and tofu to mimic meat dishes are spectacular and inspiring. I am 100% certain you will adore, or at least be totally impressed, by every, single, recipe in this cookbook.
The Sarno brothers are truly magicians. This book is heaven and a necessity for any plant-based kitchen. GET A COPY NOW!
SPICY COCONUT-CORN CRACK
1 lb Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 cup garlic cloves (8-12 cloves, halved)
1 large white onion
2 cup vegetable broth
2 16 oz bags frozen organic corn
1 can coconut milk
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1 bay leaf
3 whole fresh, Thai red chiles
- Put potatoes and garlic in a medium saucepot, with water to cover, and boil until tender, about 15 minutes
- Drain, and set aside garlic pieces
- Meanwhile, in another medium saucepot, saute the onion in some oil until translucent
- Add broth and bring to a boil
- Add the reserved garlic, 1 bag of corn, coconut milk, pepper flakes, black pepper, salt and ginger and simmer for 5-8 minutes
- Remove from heat, let cool and then trasnfer to blender and blend until a creamy/chunky texture is acheieved
- Add the potatoes, remaining bag of corn, bay leaf and chiles back to the saucepot, and then stir in pureeed corn mixture
- Bring back to a simmer until it thickens, remove bay leaf and then serve with crusty bread and fresh herbs
SMOKY POUTINE
4 Russet potatoes, sliced lengthwise into wedges
2 tbsp avocado oil
Salt and smoked paprika
1/2 cup Kite Hill cream cheese
1 cup mushroom gravy
1 cup Wicked Healthy cheese sauce
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees
- Toss the wedges with oil, salt and paprika and lay on a baking sheet
- Roast at 425 degrees for 30-40 minutes
- Top with cheese sauce, mushroom gravy and cream cheese
PASTA WITH GRILLED SQUASH, LEMON AND HERBS
1 lb summer squash or zucchini, sliced lengthwise into quarter spears
3 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper
1/2 cup pine nuts
1 tbsp minced preserved Meyer lemon (I used the juice and zest of one lemon)
1 lb pasta, cooked
Handful fresh basil leaves, julienned
Handful of fresh parsley, minced
2 tsp chiles flakes
2 tsp sea salt
- Toss zucchini spears with 1 tbsp of olive oil, salt and pepper
- Grill the squash until it’s grill-marked on at least two sides, about 4 minutes each side, on medium/high heat-remove from heat and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- Toast the pine nuts in a dry medium pan over medium heat for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant and lightly browned
- Whisk together remaining 2 tbsp olive oil, lemon juice and lemon zest
- Add mixture over cooked pasta, then stir in chopped zucchini, herbs, chile flakes, pine nuts and salt to taste
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