Broccoli Rising and the Best Thing Since Sliced Bread
First, the good news — Miami Vegan: Plant-Based Recipes from the Tropics to Your Table is landing! Get your copy while it’s hot. I’m goofy with gratitude to Books and Books, Miami’s great indie bookstore, for hosting the book launch this Saturday, May 3, 7pm.
And I’m pumped to be in conversation with award-winning food journalist and devoted rescue dog advocate Laine Doss.
Y’all register (it’s free!) and come join the party.
Can’t make it down to Miami? Have a listen to Tip of The Tongue, for my chat with fabulous podcast host Liz Williams. It’s almost like we’re all together in the kitchen and at the table.
More Miami Vegan events coming, so stay tuned.
And now the not so good news — Brace yourselves, darlings. Reciprocal tariffs are upending global trade and geopolitical relations. All that chaos trickles down to you and me, affecting food prices here at home, and not in a way you and your wallet are going to like either.
Welcome to the first part in a special Broccoli Rising series, Cheap Eats for Tough Tariff Times. Let’s start with bread. Award-winning chef and World Central Kitchen dynamo José Andrés says, “You can spot great cooks not by what they do with the best ingredients but by what they do with the scraps. Italian, French, and Spanish cooks all make amazing dishes with old bread; Mexicans do astonishing things with leftover tortillas. In Lebanon and elsewhere in the Middle East there is a whole class of dishes dedicated to using up old flatbread.” Here’s his recipe for fattoush plus a dozen more ways to give new life to old bread:
Panko — Why would anyone spend money to buy breadcrumbs? You’ve probably got bread at home. Use it. White bread fans, you’re in luck. Traditional Japanese panko starts with white bread, crusts removed. It’s grated or torn into coarse bits, then toasted. If you’re using a food processor, use the shredding disc, but tearing the bread by hand is a nice stress relief. Panko is meant to be flaky.
Spread the bread bits on a rimmed baking sheet at low-ish heat — about 300℉ for about 20 minutes, fluffing and tossing occasionally. Panko should be flaky, dry and lightly tan, with the overall texture light and airy but delivering crunch.
Panko keeps in an airtight container for a few months, so it’ll be ready to use to top my vegan macaroni and cheese. The panko makes for a brilliant creamy-meets-crunchy experience.
Plant-based Parmesan — once known as poor man’s Parmesan, this cheeseless crunchy sprinkle deserves a rebranding
1 cup breadcrumbs from about 4 slices of bread*
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
pinch sea salt
good grind of fresh ground pepper
In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Stir in your breadcrumbs, letting them enjoy that oil. Keep stirring until the bread starts to turn golden and toasty, about 8 minutes, then reduce heat to medium.
Stir in the nutritional yeast and combine. Finish with a pinch of sea salt and pepper.
Allow the crumbs to cool completely, then pour into an airtight container. Plant-based
Parmesan keeps crunchy for several months. Sprinkle on pasta, gratins and casseroles.
To make breadcrumbs, tear the bread into pieces, then whir in a food processor or blender for a minute or and ta-da! you have crumbs.
Gazpacho — Spain’s refreshing produce-driven summer in a glass.
Ajo blanco — Spain’s other chilled soup, a cool and creamy wonder.
Romesco sauce — Also with Spanish origins, it’s a dip, it’s a sauce, it’s the accessory every vegetable needs.
Muhammara — the Middle East’s zestier spin on romesco, This recipe s courtesy of author Diana Abu-Jaber and her lovely food memoir, The Language of Baklava.
Pa’amb tomaquet — Catalan tomato toasts, a standard offering at every tapas bar, is easy to make, awesome to eat —
Pappa con pomodoro Italiy’s comforting tomato and bread soup
Panzanella same concept in a signifcant salad that invites you to add any kind of fresh or roasted vegetable that moves you. You never have to eat it the same way twice.
Bread even has a place in a way-better-than-you’d think dessert, summer berry pudding. It’s a fat-free dazzler that makes the most of fresh seasonal fruit and soft, squishy bread.
Voila, a dozen happy uses for bread that feed you well, save you money, and reduce food waste. Paid subscribers, I’ve got one more bread recipe exclusively for you — migas, Portugal’s garlicy stirfry of beans and greens bolstered with breadcrumbs. It’s quick and simple to make but mighty fine to eat . No wonder Cervantes wrote, “With bread, all sorrows are less.”