/ KCAL News
The new face of vegan cuisine, Chef Chloe Coscarelli brings new energy to healthy cooking. Her new cookbook, Chloe's Kitchen: 125 Easy, Delicious Recipes for Making the Food You Love the Vegan Way (Simon and Schuster), serves up great, delicious vegan recipes that's as fun as it is healthy. From macaroni and cheese, creamy Fettuccine Alfredo, to sliders and fries, adaptations of the most popular Chinese, Indian, and Mexican dishes, and her Cupcake Wars-winning vegan cupcakes, Chloe's recipes will fast become family favorites.
Check out these two recipes from Chloe's Kitchen and impress your vegan and non-vegan friends alike.
Related: Chef Chloe's Favorite Vegan Eats in Los Angeles
Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Sage Butter
Serves 4 to 6
Gnocchi (pronounced NYO-kee) are soft little pillows of potato heaven that pretty much put regular noodles to shame. I like to make dough with sweet potatoes and pan-fry the gnocchi with a touch of vegan butter and fresh sage leaves. You get extra points if they make it to the plate before going into your mouth.
Make-Ahead Tip
Uncooked gnocchi can be made in advance and kept frozen for up to 1 month or refrigerated for 3 to 4 days until ready to boil.
2 large red-skinned sweet potatoes (about 2 pounds)
2 teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for serving
2 ½ to 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
½ cup vegan margarine
½ cup fresh sage leaves
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Pierce sweet potatoes with a fork, place in a baking pan, and bake until fully cooked, about 45 to 60 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit until cool enough to handle.
Using a sharp knife, cut the potatoes in half lengthwise. Using a large spoon, scoop the flesh out of each sweet potato into a medium bowl. Thoroughly mash the sweet potatoes while they are still warm, then set aside or refrigerate to cool completely.
Add salt, nutmeg, and pepper to sweet potatoes. Add flour, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well with a spoon to combine. Once a soft, slightly sticky, dough has formed divide it into six portions. Generously flour the work surface and your hands. Roll each portion of dough into ropes about 1/2 inch in diameter. Each rope will be approximately 7 to 9 inches long. Dip a sharp knife in flour and cut each rope into 1-inch long pillows. If desired, roll each pillow on fork tines to make decorative ridges.
Fill a medium saucepan with heavily salted water and bring to a boil. In the meantime, heat margarine and sage in a large nonstick skillet until the margarine begins to bubble.
When the water in boiling, reduce hear to a gentle simmer and gently drop in the gnocchi, about 20 at a time. The gnocchi will float to the surface in about 4 minutes. Continue to cook about 30 seconds more. Using a slotted spoon, immediately transfer the gnocchi to the skillet of butter sauce. Let cook, turning frequently, for 1 to 2 minutes. You will have to do this in several batches, until all the gnocchi are cooked. Serve immediately, topped with additional ground black pepper.
Cinnamon-Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 26 3-inch cookies
These are the best vegan cookies in the world. When I was catering in Los Angeles, I could never fulfill the high demand for these cookies, so I decided to write this cookbook instead. Now you can make them yourself!
Make-Ahead Tip
Cookie dough can be made in advance and kept refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 1 month.
2 cups all-purpose flour*
½ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup vegan margarine
3 tablespoons instant espresso powder
1 cup powdered sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
1½ cups semisweet chocolate chips
(dairy-free)
About ¼ cup granulated sugar for sprinkling
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 or 3 large baking sheets with Silpat or parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
Using a mixer, beat margarine and espresso powder until well combined. Add powdered sugar and brown sugar, and beat until combined. Mix in the flour mixture ½ cup at a time. If dough seems too dry to scoop, add 1 to 2 tablespoons water. Stir in chocolate chips.
Scoop about 2 tablespoons dough at a time. Roll each scoop in a small plate of sugar. Place each scoop, round side up, on the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. For crisp cookies, gently flatten the dough with the palm of your hand. For soft cookies, leave as is. Bake about 12 to 14 minutes, or until the edges are browned. Let cool and serve.
Recipes excerpted from Chloe's Kitchen: 125 Easy, Delicious Recipes for Making the Food You Love the Vegan Way with permission from Simon and Schuster.
