FOK: How did you get your start as a vegan chef?
MR: I always loved cooking as a child. So, after a brief stint at NYU Law School, I returned to that first love. I started working in kitchens in the early ’90s and my cooking style continued to evolve as I cooked in different restaurants. I became a vegetarian while I was on a kibbutz in Israel and went vegan shortly thereafter. Ever since, my whole career has been based around plant-based foods.  

FOK: Both of your recent cookbooks, Healing the Vegan Way and The Ultimate Age-Defying Plan: The Plant-Based Way to Stay Mentally Sharp and Physically Fit, include oil-free versions of every recipe in them. Why do you feel it’s important to highlight oil-free options?
MR: There is compelling evidence that a whole-food, plant-based diet that’s oil-free helps prevent and reverse cardiovascular disease. In the training courses I conduct around the country and at the Vegan Summerfest, where I’ve been the executive chef for the past eight years, there’s been a big increase in oil-free food requests. At Summerfest, we even have an SOS-free (sugar-, oil-, and salt-free) food station for attendees.

FOK: How has collaborating with your wife, naturopathic doctor Ashley Boudet, changed the way you cook and create recipes?
MR: Now there’s even more of an emphasis on the healing qualities of foods and optimizing nutrition. One concept that we used in our latest book is the “Plus One” idea. Basically, it involves thinking of just one little thing you can do to enhance your meal’s nutrition, like adding fresh berries to breakfast or toasted nuts and seeds to salad. Then doing it!

FOK: Since you made the switch to a plant-based lifestyle on a kibbutz, you’re probably a good person to ask about cooking for Passover. What can you recommend?
MR: A lot of traditional Passover dishes have eggs in them, so first I would say replace those eggs with chia or flaxseed. For the meal, you can serve Matzo-Encrusted Portobello Mushrooms with Roasted Asparagus and Parsley Pesto and a Sweet Potato Kugel. And if you sub breadcrumbs for the matzo meal, the recipes make a great ham-free Easter dinner, too.

FOK: Do you have any tips for being plant-based during holidays and family gatherings in general?
MR: If you’re committed to a certain lifestyle and eating a certain way, you should do your thing and bring foods that you can eat and share with others. That way, everyone can sit at the same table and enjoy the time together regardless of differences in diet preferences.

FOK: Finally, what’s up next for you?
MR: I’ve been doing some plant-based corporate consulting and training culinary teams in a national supermarket chain. I’ll be back at Vegan Summerfest for its 45th year this July. But my biggest news is that I’m working on creating a state-of-the-art, plant-based culinary academy in Boulder, Colorado. It will be an extension of the Vegan Fusion online teacher training program that shows people how to share their enthusiasm and love of a plant-based lifestyle with their local communities.

Chef Mark Reinfeld’s Tricolor Sweet Potato Kugel Recipe

Commemorate Passover with a vegan version of one of the holiday’s classic dishes. Full recipe here.

The post A Conversation with Award-Winning Vegan Chef Mark Reinfeld appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

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Known as Maror in Hebrew, Horseradish is the symbolic “bitter herb” eaten during the Passover Seder. For thousands of years, families and friends have gathered to participate in this ceremony in which we retell the story of the Hebrews’ enslavement and liberation from ancient Egypt—and eat a festive holiday meal.

The funny thing is that horseradish is not at all bitter; it’s actually very sharp, or hot, depending on your perspective. Nonetheless, when preparing and eating fresh horseradish, it can cause quite a bit of discomfort.

The Horseradish plant, Armoracia rusticana, is a perennial member of the cruciferous family of plants, which includes kale, broccoli, turnips, and mustards, among others. It is thought to be native to Eastern Europe and Western Asia and has been cultivated since ancient times. The uncut root is covered by a rough, brownish exterior and has no aroma whatsoever. However, once the root is peeled and the ivory flesh is exposed to the air, a chemical reaction occurs as the root’s cells are broken, liberating volatile isothiocyanates (ITCs). These ITC molecules—common to the cruciferous family of plants and known to imbue the plants with anticancer properties—causes the burning sensation in our eyes and mucous membranes. The burning discomfort associated with horseradish can be so intense that it makes peeling even the sharpest, most offensive onion feel like child’s play. This is why some people prepare it outdoors, or at least under a ventilation hood. At the Passover table, the prepared horseradish is eaten together with Matzo, an unleavened flatbread.  Beyond Passover, try it on sandwiches, or use as a dip in small doses. Due to its intense nature, horseradish is usually consumed in small amounts, as a condiment.

Here is my simple recipe for a delicious, magenta beet horseradish. The addition of beets tempers the intensity of the horseradish. If you prefer your horseradish white and straight up, stop after step 1.

“The Bitter Herb” Beet Horseradish Recipe

This recipe makes about 6½ cups of prepared horseradish, which is great if you’re having a crowd over for the Seder or if you want to give some to friends. You can halve or even quarter the recipe for smaller yields.

Ingredients:
2 cups packed, finely grated peeled horseradish root (using a food processor in a well-ventilated area)
1½ cups distilled white vinegar, divided
3 cups finely grated cooked beets

Instructions:
1. Combine the grated horseradish with 1 cup vinegar. See Fun Facts below for a tip on how to control horseradish sharpness.
2. Add 3 cups of beets and mix well.

Fun Facts About Horseradish

• You can control the sharpness of horseradish during the preparation process by deciding when to add vinegar. Vinegar halts the chemical oxidation process which produces the volatile ITCs. For milder horseradish, add the vinegar immediately after grating the root; for more potent horseradish, wait 5 to 10 minutes before adding the vinegar.

• Prepared horseradish will keep for weeks in the refrigerator, but it will become milder as the volatile ITCs dissipate. Eat it within a week for greatest potency.

• You know the wasabi you eat in Japanese restaurants? It is most likely ground horseradish root colored with green food dye. True wasabi root, a relative of horseradish root, only grows in cold, clear running mountain stream beds, and a single kilogram can sell for $160, wholesale.

• It’s easy to grow your own horseradish—too easy, in fact. Known for becoming invasive, the plant’s long taproots are difficult to completely dig up from the ground, much like dandelions. If you leave one little piece in the ground, new plants will sprout and spread, taking over your entire garden if you’re not careful.

• Are horseradish leaves edible? Reportedly, yes! The luxurious, elongated leaves can be eaten. However, I must warn you, our farmer Nora Pugliese and I tasted a small amount of raw horseradish leaf about two years ago and became intensely nauseated. My queasiness lasted for a couple of hours, and Nora’s lasted the entire day.

• Collinsville, Illinois, is the self-proclaimed horseradish capital of the world, and rightly so. With its potash-rich soils, this area produces about half of the world’s horseradish crop. If you’re up for a road trip, the 30th annual International Horseradish Festival will be held in Collinsville June 3–4, 2022.

The post What Is Horseradish and How to Prepare It (Plus a Beet Horseradish Recipe for Passover) appeared first on Forks Over Knives.