Have you ever wanted to cook delicious vegan food like the crew of OC's own Seabirds Truck? Well, fire up your tablets, because over the Christmas weekend, the Birds released an e-cookbook of the all-vegan luxe lonchera's greatest hits.
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Truck owner Stephanie Morgan told us via email:
It's basically a collection of about 30 of some of our more popular dishes on the truck. It's written by me and illustrated by a former bird Nicole Daddona (aka Baby Bird). There's hand-illustrations and pictures and it's super cute! $15 each.
Morgan sent us a review copy of the PDF-formatted cookbook, and gave us permission to share one of our favorite Seabird dishes, made especially timely since Brussels sprouts are in season right now. Where many recipes call for braising or roasting them with bacon, these little cabbage-looking guys have lots of flavor of their own, so there's no need for adding pork fat. The Birds' delicious treatment is easy to make, and fits in with their mission of sourcing locally-grown fresh vegetables.
The Seabirds Vegan Revolution is available at seabirdstruck.com
Brussels Sprouts With Balsamic Butter and Candied Pecans
By Stephanie Morgan, reprinted with permission from author
Ingredients:
3 pounds Brussels sprouts
4 cups organic balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons vegan butter, Earth Balance
1 cup pecans
salt to taste
½ cup cane sugar
Remove outer leaves from sprouts and cut off stem. Cut each sprout in half and sear on a hot skillet with some oil until browned.
Flip and sear on the other sides. You can also toss with olive oil and roast in an oven heated at 375 degrees for about 7 minutes per side. Lightly salt.
Candied pecans:
In a sauce pan, combine ½ cup cane sugar with 2 cups filtered water and bring to a slow simmer. Stir frequently.
Let it reduce until it becomes a thick syrup. Remove from heat and add the pecans. Stir so each pecan is coated with the syrup.
Remove the pecans and place on a buttered cookie sheet and separate them so they are not clumped together. Let cool.
Balsamic Glaze:
Pour 4 cups balsamic vinegar in a sauce pan and heat on medium low, or a slow simmer, until it becomes thick and sweet, about 20 minutes, and let cool for about 10 minutes. The end product will be a little less than a quarter of what you started with.
You can let it simmer longer for an extra thick glaze or less if you want it thinner, but the thicker it is, the sweeter it will be. Tip: Prep now for later!
Reduce a whole bottle of balsamic at one time so you can use for later dishes. It keeps very well in the cabinet or fridge. Just take out of the fridge a few hours before you want to use it.
To serve:
Add three tablespoons of vegan butter to the balsamic reduction and mix well. Toss the seared sprouts in the balsamic butter, making sure each one is coated. Crumble cooled candied pecans over the sprouts. Ready to enjoy!
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