Crazy Good Vegan

Book excerpt: Lloyd Rose is a wizard at using commonly found pantry ingredients and transforming them into flavor-packed plant-based meals. Where many plant-based chefs are calling for expensive and hard-to-find ingredients like black salt or kappa carrageenan to mimic flavors and textures of animal products, Lloyd keeps it simple. He combines a handful of key ingredients with smart cooking techniques to make food that just plain tastes good, doesn't break the bank and happens to be vegan. For instance, Lloyd's recipe for Louisana-style fried tofu nuggets has you rip the tofu into rough chunks (instead of slicing) before coating in a seasoned batter; the batter gets into all those crevices and makes for a superior texture with each savory bite. He elevates a simple tomato pasta dish with chopped sundried tomatoes marinated in oil, oat milk and red pepper flakes. The oat milk adds the perfect creamy touch with no funky aftertaste which can happen with almond or coconut milk; the marinated tomatoes add depth of flavor; and you get that spicy kick that has your taste buds doing a happy dance. Inspired by his mom's Jamaican heritage, Lloyd's dishes are bold and rooted in tradition. Plant-based home cooks who don't have the time and budget for complex recipes will go crazy for Lloyd's refreshing reminder that the best things in the kitchen are usually the simplest.