Remember my story about the Crispy Crabless Cakes and how John and I ate the most delicious ones at Lakeside (Wynn Hotel) in Las Vegas? Well the inspo for this See Food Chowder is essentially the same. This restaurant was a full seafood restaurant that had an equally great vegan menu with plant-based versions of things you didn’t think you could ever find! And when I see food, more importantly anything that says the word vegan before it, I eat it! Then I recreate it, and now you lucky clams don’t even need to go there ’cause you get this tasty rendition right here.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces shiitake mushrooms
- 8 ounces oyster mushrooms
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- 1½ pounds small red potatoes, quartered (about 4 ½ cups quartered)
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in hot water for 20 minutes
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup finely chopped onion (about 1 onion)
- 1 cup finely chopped carrot (about 1 large carrot)
- 1 cup finely chopped celery (about 2 stalks)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne
- ¼ cup arrowroot flour or all-purpose flour
- 1 vegan chicken-flavored bouillon cube dissolved in 2 cups hot water, or 2 cups low-sodium vegetable stock
- ¾ cup dry white wine
- 1 cup unsweetened soy milk
- 4 hearts of palm, thinly sliced
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped nori seaweed
- Tofu Bacon Crumbles, for garnish
- Fresh dill sprigs or finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
- Oyster crackers or vegan buttery crackers, for serving (optional)
How to Make It
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Leave most of the mushrooms whole, trim any woody stems from the shiitakes, and coarsely chop any particularly large shiitake or oyster mushrooms.
- Toss the mushrooms on a baking sheet with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, the Old Bay seasoning, and ¼ teaspoon each of the salt and pepper.
- On another baking sheet, toss the potatoes with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, the thyme, and the remaining ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper.
- Bake the mushrooms and potatoes at the same time. Place the mushrooms on the top rack; they’ll take 13 to 15 minutes, depending on the size, until roasted and crispy in some spots. Place the potatoes on the middle rack; they’ll take about 20 minutes until roasted and slightly crispy on the outside.
- Meanwhile, drain and rinse the cashews and blend together with the water in a high-powered blender until very smooth.
- In a large stockpot over medium heat, sauté the onion, carrot, and celery in the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil for 4 to 5 minutes until softened and half cooked. Add the garlic and cayenne and sauté for 2 minutes. Lower the heat slightly to prevent burning.
- Add the flour and stir constantly for 2 minutes. Once it’s a little sticky and quite dry in the pot, add a bit of the stock to loosen and smooth out the mixture.
- Continue stirring while you add the wine. Bring to a simmer and cook for 2 minutes.
- Constantly stir while slowly adding the soy milk and the cashew mixture and bring to a low simmer. Add the remaining stock and bring to a low simmer again. Add the mushrooms, potatoes, hearts of palm, corn, dill, parsley, and nori. Heat through for 10 to 15 minutes and serve immediately. Add salt to taste if you used low-sodium vegetable stock instead of bouillon.
- Top with the bacon crumbles and garnish with the dill. Serve with oyster crackers or vegan buttery crackers, if desired.