Well: A Star Chef Celebrates Fall Vegetables

Mike AnthonyDelicious no-meat recipes for your holiday table.

When executive chef Michael Anthony from New York City’s Gramercy Tavern added a series of vegetable tasting dishes to the celebrated restaurant’s menu, he wasn’t trying to attract vegetarian diners.

“It’s not a way to pull a niche market into the restaurant, nor is it designed to be an escape from regular food,’’ Mr. Anthony explained. “It’s meant to be a celebration of vegetables, and a great snapshot of what’s available in the farmers’ market and what’s growing in family farms around our area.’’

As a result, Mr. Anthony says he was eager to “show off” vegetables as part of the Well Vegetarian Thanksgiving series.

“There is this notion of reconsidering the role that proteins play in the conception of the dish,’’ he says. “It makes for good eating to reconsider and create dishes that let vegetables play a major role.’’

The seasonal menu offered by Mr Anthony includes buckwheat and black kale, a soup made with celery root and chestnuts and a salad of sunchokes and apples.

“The nature of these dishes is that you let them steal the show,” he said. “You don’t eat it and think, ‘Boy, this would be good with duck.’ You just say, ‘This is so delicious.’ ”

Read all of Chef Anthony’s recipes below, and click to explore all the dishes in Well’s Vegetarian Thanksgiving series.

Michael Nagle for The New York Times

Michael Anthony’s
Buckwheat and Black Kale With Brussels Sprouts

Chef Anthony has long been fascinated with the aromatics and flavor of buckwheat, and the marriage of buckwheat and kale is delicious, he says. “This for me is American food,” he says. “It would have a home on my grandmother’s table in Indiana.” You can find buckwheat at the Union Square market, online at Burkitt Mills or at Whole Foods or Indian food specialty stores.

3 medium onions, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups buckwheat
Salt
Pepper
6 cups water
1 bunch black kale, blanched and finely chopped
2 parsnips, diced and blanched
1 tablespoon whipped cream
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 small red onion, sliced and sautéed
12 large shiitake mushrooms, quartered and sautéed
12 brussels sprouts, quartered or split into leaves (roasted in 375 degree oven until just tender).

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, sweat the onions and garlic by cooking them in 1 tablespoon oil until they release some of their moisture and become slightly translucent, about 5 minutes. (“Sweating” vegetables means slowly softening them over gentle heat to draw out the flavor without browning them.)

2. Add buckwheat, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover with water and bring to a simmer for approximately 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let buckwheat rest in water for approximately 10 minutes. Strain excess water.

3. Once the buckwheat has been drained, immediately add kale and parsnips. Add whipped cream and parsley, and stir gently. Garnish by topping with shiitake mushrooms, onions and roasted brussels sprouts.

Yield: Serves 8.

Michael Nagle for The New York Times

Michael Anthony’s
Celery Root and Chestnut Soup With Brussels Sprouts

As you dig into this soup, with its white, soft and silky base, each bite has a whole new texture, Mr. Anthony explains. “This really complex soup is beautiful and delicious,” he says, “and a great example of what’s falling from the trees and coming out of the garden.”

For the soup:
1 medium onion, diced small
1 stalk celery, diced small
1 medium leek, white and light green parts only, diced small
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon olive oil, plus more for sweating the vegetables
1 large bulb celery root, peeled and diced (about 2 1/2 cups)
4 cups milk
Salt
Pepper
Juice from 1 lemon (about 2 tablespoons, or to taste)

For the chestnut puree:
5 shallots, sliced thin
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 sprig thyme
12 chestnuts, peeled and roughly chopped
1/2 ounce Calvados
Salt
Pepper
2 cups water

To garnish the soup (per serving):
1 tablespoon celery root, diced and blanched
1 teaspoon carrots, diced and blanched
3 turnip pieces, quartered and blanched (about three tablespoons)
2 chestnuts, roasted and diced
2 brussels sprouts, steamed and cut into dice or split into leaves

1. Prepare the soup. Sweat the onions, celery, leeks and garlic in a small amount of olive oil until soft without browning, for about 5 minutes. Add celery root and sweat for 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Add milk and then add water to cover, and simmer for 45 to 50 minutes.

3. Puree the milk mixture in a blender with 1 teaspoon olive oil and lemon juice. Strain through a fine mesh strainer.

4. Prepare the chestnut puree. Saute shallots, garlic, thyme and chestnuts over medium heat for 1 minute. Deglaze the pan by adding the Calvados. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add water and simmer until tender. Puree the mixture in a blender, adding water to adjust consistency.

5. To plate (per serving): Pour 5 ounces (5/8 cup) of celery root soup and 1/4 cup of chestnut puree into each bowl. Garnish each bowl with diced celery root, carrots, turnips, roasted chestnuts and brussels sprouts.

Yield: Serves 8.

Michael Nagle for The New York Times

Michael Anthony’s
Sunchoke and Apple Salad

In the fall, sunchokes are crunchy and watery, like a water chestnut, or like a pear that’s not sweet, says Mr. Anthony. “They are a wonderful way to bring texture and crunch to a salad,” he says.

12 sunchokes
Olive oil to coat the sunchokes
4 apples, sliced
2 tablespoons toasted pumpkin seeds
Mixed greens: radicchio, bok choy, mizuna, celery leaves
1/2 cup celery, minced
1 tablespoon shallot, minced

Apple cider vinaigrette:
1 cup apple cider
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

1. Prepare the sunchokes. Wash sunchokes with the skin on. Slice 2 sunchokes, raw, into thin strips using a mandoline; set aside. Roast the remaining sunchokes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place them in a pan with olive oil, and roast for about 40 minutes.

2. Toss the hot sunchokes with the remaining salad ingredients.

3. Prepare the cider vinaigrette by combining all the vinaigrette ingredients; dress the salad and season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with raw sunchoke slices.

Yield: Serves 8.