Fall vegan recipe notebook

“Without really thinking, I consider dishes with vegetables as the basis, moving away from the trio of meat, starches and vegetables,” says young chef Manon Fleury*. I’m interested in pushing the technique on a product without attaching multiple things to it. Vegetarian cuisine is rarely present in French culinary heritage; it is up to us, chefs, to reinvent it. Our behaviors influence individuals and we have a duty to reverse the trend. »

Without turning her back on animal proteins, she imagines compositions where the hits of the vegetable garden – vegetables, legumes and other seeds – are no longer confined to the role of garnishes: they shine, in first place, while fish and meat are used with parsimony, in the background, sometimes as a condiment, or may be absent. Far from any form of orthorexia or a certain snobbery, the exception has become the rule at a time when 34% of French people say they are followers of flexitarianism**, a diet consisting of limiting one’s consumption of meat products without giving them up. totally. Witness to the taste and concerns of an era, this mentality results from an (eco)logical choice at a time when numerous studies demonstrate that a diet rich in meat produces up to 150% of greenhouse gases. in addition to a diet rich in plants.

Beautiful and good vegetables

“From food for the poor, plants have become objects of desire,” noted Éric Birlouez, historian and sociologist of food, in a survey conducted by the Observatory of Popular Cuisines in April 2018. Colorful, fresh, full of vitamins, healthy, vegetables and fruits display an undeniable cool quotient, boosted by the success of Nordic or Levantine cuisines, which give them pride of place. The rediscovery and defense of food biodiversity, the comeback of vegetable gardens and the rediscovered importance of seasonal products, local if possible, contribute to the renewed interest in green. “I first take inspiration from vegetables when I think of a dish, and then I add meat or fish,” confides Swedish chef Linda Granebring, who has just opened her restaurant Åke, rue Marie-et-Louise. in the 10th arrondissement of Paris. There are so many varieties of herbs, vegetables and flowers that it’s always something new! » Enough to encourage culinary creativity and guard against any monotony.

On supermarket shelves, the plant-based offering is also taking up more and more space: in 2018, large and medium-sized supermarkets showed a 24% increase in sales of vegetarian and vegan products. More than a fashion, a real green (r)evolution of food which goes beyond the vegetarian and vegan community to become a food practice in its own right. Plants, our new stars!

* Looking for a new place…
**Kantar survey, November 2017.