The Conscious Cook was the very first vegan cookbook I ever owned, and I was immediately enamored by the beauty, creativity, and thought that Tal Ronnen infused into each of his artfully crafted recipes.
On two separate occasions, I spent a solid 20 minutes flipping through the pages while blocking the cookbook stand in Whole Foods. What can I say, his golden tomato bernaise sauce left my mouth agape. Had I not been in the throws of my penny-pinching grad school years, I would have gifted it to myself; however, I graciously welcomed it as a Christmas gift from my dad and step mom in 2010 and have been cooking from it ever since.
When I heard that Tal was releasing a new cookbook, Crossroads: Extraordinary Recipes from the Restaurant That Is Reinventing Vegan Cuisine, packed with recipes from his brilliant and critically acclaimed vegan restaurant — Crossroads Kitchen — I did a little dance. When I received the book and began flipping through the pages, I did a big ol’ breakdance.
Photograph by Lisa Romerein
Tal doesn’t just create brilliant vegan recipes, he creates brilliant recipes, period. They’re elegant and intricate without being fussy. They’re comforting yet rejuvenating and light. And they’re downright inspiring. He’s the only guy — other than Dan, of course ;) — that can convince me to whip up homemade pasta on a Wednesday night after a long day at work. Because homemade chive pasta with morels and asparagus with walnut parmesan. Need I say more? ♥
With recipes like Roasted Mushroom Flatbread with Caramelized Onions, Acorn Squash Ravioli, Lasagna with Puttanesca Sauce, Decadent Dark Chocolate Cake, and this dreamy Warm Kale & Artichoke Dip, it’s hard not to fall in love with Crossroads. Even more, it’s a challenge to find a convincing reason to step outside the kitchen, because Tal’s recipes ignite inspiration and offer encouragement. He might gently nudge you outside of your cooking comfort zone, but his descriptions will expertly guide you to the perfected and finished dish. Yet another sign that an excellent recipe has the ability to draw out the talented chef within each of us, no matter our skill level.
If you’re looking for a gift to add to your wish list or to gift to yourself this holiday season, I absolutely recommend Crossroads. And as an extra special gift, Tal and his publisher, Artisan Books, are generously offering a copy of Crossroads to one lucky gal or guy.
Be sure to 1) scroll down and enter to win and 2) make a pitstop halfway down to grab Tal’s ridiculously tasty recipe for Warm Kale & Artichoke Dip. It’s the perfect holiday gathering appetizer as it’s easy to throw together, makes a large batch, and is an all around crowd-pleaser.
Warm Kale & Artichoke Dip from Crossroads by Tal Ronnen + A Giveaway!
Ingredients
- 8 large artichoke hearts or two 15-ounce cans artichoke hearts in water
- 2 tablespoons Earth Balance butter stick
- 2 shallots, minced
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 cup dry sherry
- 1 cup Cashew Cream*
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
- 6 cups baby kale, coarsely chopped
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Sliced raw vegetables (or tortilla chips) for servings
- Smoked paprika, for garnish
Instructions
- If using fresh artichoke hearts, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the artichoke hearts and blanch for 10 minutes, or until slightly tender; a paring knife should slide in easily. Drain the hearts and plunge into an ice bath to "shock" them -- i.e., stop the cooking and cool them quickly. Drain and coarsely chop. If using canned artichokes, simply drain and chop.
- Put a large deep saute pan over medium heat and add the butter substitute. When it has melted, add the shallots, garlic, and artichoke hearts and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft, 6 to 8 minutes.
- Add the wine and sherry and cook for 1 minutes to evaporate some of the alcohol. Add the cashew cream, stock, nutritional yeast flakes, and thyme, reduce the heat to medium-low, and gently simmer until thick, 35 to 40 minutes; stir occasionally to make sure the cream mixture doesn't stick and burn on the bottom of the pan.
- Fold in the kale a few handfuls at a time and continue to simmer until the kale is soft and the artichokes have broken down slightly, about 10 minutes. Season with the salt and pepper. (The dip will keep for up to 3 days covered in the refrigerator. To serve, reheat over medium-low heat, stirring often.)
- If the dip appears to thick, add a couple of tablespoons of stock or water.
- Spoon the dip into a serving bowl, dust with smoked paprika, and serve with the potato chips, crackers, or sliced raw vegetables.
Recipe Notes
*To make the cashew cream:
2 cups whole raw cashews, rinsed
Filtered water
Put the cashews in a bowl and pour enough col filtered water to cover. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 12 hours or up to 1 day.
Drain the cashews in a colander and rinse with cold water. Transfer the cashews to a blender, preferably a Vitamix, and pour in enough cold filtered water to cover them by 1 inch, about 3 cups. Blend on high for 2 to 3 minutes, until very smooth and creamy without any trace of graininess. The cashew cream should be smooth on the palate; add more water if necessary. If you're not using a heavy-duty blender, you may need to strain the cashew cream through a fine-mesh sieve to get rid of any grittiness.
Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. It will thicken as it sits, so blend with 1/2 cup or so filtered water if needed to reach the desired consistency. It can also be frozen.
Excerpted from Crossroads by Tal Ronnen with Scot Jones (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2015. Photographs by Lisa Romerein.
Crossroads Cookbook Giveaway
One winner will receive a copy of Crossroads by Tal Ronnen. For a chance to win, simply enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter widget below and comment on this post between December 3rd and December 17th. Please note: this giveaway is only open to residents of the US and Canada.
Would love a copy! I’m always on the hunt for more inspiration in the kitchen.
I’m going to be visiting LA in the near future and can’t wait to try this restaurant – the cookbook looks amazing!
OMG this dip looks INCREDIBLE. totally something I’d make my very non-vegan family.
I would LOVE a copy of this cookbook! After waiting months and months in anticipation for the Crossroads restaurant to open, I must have ordered every dish on the menu, because they all sounded so tempting! The restaurant is always my go-to spot when I visit LA so obviously I cannot wait to see what the cookbook has in store! :)
The Roasted Mushroom Flatbread would be enough of a reason for me, but beyond that I love unique recipes. This book sounds like it’s full of recipes that I would love!
It looks like it has some great recipes and I love trying new recipes.
Wow, this sounds amazing! I’d love o try more recipes from this exciting cookbook!
Omg I’ve been dying to get this book! That dip makes me want it even more :).
Always looking for new recipes and ideas and these look great!!!
I would love to win this! I didn’t get a chance to visit Crossroads when I went to LA last year and this would be the next best thing! And I looked at this book at Barnes & Noble last week while browsing and it’s amazing!
This recipe looks delicious and I would love to see more!
I need some fresh inspiration for delicious vegan meals!
I have heard of his restaurant in LA and that will be my dream come true one day to visit.. If I win his cookbook it will feel that I made it to LA!
I’d like to win so I can try out the recipes!
Since I don’t live near Los Angeles winning this book would give me a chance to try some of the recipes.
Just moved to LA area. Cannot wait to try Crossroads in person.
Wow this recipe is fantastic! I’m so making this when I have guests over for the holidays. I can imagine the rest of the book would any varnivire over, of course I want it!
I really enjoy cooking and especially love cooking new things. I particularly like cookbooks because the recipes are tested and approved by many people, including professional chefs. I am always always always looking to expand my cookbook selection and this would be a fantastic addition!
I’m always looking for new ways to expand my (admittedly routine) eating at college!
This artichoke dip looks wonderful. I’m an artichokeaholic!
I need this book! With recipes online I don’t always buy hold in my hand cookbooks but this looks like it’s worthy. With a recipe like that how could I not want to add it to my collection.
New interesting take on vegan recipes. Thanks
I would love this cookbook for more recipes to show my non-veg family that vegan food is amazing and delicious!
I would love to win this cookbook to try some of their recipes. The dip looks amazing. I’ve made Cashew cream before….so delicious….what a wonderful addition to this recipe.
Love this restaurant and would love to have this cookbook!!
I was lucky enough to dine at Crossroads a couple of months ago while in LA and the food was amazing! I’d love a copy of this cookbook to make Tal Ronnen’s delicious recipes at home!
Crossroads is my all-time favorite restaurant! It’s expensive, so I’ve only been there twice – I always request that for my birthday, my husband and I make the two hour drive to LA so I can have my birthday dinner there. :) It’s a special place for me, and I’d love to be able to make some of their food at home so I could enjoy it all year long!
I did the same thing with Crossroads; I finally bought it after drooling over it for 30 mins in the bookstore. I made the ravioli on the cover for the vegan entree for our family’s Thanksgiving dinner (freezing them ahead and just cooking them the day of worked beautifully). This cookbook is AMAZING, and so are you! Thanks for sharing, can’t wait to try this dip now. I don’t think it has a pic in the book so I didn’t even realize it was there yet.
this looks so yummy!!!!!
I would love to win a copy to add to my (embarrassingly small) cookbook collection. Penny-pinching as a graduate student is an all-too-familiar sentiment!
I was vegetarian for many years, although I am not currently. I have, however recently discovered some intolerances to many foods I have previously eaten… I have been enjoying blissful basil as an opportunity to find gluten and dairy free recipes. In this case, I am unlikely to make it to LA anytime soon, so the cookbook would be a little a way to invite the warm west coast into my Prairie central Canadian kitchen. Thanks for sharing!
Even though I’m in LA often I still haven’t had the chance to visit Crossroads so I would love to try this book! I just tried Chloe Coscarelli’s vegan artichoke dip the other day and loved it and would love to compare hers to his cashew based version! Looks incredible!
I have been wanting to start a cookbook collection recently. I discovered my love of cooing a few years ago and I have been learning how to cook a plant based diet. I think this cookbook would be a perfect (and fun) first addition!
Beautiful pictures! All of his recipes sound wonderful! :)
The kale and artichoke dip alone has me sold. With a vegan/vegetarian family, it’d always tricky to find things the extended family is willing to try over the holidays.
I would like it because I need some inspiration!
I would love to gift the book to my parents who have recently gone vegan! :)