The Dish: Chef Matthew Kenney

World-renowned vegan chef Matthew Kenney grew up on the rugged coast of Maine, developing a love of the great outdoors and nature's bounty. After culinary school and an award-winning career in the New York restaurant world, he shifted his focus and became a pioneer in the plant-based food movement.

Kenney now operates seven vegan restaurants around the world, including Plant Food and Wine in Los Angeles and Miami, and Double Zero in New York where he brings a healthy perspective to one of the world's most popular foods - pizza.

Here are some of Kenney's signature recipes:

Sunflower pesto pizza with cooked onion, confit tomato and herb macadamia ricotta

Basil sunflower pesto ingredients

3 cups packed basil

3 cups spinach

3 garlic cloves

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 cup olive oil

½ cup toasted sunflower seeds (blend in last so that the pesto stays green)

Directions

Blend until smooth.

Slow-cooked onion ingredients

10 white onions (sliced into ¼ inch rings)

½ cup olive oil

2 tablespoons salt

1 cup white wine

Directions

1.  Oil your pot.

2.  Place onions into pot and cook at low heat for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally.

3. When onions have cooked down and have begun to sweeten, add the white wine.

4. Continue to cook for another 30-45 minutes, remember to stir to ensure onions do not burn.

Macadamia ricotta ingredients

1 quart macadamia ricotta

1 tablespoon of thyme (or herbs of preference)

Directions

1.  Mix

Tomato confit ingredients

4 pints cherry tomatoes

2 shallots (finely sliced)

8 cloves garlic (sliced)

4 sprigs fresh oregano with leaves removed

1 bunch fresh basil with leaves removed

6 sprigs thyme

2 tablespoons salt

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon crushed red chili

Directions

1.  Place tomatoes in shallow pan, place spices and herbs on top of tomatoes, fill pan till ⅓ of the way up with olive oil, tomatoes will cook down.

2. Place in 200 degree oven, cook for 3-4 hours, stirring tomatoes occasionally.

3. Remove tray, strain the tomatoes and repurpose the oil for finishing pizzas.

Flora artisanal cheese tasting

Serve an assortment of the following cheese recipes with fennel crisps, mustard and pickled seasonal fruit on the side.

Simple nut cheese ingredients

2 cups macadamias or cashews (soaked overnight)

1⁄2 cup water (just enough to blend)

1 probiotic capsule

1⁄4 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon nutritional yeast

1⁄2 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions

1.  Blend nuts, water, and probiotic capsule in a high-speed blender until smooth.

2. Transfer mixture into a strainer lined with cheesecloth. Set strainer over a container to drain and tie up the ends of the cheesecloth to create a bundle for the cheese. Weigh down the bundle with something slightly heavy, like a jar of water. Strainer needs to be placed in a bowl or vessel that prevents the cheese from sitting in its own liquid.

3. Ferment at room temperature for at least 24 hours.

4. After 24 hours, smell the cheese. It should have a slightly sour, fermented smell. If it just smells like soaked nuts, it has not fermented enough. If it is ready, split open the cheese in half (like breaking a roll) and make sure the inside looks spongy. These are air pockets caused by the release of CO2 by microorganisms, typically lactobacillus, during the fermentation process.

5. Once fermentation is complete, stir in or use a food processor to mix in salt, nutritional yeast and lemon juice. Press the cheese into a ring mold. Fill the mold not quite to the top, using the back of a spoon to press down and spread the cheese base flat into the mold.

6. Allow to set up in the mold for at least 48 hours in a refrigerator or 6 hours in a freezer before removing cheese from the mold.

7. If using macadamias, at this point you can remove the ring mold and place in the refrigerator or remove the ring mold and place in a dehydrator at 115 degrees f or 12–36 hours to get a rind. If using cashews, at this point you can either place in the refrigerator, still in the ring mold as it's not as firm as macadamia cheese, for 24 hours and then remove the mold. Or you can place in the freezer to set harder for 1–2 hours and then remove the ring mold and place the whole thing in the dehydrator for 24 hours at 115 degrees to get a rind.

Fennel crisps

2 cups almond flour

1⁄4 cup olive oil

2 cups peeled and roughly-hopped zucchini

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

1⁄2 tablespoon salt

1⁄2 cup flax meal

2 tablespoons fennel seeds

Directions

1. Using a high-speed blender, blend flour, oil, zucchini, lemon juice, nutritional yeast and salt until smooth.

2. Pour contents of blender into a bowl, add flax meal and fennel seeds, and mix by hand. Allow to set for 2–5 minutes then spread batter approximately 1⁄4 inch thick onto a Teflex sheet.

3. Dehydrate at 115 degrees for 1 hour then score into 1 1⁄2- x 3-inch rectangles.

4. Return to dehydrator for 12 hours or until completely dry.

Mustard ingredients

1⁄2 cup brown mustard seeds

1⁄2 cup yellow mustard seeds

1⁄4 cup yellow mustard powder

1⁄2 cup apple cider vinegar

1⁄2 cup agave nectar

1⁄2 cup water

1 tablespoon sea salt

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Let set for about an hour to allow the mustard seeds to bloom.

2. Remove half of the mixture and blend in a high-speed blender then pour back into the remaining mixture. Stir. You may need to adjust the amount of liquid and/or agave nectar to achieve the desired consistency and sweetness.

3. Let set out at room temperature for 1–2 days then refrigerate.

Pickled, seasonal fruit ingredients

1 cup sliced fruit (apples, pears, berries and stone fruit)

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon grated ginger

1 teaspoon thyme leaves

Directions

1. Combine fruit, vinegar, ginger and thyme and store in a glass jar until serving.

Serve an assortment of the following cheese recipes with fennel crisps, mustard, and pickled seasonal fruit on the side.

Roasted cauliflower, green harissa and pomegranate

Green harissa ingredients

Yields one quart

4 tablespoons cumin seeds

2 tablespoon coriander seeds

4 serrano chiles (seeded and sliced thin)

2 black garlic cloves

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 bunch parsley

2 bunch fresh cilantro

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons fine sea salt

Directions

1. Toast cumin and coriander seeds in a small skillet.

2. Purée seeds with chiles, garlic, oil, parsley, cilantro, lemon juice and salt in a blender until smooth.

3. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.

4. Clean and cut the cauliflower into large florets. Cut the stem into abstract pieces, as well.

5. Toss the cauliflower in olive oil, season with salt and spread on a sheet pan. Roast the cauliflower for 25-30 minutes.

6. Spread, splatter or spoon a couple tablespoons of harissa on the bottom of the plate. Toss the roasted cauliflower in enough harissa to coat the florets and then pile on top of the sauce. Garnish with micro cilantro and pomegranate seeds.

Notes

You can either buy a head a cauliflower or a bag of already-cut florets. You can roast as much or as little as you want. One head of cauliflower will make 1 ½ servings. For a head of cauliflower you will need around 1/4 cup olive oil to roast and 2 teaspoons of salt (you can always add more after if you like it saltier, so start with less). The sauce makes a quart. You will need 1/8 cup for the bottom of the plate and 1/3 cup to toss per serving. The quart yields 4 cups, so 8 servings.

Yuzu guacamole

10 avocados
2 tablespoons salt
2 teaspoons yuzu extract
¼ cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons rice vinegar

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients at once. 
2. Garnish with shaved daikon radish, pickled jalapeno and wasabi sprouts