An actual vegan dessert (and it's a sin)
Chocolate Sin is just one part of an amazingly tasty vegan meal at Italian restaurant Luce
HAVING CONVINCED a lot of people, with a promotion last May, that vegan cuisine actually tastes great, chef Edoardo Bonavolta is aiming to convert even more this month. So raw, unprocessed, plant-based food is back on the menu at the Italian restaurant Luce.
Poolside on the 14th floor of the Eastin Grand Hotel Sathorn Bangkok, Luce is decked out in gold and wood tones and floor-to-ceiling windows befitting its lofty perch. Its 275 square metres can fit 60 diners indoors and out.
Until the end of the month there are six vegan dishes on offer, prepared “Italian style”. Classics including bruschetta, pasta and lasagna go without dairy products and meat and, honestly, you can barely tell the difference.
“Raw vegan food isn’t as tasty as the beef, for sure, but it’s an alternative for a healthier diet and a good way to cleanse the body,” says Bonavolta, who hails from Tuscany. “I use ingredients found in nature, such as vegetables and fruit, nuts and grains, and cook them in such a way that more taste is added.”
Bonavolta became interested in healthier eating three years ago after meeting a raw-food chef from California. Drawn to the obvious benefits, he adheres to the guideline that the cooking temperature has to stay below 42 degrees Celsius in order to preserve the living enzymes that help the human body digest the food.
The vegan journey at Luce starts with antipasto of Bruschetta (Bt290), which seems odd at first glance, minus the bread, mozzarella cheese and cured meat. In lieu of fried bread there’s a cracker of dehydrated flaxseed, zucchini and walnuts. Instead of cheese, there’s a mock cheese of cashew and pistachio nuts dressed in olive oil with lemon rind.
The topping is Cerignola olives, sun-dried tomatoes, shallots, basil leaves and organic extra-virgin olive oil. The dish ends up as a perfect balance of crunchy and creamy.
“Extra-virgin olive oil is very important in adding taste,” says Bonavolta, who’s California-bound for a course in the cuisine. “Balancing the nutrition is also vital. Vegetables provide the vitamins, while cashews and walnuts are packed with carbohydrate. Bean sprouts are also rich in protein, and baby spinach contains iron.”
Next is a refreshing salad (Bt290) of rocket leaves tumbling with julienned avocado and fennel, orange, avocado, baby spinach and green-bean sprouts. It’s seasoned with wild fennel, mint, crushed coriander seeds, extra-virgin olive oil and, for contrast, beetroot cream. This is a blend of beetroot and cashew nuts, which make it easier to digest.
The salad is also an option for anyone observing this month’s Vegetarian Festival (Gin Jae).
For the soup (Bt290), raw minestrone sits in salt overnight before a good soaking in water. Then it does a dance in a bowl with onions, carrots, celery, baby spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, thyme and rosemary and more of that extra-virgin olive oil. The clear soup is warmed to 40 degrees for serving, a lightly salty treat with the crunchy texture of the minestrone.
The Tagliolini pasta (Bt380), one option as a main course, is made from thinly sliced, semi-dried Japanese pumpkin, which has a lovely crunch all its own. Over top are a basil-and-truffle pesto, thin slices of black truffle and marinated mushrooms, forming a dish that’s as pleasing to the eye as it is to the palate.
The pasta used in the Raw Lasagna (Bt360) is made from dehydrated zucchini, while the bechamel sauce is a mix of basil, celery, pine nuts, truffle oil and shallots. This is layered with a Bolognese sauce of chopped carrots, goji berries and sun-dried tomatoes. The diverse array of ingredients combines surprisingly well.
Dessert must not be skipped: Chocolate Sin (Bt220) is dense dark chocolate brownies with cold-pressed virgin coconut oil, Madagascar vanilla-bean cream, coconut cream, mixed berries, nut crumbs and drops of maple syrup.
RAW AND READY
The “Raw Vegan Cuisine” menu is being served through October 30.
Luce is on the 14th floor of the Eastin Grand Sathorn Bangkok, near the Surasak Skytrain station, and open daily from noon to 2.30pm and 6 to 10.30pm.
Book a table at (02) 210 8100 or www.EastinGrandSathorn.com.
