< PreviousTHE CUT 7 o f a ki n d Smooth, creamy, silky and indulgent. Yes, we’re talking about vegan chocolate! SWISS FINESSE Using sustainably sourced ingredients including almond paste, premium cocoa and gluten-free oat drink, master chocolatiers combined their skills and passion to create Lindt Classic Vegan Hazelnut Milk Chocolate. TROPICAL GOLD Simply called White Chocolate, this Loving Earth bar is creamy and sweet and speckled with vanilla beans. Golden coconut nectar adds a fresh, tropical fl avour to this treat. SMOOTH FINISH Creamed coconut, blended with coconut sugar and single origin cacao promises silkiness in each mouthful of Raw Halo Mylk & Pink Himalayan Salt organic chocolate. MODERN TASTES HiP Creamy & Smooth combines the fi nest 41% single-origin cocoa from Colombia with creamy oat milk to whip up a dreamy bar that’s perfect for snacking. BEAN TO BAR Crafted from heirloom cacao beans and whole-food ingredients including cashew mylk, Loving Earth Almond Crunch is aromatic, buttery and rich. SUPER GOOD Created from unroasted Ecuadorian cacao, Ombar Centres Pistachio pairs 62% dark chocolate with delightful pistachios for an indulgent treat. ELEGANT NIBBLES Chewy, gooey sea-salted caramel and roasted Italian almonds makes Booja-Booja Almond Salted Caramel truffl es an excellent gift for a chocolate lover. These are not only vegan but also free of soya, gluten and palm oil. 10 pg10_7 of a Kind_Jan-Feb_2023.indd 1012/21/2022 1:00:00 PMTHE CUT ANTIPODES Sourced from New Zealand’s deepest, high-quality artesian acquifer, Antipodes is a soft mineral water with an almost sweet taste. antipodes.co.nz VITAMIN WELL RELOAD Sweetened only with fruit sugar, Reload contains magnesium, which balances electrolytes, and vitamins B and D. vitaminwell.com HAWA WATER Locally-made Hawa Water has a fresh, light taste and is sodium-free. It’s available in returnable glass bottles. hawawater.com Tips from The Tasting Class BASIL AND CITRUS OIL SPARKLING LEMONADE Prep time: 10 minutes (plus resting time for the oleo sacchrum) Makes: 4-5 For the oleo sacchrum 2 large organic lemons Leftover stems from basil plant pot 125g SpinneysFOOD Extra Fine Caster Sugar For the lemonade 6 tbsp lemon and basil oleo sacchrum 120ml lemon juice 600ml cold soda water To serve SpinneysFOOD Ice Balls Lemon slices SpinneysFOOD Fresh Basil 1 To make the oleo sacchrum, peel the lemons (avoiding the pith as much as possible) and place the peels in a bowl. Place the leftover basil stems in the same bowl. Add the sugar. Using a masher or pestle, muddle the mixture so that the peels and stems release their oils. Rest for 30 minutes to 2 hours. The mixture will look damp and syrupy after this period. 2 Juice the 2 peeled lemons. 3 In a 1 litre jug, combine the oleo sacchrum (excluding the peels and stems) and lemon juice, stirring to dissolve any remaining sugar crystals. 4 Top with the soda water and give it a gentle stir to avoid losing bubbles. Add the ice to four glasses. 5 Pour the lemonade mixture into the glasses. Add lemon slices and basil to the lemonade and serve. DR INK UP Think twice before discarding citrus peels and herbs stems. These are packed with aromatic oils, which can be used to flavour oils and beverages. The recipe I’ve shared here introduces brighter flavours into a simple lemonade by the addition of oleo saccharum (oil sugar). It is also a great way to make use of leftover peels and herb stems. Sugar is hygroscopic, meaning it attracts any moisture around it. Hence, the crystals break down, extract and absorb the fragrant oils present in peels and stems once they’ve been throughly mixed together. It is essential to allow the mixture to rest, but you can stir it occasionally to help the sugar dissolve. Oleo sacchrum can also replace sugar in baked goods to add a depth of flavour. Try making it from grapefruit, orange, mandarin or lime peels, pear or apple peels, watermelon or pineapple rinds, or rosemary and sage. Flavour beverages with aromatic oils from leftover herbs and citrus peels 3 to try Li nd sa y Trivers VEGAN Basil and citrus oil sparkling lemonade 12 pg12_The cut Drinks_JAN-FEB 2023.indd 1212/21/2022 1:00:20 PMTHE CUT 14 HAKKASAN Forever sleek and stylish with seamless service, Hakkasan Dubai at Atlantis, is always a good choice for contemporary Cantonese cuisine. Our usual order always includes a couple of portions of jasmine tea-smoked Wagyu beef ribs, so trying out an all-vegan menu was certainly a different experience. But, a surprisingly good one at that. Executive chef, Andy Toh Chye Siong and his team offer an impressive selection of plant-forward dishes, many of which we would order again. Highlights include the beautifully curated dim sum platter; a generous serving of tofu, aubergines and shiitake mushroom in a sticky chilli bean sauce, the eight treasure delight basket brimming with pumpkin, Jerusalem artichoke, gai lan beetroot, ginko nuts, girolles, cloud ear and pied bleu mushrooms – and a fried trio of organic wild rice. TAB A visit to Japanese hotspot TAB at The St. Regis Downtown, Dubai will provide even the most seasoned vegan foodies with surprising substitutes and impressive textures. Crunchy and creamy, the ‘corn on the cone’ starter with corn foam, crispy corn and purple corn dust offers a strong start while the hibachi grilled aubergine, sticky with miso and served with a side of kimchi relish also goes down a treat. And don’t feel that forgoing seafood means that you must go without the sushi action: asparagus tempura with an avocado-yuzu sauce, takuan and black truffl e makes a delicious and refi ned substitute. Don’t pass up on vegan tres leches (made with a mix of plant-based milks) – it’s a showstopper of a dessert and a suitably theatrical way to end a meal. FOLLY It’s always been all about the ingredients at Folly at Souk Madinat Jumeirah and the Welcome the new year with plant-based fine dining that promises to impress and satisfy VE GA N EN VO GU E restaurant’s vegan menu, created by chef Bojan Cirjanic, is no different. The fi ve-course meal serves to impress with its delicate presentation, where the ingredients are simple, but the fl avours complex. There was a true dedication of ‘garden to plate’ emerging from the dishes, where local ingredients paired with global ones smoothly. A delicate tart with sweet peppers and fennel will refresh your palate from the amuse-bouche plate and we loved the main dish where a ring of crispy artichoke surrounded salt-baked celeriac was topped with truffl e. A sweet fi nish of coconut cake and mango sorbet will leave you satisfi ed. 1 Il Donaccino: All the doughnuts on its menu are eggless, but Il Donaccino also has a range of doughnuts that are vegan. From matcha, vegan chocolate and coconut glaze vegan doughnuts, you will fi nd something for your palate. 2 Here-O Donuts: This brand doesn’t use pre-mixed commercial dough but slow ferments its sourdough starter for a great fl avour. Sourdough is a gut-healing food and can be digested easily – so it makes for a relatively light dessert. 3 Healthy Pâtisserie: A range of gluten-free, vegan and sugar-free desserts, this spot offers mini vegan doughnuts made using brown rice fl our and tapioca fl our. They come in a range of fl avours including vanilla pistachio and apple cinnamon. NUTS ABOUT IT Doughnuts are everywhere, but there’s no reason for these to be considered an indulgence. There are a number of places where you can satisfy your craving but stay healthy. Wr it te n b y D e v in a D iv e c h a , T if fa n y E s li c k and R e e m a R a h m a n ; Ph o to g ra p h y Supp li ed CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Interiors of TABU at The St Regis Downtown, Dubai; indulge in a rich vegan tres leches at TABU; Folly’s vegan coconut cake and mango sorbet pairs tropical flavours for a delightful dessert; don’t miss the eight treasure delight at Hakkasan. pg14_Restaurant Round Up_Jan-Feb_2023.indd 1412/21/2022 1:00:44 PMTHE CUT S trong beats and rhythmic vocals play in the background making me tap my feet to the beat, when chef and restaurateur Faisal Naser emerges from the kitchen and we start talking. We’re in LENTO Dubai, Faisal’s artisanal smashed burger and fried chicken concept. The minimalist industrial look, with monochromes and tan leather, is hit with pops of colour from the KAWS-inspired sculpture behind the DJ booth and hip hop vinyl records on a statement wall. Music has always been a passion for Faisal, he says, along with cooking and drawing. He says, “When I went to England for university, I didn’t want to live on takeaways. I decided to take cooking a bit more seriously and really got into it. Eventually I went to a restaurant to work part-time. While I was there, it felt like time was fl ying and it was something I quite enjoyed.” Faisal adds, “I loved the idea of bringing my friends together to try my food, especially the Arab students who missed home.” Cooking remained nothing more than a hobby until he moved back to the UAE and the hobby slowly started growing into something more. Wielding social media as a tool, he started to “show off” his skills and eventually started consulting with restaurants. This turned out to be a boon in his journey towards opening LENTO. “With all the knowledge I had, I could have opened LENTO 10 years ago but I took my time. I was waiting for the right moment.” That’s also why it’s called LENTO – which means slow in Spanish as well as in musical terms. “I like what time does to food. What does sourdough, a nice chicken stock and fermented pickles have in common? It’s time… they all take time. “People think we are fast food but we’re not really. We take the time, we make everything from scratch. We bake our bread in-house, we mince the meat every day, we make our pickles, we ferment honey and salsas. For amazing fl avours.” The menu is simple and short, always a good sign. Standouts include the likes of honey butter fried chicken (local fresh fried chicken dipped in fermented honey and butter emulsion with ranch coleslaw, cheese) and the picante umami (double patties of grass-fed Wagyu, smashed American cheese, green salsa, spicy umami sauce, shallots and chopped jalapeños). His approach to cooking is to be as natural as possible, he says. “One of my philosophies in cooking is that the food has to not just taste good but shouldn’t make anyone feel bad after eating it.” Faisal says sustainability, to him, means using as much local produce as possible and using all ingredients in their entirety. From local tomatoes to locally-farmed chicken, his restaurant is a champion for the produce and items found in the UAE and the wider region. “I try to use everything in the kitchen and minimise waste as much as possible and to use local ingredients when I can.” Expanding on how the ingredients are used, Faisal shares examples of how ingredients are used fresh and whole. “We make our own spices: we dehydrate mushrooms and make an umami spice powder out of it. For our triple-cooked fries, we get whole potatoes and peel them and make fresh fries every day. “I’m not doing delivery as well. We do a lot of work to make our food of this quality, and I don’t want that quality to go down on a delivery bike.” 16 While (local) fi sh only makes an appearance on the menu as a weekly Thursday special, it’s a protein Faisal would like to explore further. He reveals, “I’m studying [the idea of] opening a fi sh concept in the future. I’m inspired by an amazing chef from Australia called Josh Niland. He is the biggest example of being super sustainable and he uses the fi sh from lips to tail, and I’m inspired by the way he does things.” He takes the artisanal credentials of LENTO seriously and has no intention of opening multiple branches all over the country. What he would like to do, in addition to the fi sh concept brewing in his mind, is look at hosting specials and pop-up dinners. Keen on collaborating with other chefs across the country, Faisal wants to showcase the value of community and being dynamic. “I want the restaurant to be more dynamic and not a place where it’s just a static menu,” he adds. We return to the topic of music and his love for hip hop. “Hip hop music is similar to cooking,” he muses, “where they take different songs, line it up and then they break it into a new beat and hit it with those strong bars.” It’s like what Faisal does at LENTO, where ingredients come together to create a dish that packs a strong punch. S l o w & s t ea dy W rit te n by De v in a Div e ch a ; Ph o to g ra p h y A a s iy a J a g a d e e s h & S u p p li e d CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP: Faisal champions local produce in his kitchen; his passion for music is evident in the decor; everything on the menu is made from scratch. Emirati chef and restaurateur Faisal Naser believes in taking his time to do things right and applies that ethos to every aspect of his burger concept, LENTO pg16-17_The Cut Chef Sustainability_Jan_Feb_2023.indd 1612/21/2022 2:09:12 PM17 THE CUT 17 Spaghetti and prawns in chilli tomato sauce THE CUT TA BLE TALK Faisal Naser prepped us a simple dish, inspired by his college student days: spaghetti and prawns in chilli tomato sauce. “People think my recipes are complicated, but they are as simple as I can make them,” he says. This dish had its first iteration pop up when he was a student but over the years he’s perfected it to its current version. “I use local prawns and there is almost no waste as I use the entire prawn to get extra flavours. The whole prawn isn’t used in the pasta because I don’t want you to have to peel anything while eating. But I do use the shells and the heads, grind them with the sauce and then get a lot of those flavours back into the sauce. “It’s a hearty dish, I love it.” SCAN FOR RECIPE pg16-17_The Cut Chef Sustainability_Jan_Feb_2023.indd 1712/21/2022 2:09:21 PMTHE CUT Us e it u p Don’t discard leftover greens, herbs, overripe fruit and vegetable peels. Use them to make chilled soups, wholesome vegetable stocks and fruity froyos QUICK OFFCUT VEGGIE STOCK You’d be surprised at the number of vegetable scraps used in this stock. Always save your offcuts from corncobs, butternut, courgettes, beetroot tops, fennel, lettuce, carrot peels, aubergines as well as onion peels. Store them in the fridge, or freeze them until you’ve accumulated enough to make a stock. The stock can be frozen in ice cube trays or zip-top bags and used in sauces, soups or risotto. Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 30 minutes Makes: 2L 600-800g vegetable offcuts (onions, carrots, broccoli stems, parsley stems and mushroom stems) 2L SpinneysFOOD Bottled Drinking Water 1 tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt 2-3 SpinneysFOOD Bay Leaves 1 Place the vegetable offcuts in a medium-sized pot. Top with the water, salt and bay leaves and bring to a boil over a medium heat. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. 2 Strain the stock into a container of choice and refrigerate for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months. R e cip es , f o o d st yl in g a n d p h o to g ra p h y by Th e K a te T in .c o m Quick offcut veggie stock VEGAN 18 pg18-19_The Cut Use it Up_Jan_Feb_2023.indd 1812/21/2022 1:02:15 PMUSE IT UP BOTTOM OF THE FRUIT BOWL FROZEN YOGHURT This froyo recipe works with most leftover fruit but citrus, berries, apples and bananas work exceptionally well. Prep time: 10 minutes (plus freezing time) Makes: 1L 140g leftover fruit 500g full-cream yoghurt 1 x 200g tin condensed milk 1 Peel, chop and blend the leftover fruit in a food processor until smooth. 2 In a large bowl, combine the yoghurt, condensed milk and blended fruit. Spoon into a loaf tin and freeze overnight. 3 Remove from the freezer for 10-15 minutes to soften before serving. CHILLED GREEN SOUP This refreshing soup is a delicious way to use leftover herbs and greens in the fridge. The secret to getting the bright green colour is to add the greens right at the end. Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes Serves: 2 2-3 leftover spring onions or leeks 1 brown onion 2 garlic cloves 1 overripe Yukon Gold potato 2 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Mediterranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil, plus extra for drizzling 1 tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt 800ml vegetable stock 1 bunch spinach 1 bunch kale Handful of leftover SpinneysFOOD Fresh Coriander or Fresh Parsley 1 lemon To serve Yoghurt or sour cream 1 Roughly chop the spring onions, brown onion and garlic. Peel and chop the potato. 2 Heat the olive oil in a saucepan placed over a medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic along with the salt. Sauté until softened and golden. 3 Add the potato to the saucepan along with the stock and bring to a boil. Simmer until the potato is soft. 4 Meanwhile, roughly chop the greens. 5 Remove the pot from the heat and add the greens to the stock mixture. 6 Zest and juice the lemon then add to the soup. 7 Blitz the soup with a hand blender until completely smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Refrigerate until chilled. 8 Serve in bowls with a swirl of yoghurt or sour cream and a drizzle of olive oil. Bottom of the fruit bowl frozen yoghurt Chilled green soup VEGGIE VEGGIE 19 pg18-19_The Cut Use it Up_Jan_Feb_2023.indd 1912/21/2022 1:02:25 PMNext >