Move Over Meat, Because Vegetables Are Taking Center Stage

With concerns about ethics, sustainability and climate on the rise, everyone is interested in plant-based eating now, whether they're cutting out meat altogether or merely cutting back. Making vegetables the star of the show is the quickest way to bring new life to your dishes and win new customers. 

Vegetables are the very definition of seasonality, and with them you invite a yearly cycle of color, flavor, and texture into your kitchen. Hugely versatile, vegetables can shine as ingredients in their own right; not just as vegan and vegetarian substitutes for meat or fish.

Learn how to unleash the power of plants and add value to your menus with these plant-based recipe ideas.

Pimp Your Top Dishes With Plant-Based Cooking

Plant-based cooking simply means putting more plants - roots and shoots, grains and fruits - on your plate. There are times when you may want to put only plants on your plate (but not always) and times when you just want to give them more of a starring role. Give your top dishes the edge by adding more veg.

Get your grill to go further - add interest to a classic steak by serving a smaller portion of meat and getting inventive with vegetable sides. How about a creamy horseradish slaw and mixed vegetable crisps, with a salad of baby kale and radicchio.

Garnish to the max - a simple entree becomes a work of art when you get creative with veg. Think about simple accents of flavor and really pushing the presentation. A dish like pan-fried duck breast becomes a work of art when served over a creamy celeriac puree, with jewelled dice of sous vide beetroot, crispy carrot shards and a faintly anise jus.

Switch up classics - use your seasonal palate of veg for a fresh take on old favorites. Serve up sharp Asian slaws, or gratins of greens. Make a mushroom tarte tartin with syrupy balsamic shallots of mix chard stems in your mirepoix.