
Credit: Melissa Quantz
Vancouver chefs share veg-focused recipes for your holiday weekend
Potato Haystacks
By Dan Cheung, Nourish Café & Cooking School
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 1/3 cup (35 g) shallot, thinly sliced
- 650 g (depending on size approximately 3 or 4) russet or Yukon Gold potatoes
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- Green onions, finely chopped for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Melt the coconut oil and thinly slice the shallot.
- Grate the potato in a food processor using the grater blade or regular grater.
- Mix all ingredients together.
- To form each haystack, lightly pack a 1/4 measuring cup with the potato mixture, squeezing out extra water.
- Flip the haystacks out, upside down onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake at 375F for 20 minutes.
- Increase temperature to 425F and bake for an additional 8 to 10 minutes, or until outside is browned and crispy.
Serves 3-4
Note: Can be made ahead of time and reheated right before serving. To reheat, bake at 400F for three minutes.
*Adapted from Minimalist Baker

Credit: The Lazy Gourmet
Sweet Potato Salad by Executive Chef Jenny Hui, The Lazy Gourmet
Ingredients
- 8 cups sweet potato, 1/2" diced
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup sugar
Dressing
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 1 tsp ginger, grated
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
Instructions
- Toss sweet potato with olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Roast in 350F oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until tender. Remove and let cool.
- Toss pumpkin seeds with sugar and one tablespoon water. Bake in oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove and let cool.
- To make the dressing, add orange juice, orange zest, ginger, cayenne pepper and Dijon mustard in a blender. Blend until just combined. Slowly add oil until emulsified.
- Toss sweet potatoes and pumpkin seeds in dressing. Enjoy!
Serves 4

Credit: Justus Lowry
Miso-marinated Tofu and Organic Baby Green Salad by Chef Kazuya Matsuoka, Minami
Baby Greens
- 1 lb any organic mixed baby greens, such as kale, wild arugula, mizuna leaf, pea shoots
- 1 beefsteak tomato, diced
- 1 baby cucumber, sliced
Sesame-Soy dressing
- 2 oz sesame oil
- 2 oz rice vinegar
- 1 oz soy sauce
- 1.5 oz sugar
- 1 oz toasted white sesame seed
marinated Crispy Tempeh
- 200 g tempeh
- 2 oz lime juice
- 2 oz soy sauce
- 2 oz honey
- 2 oz water
- 1 tbsp coriander powder
- 1 pinch chili powder
Miso-Marinated Tofu
- 1 block firm tofu 250 g, crumbled
- 0.5 oz soy sauce
- 1 oz mayonnaise
- 0.5 oz sugar
Instructions
- Mix all baby greens ingredients together in a bowl.
- Marinade tempeh for five hours, then slice and bake at 250F oven for 15 minutes or until crispy.
- Wrap tofu in paper towel and put in the fridge for 24 hours before use.
- Mix the soy sauce, mayonnaise and sugar in a bowl. Then put the crumbled tofu together and mix well.
To Plate
- Put the baby greens, cucumber, tomato in a bowl and pour the vinagrette dressing over and mix gently.
- Plate salad and put crumbled miso tofu and crispy tempeh on top.
Serves 4

Credit: Reuben Major
Roasted Autumn Vegetable Succotash by Reuben Major, The Belgard Kitchen
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash (peeled, cored, 1 cm diced)
- 1 large celery root (peeled, 1 cm diced)
- 3 parsnips (peeled, 1 cm diced)
- 1 large onion (peeled, 1 cm diced)
- 1 pint grape tomatoes (halved)
- 2 cobs corn
- 1 serrano chili (1/16" coins)
- 3-4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 small bunch Italian parsley (leaves plucked)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- Olive oil
- Sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Toss the diced butternut squash in a minimal amount of olive oil and 1/3 of the minced garlic. Season lightly with sea salt and 1 tsp cinnamon.
- Place on a parchment-lined baking pan and roast until the butternut squash is cooked through and begins to dry and brown.
- Meanwhile, toss the diced celery root and parsnips and 1/3 of the minced garlic in a minimal amount of olive oil and season lightly with sea salt.
- Place on a parchment-lined baking pan and roast until the vegetables are cooked through and begin to dry and brown.
- In a pan over medium heat, add enough olive oil to thinly coat the surface of the pan. Once the oil begins to ripple, add the diced onions, 1/3 of the minced garlic and season lightly with sea salt.
- Cook, stirring regularly until the onions begin to caramelize to a light golden brown.
- Blanch the cobs of corn in boiling, salted water for four minutes. Remove and cut the kernels off of the cob.
- In a large bowl, add all of the roasted vegetables, blanched corn, grape tomatoes, caramelized onions, picked parsley and serrano coins. Toss gently with a wooden spoon. The residual heat of the cooked vegetables will warm the tomatoes.
- Transfer to a large serving platter
-
Drizzle with Maple Mustard Vinaigrette (recipe below).
Maple and Mustard Vinaigrette (1 cup)
- 1 shallot (peeled)
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp grainy mustard
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup grape seed oil
- pinch sea salt
- Place the shallot, maple syrup, grainy mustard, lemon juice and apple cider vinegar into a blender and puree until smooth.
- On medium speed, slowly stream in the olive oil and grape seed oil until emulsified.
- Season with sea salt.

Credit: KK Law
Chicories Salad with Roasted Sunchokes and Cider-mustard Vinaigrette by Chef Sarah Stewart, Juniper
Ingredients
- 1 bunch black kale
- 2 heads frisée
- 2 heads endive
- 1 head raddicio
- handful sunflower sprouts
- 1 lb sunchokes
- extra sunflower oil for roasting
- ¼ cup sliced radish
Cider Mustard Vinaigrette
- 1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/8 cup sunflower oil
- 1/4 tbsp grainy Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/8 cup organic apple cider vinegar
- 1 squeeze Meyer lemon
- sea salt and pepper to taste
- ½ cup roasted sunflower seeds
- ¼ cup snipped chives
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Wash, dry and trim sunchokes into 1-inch lengths and drizzle with sunflower oil in a roasting pan.
- Roast until caramelized and golden brown (approximately 25 minutes).
- Wash all greens and dry. Trim excess green from frisée and remove core. Remove hard stem from kale
- In a small bowl, toss sunflower seeds in small amount of sunflower oil and salt. Lay flat on a baking sheet and toast until golden brown (approximately 3 to 4 minutes, keep a close watch as they will burn).
- Whisk together all dressing ingredients.
- Shred greens by hand and combine in large bowl with sunchokes and vinaigrette to taste.
- Garnish with sliced radishes, sunflower seeds and chives.
- Serve immediately.