The First Mess Cookbook – Laura Wright
April 5, 2017 by Jenny
The First Mess Cookbook: Vibrant
Plant-Based Recipes to Eat Well Through the Seasons by Laura
Wright, the writer behind the Saveur award-winning blog, The First
Mess, shares more than 125 beautifully prepared seasonal whole-food
recipes in this her eagerly anticipated debut title.
Simple-to-prepare vegan recipes with beautiful photographs and
enchanting storytelling await us in this stunner of a book. Each
recipe showcases the best each season has to offer and, as a whole,
demonstrate that plant-based wellness is both accessible and
delicious.
Let’s talk about the recipes – I have only made two but the two I
made were standouts. The Caramelized Onion Potato Salad is perfect
and was so delicious our guests kept refilling their plates. We are
not fans of mayo-based salads so this will be my new go-to recipe.
Recently, I made the pot stickers that we are sharing with
our readers – these were perfect for my son and I as we love
sprouts and mushrooms. My potstickers weren’t as pretty as Laura’s
but they were incredible and far better than any I have ever made
before. Each time I make wontons or potstickers, I coach myself to
take my time and make them pretty and after the first few I throw
in the towel and make rustic potstickers. One day, I will take a
class and learn to fold them properly until then we will eat
slightly imperfect, but totally yummy potstickers.
I have so many more recipes to make and so little time. If
vegan books continue to share this caliber of recipes, my cookbook
collection is going to grow. I love finding new and exciting ways
to try more plant-focused dishes and The First Mess is a great place to start.
Special thanks to Avery Books and the author for sharing this
tasty recipe with our readers. Be sure to head over to our contest page to enter our giveaway open to
US and Canadian members.
Gingered Brussels Sprout and
Shiitake Pot Stickers
Makes about 25 pot stickers
These look fussy to make with their folded tops, but I assure you they’re anything but. After I moisten the edge of the wonton wrapper, I quickly pinch and secure in any way I can to get the Brussels sprout and shiitake filling locked in. They wind up looking pretty in that “perfectly imperfect” way. If I’m serving these as a snack or an appetizer, I brown them ahead of time and just keep them warm on a low setting in the oven. The salty-sweet soy dip absolutely makes these.
Dipping Sauce
¼ cup (50 mL) gluten-free tamari soy sauce
2 tablespoons (30 mL) pure maple syrup
½-inch (1 cm) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated with
a Microplane grater
1 green onion, finely sliced
2 teaspoons (10 mL) sesame seeds
Pot Stickers
1 tablespoon (15 mL) virgin olive oil, plus extra for
cooking
1 medium shallot, fine dice (about ¼ cup/50 mL diced
shallot)
1 cup (250 mL) thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms
2 cups (500 mL) sliced Brussels sprouts (about ½ pound/227
g)
1 clove garlic, minced
1-inch (2.5 cm) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
salt and pepper, to taste
25 wonton wrappers
1. Make the dipping sauce: Whisk the tamari, maple syrup, ginger, green onion, and sesame seeds together in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. Make the potstickers: Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the shallots. Stir and cook until fragrant and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the shiitake mushrooms. Stir and sauté the mushrooms until they start to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the Brussels sprouts, garlic, and ginger, and stir. Season everything with salt and pepper. Keep stirring the filling until the Brussels sprouts are bright green and slightly wilted, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat, and allow the filling to cool slightly.
3. Set out a small bowl of water. To assemble the pot stickers, divide the vegetable filling among the wonton wrappers, placing about 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of the filling in the center of each wonton wrapper. Take one filled wonton wrapper and dip your finger in the bowl of water. Moisten two sides of the wrapper, fold all sides together, and pinch along the edge to form a seal. Repeat with the remaining filled wrappers.
4. Wipe the sauté pan and heat a thin slick of olive oil over medium heat. Fry the pot stickers in batches until they’re golden brown on all sides, about 1 full minute per side. Add more oil to the pan as needed to finish cooking all the pot stickers.
5. Serve the pot stickers hot with the dipping sauce on the side.
Add this recipe to your Bookshelf (click the blue +Bookshelf button)
Reprinted from The First Mess Cookbook by arrangement with Avery Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, A Penguin Random House Company. Copyright © 2017, Laura Wright
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