Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook Part 123

TIME : LESS THAN AN HOUR, PLUS CHILL TIME.

This dessert may seem like it should be served by your butler, but give him the day off and make it yourself-it's incredibly easy. Pear halves are poached in strong black tea and then the tea is used to make a soupy pool of chocolate sauce for the pears. A little orange peel gives these a subtle citrus kick. It's an especially good dessert after an Italian meal.

To easily core the pears, slice them in half and use a melon baller or a round measuring spoon to scoop out the seeds in one fell swoop.

3 cups water

4 tea bags black tea

cup sugar

4 firm Bosc pears, peeled, sliced in half lengthwise, and cored

Zest from navel orange

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

8 ounces bitter or semisweet vegan chocolate, hopped ( cup or so)

Vanilla ice cream (page 260) (optional)

Mint sprigs for prettiness (optional)

BOIL THE water in a medium-size saucepan. Once the water is boiling, turn off the heat, add the tea bags and sugar, and steep for 15 minutes. Remove the tea bags and stir to make sure the sugar is dissolved.

Bring the tea to a boil and add the pears, orange peel, and vanilla. Turn down the heat to simmer and cover. Let simmer; remove the orange peel after about 15 minutes because it can get bitter. Simmer for another 20 minutes until the pears are tender.

Transfer the pears and liquid to a large bowl to cool. Remove a cup of the liquid from the bowl and place it back in the pot. Bring it to a simmer, then turn off the heat and add the chocolate. Whisk until completely dissolved. Let the sauce cool for the same amount of time as the pears, about an hour altogether. It tastes really good at room temperature.

To a.s.semble: Ladle a good amount of the chocolate sauce, about half a cup, into small dessert bowl. Place one pear, cored side down, in the sauce, and another, cored, side down, perpendicular to it and overlapping. If desired, place a scoop of vegan ice cream on one side and garnish with a sprig of mint.

STRAWBERRY-ROSE WATER COBBLER WITH LEMON-POPPY SEED PASTRY.

SERVES 6 TO 8.

TIME : 50 MINUTES.

For this dessert, juicy strawberries are made even more fragrant with a little rose water. The lemon-scented crust isn't plopped on as it is on most cobblers; here it's placed in lattice strips, to add a little down-home sophistication. It's so pretty and cheery that if you aren't already donning a '50s-style ap.r.o.n, you'll feel as if you should be.

If you don't want to braid your lattice, just place some strips one way and others overlapping them the other way. Still cute!

How to Make a Lattice Crust GENTLY lay four strips of dough in parallel across the cobbler with some s.p.a.ce between them. Then lift the second strip and lay a new strip perpendicularly across underneath it. Lift the fourth strip and tuck your cross strip under that one, too. So now you have a kind of weave. Repeat with the next strip, this time lifting the first and third original strips. When all the strips are used, tuck in the edges around the strawberries.

Filling: 3 pounds strawberries, hulled and cut into quarters

cup sugar

2 tablespoons tapioca flour

1 tablespoon water

2 tablespoons rose water

Pastry: cup soy milk

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons poppy seeds

1 teaspoons baking powder

Generous pinch of salt

cup canola oil

PREHEAT THE oven to 375F. Have ready an 8-inch square baking dish or pan.

Mix together all the filling ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Stir to coat the strawberries and set aside.

Prepare the lattice pastry: In a measuring cup, combine the soy milk, lemon juice, zest, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, 2 tablespoons of the sugar, and the poppy seeds, baking powder, and salt. Sift together with a fork. Drizzle the canola oil into the flour mixture and stir with a fork until the mixture is crumbly. Add the soy milk mixture and mix with a wooden spoon just until the dough holds together.

Flour a flat work surface and your hands. Give the dough a quick knead in the bowl (like five times or so) and then turn it onto the work surface. If it feels very sticky, add a bit more flour. Gently flatten the dough into roughly the size of the baking dish you are using. With a floured pizza cutter or a knife, create seven or eight strips of dough, each about an inch or so wide.

Give the strawberry mixture another stir, and transfer to the baking dish.

Now make a lattice on top of the cobbler. You don't know how to make a lattice? See the sidebar.

Sprinkle the top with the remaining tablespoon of sugar and bake for 35 minutes, until the cobbler is bubbly and the dough is slightly browned.