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Bestselling author and chef Isa Chandra Moskowitz founded two Modern Love vegan restaurants–first in Omaha, then in her hometown of Brooklyn. She’s also written 12 cookbooks, her latest being Fake Meat: Real Food for Vegan Appetites. Maybe it’s her New York Jewish (Deli) heritage that resonates with me, her down-to-earth style of writing, or her incredible recipes that have made her a top-selling author, but it’s also that Isa is so relatable. She also doesn’t try to convince you that you don’t need that pastrami sandwich–but instead recreates it with animal-free alternatives. These are comfort foods updated for modern times.
Isa’s latest book focuses on just that–and how recreating those flavors is ultimately palate pleasing—the savory, umami, and seasoning that evoke happy memories. It also indirectly dispels the notion that meat alternatives need to be highly processed foods. In this new cookbook, find traditional recipes like Turki club sandwiches, lobster rolls, and cheesesteaks–all the things you don’t want to give up when you consider eating vegan. The required ingredients are all typically found at grocery stores or Amazon and do not require special stockists. Her enthusiasm for creating great food is contagious, and her motto strikes a chord, “I’m an animal lover, and that love doesn’t end when I get hungry.”
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I had the opportunity to ask Isa a few questions about the new book, her favorite recipes, and cookbooks she loves.
My favorite recipe: Buffalo Tofu Wings with Ranch dressing @postpunkkitchen @isachandra on Instagram
Isa Chandra MoskowitzErica Radol: Fake Meat: Real Food for Vegan Appetites is your twelfth vegan cookbook. Is this in response to the increase in mainstream conversations on the topic of meat alternatives?
Isa Chandra Moskowitz: The recipes aren’t really in response to anything, more just what I felt like working on at the time. The title is definitely a sarcastic effort to address the “controversy” around making vegan meat items. But I talk about it a lot in the book; language evolves, and food evolves, and this is the beautiful culmination of that partnership.
ER: What are your favorite dishes from Fake Meat?
ICM: Well, the most practical and the one I make the most is definitely the Pull Apart Chick’n. It is easy and delicious, and who doesn’t want to put vegan chick’n in everything? But a few of my deep-cut favorites are the root marrow, which are roasted parsnips stuffed with pate, designed to look like bone marrow. And I love pretty much everything in the pasta section, including the Sausage Cacio Pepe (made with tempeh) and the braised meatballs from the Spaghetti & Meatball recipe. The throw-together salads are also very fun and easy, like the TVP-based chick’n salad, and the Chickpea Egg Salad.
ER: What would you like readers to take away from this book?
ICM: That vegan ingredients are easy to work with and delicious once you familiarize yourself with them, and there are so many ways to satisfy cravings. I also think that the recipes themselves are actually fun, whether it's a weekend project like a roast or 30-minute soup. Cooking doesn't have to be fast and easy all the time, sometimes it can be an actual event, and the process is rewarding.
ER: Any advice for the v-curious?
ICM: Take the flavors you know and love and go from there.
ER: What cookbooks do you love?
There’s always a special place in my heart for Louise Hagler's Tofu Cookery and a cookbook from 2001 called Voluptuous Vegan that really got me to start using more veggies and beans. I also get a lot of use out of non-vegan cookbooks, especially Nigella Lawson. I love to read cookbooks cover to cover, so when authors are writing from their heart and experience, I tend to love it. Right now, I'm reading Cooking With Mushrooms by Andrea Gentl and Vegan Pasta Night by Brianna Claxton, two women who love and adore their subject matter.
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