Harvest Hues

BY KATIE BIANCO || PHOTOGRAPHY BY SCOTT SUCHMAN

Vibrant purples. Dazzling oranges and rich reds. As autumn arrives, a rainbow of brilliant vegetables trumpets the arrival of cooler weather and the cozy allure of comfort food. Of course, we think there’s no better way to maintain vegetables’ unique flavor, color, and texture than through the sous-vide method.

Not only does food taste better, preparing vegetables through sous vide helps retain their nutritional integrity. “Vacuum packing and precise-temperature cooking preserves antioxidants and protects the cell wall from being damaged,” says AJ Schaller, executive chef at Cuisine Solutions. “Traditional cooking of vegetables, such as frying, boiling, and steaming, causes the cell wall to leach into cooking oil and water—and they lose nutrients and flavor.”

To enhance the flavor of vegetables cooked sous vide, Schaller recommends adding oil—or butter, if you plan to eat vegetables hot. “The addition of fat helps to fix the aroma of the vegetables, which heavily maximizes the taste,” she says. Ahead, find a kaleidoscope of colorful recipes that promise to put fall’s most beautiful hues front and center.

CARROT SOUP WITH SMOKED GINGER AND WHIPPED CREAM
For this recipe, Yukon gold potatoes, smoked ginger, yellow onions, and carrots begin with a sous vide bath before being blended into a smoothly textured soup layered with complex flavors. Finish with a dollop of whipped lime crema for added flavor and visual contrast against the soup’s striking orange hue

PUMPKIN AGRODOLCE
Put a sophisticated spin on roasted pumpkin by turning the traditional fall vegetable into an enticing main dish, with its warm golden hue as centerpiece. Here, slices of pumpkin are first cooked sous vide with onions, cranberries, and seasonings before getting a turn in a hot pan to add caramelization and texture. An agrodolce glaze—the Italian term means to pair sour (agro) and sweet (dolce) elements—of honey, thyme, anchovy, and garlic lends a perfectly balanced finish.

PURPLE CAULIFLOWER STEAK WITH ARUGULA PESTO AND CHERRY TOMATO VINAIGRETTE
Sizzling steak makes for a decadent meal. But a sliced slab of cauliflower can serve as a surprisingly satisfying stand-in for traditional proteins. The meaty firmness, coupled with a conversation-starting color, makes purple cauliflower the perfect vegetarian star for any dinner plate. Here, it’s infused with flavorful spices in a sous vide pouch before getting seared like a traditional steak. Add a bright green homemade arugula pesto and an accent of red cherry tomato, and you have a colorful, versatile meal easy enough to prepare on a weeknight yet suitably impressive for your next dinner party.