You don’t have to be a professional chef to eat flavorful food during your Plant-Based Whole30. There are so many recipes and options to help each meal be better than the last. But if you could pick the brain of a talented, seasoned chef, wouldn’t you ask them how to add flavor to your food?
Whole30 CEO Melissa Urban did just that when she had a chance to talk to Chef Rosie Godycki. She’s a very talented chef with about 25 years in the industry as a private chef and caterer. Now you can find her on Instagram sharing delicious recipes with her followers.
MU asked Chef Rosie to dish out her favorite tips for adding flavor during your Plant-Based Whole30. And the chef was kind enough to cook up a buffet of great ideas for making your food as tasty as possible. Savor all the tips, tricks, and recipe ideas plated up for you in this conversation.
Melissa Urban (MU): We want to talk about some of your favorite ways, as an experienced chef, to kick up the excitement of your meals so you don’t get bored with your food. We came up with two different categories. The first is foods or ingredients that are real flavor boosters. They add so much flavor to a dish and they are really easy ways to pump up the flavor. And then, second is texture. Adding texture to your dish—creaminess or crunch or chewiness.
Let’s start with the flavor category. What’s your number one?
Chef Rosie (CR): Umami! People sometimes would say, “Oh I need something meaty or something savory,” and really what they need is umami flavor, which proteins have, most mushrooms, liquid aminos, and miso.
If you use miso in your food it will add that missing element. You can add miso to soups, broths, salad dressings—you name it. You just put a little bit in there, and it gives that umami that you’re missing in your plant-based journey.
MU: I know umami is sort of that fifth taste profile. How would you describe its taste?
CR: Yes. Some people say brothy, like, ‘Oh I want some soup,’ or ‘I want something meaty.’ That’s the extra little flavor profile that people miss when it’s taken away.
I used miso one time in my black-eyed peas, and black eyed peas traditionally are made with a ham hock or neck bones, but I’m not eating that. So I wanted to add that meaty flavor, and I put a tablespoon of miso in the black-eyed peas, and I’ll tell you—it was amazing. Mushrooms, onions, black-eyed peas, and broth—and it was out of this world. It goes to show you the power of umami.
MU: Let’s talk about sweetness and dates.
CR: I love using dates, especially in the context of super clean eating and no sugar. Dates are the sweetest thing on the planet. You could take the dates and get them nice and soft and then put them in a blender. Then I like to take a scoop of that and add just a little bit to make it sweet.
MU: Sometimes you do want a way to add a little touch of sweetness to a sauce, to a dressing, or to a smoothie. And while we don’t encourage substituting added sugar for tons of concentrated sugar in dried-fruit form, I really do like using fruit.
CR: And another way to add sweetness is, when you roast vegetables, the formulation of caramelization. So when you roast vegetables in the oven and it’s a little charred, that’s the sweetness, that’s sugar. That adds lots of flavor to your meal as well as the sweetness. And it’s free.
MU: What is the trick to getting that slight caramelization on vegetables?
CR: For me I would do a higher heat because you do need it to caramelize. If you’re roasting something in the oven, you have to raise the temperature up so that it can get the caramelization.
You definitely also need some space in between them, because vegetables have water in them. So if they’re too crowded on the pan, you’re not roasting anymore.
MU: Can you caramelize vegetables using an air fryer?
CR: Yes! When I use the air fryer, it’s 400 for 10 minutes. I don’t care what the instructions say. I’m doing 400 for 10 minutes.
MU: Okay, 400 for 10 minutes. Let’s talk a little bit about a different kind of heat—from chili oil.
CR: My new favorite obsession is chili oil. I literally put it on everything. It goes great with avocados. It goes with tofu. I even had roasted sweet potatoes. It’s a great combo with tahini, too. If you mix it together with some broth, you’ve got a nice little sauce. You can put some zucchini noodles in there or toss it with some vegetables… Tahini also makes a really good ranch dressing, too. If you use tahini, oil, vinegar, garlic, and then you just throw in fresh chives and dill.
MU: Amazing! I never would have thought of that. You also have smoked paprika on this list. What is the difference between a smoked and normal paprika, and where would you want to use a smoked version?
CR: The difference is one is a sweet paprika, and the other has been smoked and dried. If I’m not eating meat, it’s a great source of umami. So you can put it on fried potatoes or sweet potato fries. You can put it on mushrooms. I literally season with that and granulated garlic. Those two together with salt and pepper is going to elevate your meal. If you’re missing that smoky taste, the smoked paprika will add a nice, rich smokiness.
MU: I also want to talk about fresh herbs. Basil, thyme, rosemary, Thai basil—you name it—they’re just underrated.
CR: Fresh herbs will give more flavor. Even chives are so simple. That sprinkle of chives because it’s a mild onion flavor without adding more onions to something. Dill is another light herb you can use especially when it’s Spring. Rosemary is a little strong, but use it sparingly and it’s fantastic. Parsley is a good one that I like to use because it makes it look pretty, but it’s very mild. Thai, regular, or lemon basil is great. Just adding fresh herbs will level up your food.
With rosemary, you can just put it in the roasting pan with the other vegetables and it will pick up the flavor, especially if you use a little oil. That will transfer those flavors throughout your pan.
MU: I love that. Let’s add a little salt to our meals in the form of olives and capers. Where are you using these in your dishes?
CR: Salad is the first thing—artichoke, capers, olives, pepperoncini, and protein. They all go together. So I would use it in salad dressings, too. You can eat capers with potatoes, either cold or hot or roasted. Capers are great anytime you want that type of briny taste.
MU: What is your favorite way to add dashes of sour into a dish in a balanced way?
CR: I would say either lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, or rice wine vinegar. I like these wine vinegars a lot because they add a little bit of sour. I like to use lemons, limes, and grapefruit. You can use the zest if you really want the taste of lemons without going overboard on being sour. You’ll get that brightness and not the sourness.
MU: You have a few texture tricks, and one of them is air fried vegetables. How do you use an air fryer with your veggies to mix up the textures of your dish?
CR: One technique you have is to slice the vegetables thinner and lay them out flat with plenty of room. Use a touch of any kind of neutral oil that you want to use. And we’re still talking about 400 degrees or 425, and getting them nice and crispy.
Another thing you can do for crispy or crunchy texture is nuts and hemp seed. Roasting or toasting your nuts is going to add a little sweetness, and a little crunchy texture to your food.
MU: Let’s talk about nutritional yeast, because I wonder if some people are still sleeping on it.
CR: It gives that nutty, cheesy type of flavor. So you can put it in salad dressings. You can sprinkle it on top of your vegetables. You can put it in anything. I use it as a seasoning and as an ingredient.
I put it in a lot of dressings and sauces when I’m doing vegetables. It goes great with potatoes and noodles and stuff like that. You can put it in nut butter, as well, like you’re trying to make a sauce out of cashew cream or cashew butter. You can add as much as you want really, like maybe a fourth of a cup, and then get that cheesy taste that you’re looking for—especially if it’s paired with granulated garlic and smoked paprika.
MU: How can you use tofu in different ways to change the texture of a dish?
CR: You have to get firm tofu, and you have to press it. So you wrap it in a towel put it on a plate and then put a weight or heavy frying pan on top of it. Let that sit maybe 10-15 minutes. Then when you take it out you’ll have a nice, more textured tofu. Then you can slice it and then season it with herbs and put it in the air fryer. It’ll be nice and crispy that way. Add whatever the flavors you like with it and a little bit of oil.
I like my tofu a little bit on the drier side because I like the texture of it. The other thing is you can crumble it up and season it with nutritional yeast, smoked paprika, granulated garlic, salt, pepper, and maybe a little liquid aminos. Just toss it together and then you can put it in the air fryer and you can kind of dry it out a little bit and it becomes like a crumble. It goes great with mushrooms and lentils. And just blend that taco seasoning in there and you’ve got a little protein base.
MU: I love the idea of a Plant-Based Whole30 taco. You could do a jicama shell or a lettuce wrap. Two more questions to wrap up. What are you talking about on your Instagram channel right now? What’s really exciting to you in the world of cooking and food?
CR: I’m excited about sharing different ways to make food, especially if a person has a dietary need. I do a lot of plant-based recipes. I also do a lot of gluten-free recipes. Then I may throw in something for my husband or my son, which may not fit that profile. But I like to have fun and tell people different ways that you can make something simple. I do a lot of simple, easy recipes.
If you’re looking for flavorful plant-based dishes, follow Chef Rosie Godycki on Instagram. And if you want more plant-based tips, recipes, and information on the Whole30, sign up for our free emails.
