Culinology - December 2021 - 13

A
fter actor Stanley Tucci lost his sense
of taste and smell following radiation
treatment for oral cancer, he feared he
would lose part of his heritage, having
grown up in a traditional Southern ItalianAmerican
household outside New York
City where everything revolved around
food. Three years later, his sense of
taste returned and he said it's actually
heightened. He is now focusing much of his
energy on food, with a " foodie " television
series based in Italy and a recently
published memoir, aptly titled " Taste. "
Neither vegan nor vegetarian, Mr. Tucci
is embracing the plant-based protein
movement. The caveat, like for many other
food enthusiasts, is he is incorporating more
plant protein through whole foods and not
through processed products formulated to
look like hamburger or chicken nuggets.
Mr. Tucci does this in a spaghetti dish
featuring a vegan ragu bolognese. Lentils
are simmered in water until tender. After
draining, the legumes are blended with
chopped onions, carrots, celery and
chunky tomato marinara and cooked until
desired consistency.
Making it a complete protein
The challenge with lentils, like most plant
proteins, is they are not complete proteins.
This means they do not contain the nine
essential amino acids in the ratio the body
requires. While lentils contain a high amount
of some essential amino acids, they lack
methionine, as do most plant proteins. This
makes methionine the limiting amino acid
for lentils and why lentils are considered an
incomplete source of protein.
For this dish to be a complete protein -
something that should always be considered
when formulating with plant proteins - it
needs to contain other ingredients that have
sufficient amounts of the limiting amino
acid. Traditional semolina pasta is not a
source of methionine; however, use of eggbased
noodles along with the addition of
some cheese should ensure the dish has a
complete protein profile. If the dish must be
vegan, then there are other specialty pastas
that may be used. One of the best vegan
sources of methionine is vital wheat gluten,
which is only lacking in lysine.
Animal proteins are complete, as are
quinoa, soy, most nuts and nutritional yeast.
The latter is a deactivated yeast dried into a
powder and commonly used as a flavoring in
vegan meals, as it has a strong cheesy, nutty
flavor profile and provides umami, a taste
many plant-based foods lack.
To make a front-of-package claim, protein
must be calculated as a complete protein.
" Good " or " excellent " source of protein claims
refer to the amount of complete protein in
the product. This is 5 grams or 10 grams per
serving for each respective claim. This is very
important information for vegans who are at
risk of being deficient in some essential amino
acids. Deficiency may have a negative impact
on muscle repair and growth, fluid balance
and hormone production.
If the focus of plant-based is simply to
develop dishes featuring more non-animal
proteins, protein completeness is less of a
factor. It's assumed the consumer will be
compensating for the missing amino acids in
other foods throughout the day.
Layering on flavor
One of the most common complementary
protein duos is rice and beans. Rice protein
is high in cysteine and methionine, but low in
lysine. Bean protein is low in methionine but
high in lysine. Another is peanut butter (low in
methionine, high in lysine) with whole wheat
bread (low in lysine, high in methionine).
These whole food plant protein duos may
serve as the base for culinary-inspired dishes,
with or without the addition of other proteins.
Another approach is to include enough
of a complete plant protein to ensure a
balanced amino acid profile. For example,
Nastasha McKeon, founder of the Choice
Superfood Bar and Juicery vegan food chain
headquartered in Carlsbad, Calif., and author
of " Plant Food Is Medicine, " combines finely
chopped walnuts with nutritional yeast,
tomatoes and spices to make a savory taco
filling. Seeds and nuts are a go-to for her for
many recipes.
" Before going vegan, I used to love spicy
tuna ceviche, " Ms. McKeon said. " My spicy
suntuna pâté really hits the spot when that
craving strikes. "
She combines sunflowers seeds - a
source of complete protein - with cashews
and soaks them until soft. They are
formulated with chopped onion, olive oil and
by Donna Berry
editor@sosland.com
Oyster mushroom
carnitas
Source: Plant Food is
Medicine
DECEMBER 2021 | Culinology | 13
Culinology - December 2021

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