The Black Vegan Cooking Show welcomes rapper Jim Jones to the kitchen for a crash course in flavorful vegan fare. A co-founder of the Harlem hip-hop collective The Diplomats, also known as Dipset, Jones joins Chef Charlise Rookwood for a tasty introduction to plant-based cooking.
The Harlem icon is a meat lover at heart. “I’m not really into eating lettuce with paprika on it,” he admits. Chef Charlise is determined to challenge this vegan skeptic with a simple and delicious recipe for plant-based gyros—her go-to meal after a night out in her hometown of London.
Plant-based Gyros
Pouring out two glasses of bubbly to start, they season the plant-based meat for the gyros with paprika, cumin, garlic, dried parsley, thyme and red chili flakes, and mix the ingredients together by hand.
The plant-based meat is grilled to perfection on skewers, then placed on flatbread and dressed with fresh fixings like lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, green chilis, yellow rice, vegan yogurt sauce and chili sauce for an added kick of spice.
The verdict? “It’s good shit,” the Dipset rapper concedes, going in for bite after bite.
“I’ll take that! Would you have known it was vegan?” Chef Charlise asks.
“Not at all,” Jones says. “Great vegan meal. Definitely changed my mind about this whole vegan lifestyle.”
Vegan Chopped Cheese
Chef Charlise’s next challenge is to “vegan-ize” the New York corner store classic, the chopped cheese. This popular bodega sandwich is Jones’ go-to order and features ground beef, melted cheese, onions, and whatever other fixings are desired.
“If you figure out how to do the vegan chopped cheese, you might have me sold on the vegan life,” says the “We Fly High” rapper. “That’s a definite challenge.”
For the full recipe from this episode, visit VeganSoulicious.com.
And for more episodes of The Black Vegan Cooking Show, visit MADAMENOIRE.com.
