“A dish about one ingredient (onion) across all its lives, inside an ocean of umami.” – Aggeliki Charami

Handmade tortellini with an umami filling

Ageliki Charami, the executive chef at the Paradiso Pure.Living vegan hotel, LA VIMEA and the OMNIA plant-based restaurant, has a penchant for Asian and Japanese cooking techniques, as well as umami flavour. This vegan recipe, which she shared with us, is the most elaborate one on our blog so far and is perfect for special occasions. The noodle dough, which is coloured with a little turmeric, is the easiest part.

The onion-umami filling, on the other hand, requires a trip to a Japanese speciality store. The flavour of the caramelised onion is enhanced by kombu (seaweed), shiro miso (Japanese seasoning paste), umeboshi (fermented Japanese fruit) and rice wine.

Sustainability fact: seaweed is considered the vegetable of the future. It grows without the need for freshwater or fertiliser, and it absorbs huge amounts of CO₂. However, importing it from Japan undermines its environmental sustainability due to the long shipping distances involved. A more climate-friendly alternative is to source seaweed (kelp) from Europe, for example from France or the Baltic Sea.

But the dish is far from finished yet . As we work our way through the recipe, we’ll make our own rosemary oil (it’s easier than it sounds!) and prepare three different onion toppings for more experienced cooks, as well as a seaweed bisque and a lemon potato cream. We’ll then “dab” these onto the dish before serving.

By the way, this is what Aggeliki says about the recipe:

“This recipe is really simple. I created it so that you can easily make it at home, without needing any special restaurant equipment or complicated techniques.”

Well then! Go for it and surprise your guests (or just your favorite person) with this special dish. We hope it turns out great, and enjoy your meal!

PS: If you would like to tell your guests about the creator of this dish when you serve it, take a look at the interview with Aggeliki Charmi here.