Spirit Elephant in Winnetka, Illinois, is a 120-seat full-service plant-based restaurant where 95% of production is done in house, explained executive chef Israel Serrano. The extensive scratch-made dinner menu includes everything from pan-seared crab cakes to tuna tartare, lemon chicken piccata and meatloaf bourguignon—all made without any animal products.
But Spirit Elephant’s director of operations is Italian, and he really wanted to see a vegan chicken parm on the menu. Serrano, who has years of experience cooking in steakhouses, seafood concepts and Asian restaurants, tried a lot of different recipes before he came up with the winning dish.
It starts with the “chicken”
The consistency of the plant-based chicken was key, said Serrano. “We tried a lot of different products before we found the one that had the best texture and flavor,” he said. SWAP Chicken, a soy and pea protein alternative, worked well as a replacement for conventional chicken with a few tweaks. Plus the product’s clean label and minimal ingredients conformed with Spirit Elephant’s sourcing mission.
SWAP comes in as a boneless breast-shaped filet that Serrano coats with breading, then sautes in a blend of olive and canola oils. It’s pan-fried to order over medium-low heat.
For service, the filet is topped with sauce house-made from San Marzano tomatoes and seasonings. He sprinkles vegan Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses on top and places the dish under a cheese melter to melt the cheese. The dish is garnished with more Parmesan.
“Some vegan cheeses don’t do well when exposed to heat, so I had to play around with different varieties,” said Serrano.
Traditionally, the chef would butterfly the chicken breast for presentation and ease of eating, but it was challenging to butterfly the SWAP filet. To make it “wider” to fill the plate, he portions the filet into two pieces instead. Spirit Elephant’s Chicken Parm goes for $26, served with spaghetti.
The creation of a best seller
Serrano said that only 10% to 20% of the restaurant’s customers are vegan or vegetarian, and meat eaters come in either for other dietary/allergy reasons or to join non-meat-eating family and friends for dinner or brunch.
Serrano also menus a chicken sandwich and chicken piccata with the SWAP filets, but uses ground plant-based chicken for a street taco appetizer.
“Three months ago, a family came in and ordered the Chicken Parm, and couldn’t believe it was vegan,” he said.
The dish started off as a special, printed on a card separate from the menu. “We introduced it last fall and it has since become a standard special. Guests really want the Chicken Parm,” said Serrano.
Looks like the director of operations was right.