Welcome to Cooking at Home With…, an ongoing series where we go behind-the-scenes with some of our favorite personalities to see how they get busy in their own kitchens. This week, we head out to Los Angeles to the new crib of Philly rapper Gilbere Forté, whose free project PRAY drops on May 15. Watch the video for “Pray,” and you’ll hear how the young MC’s lyrics connect to his raw-food lifestyle: “Belly of the beast, I ain’t hungry though / Vegan life for you pork rolls, En Noir leather short flow.” To hold you over until Wednesday, here’s his latest single, “Nolita.” You can follow Gilbert on Twitter @GilbereForte.
Name: Gilbere Forte
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA (by way of Flint, MI)
Current Home: Los Angeles, CA
How do you define your profession?
Exquisite.
How often do you cook at home?
I cook all the time. It’s another one of my therapies, like music. Sometimes when I want to get away for a awhile, I turn on my Spotify, zone out, and turn my kitchen into the Food Network.
Tell us about the dishes you’re making.
Whenever I enter the kitchen, I ask myself how can I make at least two to three totally difference cuisines taste well together. I see no limits. I took a second to gaze into my fridge for advice. The first thing that spoke was color. My dishes had to be colorful. So I decide to prepare:
– Vegan Chik’n salad with Mexican squash
– Thai Fusion kelp pasta with kale, mushrooms, onion, and tomato in a raw peanut butter-based sauce
– Baked zucchini boats with asparagus vegan herbed ricotta cheese
What is on your cooking playlist?
Everything from Billy Pau to James Blake, M83, and the Chromatics.
Imagine your dream dinner party. Who are the guests?
Michael Jackson, Richard Pryor, Robert DeNiro, Angelina Jolie, Tupac Shakur, my Mom, and Sade.
Do you have a go-to drink with your meal?
Homemade tonic.
Do you have a favorite cookbook?
I haven’t published it yet.
You have a dinner party. Guests are lingering. How do you get them out?
“Hey everyone, I forgot to mention they are towing cars without street permits.”
So, can we get the recipes for these dishes?
Now if I gave away my recipes, how would that make me a great chef? The world can’t know every secret. Haha. Here’s bit of advice: Prepare food that makes you feel new, with the taste of happiness.
After some arm-pulling, Gilbere agreed to hit us off with one of the recipes—hit the jump to learn how to make his Thai kelp pasta.
Gilbere Forté’s Thai Kelp Pasta
Ingredients
“The Base”
Kelp noodles
Kale
Fresh spinach
Crimson mushrooms
White onion
Roma tomato
“The Sauce”
Bragg Amino Acids
Veganaise
Raw Peanut Butter
Garlic Powder
Agave Sweetner
Step 1
– Wash all the produce thoroughly in warm water before rinsing in cold water.
– Rinse off and drain the kelp noodles In small bowl with cool water.
– Measure and lay out all your beautiful spices and sauce ingredients.
Step 2
– Chop 1 cup of kale into chunks
– Chop 1 cup of fresh spinach finely
– Chop 1 cup of mushrooms
– Chop ½ cup of white onion
– Chop ½ cup of Roma tomato
Step 3
– Prepare a large stainless stell nonstick saucepan on medium heat and add 2 Tbsp of grape seed oil.
– As oil begins to a sizzle, add your kale, mushrooms, white onion, and Roma tomato.
– Season lightly with ground black pepper before adding 2 Tbsp of Bragg Amino Acids for the perfect amount of flavor.
– Cook for about 6-7 mins until the vegetables are simmering.
Step 4
– Take the rinsed kelp noodles and place them into a pot (cooking on low heat).
– Add ½ cup of (low sodium) vegetable broth.
– Let simmer.
Step 5 (The Sauce)
– Add 3 Tbsp of Veganaise, 2 Tbsp of raw peanut butter, 2 dashes of garlic powder, and
2 Tbsp of agave sweetner to the sautéed vegetables in the sauce pan.
– Stir everything together until all the ingredients are coated in sauce.
– Let simmer for about 2-3 mins.
– Pour entire sauce and vegetable mix into the pot of kelp noodles.
– Stir everything together for about 50 secs until all the flavors have mixed thoroughly.
Step 6
Serve. Appreciate, be inspired, eat and enjoy.