Tanya Sichynsky may spend her days championing vegetables as the writer behind New York Times Cooking’s newsletter “The Veggie,” but she isn’t a vegetarian—and Veg Everything: Recipes for Weeknights, Parties, and the Bites in Between is designed with that same broad appetite in mind. The new collection brings together 101 NYT Cooking recipes that put vegetables at the center without treating them like penance. Aside from curation and writing, Sichynsky’s own contribution—her only recipe in the book—is this vegan salted maple ginger pie, a sharp, autumnal dessert built from silken tofu, Japanese sweet potato, cashews, maple, and plenty of fresh ginger. A salty gingersnap-pecan crust and crumbly pecan topping keep the sweetness in check, while the egg-free filling can be tasted and tweaked as you go: plant-based baking with a refreshingly loose grip.
Ingredients
Method
- Start the filling: Add the cashews to a small bowl, amply cover with water and let sit for 2 hours, until very soft.
- Meanwhile, fill a saucepan with an inch or two of water and place a steamer basket inside. Bring to a boil over high heat, then add the sweet potato to the basket and cover. Reduce heat to medium-low and steam until tender and a fork meets no resistance, 40 to 50 minutes. Halve the sweet potato. When the sweet potato is cool enough to handle, scoop the flesh into a bowl and mash. (You should have about 1 cup.)
- While the sweet potato steams, make the crust: Heat the oven to 350 degrees. With a paper towel or your hands, grease a 9-inch springform pan with coconut oil.
- In a food processor, pulse the gingersnaps and pecans until finely ground. Add the coconut oil, brown sugar and salt, and pulse until the mixture looks like damp sand, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Transfer the crumb mixture to the prepared pan and wipe out the food processor (no need for a thorough wash). Using your fingers or the bottom of a dry measuring cup, evenly press the crumbs into the bottom and about an inch up the sides of the pan. Bake for about 10 minutes, until firm and lightly toasted. Let the crust cool while you blend the filling.
- Finish the filling: Drain the cashews and add to the food processor along with the maple syrup and blend until silky. Add the sweet potato, tofu, brown
- sugar, coconut oil, ginger, cornstarch, maple extract and salt. Blend until silky, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Pulse a few more times to combine.
- Pour the filling into the cooled crust and bake for 25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the topping: In a small bowl, mix the pecans, brown sugar, flour and salt until combined. Dot with the coconut oil and then use your hands to squeeze and press the mixture into clumps, distributing the coconut oil throughout. Set aside.
- Remove the pie from the oven and sprinkle the topping in a ring around the edges. Return to the oven and bake for 25 minutes more, until the filling is lightly golden and set and the topping is fragrant and toasted. Let cool on a wire rack until the pan is cool to the touch, then transfer to the refrigerator to cool completely, at least 5 hours and ideally overnight. To serve, gently release the sides of the pan and cut into slices, cleaning the knife between cuts as needed.
Notes
to the filling and taste as you go, increasing in
¼-teaspoon increments. Anything labeled “maple flavor concentrate” or “maple oil” is more highly concentrated than extract; start with a small amount and adjust to your liking.
Reprinted with permission from VEG EVERYTHING: RECIPES FOR WEEKNIGHTS, PARTIES & THE BITES IN BETWEEN by Tanya Sichynsky and The New York TimesCooking © 2026 by The New York Times Company. Photographs copyright © 2026 by The New York Times Company. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
