In her book, The Vegetable Eater, Cara Mangini presents over 100 recipes for vegetable-centered meals. Written for both the novices who is learning about vegetarian cooking or the seasoned vegetarian cook who wants to create new recipes, the book provides guidance for making vegetables into complete meals. Mangini focuses on the seasonality of vegetables which emphasizes her dedication to sustainability.
An introduction with suggestions for stocking the pantry, descriptions of tools, directions for preparing the knives and work surface, and instructions for the basic preparation of vegetable is followed by chapters of recipes organized into into seven groups : main entry salads, soups-chilies and stews, sandwiches-tacos-pizza and quesadillas, grain and noodle bowels, steaks-fritters-meatballs and sheet pan meals, layered casseroles and savory pies, and sweets. The recipes range from everyday favorites like burgers, lasagna, and enchiladas to more exotic dishes like potato and creamed leek galette, asparagus and artichoke paella, and beet Wellington.
The approach of the book is innovative and encourages experimentation. Each chapter is broken down into sections featuring one kind of dish, for example noodle bowls. A general template is provided to help the readers customize recipes and information is given on possible vegetables, choice of bases for a sauce, options for aromatics, selection of seasonings, and possible seeds and nuts for toppings. Recipes for three specific dishes follow and include a brief introduction, serving size, list of ingredients, step by step instructions, various tips including variations, and sometimes a color photo of the completed dish. In the case of the noodle bowl, the three specific recipes were saucy garlic-ginger noodles, sesame-peanut noodles with crunchy vegetables and garlic-scallion chili oil, and orange-miso soba noodle bowl with broccoli and carrot ribbons.
Mangini writes in a clear and concise style and includes a plethora of tips and takeaways. In addition she includes a chart showing recipes by season. The recipes are innovation and include vegetables that are not commonly eaten like celery root, and unusual combinations like rye flour in chocolate chip cookies. Possible additions that would add to the usefulness of the book include photographs of all the completed dishes, and approximate prep and cooking times. Overall, The Vegetable Eater is a very valuable resource to anyone who is interested in vegetable-centered meals.
To buy The Vegetable Eater from Amazon.com, click here.