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The French Market Cookbook: Vegetarian Recipes from My Parisian Kitchen
Cook from the farmer’s market with inspired vegetarian recipes—many of which are gluten-free and dairy-free—with a French twist, all highlighting seasonal produce.
Beloved ChocolateAndZucchini.com food blogger Clotilde Dusoulier is not a vegetarian. But she has, like many of us, chosen to eat less meat and fish, and is always looking for new ways to cook what looks best at the market. In The French Market Cookbook, she takes us through the seasons in 82 recipes—and explores the love story between French cuisine and vegetables.
Choosing what’s ripe and in season means Clotilde does not rely heavily on the cheese, cream, and pastas that often overpopulate vegetarian recipes. Instead she lets the bright flavors of the vegetables shine carrots are lightly spiced with star anise and vanilla in a soup made with almond milk; tomatoes are jazzed up by mustard in a gorgeous tart; winter squash stars in golden Corsican turnovers; and luscious peaches bake in a cardamom-scented custard. With 75 color photographs of the tempting dishes and the abundant markets of Paris, and with Clotilde’s charming stories of shopping and cooking in France, The French Market Cookbook is a transportive and beautiful cookbook for food lovers everywhere.
Beloved ChocolateAndZucchini.com food blogger Clotilde Dusoulier is not a vegetarian. But she has, like many of us, chosen to eat less meat and fish, and is always looking for new ways to cook what looks best at the market. In The French Market Cookbook, she takes us through the seasons in 82 recipes—and explores the love story between French cuisine and vegetables.
Choosing what’s ripe and in season means Clotilde does not rely heavily on the cheese, cream, and pastas that often overpopulate vegetarian recipes. Instead she lets the bright flavors of the vegetables shine carrots are lightly spiced with star anise and vanilla in a soup made with almond milk; tomatoes are jazzed up by mustard in a gorgeous tart; winter squash stars in golden Corsican turnovers; and luscious peaches bake in a cardamom-scented custard. With 75 color photographs of the tempting dishes and the abundant markets of Paris, and with Clotilde’s charming stories of shopping and cooking in France, The French Market Cookbook is a transportive and beautiful cookbook for food lovers everywhere.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
110 people are currently reading
2022 people want to read
About the author
Clotilde Dusoulier
12 books45 followersClotilde Dusoulier is a Parisian author and blogger who lives in Montmartre and shares her passion for all things food-related -- thoughts, recipes, musings, cookbook acquisitions, quirky ingredients, nifty tools, restaurant experiences, ideas, and inspirations.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
July 8, 2013
Instructions like "Pop the cardamom pods open with the flat of a chef's knife and grind the seeds finely with a mortar and pestle" ensure that I will never make any of the recipes in this cookbook. Ever.
July 11, 2016
You know how it is when you are at a beautiful winery with electric car charging stations and a water bottle filling station, and a big iced trough full of metal water bottles for guests who didn't bring their own refillable bottles to borrow, and organic wine, and the only thing that would make this better would be wines that you are actually excited by (spoiler alert, despite my lack of enthusiasm for these wines I did in fact drink two glasses at dinner that night, because, well it wasn't bad wine, and it was a pasta dinner and, you know what - don't judge me for my lack of enthusiasm or contradictory wine consumption)
...wait, what was I saying? Oh yes, lack of enthusiasm for the wine, so I wandered off to the non-alcoholic shopping area and found The French Market Cookbook, which I was enthusiastic about. And after insisting my husband admire the pretty pictures, I decided to buy the book because clearly if I own a book with pretty photos the food I cook will be magically better, even if I never even use the recipes. Because, Duh, magic.
Sad to report I have no idea if the book contains magic because in fact I immediatly started using the recipes. Which, if you knew me, is quite the departure from my usual 'This will change everything!!" impulse purchases that tend to languish for weeks or months before I try using whatever wigget I've brough home. What can I say? This book has some beautiful photos...
First up in my attempt to make beautiful food was Eggplant And Black Olive Caviar. Official response: Meh. The recipe does get bonus points for the 'just stick the oiled eggplants on a baking sheet - with a couple of slits cut into the side - and bake. (Please do not ask me my previous methods of roasting eggplants...it wasn't pretty, and quite frankly I will deny I was ever so clueless). Negative points for just being bland. I saved the batch by taking the leftovers (ie: 95% of the recipe) the next day and adding tahini and more garlic. My revised batch? I think it might make a nice pasta sauce for some whole wheat linguini.
Next up - Goat Cheese and Rosemary Sables. Official response: "I can't talk my mouth is full." I'm making these for a dinner party tomorrow. I had no idea what a sable was, but the picture looked interesting, and I love rosemary so I gave it a go. Think a savory cookie. The only sweetner is a teaspoon of honey, so the word cookie might be misleading. Tomorrow these will be served with the before dinner drinks and maybe some marinated olives. My only disappointment with the recipe was that the sables just didn't brown well, so I may try an egg wash tomorrow. Or not. My ratio of good ideas to try vs good ideas I actually tried is not super high...
Last up on the "Mo surprised the universe by using her new cookbook within 24 hours of ownership" hit parade was the Peach, Almond, and Cardomom Clafoutis. Official response: um, ok, honesty time...I didn't actually make this. But I did somehow con my friend of over 40 years into pulling this together as I figured out how to fake chilling the Goat a Cheese and Rosemary Sabels in the freezer for an hour when I only had a quarter of an hour before they had to go in the oven (really cookbook designer? Putting the "place in freezer for one hour" instructions on page two of the recipe isn't really fair). So my lovely friend did all the work on this one (On the one hand, after the first fourty years you'd think she would be on to my conning ways and make me do my own work, but on the other hand, we've been friends for so long an argument can be made that she knows that hanging out with me is likely to involve her coming to my rescue.) I don't know if there were any tricky bits to this recipe - and as I'm also making this for tomorrow's dinner party I'm really hoping there aren't - but I do know it was quite tasty. If you make this dish I recommend the optional creme fraiche as a topping. It balanced the clafoutis nicely.
So...two out of the three recipes I tried last weekend I'm making this weekend, which is pretty high praise (well, praise, and a reluctance to try all new recipes on my guests). And I've already got my eye on some beautiful pictures I want to give a try next week.
...wait, what was I saying? Oh yes, lack of enthusiasm for the wine, so I wandered off to the non-alcoholic shopping area and found The French Market Cookbook, which I was enthusiastic about. And after insisting my husband admire the pretty pictures, I decided to buy the book because clearly if I own a book with pretty photos the food I cook will be magically better, even if I never even use the recipes. Because, Duh, magic.
Sad to report I have no idea if the book contains magic because in fact I immediatly started using the recipes. Which, if you knew me, is quite the departure from my usual 'This will change everything!!" impulse purchases that tend to languish for weeks or months before I try using whatever wigget I've brough home. What can I say? This book has some beautiful photos...
First up in my attempt to make beautiful food was Eggplant And Black Olive Caviar. Official response: Meh. The recipe does get bonus points for the 'just stick the oiled eggplants on a baking sheet - with a couple of slits cut into the side - and bake. (Please do not ask me my previous methods of roasting eggplants...it wasn't pretty, and quite frankly I will deny I was ever so clueless). Negative points for just being bland. I saved the batch by taking the leftovers (ie: 95% of the recipe) the next day and adding tahini and more garlic. My revised batch? I think it might make a nice pasta sauce for some whole wheat linguini.
Next up - Goat Cheese and Rosemary Sables. Official response: "I can't talk my mouth is full." I'm making these for a dinner party tomorrow. I had no idea what a sable was, but the picture looked interesting, and I love rosemary so I gave it a go. Think a savory cookie. The only sweetner is a teaspoon of honey, so the word cookie might be misleading. Tomorrow these will be served with the before dinner drinks and maybe some marinated olives. My only disappointment with the recipe was that the sables just didn't brown well, so I may try an egg wash tomorrow. Or not. My ratio of good ideas to try vs good ideas I actually tried is not super high...
Last up on the "Mo surprised the universe by using her new cookbook within 24 hours of ownership" hit parade was the Peach, Almond, and Cardomom Clafoutis. Official response: um, ok, honesty time...I didn't actually make this. But I did somehow con my friend of over 40 years into pulling this together as I figured out how to fake chilling the Goat a Cheese and Rosemary Sabels in the freezer for an hour when I only had a quarter of an hour before they had to go in the oven (really cookbook designer? Putting the "place in freezer for one hour" instructions on page two of the recipe isn't really fair). So my lovely friend did all the work on this one (On the one hand, after the first fourty years you'd think she would be on to my conning ways and make me do my own work, but on the other hand, we've been friends for so long an argument can be made that she knows that hanging out with me is likely to involve her coming to my rescue.) I don't know if there were any tricky bits to this recipe - and as I'm also making this for tomorrow's dinner party I'm really hoping there aren't - but I do know it was quite tasty. If you make this dish I recommend the optional creme fraiche as a topping. It balanced the clafoutis nicely.
So...two out of the three recipes I tried last weekend I'm making this weekend, which is pretty high praise (well, praise, and a reluctance to try all new recipes on my guests). And I've already got my eye on some beautiful pictures I want to give a try next week.
August 5, 2013
From Chocolate & Zucchini Blogger Clotilde Dusoulier, a book of seasonal French vegetarian and vegan recipes and tips for shopping for and creating meals with a veg-friendly focus. The book reads much like her blog--friendly, inspiring and like a little trip to Paris from the couch. ;-) I have tagged many dishes to make like Avocado and Radish Mini Tartines, Crunchy Lentil and Watercress Salad,Poor Man's Bouillabaisse (with peas, new potatoes & poached eggs), Shaved Fennel Salad with Preserved Lemon, Chickpea Galette, Lemon Verbena Syrup, Seaweed Tartare, Apple and Salted Caramel Sauce, Cauliflower Gratin with Turmeric and Hazelnuts, and Lebanese Coffee Dessert Jars.
This weekend I tried the Tomato and Tarragon Bread Soup (Panade de Tomate à l’ Estragon) which was fabulous with ripe farm fresh summer tomatoes. Here's a link to the recipe and pictures on my blog: http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/20...
French cookbooks featuring vegetarian dishes aren't always easy to find so I have a feeling I will be pulling out this paperback book (with plenty of mouthwatering pictures) often.
This weekend I tried the Tomato and Tarragon Bread Soup (Panade de Tomate à l’ Estragon) which was fabulous with ripe farm fresh summer tomatoes. Here's a link to the recipe and pictures on my blog: http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/20...
French cookbooks featuring vegetarian dishes aren't always easy to find so I have a feeling I will be pulling out this paperback book (with plenty of mouthwatering pictures) often.
March 21, 2018
Now I can see why I took this off of my to read list. I got this from the library and I am so glad that I did not spend money on this. Now don't get me wrong it is not a horrible book, it is just not a book for me. There are not as many pictures as I would like in this book, with that being said...there are some recipes (very few) that only require a few ingredients. Most of the recipes require many ingredients some lists as long as the page with the instructions being just as long. This is not the type of book that makes me excited to cook or even look at. So sad!!!
November 16, 2017
I love the idea of this cookbook and it is very attractively photographed and designed. Unfortunately, only 1 of the 4 or 5 recipes I tried was excellent (Quiche with mushrooms and chives.) The rest were complicated to prepare without the payout of a great dish. The author seems to do better with more traditional French food than healthy vegetarian weeknight staples.
May 6, 2014
Wonderful recipe ideas and photos inspired by a more provencial France. My only gripe is that the shortbreads and crusts really seem to work only with butter. I did try one of the crust with the suggested vegan ingredients, but it did not really seem like those were actually tested, just added in as an afterthought to reach the vegan market.
January 4, 2015
I love French food, not the creamy sauced meaty kind, but the fresh gardened feel like nature kind. Actually, the kind that's in this book. Ms Clotilde chapters recipes by season, while fronting each with a list of seasonal vegetables and fruits. Love that. The cuisine is light, fresh, new, and French. All doable for the home chef. Perfect.
July 27, 2013
Simply brilliant. I must own this one soon. This is the kind of cookbook that makes me want to make everything in it. An odd mix of tweaks with veggies that makes me eager to try them. Will have to check out more of Dusoulier's books soon.
July 18, 2023
I made two recipes from this cookbook this month for a cookbook challenge.
Green Bean, Red Rice and Almond Salad uses a lot of green beans and some rice, and a dressing made with almond butter, lemon juice, olive oil, cider vinegar, and salt. Then it’s topped with toasted chopped almonds, flat-leaf parsley and fresh black pepper.
I made a couple of alterations by adding garlic and having to substitute the parsley. Ours had wilted so I used basil. I also used brown rice instead of red but that’s an option she gives. Ultimately I thought this was heavy on the green beans even for me, a lover of green beans (there were two pounds / 900g of them). My wrists got tired snipping that many. I wanted more rice and I also ended up microwaving some to warm it up and soften the green beans a bit more.
This was pretty good and a nice variation on the almond butter sauces I typically make (generally they have an Asian twist and use soy sauce and rice vinegar, sometimes ginger and sweetener — this didn’t have any of that). Nevertheless I don’t think I’ll make it again. I liked it but not enough for that.
Shocking Pink Pasta— this was a very basic recipe. You blend beets, cream (or in my case, plant cream), salt and cumin, then coat long pasta in the resulting sauce, and garnish with freshly ground black pepper, chopped roasted almonds, and parsley.
I was really not a fan of this one. The beet flavor was overwhelming and only the almonds made it all right. When we ran out of almonds it was almost like eating pure beets. I complained so much my husband started making silly wordplay “Yes indeedy / It’s too beety.”
Anyway, this was very simple to make but unless you’re a big fan of beets (is anyone?) I don’t recommend it. Neither of the two recipes I’ve made from this cookbook were anything special, so I plan to focus the rest of this challenge on my other ones.
Green Bean, Red Rice and Almond Salad uses a lot of green beans and some rice, and a dressing made with almond butter, lemon juice, olive oil, cider vinegar, and salt. Then it’s topped with toasted chopped almonds, flat-leaf parsley and fresh black pepper.
I made a couple of alterations by adding garlic and having to substitute the parsley. Ours had wilted so I used basil. I also used brown rice instead of red but that’s an option she gives. Ultimately I thought this was heavy on the green beans even for me, a lover of green beans (there were two pounds / 900g of them). My wrists got tired snipping that many. I wanted more rice and I also ended up microwaving some to warm it up and soften the green beans a bit more.
This was pretty good and a nice variation on the almond butter sauces I typically make (generally they have an Asian twist and use soy sauce and rice vinegar, sometimes ginger and sweetener — this didn’t have any of that). Nevertheless I don’t think I’ll make it again. I liked it but not enough for that.
Shocking Pink Pasta— this was a very basic recipe. You blend beets, cream (or in my case, plant cream), salt and cumin, then coat long pasta in the resulting sauce, and garnish with freshly ground black pepper, chopped roasted almonds, and parsley.
I was really not a fan of this one. The beet flavor was overwhelming and only the almonds made it all right. When we ran out of almonds it was almost like eating pure beets. I complained so much my husband started making silly wordplay “Yes indeedy / It’s too beety.”
Anyway, this was very simple to make but unless you’re a big fan of beets (is anyone?) I don’t recommend it. Neither of the two recipes I’ve made from this cookbook were anything special, so I plan to focus the rest of this challenge on my other ones.
May 22, 2019
Nice addition to anyone's library that is interested in French cooking and cuisine. Having a French vegetarian book is a breath of fresh air, indeed. Divided into seasons makes it all the more easy to use fresh, seasonal ingredients. Living in the US south, there is a good bit of variation between what is in the market here as opposed to the Provence, but the recipes are adaptable enough to where changes and substitutions can be made with ease. This book will take you on a amazing farm fresh to table journey via the French kitchen! This is one of my "go to" books, especially in the summer. I probably use this little book more than any of the other books on my shelf. Worth the bucks for sure!
February 20, 2018
Her name is Clotilde - you know this book is legitimately french!
Lots to like here, and I made a list of all the ones that I want to make myself... which I will have to skip over and see if they are on her blog ("chocolateandzucchine"), since I did not have time to copy them all down from my borrowed book.
Just a few of the highlights, though:
~seaweed tartare!
~chocolate berawecka (I just love the name)
~cauliflower gratin with tumeric and hazelnuts
Yum.
Lots to like here, and I made a list of all the ones that I want to make myself... which I will have to skip over and see if they are on her blog ("chocolateandzucchine"), since I did not have time to copy them all down from my borrowed book.
Just a few of the highlights, though:
~seaweed tartare!
~chocolate berawecka (I just love the name)
~cauliflower gratin with tumeric and hazelnuts
Yum.
April 14, 2019
There were very few recipes for our family in this cookbook, as delicious as everything sounds. The recipes depend on a lot of bread, pastry, and other forms of gluten. We tried one recipe (Corsican Bell Pepper Stew) and had mixed reviews (kids hated it, Mr.Soule loved it, I thought it was good but not great).
February 20, 2020
This is a fantastic book to help increase the number of vegetables in your diet. Some of the recipes may seem intimidating when reading them but they weren't difficult and all tasted delicious. The week I tried recipes from this book, my grocery trip was almost all produce!
September 26, 2020
I wasn't really expecting to like this book given that it focuses on vegetarian dishes but I was pleasantly surprised. I'm always looking for new ways to incorporate some different vegetable dishes and this book really delivered some.
Read
August 13, 2024A vegetarian cookbook focusing on seasonal produce. It's organized by season, which I always think is fun (and useful) in a cookbook. So far I have only made the tomato mustard tart (and olive oil tart dough), but it was a hit with everyone who had it.
June 2, 2017
Amazing recipes, a must have for for vegetarian dishes!
August 15, 2017
So many great recipes that I enjoyed while I was living in Paris, it's a treat to have it handy!
October 27, 2017
Delicious recipes from a long-time favorite blogger. :-)
November 15, 2017
An excellent vegetarian cookbook. I have made 3 recipes from here already! Light on the ever-present pasta dishes, focuses more on seasonal ingredients.
April 16, 2018
Nice breakdown for seasonal cooking which is much needed when vegetables are involved!
Clear and concise, good amount of pictures to see what you’re making and little tips as well.
Clear and concise, good amount of pictures to see what you’re making and little tips as well.
September 15, 2018
Excited to try a bunch of these vegetarian French recipes (a rarity in cookbooks) that both my carnivore family and I agree upon!
November 26, 2018
The recipes in this are not as good as those in Dusoulier's CHOCOLATE AND ZUCCHINI, which continues to be a go-to cookbook for me.
August 2, 2019
One of the best cookbooks I've read in ages!
May 9, 2020
Need to purchase this one, many great recipes
June 27, 2020
Beautifully designed cookbook with unique recipes.
May 1, 2022
approachable French
cooking laid out by the season so that the recipes are the freshest and most vibrant. Far more pleasant than other vegetarian cookbooks
cooking laid out by the season so that the recipes are the freshest and most vibrant. Far more pleasant than other vegetarian cookbooks
August 23, 2024
Delightful recipes, although it does all make me throw in a little bit of meat.
August 3, 2025
Some wonderful recipes here!
December 28, 2016
I love this cookbook.
February 1, 2015
Beautiful food photography and many tempting vegetarian recipes from the blogger behind chocolateandzucchini.com. The book is broken into 4 sections one for each season. Each season features the types of produce that are naturally ready to be harvested in each season and recipes that revolve around those ingredients.
Spring: asparagus, artichokes, beets, carrots, dandelions, fava beans, garlic, green peas, kohlrabi, lettuce, mache, morels, new potatoes, onions, radishes, rhubarb, scallions, sorrel, spinach, strawberries, swiss chard, turnips, watercress
Summer:apricots, artichokes, beets, bell peppers, black currants, blueberries, broccoli, celery, cherries, cucumbers, eggplants, fennel, figs, garlic, green beans, kohlrabi, lettuce, melon, nectarines, onions, peaches, potatoes, raspberries, red currants, rhubarb, shell beans, tomatoes, watermelon, zucchini
Fall: apples, beets, blackberries, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery root, chestnuts, endives, fennel, figs, grapefruit, grapes, kiwi, kohlrabi, leeks, lemons, mache, mushrooms, oranges, parsnips, pears, persimmons, plums, potatoes, quince, spinach, swiss chard, turnips, walnuts, winter squash
Winter: apples, beets, brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery root, endives, garlic, grapefruit, kiwi, kumquats, leeks, lemons, mache, mushrooms, onions, oranges, parsnips, pears, persimmons, potatoes, salsify, shallots, spinach, tangerines, turnips, walnuts, winter squash
Spring: asparagus, artichokes, beets, carrots, dandelions, fava beans, garlic, green peas, kohlrabi, lettuce, mache, morels, new potatoes, onions, radishes, rhubarb, scallions, sorrel, spinach, strawberries, swiss chard, turnips, watercress
Summer:apricots, artichokes, beets, bell peppers, black currants, blueberries, broccoli, celery, cherries, cucumbers, eggplants, fennel, figs, garlic, green beans, kohlrabi, lettuce, melon, nectarines, onions, peaches, potatoes, raspberries, red currants, rhubarb, shell beans, tomatoes, watermelon, zucchini
Fall: apples, beets, blackberries, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery root, chestnuts, endives, fennel, figs, grapefruit, grapes, kiwi, kohlrabi, leeks, lemons, mache, mushrooms, oranges, parsnips, pears, persimmons, plums, potatoes, quince, spinach, swiss chard, turnips, walnuts, winter squash
Winter: apples, beets, brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery root, endives, garlic, grapefruit, kiwi, kumquats, leeks, lemons, mache, mushrooms, onions, oranges, parsnips, pears, persimmons, potatoes, salsify, shallots, spinach, tangerines, turnips, walnuts, winter squash
Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews