Vibrant Vegetables: 100+ Delicious Recipes Using 20+ Common Veggies

by Janneke Philippi

This vegetable-forward cookbook celebrates the natural goodness of vegetables for every day and any occasion, with over 100 recipes for one, several, or all days of the week.

Vibrant Vegetables is a delightful and versatile vegetable-forward cookbook that showcases the vibrant flavors of more than 20 vegetables through over 100 delicious recipes, offering new inspiration for anyone seeking creative and satisfying vegetarian meals.

From quick and easy everyday recipes like Eggplant Satay and Mushroom Lasagna to impressive dinner party dishes such as Pumpkin Wellington and Crispy Camembert, this cookbook provides a wealth of options for every day of the week and any occasion.

Genres: Cookbooks

256 pages, Hardcover

Published March 5, 2024

Reviews

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

This is a beautiful and exquisitely photographed cookbook that presents several recipes for certain underused/underappreciated vegetables, cheese, and eggs. This isn't intended to showcase vegetarian or any style of eating and instead is a new exploration of certain foods listed in the next paragraph. While the dishes are stunning (very gourmet) I found that there were a lot of ingredients that I had never heard of or would have to struggle to find. As well, this is a foodie book - for people exploring ways to cook food differently. It has nothing to do with e.g., health, easy to cook recipes, or what you would normally eat only a bit different. It is definitely for those who love to cook and I almost would find this more useful as a coffee table book than one to actually use.

The book has no introduction other than a short paragraph by the author. It goes straight into the recipes. Topics are: eggplant and zucchini, beets, cabbage and other brassicas, veggie balls, fresh peas and beans, mushrooms, legumes, eggs, leafy green vegetables, tomatoes and bell peppers, pumpkin, squash and sweet potatoes, onions, leeks, fennel, and asparagus, Winter root vegetables. There are also several pure cheese recipes. An index is at the back.

Each page is set up like a recipe card: large picture on one side and then the recipe (in very small fonts) on the right. Each recipe has a short introduction, title, serving size, ingredients, and unnumbered paragraph steps. Prep time is at the bottom. There are no tips, storage info, nutrition information, variations, etc. Each paragraph in the directions starts with a boldfaced verb (e.g, HEAT, PEEL DRAIN, BAKE) to help distinguish them when cooking since they are not numbered.

Recipes include: Indonesian-inspired eggplant. polenta balls with wild garlic, sushi roll with edamame, smoked buffalo mozzarella, cannelini bean puree, crunchy baked spinach, roasted vegetable pithiviers, butternut squash wellington, gratin dauphinois, capunsei with baby asparagus, rotolo, giant leek lumpia, and many more.

It is obvious the author's husband is a photographer because this is perhaps the best photographed and presented cookbook I've ever seen. The author uses deep rich colors and everything is presented oh so perfectly. Every recipe has an accompanying photograph.

So here's the thing: as much as I love vegetables, there was not one recipe that interested me. They were all fancy gourmet items and that just isn't something I am interested in. But for those who love food and love spending hours sourcing rare ingredients for imaginative tasting dishes to lovingly cook for hours, this is the book for you. Or even if you aspire to be a weekend warrior chef, here's one of the best looking cookbooks you will come across all year. So I rart this highly even though it was not my cup of tea. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.