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The Vegetarian Planet: 350 Big-Flavor Recipes for Out-Of-This-World Food Every Day
All the best flavors from all the Earth come to life in a soulful celebration of tasty and inventive food. From Didi Emmons, a terrific young cook who combines a passion for culinary adventure with a love for the honest pleasures of home cooking, these 350 recipes - with more than 150 main dishes - spell an end to boring and bland meatless meals. Full of farm-fresh produce ripe for the eating, hearty grains that warm the soul, and a whole world of new spices and flavors, they promise boundless pleasures for the everyday table.
576 pages, Paperback
First published May 7, 1997
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About the author
Didi Emmons
8 books1 followerDidi Emmons is author of Vegetarian Planet. She is the chef at Veggie Planet in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
January 21, 2010
I am not a vegetarian. However, using this cookbook, I could be!! I have only had this book for 3 weeks, and already I have tried several of the recipes. Every one of them was good, and most have been fantastic!! I have 2 loaves of 3 Seed Bread in the oven right now, and they smell heavenly! Even if you are not a vegetarian, this cookbook is worth owning!
I gave the cookbook only 4 stars because a good 20% of the recipes contain difficult to get ingredients. Other than that, it definitely deserves 5 stars!
I gave the cookbook only 4 stars because a good 20% of the recipes contain difficult to get ingredients. Other than that, it definitely deserves 5 stars!
May 1, 2018
Some good ideas for dishes/meals within, but from salad dressings to desserts, the recipes are frequently careless, requiring minor to substantial modification to the ingredients, ratios, or instructions to avoid poor results.
Experienced cooks will recognize (for example) that onions are not "caramelized" after <10 minutes in a saute pan, and that not every dish is improved by large quantities of garlic, feta, smoked paprika, or other ingredients that Emmons leans on like a crutch rather than finding the best way to accentuate the vibrancy and diversity of the produce at the heart of the plate.
To my taste, even the good recipes are often easily improved upon - not sure I trust Emmons' palate any more than her sloppy techniques.
Maybe "Wild Flavors" will be better?
Experienced cooks will recognize (for example) that onions are not "caramelized" after <10 minutes in a saute pan, and that not every dish is improved by large quantities of garlic, feta, smoked paprika, or other ingredients that Emmons leans on like a crutch rather than finding the best way to accentuate the vibrancy and diversity of the produce at the heart of the plate.
To my taste, even the good recipes are often easily improved upon - not sure I trust Emmons' palate any more than her sloppy techniques.
Maybe "Wild Flavors" will be better?
December 15, 2017
This has definitely been one of the best vegetarian/vegan cookbooks I’ve owned and keep referring back to. My favorite recipe is her Strawberry Guava Jam and I’ve made it numerous times. It’s delicious! It uses some guava paste with a bit of lime rind for punch and is a stellar take on the traditional strawberry jam. I’ve made the Irish Soda Bread and Portabello Burgers and they were delicious. There are lots of helpful hints with menu suggestions and cooking guides. There are still quite a few recipes I still want to try and I’ve had this book over ten years!
July 19, 2017
I seem to have a lot of vegetarian cookbooks for an omnivore who loves a good steak.
So I suppose this is a vegetarian cookbook that even a non-veg can love. Kind of high praise.
So I suppose this is a vegetarian cookbook that even a non-veg can love. Kind of high praise.
January 24, 2010
I am not sure why this book has garnered such rave reviews. While many of the recipes are interesting in theory, they are so negligently written and so poorly tested that they simply cannot be trusted to turn out edible food. Let us take two examples.
The Sweet Potato Latkes recipe instructs the cook to form a mixture of grated sweet potato, minced onion, beaten egg, flour, and seasonings into two disks approximately 5 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick and cook in oil or butter on medium-high heat for 4 to 6 minutes per side. Aside from the minor quibble of whether something 1 inch thick is properly called a "latke," if you follow these instructions the very best thing that could happen is that the inside of your sweet potato cake would be raw. The worst thing that could happen is that the outside would be burned AND the inside will be raw. Actually, the worst thing that could happen is that you would get salmonella poisoning because the egg that is used to bind the mixture is not thoroughly cooked. Furthermore, butter is a very poor fat for high-heat frying, because the milk solids tend to burn. Finally, sweet potatoes have a different balance of water, starches, and sugars than white potatoes, so even if you somehow divine that you should be making small, thin cakes, you will not get nice crispy latkes with sweet potatoes. Not only does it seem that Emmons doesn't know very much basic food chemistry, it is clear that this recipe was not tested before it was published.
The Chocolate-Banana Cream Pie recipe is one I've made many times, but I have made so many adjustments to the recipe to make it workable that I can only credit Emmons for the idea, not for the actual recipe. For starters, the amount of butter called for is not nearly sufficient to bind the graham cracker crust together, and the amount of crust mixture is not enough to line the 10-inch pie plate Emmons requires. Let's see, what else? She does not specify a length for the four bananas called for in the recipe, but if you use four six-inch bananas, which are about the average size available in American supermarkets, there will not be enough room for the pastry cream mixture. (Two bananas are ample.) Finally, and perhaps most bizarrely, the recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of Irish whiskey but suggests as a substitute 2 tablespoons of vanilla. Yes, folks, that is an entire one-ounce bottle of vanilla! (Surely she meant 2 teaspoons. Again, a recipe tester would surely have caught this.)
This book is especially disappointing because it is not the work of a passionate amateur who could be forgiven for ignorant mistakes, but of a chef who proclaims on the back cover that she is a graduate of a fine French cooking school. It is almost as if she was so confident in her food knowledge that she felt she could pull recipes out of her ass without thinking through the chemistry and physics of food or subjecting the recipes to the rigors of testing.
Then again, I don't know what I expected. I used to go to Emmons's Cambridge restaurant, Veggie Planet, occasionally, and I almost always ordered what was, at the time, the only item on the menu that did not contain a giant pile of starch, namely, the misleadingly named Caesar salad. At the time, there were no eggs in the dressing, no anchovies, of course, and the salad contained vegetables other than Romaine. Would it have hurt Emmons to call this what it was, a mixed green salad? But what really cheesed me off about this salad is that every single bloody time I ordered it, it was delivered to me with gigantic pieces of unpeeled, raw broccoli stems. What was this inedible item doing in my salad, exactly? I can forgive one incident like this as a bad night for the kitchen, but multiple times indicates that the staff doesn't know better, or doesn't care.
The Sweet Potato Latkes recipe instructs the cook to form a mixture of grated sweet potato, minced onion, beaten egg, flour, and seasonings into two disks approximately 5 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick and cook in oil or butter on medium-high heat for 4 to 6 minutes per side. Aside from the minor quibble of whether something 1 inch thick is properly called a "latke," if you follow these instructions the very best thing that could happen is that the inside of your sweet potato cake would be raw. The worst thing that could happen is that the outside would be burned AND the inside will be raw. Actually, the worst thing that could happen is that you would get salmonella poisoning because the egg that is used to bind the mixture is not thoroughly cooked. Furthermore, butter is a very poor fat for high-heat frying, because the milk solids tend to burn. Finally, sweet potatoes have a different balance of water, starches, and sugars than white potatoes, so even if you somehow divine that you should be making small, thin cakes, you will not get nice crispy latkes with sweet potatoes. Not only does it seem that Emmons doesn't know very much basic food chemistry, it is clear that this recipe was not tested before it was published.
The Chocolate-Banana Cream Pie recipe is one I've made many times, but I have made so many adjustments to the recipe to make it workable that I can only credit Emmons for the idea, not for the actual recipe. For starters, the amount of butter called for is not nearly sufficient to bind the graham cracker crust together, and the amount of crust mixture is not enough to line the 10-inch pie plate Emmons requires. Let's see, what else? She does not specify a length for the four bananas called for in the recipe, but if you use four six-inch bananas, which are about the average size available in American supermarkets, there will not be enough room for the pastry cream mixture. (Two bananas are ample.) Finally, and perhaps most bizarrely, the recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of Irish whiskey but suggests as a substitute 2 tablespoons of vanilla. Yes, folks, that is an entire one-ounce bottle of vanilla! (Surely she meant 2 teaspoons. Again, a recipe tester would surely have caught this.)
This book is especially disappointing because it is not the work of a passionate amateur who could be forgiven for ignorant mistakes, but of a chef who proclaims on the back cover that she is a graduate of a fine French cooking school. It is almost as if she was so confident in her food knowledge that she felt she could pull recipes out of her ass without thinking through the chemistry and physics of food or subjecting the recipes to the rigors of testing.
Then again, I don't know what I expected. I used to go to Emmons's Cambridge restaurant, Veggie Planet, occasionally, and I almost always ordered what was, at the time, the only item on the menu that did not contain a giant pile of starch, namely, the misleadingly named Caesar salad. At the time, there were no eggs in the dressing, no anchovies, of course, and the salad contained vegetables other than Romaine. Would it have hurt Emmons to call this what it was, a mixed green salad? But what really cheesed me off about this salad is that every single bloody time I ordered it, it was delivered to me with gigantic pieces of unpeeled, raw broccoli stems. What was this inedible item doing in my salad, exactly? I can forgive one incident like this as a bad night for the kitchen, but multiple times indicates that the staff doesn't know better, or doesn't care.
March 13, 2013
This encyclopedic cookbook is stocked with recipes more suited for the bourgeois cafes in Boston the author works at than for a typical weeknight meal at my house. So I tend to use it as a reference. Forgot how long to cook quinoa for? Want to check a template for baba ghanoush without going online? Need ideas for what to include in the filling for stuffed shells? Go to the index of Vegetarian Planet .
There's a few annoying aspects of the cookbook as well. For one thing, Emmons seems to think that fish sauce is vegetarian. Also, the page numbers are really hard to read.
I wouldn't pay $29.95 for this, but if you can shop-lift it or put it on your birthday list you may find it's worth having around.
There's a few annoying aspects of the cookbook as well. For one thing, Emmons seems to think that fish sauce is vegetarian. Also, the page numbers are really hard to read.
I wouldn't pay $29.95 for this, but if you can shop-lift it or put it on your birthday list you may find it's worth having around.
July 20, 2007
I love this cookbook. The recipes are all very good. I have only had one or two so-so meals (and I think I might have messed them up). It is important to know that her portion estimates are for starving lumberjacks. So, a 4 person serving really feeds like 8. Which isn't bad...just good to know.
The recipes are easy to follow and delicious. Even omnivores like them (or at least that is what they tell me when I am feeding them...they know which side their bread is buttered on).
The recipes are easy to follow and delicious. Even omnivores like them (or at least that is what they tell me when I am feeding them...they know which side their bread is buttered on).
August 20, 2008
Given to me by a dear, dear friend who I now value even more for having opened my eyes to this wonderful resource! Emmons filled her book with amazing & inventive--yet not too complicated--recipes, has a great knowledge of world cuisine, and included tons of interesting sidebars to help illuminate the lesser known spices, veggies, grains, and little extras that make a vegetarian diet fantastic. LOVE it. Thanks, YB #1!
September 30, 2008
Chock full of deliciousness! Among our faves:
- Creamy tomato soup
- Dirty Rice
- Roasted New Potato Salad
- Masa cakes with salsa verde
And lots more. There are whole sections we still haven't delved into, but I'm sure they're just as good as the stuff we've tried. My sister gave this to us for our wedding as I recall, and it's been serving us well ever since. Whether or not you're vegetarian (we are most definitely NOT), this book is worth picking up and cooking from.
- Creamy tomato soup
- Dirty Rice
- Roasted New Potato Salad
- Masa cakes with salsa verde
And lots more. There are whole sections we still haven't delved into, but I'm sure they're just as good as the stuff we've tried. My sister gave this to us for our wedding as I recall, and it's been serving us well ever since. Whether or not you're vegetarian (we are most definitely NOT), this book is worth picking up and cooking from.
August 8, 2015
When I picked this book up I immediately thought, 'it's too big! i don't have room for it! I'll never make enough in it to justify keeping it!'.... and then I went through it carefully. My next thought was 'Well i'm just gonna have to FIND room for it because it's stayin.' It's like a 'Joy of Cooking' for vegetarians, lots of extra charts and how tos and helpful ideas make it worthy of it's sheer heft. (and the recipes aren't bad either!)
July 1, 2008
The first non-Moosewood vegetarian cookbook I bought. So good! Love the ethnic recipes, esp. the tamale pie and the Thai tofu. The calzones are all excellent, and the All-American Pot Pie has replaced our Thanksgiving turkey. This is a huge cookbook with something for every course and palate.
Not the quickest recipes, but super tasty. Very convivially-written to boot!
Not the quickest recipes, but super tasty. Very convivially-written to boot!
August 20, 2008
I have not had a chance to try very many recipes. The recipes I did try were pretty tasty, however, the index is not helpful at all, only listing the names of the recipes. It does not break it down into separate ingredients, therefore, I would have to search the whole book to find a recipe I might want to try.
September 3, 2007
I'm still finding new treasures in this surprisingly dense gem of a vegetarian cookbook. You definitely have to be in the mood to "cook" to use the recipes -- they're not the simplest ones around -- but they're inventive and the ones I've tried have been tasty. Overall, a well designed book too.
February 1, 2008
I've held many cookbooks dear over the years, but this is the one that i would never want to be without. The recipes are innovative and surprising, but comprised of ingredients that tend to be in the kitchen.
October 3, 2017
An introduction to a different way to cook; I liked the menus at the end of the book that demonstrate how to make a meal from the recipes included. That the author is a chef and often evident in the long lists of ingredients which include items not usually in my pantry.
August 30, 2007
Lots of tasty vegetarian recipes of all kinds.
January 14, 2008
This is my very favorite cookbook. I use it so often the pages are getting crusty!
January 31, 2008
If I could only keep one cookbook currently on my shelf, I think this one would be it.
April 5, 2008
I LOVE this book!
August 14, 2008
YUMMMMMY
August 17, 2008
A great cookbook. You can use recipes as they are or a a jumping off point for new ideas
January 8, 2009
one of my favorite cookbooks. If you're in Harvard Square in Cambridge MA, check out Veggie Planet, her resturant. It's little, but mighty.
June 10, 2011
Made a delicious strawberry cornmeal bundt cake. want to make tamale bake next.
March 19, 2009
The best cookbook EVER, hands down, no competition!
April 8, 2009
I think this is one of the best cookbooks that I own...everything I've tried in it has been very tasty.
January 2, 2010
Fun, delicious fusion recipes. Gets me thinking outside the box!
December 8, 2010
Excellent source of recipes but not for the light cook. Some of these recipes are for the more kitchen oriented person.
January 11, 2023
so many great recipes. so far, every one that i have tried has come out great and been a hit.
September 26, 2025
I’ve been vegetarian for 20+ years, and some of these are my tried and true favorites. My wife isn’t vegetarian, but a few of these recipes have made their way into our family’s favorites.
April 16, 2007
one of my favorites, hands down. has a great collection of soups.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews