The Greens Cookbook: Extraordinary Vegetarian Cuisine from the Celebrated Restaurant

by Deborah Madison, Edward Espe Brown

The Greens Cookbook is that rarity, a book that truly represents a revolution in cooking. Here are the recipes that helped to create the boldly original and highly successful Greens Restaurant on San Francisco Bay. Not only for vegetarians, this book caters to everyone who seeks delight in cooking and eating. Using an extraordinary range of fresh ingredients in imaginative and delicious ways, it shows how to present a feast for the eyes as well as for the palate.
The Greens Cookbook contains more than 260 recipes for all seasons, all occasions, all tastes. From bright, simple salads to beautifully spiralled roulades, here is a provocative, sophisticated and varied fare, dedicated to elegance and balance, taste and texture, color and freshness.
The Greens Cookbook presents everything you need to know to create and enjoy at home meals that draw rave reviews in the restaurant. Inside you will Inspiring menus for spring, summer, winter, fall. Everything from easy-to-prepare dishes for two to meals for a gala feast. The first guide to selecting wines with vegetable dishes. Glossaries of unfamiliar ingredients and useful kitchen equipment. A generous and encouraging text that helps develop your skill and self-expression as a cook. Insightful professional tips heading each recipe, and much more.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction, Vegetarian, Reference, Food and Drink

396 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Deborah Madison is an American chef, writer and cooking teacher. She has been called an expert on vegetarian cooking and her gourmet repertoire showcases fresh garden produce. Her work also highlights Slow Food, local foods and farmers' markets.

Reviews

[Tanya Lolonis · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of 3 cookbooks i am always referring to, working from. the others are alice waters' "the art of simple food" and marcella hazan's "the essentials of italian cooking", which is falling apart. "greens" requires the most ingredients, most chopping, most work, but the results are always spot-on and deliriously good.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first vegetarian cookbook, and it served me well. Like many cookbooks, my main problem with it is ingredient fussiness: we can't all find caper berries, try though we might. I first bought this book in England and was using it there while cooking in a dorm on four unreliable electric hobs, and it got me through many dinner parties. For regular meals, though, the recipes need too much planning. That said, many are not very time-intensive at all. Pasta with tomato and tarragon cream was a quick favorite, for example. I suggest Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone instead.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recipes that I like from this book: Pizza with escarole, Fontina and walnuts; spinach noodle pudding; semolina pudding with blood orange syrup.

[Jana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've only eaten at the Greens restaurant once. The food was good, but I think because I already had the cookbook, I was expecting more. Not sure why exactly because this is one of those books that, while it's quite good, feels a bit old-fashioned... maybe because of the more traditional French feel. I guess that's why the food wasn't brilliantly memorable.

I do still use the cookbook though. There's a lovely fresh and bright tasting Potato-Sorrel Soup that continues to be one of my favorites.

[Rose Finchio cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the Pumpkin Bean Soup!

[Tonstant Weader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This edition of The Greens Cook Book is out of print. There is a newer edition, but I have not seen it so cannot compare the two. Years ago, maybe around 1999 or 2000, I had the most amazing soup at a Portland restaurant that specialized in breakfast and lunch. I mentioned how much I loved it to the waiter who said it came right out The Greens Cook Book. Money was tight so I went to Barnes & Noble, picked up the cookbook and copied out the recipe, intending to buy it later, but later never came. Recently, one of my reviews at Powells.com was used in their email newsletter and they gave me a $40 credit as a thank you. I dithered about what to get, but finally decided I was finally going to get this cookbook for once and for all. And now, after all this time, the used copy was only five dollars. Nonetheless, at that ridiculously low price, it still more than 260 recipes that are still tested in the toughest trial there is, a restaurant kitchen.

The recipes are organized by the kinds of dishes you might want to make with chapters on salads, soups, pasta, casseroles, tarts, sandwiches, pizza, savory pastries, side dishes, sauces, and desserts. At the end of the book, there’s a section on pairing wines with vegetarian dishes, recommended kitchen tools, seasonal menus, and a glossary of foods used in the recipes. All in all, it’s a deep dive into vegetarian cooking that highlights simple flavors and your own creativity. More than one recipe gives you a list of possible ingredients so you can more or less make your own using their broad parameters.



There’s nothing flashy about The Greens Cook Book. There are no beautiful photos that will make you drool. The only illustrations are simple outline sketches of herbs and greens. The short introductions to recipes are just about the recipe, without any personal stories or history. It’s a serious cookbook focused on the recipes, not on the personality of the chef. It’s full of recipes that are delicious and you don’t have to be a vegetarian to enjoy them.

This is one of those cookbooks that become a staple, a foundational book like “The Joy of Cooking” or “The Fannie Farmer Cookbook.” In addition to its rich collection of vegetarian recipes, it includes the basic on making soup stocks, sauces, and other building-block recipes that many cookbooks assume you know.

This is vegetarian cooking the way it should be. Cooking new and delicious dishes that are about abundance and flavor. Many vegetarian cookbooks focus on deprivation, trying to replicate the meats you have left behind. There is no deprivation in The Greens Cook Book because this is vegetarian cooking as a thing itself, not a replacement. There’s no feeling of being left out or of missing flavors. It’s all about great vegetables and ways to cook them that bring out their own rich and sumptuous flavor.

You can find The Greens Cook Book wherever they sell used books, including Powells and Amazon. There is a newer edition, but I don’t know if anything is different.

The Greens Cook Book at Powells Books
Greens Restaurant
Deborah Madison author site
Edward Espe Brown on Facebook


★★★★★
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[Mindy Kannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've had and used his books for years. It is absolutely incredible if you want to eat a veggie-based diet. Tons of my clients loved the food that I made from this book. Highly recommend any cook book by Deborah Madison

[Leah Hanley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need to purchase this one. It’s for people who embrace vegetables and love flavor, vegetarian or not.

[Allegra Goodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

5 stars for the lovely restaurant, 4 stars for the cookbook, only because the recipes are so hard and time consuming.

[Juli Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic.

[Ligaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

My family has had and used this cookbook since 1992. Although it is so much easier to do a quick Google search, cookbooks like this one are treasures. Wonderful for vegetarians and, for those who think they don't like their veggies, this cookbook will change their mind.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agree with Carey's assessment of the limitations of this cookbook, however I do think that it provides some fundamental ideas on how to think outside the "vegetarian" box, aka, putting everything in your refrigerator into a skillet and frying it up. Unfortunately Madison goes the other direction by requiring obscure ingredients such as chervil (isn't parsley good enough?), thereby alienating a would-be receptive audience. Either way the pictures are nice, I do not understand why anyone would ever publish a cookbook without pictures.

[Sheena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some people have criticized this book because of the many recipes that seem to require special stocks, but in fact ordinary veg stock or water works just fine - I think this is a hiccup in the translation from restaurant to kitchen. I am not a vegetarian yet I love some of the recipes in this book - the yellow and red pepper tart is good, as is the black bean chili. I also want to stress that it's a vegetarian, not vegan, book. So butter and cream are in - can't imagine the dessert section without them.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I should preface this review by stating that my husband and I love the Greens restaurant and go there every time we are in San Francisco.

This is a great cookbook that should be a part of any vegetarian or vegan library. The recipes are generally not fast or easy (some ingredients are difficult to get, depending on where you live) so I wouldn't suggest it for beginning or busy cooks. However, these recipes make the most out of wholesome ingredients and are delightful to serve (and eat!).

[MissInformation · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional flavors and flavor combinations: not watered down for cookbookland. The recipes are a bit complex, but you can substitute a little here and there and still have amazing results.
Red wine and red onion soup is a staple for me. The book opens to it now when I set it down.

[Chelsea Feldman · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have ever eaten at Greens, you know why this is a must-have cookbook. The Greens Cookbook has unbelievably yummy gourmet veggie recipes on every page. We use lots of these recipes for entertaining and special occasions.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my absolute favorite cookbook. The recipes are not too labor intensive, but they are more work than my typical weeknight dinner fare.

I like cooking from this book so much that we eat vegetarian many times a week as a result.

Good stuff.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had this since the early nineties and use it a LOT. Although not a vegetarian, I do eat a lot of meatless meals, and whether I follow a recipe religiously or not, she provides a lot of great jumping off points!

[Ashleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! Although it has no photographs, the recipes are wonderful. Some great ideas and fresh takes on veggie meals. Some of the recipes have a lot of ingredients but I think its worth doing by the book!

[Citoyenne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing in this book can be made for under $30. Still, yum.

[Mark Desrosiers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some amazing pizza recipes in here, believe it or not.

[Dioscita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though sometimes fussier than I like to cook, these are all delicious, memorable recipes.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am going to buy a copy of this one; Madison has a lot of recipes for different seasons that could be made over a slow period of time, and her food is always delicious.

[reed · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this was a cookbook about greens. It's not :)

[Trisha Keiman]

great vegetarian meals and very creative

[Kathleen Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not a vegetarian, but I like to try and cook vegetables in imaginative ways. I've been cooking with this cookbook for over 20 years. It is a standby in my kitchen.

[Cherie · Rating 3 out of 5]

B Some good interesting recipes; I want to eat here!

[Catherine Woodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deborah madison--I am a huge fan, going back to the '70's, until now

[Catherine Woodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this Fort Mason restaurant, and this cookbook allows you to make a meal that reproduces the food they serve--the recipes are pretty detailed but they do come out (just take time)

[Catherine Woodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the classic cookbook from my favorite vegetarian restaurant of my youth--but it is not simple food to make--deicious, but not simple