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Plenty
So what if filet mignon and foie gras are no longer on the menu? Diana Henry revives the lost art of home economics-making the most of what you have-combining it with today's desire for a sustainable table to show modern cooks that there is "plenty" of food for us to eat and enjoy without depleting our bank accounts and the planet's resources.
This cook's tour of recipes from around the globe is all about the great food you can make without spending a ton of money. With what's left from a simple Roast Chicken, make a fabulous Greek Chicken, Pumpkin, Feta & Filo Pie. Turn a bumper crop of tomatoes and basil into a satisfying Tomato & Pesto Tart. Thanks to a special section on less expensive cuts of meat, you'll soon be creating new family favorites from lamb shoulder, pork belly, skirt steak and the like.
This cook's tour of recipes from around the globe is all about the great food you can make without spending a ton of money. With what's left from a simple Roast Chicken, make a fabulous Greek Chicken, Pumpkin, Feta & Filo Pie. Turn a bumper crop of tomatoes and basil into a satisfying Tomato & Pesto Tart. Thanks to a special section on less expensive cuts of meat, you'll soon be creating new family favorites from lamb shoulder, pork belly, skirt steak and the like.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2010
124 people are currently reading
376 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 5, 2013
The second of Diana Henry's books that I've read, and I bought and read it very swiftly after getting Salt, Sugar, Smoke - which it is nearly as good as.
No fault of it's own, but Salt, Sugar, Smoke would be impossible to live up to for nearly any author, and this is very, very close.
Eating sustainably, cheaply, seasonally and at the same time eating well is not a new topic by any means, but I've never found a book which made it seem so easy, and so enjoyable. There is little in here about eating frugally - and food for enjoyment shouldn't really feel frugal, to my mind - but there is a lot in here about stretching dishes, about cooking once and turning the left-overs into something else, something equally or more enjoyable than the main. There are chapters on the Sunday roast and what to do on Monday with les restes, but this is only the start - the bulk of the book is made up of what to do with windfalls or gluts of food, or how to turn cheap storecupboard ingredients (think grains and pulses) into exciting and delicious meals in their own right; or how to cook that cheap cut of meat. There is obviously a leaning towards peasant food rather than fine dining, and this is fine; it is the theme of the book, after all.
Unlike most other books I've flicked through on stretching food and making it last, this encourages, and rewards, buying gluts of food when you see them cheaply and on offer, and combined with the advice on preserving in Salt, Sugar, Smoke, this makes shopping for ingredients as enjoyable as it should be, especially at farmer's markets or shops, or at the butcher's when they have the less common cuts on offer; I now feel confident that I wouldn't waste food if I bought more than I needed just because it was in season, and that I could turn it all into something amazing - and then preserve what I couldn't use for out-of-season use.
Can't recommend highly enough.
No fault of it's own, but Salt, Sugar, Smoke would be impossible to live up to for nearly any author, and this is very, very close.
Eating sustainably, cheaply, seasonally and at the same time eating well is not a new topic by any means, but I've never found a book which made it seem so easy, and so enjoyable. There is little in here about eating frugally - and food for enjoyment shouldn't really feel frugal, to my mind - but there is a lot in here about stretching dishes, about cooking once and turning the left-overs into something else, something equally or more enjoyable than the main. There are chapters on the Sunday roast and what to do on Monday with les restes, but this is only the start - the bulk of the book is made up of what to do with windfalls or gluts of food, or how to turn cheap storecupboard ingredients (think grains and pulses) into exciting and delicious meals in their own right; or how to cook that cheap cut of meat. There is obviously a leaning towards peasant food rather than fine dining, and this is fine; it is the theme of the book, after all.
Unlike most other books I've flicked through on stretching food and making it last, this encourages, and rewards, buying gluts of food when you see them cheaply and on offer, and combined with the advice on preserving in Salt, Sugar, Smoke, this makes shopping for ingredients as enjoyable as it should be, especially at farmer's markets or shops, or at the butcher's when they have the less common cuts on offer; I now feel confident that I wouldn't waste food if I bought more than I needed just because it was in season, and that I could turn it all into something amazing - and then preserve what I couldn't use for out-of-season use.
Can't recommend highly enough.
July 15, 2016
I have had this book on my Goodreads "Currently Reading" shelf longer than it should have been, having cooked several recipes from it when Diana Henry was the featured chef for 6 months (ending in March 2015) at the online blogging event I co-host, "I Heart Cooking Clubs." I finally decided to get it off the shelf and give it the review it deserves. Plenty is a big, lush and gorgeous cookbook featuring some wonderful recipes. Diana Henry calls it "good, uncomplicated food for a sustainable kitchen" and I would agree. Although they are not short ingredient lists, nothing is really complicated to make and the flavors she puts together are interesting and delicious. The recipes have a homey feel to them, while still being something you would be proud to serve to company. Although not all of the 300+ recipes have a photo--the many photos that are in the book are gorgeous. I kept this book on my nightstand for months, delving into it at night before going to sleep. I have cooked six recipes from it so far (see the list and links to photos/recipes below) and they were all stand-outs. Plenty is a book to treasure and has become of my favorite cookbooks.
Recipes I tried:
Pea and Cilantro Soup with Red Chili Cream (http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/20...),
Savoy Cabbage and Leek Colcannon (http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/20...),
Salmon Hash with Mustard Sauce (http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/20...),
Farro (or Freekeh) with Greens, Fennel, and Chile (http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/20...),
Niçoise Vegetable Stew with Rouille (http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/20...)
Moroccan Lentil Soup with Yogurt & Chilli-Fried Onions (http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/20...)
Recipes I tried:
Pea and Cilantro Soup with Red Chili Cream (http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/20...),
Savoy Cabbage and Leek Colcannon (http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/20...),
Salmon Hash with Mustard Sauce (http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/20...),
Farro (or Freekeh) with Greens, Fennel, and Chile (http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/20...),
Niçoise Vegetable Stew with Rouille (http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/20...)
Moroccan Lentil Soup with Yogurt & Chilli-Fried Onions (http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/20...)
August 26, 2012
Checked out the wrong one from the library, but attempted to read it anyway. I'm not much of a cookbook person, and this one was very British.
February 4, 2020
I wanted to love this book, truly I did. But it just wasn’t for me. It felt too worthy and didn’t inspire me to cook. Some of the dishes I tried took longer and used more dishes than I could cope with on a work night.
August 24, 2021
This cookbook is beloved for a reason, and I think if I had read it right when it came out, it would have been formative for me. As it is, these are not the kinds of recipes I tend to gravitate toward anymore; too many fussy ingredients and precious flavor combinations.
June 30, 2018
This book was for a food book club. It brought into perspective simple eating with elegance.
July 24, 2022
Love this book and the recipes are combined from all over the world !
February 27, 2023
A nice solid cookbook with healthy and close to the earth recipes.
September 10, 2016
I'm blown away by some of the recipes in this book. With inspiration ranging from mostly around Europe and the Near East, Diana Henry has managed to come up with lots of interesting flavour combinations. A lot of the food is very affordable, and there are lots of recipes to use up the expensive ingredients (roast joints etc) you might have left over.
Almost every recipe is followed by a set of 'Also try...' ideas, so once you've mastered the main recipe there are lots of variations to play around with, and some have recipes from the whole leftover dish, for example a cauliflower, blue cheese and bacon bake can be turned into soup by adding 2:1 chicken stock and milk, then blending.
Will be taking this/photocopying lots of recipes for uni, the two I've tried already are Silesian Heaven (an Eastern European rich and dark pork stew with tea soaked dried fruit and cider in) and one of the 'Also Try's, sausages with cider (using it up from the stew) and butterbeans- as my mother doesn't like the chorizo in the original recipe, the variations meant I could work around it! Both delicious.
ETA 28/12/13 - I've since cooked so much more from this, and not a single recipe has gone wrong or not been genuinely delicious. One of the best cookbooks I've come across!
Almost every recipe is followed by a set of 'Also try...' ideas, so once you've mastered the main recipe there are lots of variations to play around with, and some have recipes from the whole leftover dish, for example a cauliflower, blue cheese and bacon bake can be turned into soup by adding 2:1 chicken stock and milk, then blending.
Will be taking this/photocopying lots of recipes for uni, the two I've tried already are Silesian Heaven (an Eastern European rich and dark pork stew with tea soaked dried fruit and cider in) and one of the 'Also Try's, sausages with cider (using it up from the stew) and butterbeans- as my mother doesn't like the chorizo in the original recipe, the variations meant I could work around it! Both delicious.
ETA 28/12/13 - I've since cooked so much more from this, and not a single recipe has gone wrong or not been genuinely delicious. One of the best cookbooks I've come across!
November 28, 2015
Exactly what and how I want to eat now. I had seen praise for Food from plenty on some of the food blogs I follow, but didn't really expect to ever come across the book itself. I was pleasantly surprised to see it in my little local library one day (translated in Dutch even). And after reading just one chapter placed an order online to get my own copy. I don't ever want to let go of this book! We're a household of two and dealing with leftovers (not to mention food waste) is one of my biggest challenges when it comes to cooking. So the recipes that deal with this are the most valuable to me - and there are plenty in this book. Actually there are plenty of recipes overall, on most dishes Henry gives several variations, many worthy of being a "separate" recipe in their own right. There is so much content and inspiration in this book. I can't wait to set aside a leisurely weekend to cook from this book, go to a butcher's for the first time in my life (I know) and eat well.
June 25, 2011
Great photos, nice recipes. Not sure if I'll end up making anything from this book but I enjoyed reading it.
Read
January 13, 2018Barley, Parsley and Pomagranate Salad (with roasted Gulf Coast Pumpkin)
lots of others
loved the recipe style
lots of others
loved the recipe style
Read
July 25, 2018Made: Cherry and Goat Cheese-Stuffed Roast Chicken
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews