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From the Publisher
Introduction: Cooking With Plants
We’ve all cooked plants before, be it boiling a carrot, baking a loaf of bread or brewing a cup of coffee. There is nothing special about it, but it does require care to produce the best results. Plants and fungi are amazing organisms and they make up the majority of the flavours in our diet. Think of any dish – from a curry to the most complex Michelin-starred meal – and I can guarantee that most of the flavours come from plants. I have spent 15 years studying plants as food, how they fit into our culture and how to get the most out of them. Over time I found many wonderful techniques and realized that I was producing the best flavours when I focused on the plants, not on the animals, or lack of.
This book is not a manual, it is a series of practical examples for cooking plants carefully and with skill at home, taking into consideration the raw ingredient itself, the craft traditions that surround it and the culinary principles of fine cookery. It is not necessary to cook every recipe or to cook every part of every plate of food, but I hope the idea that plants can be cooked with grace will permeate through everything you produce and will influence the way that you look at plants from that point onwards.
Tuscan Lentil & Grain Broth
Serves: 4
This is a recipe I developed from the classic ribollita, the ultimate Italian peasant food. I wanted to create something even more nutritious and a little more elegant than the hearty, lumpy Tuscan bean stew. Don’t get me wrong, this is still a rustic meal, but by taking your time and liberally using a really great olive oil you can make one of the most delicious things you eat this year.
Make the focaccia (see page 218).
Dice the onion, carrot and celery into 5mm (¼-inch) cubes. Put the diced vegetables into a saucepan with the olive oil and salt and gently heat. Cook very slowly, taking care not to colour the onions. Chop the garlic and parsley together to create a paste and add to the saucepan. Cook very slowly, for about 30 minutes, until the vegetables are soft.
Meanwhile, empty the cans of tomatoes into a sieve over the sink and gently rinse the sauce from them (see box, below). Shake dry, then cut into 1cm (½-inch) dice. When the vegetables are cooked, add the chopped tomatoes and any juice they released, and continue to cook gently for 20 minutes. Add the lentils, barley and water. Cook gently for about 30 minutes with a lid on, until the barley is plump and soft and the lentils are cooked. If the mix begins to run dry, add a little more water, but not too much – you want a thick broth. Add the cavolo nero and cook gently for another 15 minutes until soft, then remove from the heat. Check the seasoning and adjust if necessary (see page 15).
Spoon the broth into serving bowls and drizzle generously with the best olive oil you can find. Add a twist of black pepper and serve with focaccia.
Tinned Tomatoes
The traditional vegan recipe canon makes liberal use of canned tomatoes. They have a distinctive tomato-ish taste, but with a metallic undertone, and they pop up everywhere. For years I wouldn’t go near them, associating them with a style of cookery I was desperate to break away from. Then, by chance, I stumbled on a note in a River Café cookbook that said to wash the sauce from the tomatoes before using them. It turns out the problem with canned tomatoes isn’t the actual tomatoes, but the tomato sauce they are kept in. Wash this off and you have a lovely, deep tomato flavour that brings an umami depth (see page 16) without all that messy, funny-tasting sauce nonsense. Just be sure to buy good-quality whole Italian plum tomatoes, as cheap will always taste cheap.
For The Broth
- 100g (3½oz) onion
- 125g (4½oz) carrot
- 250g (9oz) celery
- 75ml (2¾fl oz/1/3 cup) extra virgin olive oil
- 8g (¼oz/1½ tsp) sea salt
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 15g (½oz/¼ cup) parsley leaves
- 2 x 400g (14oz) cans of whole plum tomatoes
- 100g (3½oz/½ cup) puy lentils
- 85g (3oz/½ cup) barley or spelt grain
- 1 litre (1¾ pints/4 cups) water
- 125g (4½oz) cavolo nero, cut into 5mm (¼-inch) strips
- TO SERVE 8 tbsp best-quality extra virgin olive oil, black pepper, focaccia (see page 218)
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Reviews with images
Unique And Timely
Cooking plants carefully and with skill is what Plants Taste Better is all about. Because most of your food dishes receive their flavor from plants, it’s important to know them and prepare them properly.In the introduction, the author explains the philosophy of cooking with plants and understanding plants. In the Craft Of Plant-Based Cooking section, choosing ingredients, flavors, taste, seasonings, etc. are discussed.Also included in the same section is a list of required or recommended equipment. While strictly speaking a knife is all that is required, these extra items may make life easier.Recipe categories include:SnacksSoups, Pates & Light LunchesSaladMainsDessertsBreadEach of the recipes includes an introduction to the vegetable, plant, used as the main ingredient. Serving sizes are also included as well as in some cases serving suggestions.Tips are also sprinkled throughout the book, giving information on using various ingredients to the best advantage. Most of the recipes also offer a lovely photograph of the finished product. While several of the recipes are displayed in combination photograph it does not detract from the usefulness of the picture.Unique And TimelySo many of us are trying to be more healthful these days, a plant-based diet can help with that. These recipes will help you introduce more variety into the plant-based flavors in your diet.The recipes are all very attractive offerings. Several of them, however, many involve recipes within recipes, so we’re not for the quick easy meal. These are for the meals that you want to take your time over and savor.See the full review and the recipe for Tomato Chutney at The RecipesNow! Reviews And Recipes Magazine. This review is written in response to a complimentary copy of the book provided by the publisher in hopes of an honest review.
Top reviews from other countries
Khnjmeister
Nice to have a cookbook for recreating plant-based fine dining at home
Reviewed in Canada on October 22, 2019
Lady Aga
I have surely died & gone to heaven....this is the book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 3, 2018
Sara Tahhan
Beautiful plant based recipes for people with a passion for cooking
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 20, 2018
Steve Reynolds
Excellent plant based cookery book.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 12, 2018Cuisson king
Absolutely great book!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 6, 2019