Vegetarians, or just lovers of vegetables, will find Leith's Vegetarian Bible an indispensable addition to their cookbook collection. This tome of vegetarianism is packed with 1000 recipes ranging from starters to desserts and accompaniments, as well as handy information on nutrition and managing a non-meat diet.
The book is arranged by vegetable type, so it's easy to look up recipes that use what you've got in the pantry. Information such as the peak season for each vegetable and the vitamins found in each is also included. Polly Tyrer and the other four contributing authors offer a wide range of recipes from all over the world. Mediterranean dishes such as fresh spinach cannelloni appear alongside Asian-inspired recipes like noodles with peanut sauce and raw vegetables as well as Middle-Eastern and South American flavours. In fact, there is such a plethora of choice that it's hard to decide which recipe (or which continent) to start with.
You don't have to be a vegetarian to enjoy using this cookbook. Most of the dishes (for example, the Thai red pumpkin and coconut curry) are so hearty that you won't miss the meat at all. Alternatively, you could use many of them (such as asparagus with lemon and caper sauce) as accompaniments to a carnivorous meal. On the downside, only 16 of the 1000 recipes are accompanied by a photograph. This may cause less-confident cooks to shy away from the more complex recipes, but most of the dishes are simple enough and the steps are well explained. The Vegetarian Bible is useful for both everyday cooking and impressing friends at dinner parties. --Amelia Crook
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
only one you will ever need this vegetarian book is the only one you will ever need, there are not many pictures but they are not needed. the book is set out so well that it is so easy to use. i loved it so much for the first month of owning it i didn't eat any meat (and for me that is an amazing achievment) and it became my bed time reading. sad but true.
Fantastic collection - my favourite! This is my favourite cookery book - and I've got LOADS of them. A lovely collection that has eased my transition to near-vegetarianism. Unusual, elegant recipes that always seem to work out despite initial fears(learn to trust the book!). Good clear instructions - many of the recipes are fairly complex, but there's a good spread of difficulty and success may inspire you to tackle some of the big ones! A good index helps you to use up spare fruit and veg. The results are wholesome with plenty of ideas on... more info
Contains every ingredient under the sun I hate those cookery books where the index is arranged according to the first ingredient of a recipe... you know, "rocket and tomato bake with goat's cheese topping," and you don't find mention of tomato or goat's cheese under their respective letters. Well, the index of this huge book is fantastic, arranged according to every ingredient used in every recipe, so whether you're looking under rocket, tomato or goat's cheese, you will find your recipe or an idea for an ingredient in a flash.
Another... more info
A Serious Tome There is nothing chatty or anecdotal to it, but this book gets right down to business. Since it has few photographs it is not so instantly appealling as some cookery books, but it would be an excellent addition to any collection. It is well organised, with sections devoted to each main ingredient, and is well indexed [a particular bugbear of mine]; all in all, it lives up to its name. Probably not for the very inexperienced, but if you want a book to make you feel like a serious cook, then this is the... more info
