Nava Atlas - Great American Vegetarian

Nava Atlas is the author and illustrator of several vegetarian cookbooks, including Vegetariana, Vegetarian Soups for All Seasons, and The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet, among others. She has also written dozens of articles for food and health magazines, including Vegetarian Times, Veggie Life, and others. Nava lives with her husband and two sons in the Hudson Valley region of New York. She invites you to visit her popular web site, In a Vegetarian Kitchen at www.vegkitchen.com.

GREAT AMERICAN VEGETARIAN

Also by Nava Atlas

Vegetariana

Vegetarian Celebrations

Vegetarian Soups for All Seasons

Vegetarian Express

Pasta East to West

The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet

Great American Vegetarian

Traditional and Regional Recipes for the Enlightened Cook

Copyright 1987

Second edition copyright 1991

Third edition copyright 1998

Text design and illustration by Nava Atlas

ISBN 978-0-87131-853-4

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Atlas, Nava.

p. cm.

Rev. updated ed. of: American harvest. 1987

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Vegetarian cookery. 2. Cookery, American. I. Atlas, Nava.

American harvest. II. Title.

TX837.A845 1998

641.5'636dc21 98-4717

M E vans

An imprint of Rowman & Littlefield

4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200

Lanham, Maryland 20706

www.rowman.com

Distributed by N ATIONAL B OOK N ETWORK

For Chaim, my partner in great adventures along the highway of life

Creating this collection of lore and recipes handed down from the past and updated for the future has been a joy, since the information comes from diverse and fascinating sources. Many people contributed not only their knowledge, but also fond memories of the foods they grew up with, some of which have remained a part of their lives as an ongoing tradition.

Among the many people who offered information, Id like to mention the following for contributing recipes, or for taking time from their busy schedules to talk to me about the foods of their region. Since it has been some years since I spoke to the following people for the first edition of this book, Ill mention their names only, since many have probably moved on from the places or positions at which they were at the time. Thanks to Suzanne Carney; the staff of the Coffee Pot Restaurant in New Orleans, the staff of Dips Country Kitchen in Chapel Hill, Amina DaDa; Sharon Dowell; Barbara Freer, Alvaro Jurado, F. Leo Kendall, Barbara McPhail, Henry Nelson, Russ Parsons, and Anne Phillips. Special thanks go to Jane Lovato, who shared much about the foods of the Southwest.

No matter how many people one might talk to, it would be impossible to get a sense of the past without digging in to the books of those times. Id like to acknowledge the New York Public Library, whose incredible collection of original old American cookbooks contributed much to this one. Id also like to mention the following special libraries and institutions, whose collections and displays were not only highly informative but a pleasure to visit: The Atlanta Historical Society; Colonial Williamsburg (Virginia); the Historic New Orleans Collection, with special thanks to Jessica Travis; and the Walter C. Jackson Library of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Thanks also to Patrick Bunyan for his research contributions.

Finally, love and thanks to my husband, Chaim Tabak, for accompanying me on the original 6,500 miles of travels for this book (actually, he did most of the driving), and for his unwavering support throughout all the journeys since that time.

When I first began researching American Harvest (the previous title of this book) in 1985, classic regional American cooking was the hot food trend. And though ethnic foods might be considered trendier today, the interest in American cookery has been sustained in a very satisfying way.

Familiar and exotic cuisines co-exist harmoniously everywhere that the food scene can be documented. In one magazine, an article on healthy all-American barbecues was juxtaposed with one on Asian noodles; in another, an article on lightened heartland cooking was side-by-side with an homage to Greek cuisine. Ethnic restaurants are proliferating, but regional American establishments continue to be just as popular as ever.

As a cook and a writer, I am enthused both about the wonderful ethnic cuisines that have become popular, as well as timeless all-American fare. This is a book that Ive enjoyed using as much as I enjoyed writing it. To research it, my husband and I traveled 6,500 miles by car to talk to home cooks, short-order cooks, restaurant chefs, and to research at local historic sites (such as Colonial Williamsburg) and libraries. We especially fell in love with the Southwest and its spicy cuisine, but it was also fascinating to learn about the culinary traditions of New England, the South, New Orleans, and the Pennsylvania Dutch.

After ten years in print, it became apparent that the original edition needed a bit of fine tuning to bring it up to date. While much is timeless in the food world, some trends do change. For example, I wrote in the original text that fresh chiles are difficult to find outside the Southwest, which at the time was true enough. Other ingredients like cilantro and jicama were also rare finds. Happily, this is no longer the case; the heightened awareness of cuisines of all kinds has transformed supermarkets into virtual ethnic groceries.

I have added more than fifty new recipes to this new edition, including vegetarian versions of great classics that I was too timid to tinker with the first time around, including Jambalaya, Cincinnati Chili, Cajun Dirty Rice, and others. A sprinkling of soy-based meat analogs as well as soy alternatives to dairy are now represented here as well. More recipes for Americas bounty of healthful crops are here, too, such as fresh greens, squashes, wild rice, berries, and more. Youll also find an expanded menu section, and finally, ail the recipes, new and original alike, have been nutritionally analyzed.

This book has always held a fond place in my heart because it was so enjoyable to write and research. Doing this revised and updated edition has reaffirmed my appreciation of Americas remarkable culinary heritage, and of the bountiful array of crops that makes every day an occasion for giving thanks.

Oh! how my heart sighs for my own native land,

Where potatoes, and squashes, and cucumbers grow;

Where cheer and good welcome are always at hand,

And custards, and pumpkin pies smoke in a row;

Where pudding the visage of hunger serenes,

And, what is far better, the pot of baked beans.

The New England Farmer, 1829

Pick up any vegetarian cookbook and youll likely find an enticing array of ethnic recipes. Italian, Chinese, and Indian are just a few of the cuisines whose influence has enlivened the vegetarian repertoire and made the meatless alternative more attractive to the general public than was the soy beans and oats school of the sixties. The appeal of ethnic foods has helped make us a nation of enlightened eaters, whether vegetarian or not. The emphasis on interesting combinations of fresh vegetables, exotic seasonings and delectable grain and legume dishes proved that a lighter diet is far from boring.