Jay Weinstein - The Everything Vegetarian Cookbook: 300 Healthy Recipes Everyone Will Enjoy

THE
EVERYTHING
VEGETARIAN
COOKBOOK

300 healthy recipes
everyone will enjoy

Jay Weinstein

Copyright 2002, F+W Media, Inc.

All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.

An Everything Series Book.
Everything is a registered trademark of F+W Media, Inc.

Published by Adams Media, a division of F+W Media, Inc.
57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322 U.S.A.
www.adamsmedia.com

ISBN 10: 1-58062-640-8
ISBN 13: 978-1-58062-640-8
eISBN: 978-1-44052-233-8
Printed in the United States of America.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Weinstein, Jay
The everything vegetarian cookbook / by Jay Weinstein.
p. cm.
ISBN 1-58062-640-8
1. Vegetarian cookery. I. Title
TX837.W395 2002
641.5'636--dc21
2002066729

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations

Cover illustrations by Barry Littmann.
Technical illustrations by Eulala Conner.

This book is available at quantity discounts for bulk purchases.
For information, call 1-800-289-0963.

Visit the entire Everythingseries at everything.com

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Jasper White and the many other chefs who have helped, taught, cajoled, and inspired me, especially Mark Cupolo, Stan Frankenthaler, Graeme Bent, Bruce Putney, Claudio Papini, Eric Ripert, Dona Abramson, Mark Baker, Michael Kornick, Uwe Hestnar, and Fritz Sonnenschmidt.

Thanks also to the friends and family who have encouraged me in both the kitchen and the writing room: Pearl and Seymour Weinstein, Naomi Dreeben, Tuan Pu Wang, Douglas Bailey Clark, Josh Martin, James Moses, Todd K. Snyder, Kevin Mulcahy, Paul Tarantola, and other important people too numerous to mention.

: This symbol indicates that the recipe is vegan. Veganism takes vegetarianism to the next level. A vegan recipe has no animal products at allincluding dairy, honey, and ingredients derived from animal byproducts (such as gelatin).

Contents

Chapter One
Salads

Chapter Two
Hors dOeuvres

Chapter Three
Soups

Chapter Four
Root Vegetables

Chapter Five
Grains, Beans, and Legumes

Chapter Six
Leafy Greens and Cruciferous Vegetables

Chapter Seven
Tomatoes and Other Vegetables

Chapter Eight
The Onion Family

Chapter Nine
Mushrooms and Truffles

Chapter Ten
Pasta Dishes

Chapter Eleven
Egg and Dairy Dishes

Chapter Twelve
Desserts and Baked Goods

Appendix A
Resources

Appendix B
The Vegetarian Cooks Essentials

Introduction

T hese are great days to be a vegetarian. Theres no such thing as Mad Tofu Disease, there havent been any outbreaks of Sprout-in-Mouth Disease, and 60 Minutes hasnt run an expos about the dangers of undercooked carrots. The variety of healthful, dynamic, fresh, and wholesome vegetarian options in mainstream U.S. food markets and restaurants has never been better!

Even Europe, where classical chefs once looked down their noses at vegetarian dining, is abloom in splendid meat-free cafs, restaurants, and markets. I spent several months in Berlin recently, expecting to find menus of meat accompanied by meat with a sidedish of meat. Imagine my surprise when I stumbled on the upscale, mostly vegetarian Caf Abendmahl only a few steps from the door of my Kreuzberg apartment! Wandering through the strasses and platzes on day two, I came upon a restaurant whose specialty was spinach pancakes. Blocks away was a thriving vegetable market along the Landwehrkanal stretching for block after city block, with more choices than Id ever seen in a lifetime of A & Ps. A recent trip to Paris revealed a similar botanical bounty.

With celebrities like Alec Baldwin, Melissa Etheridge, Brooke Shields, Drew Barrymore, and Brad Pitt proudly proclaiming their flesh-free proclivities, todays vegetarianism is not just ethical, its chic. When bodybuilders, triathletes, and marathon runners eschew meat and win events, who can deny the strength-giving character of their balanced diets?

On our shrinking planet, arguments for vegetarianism are as close as the front page of the newspaper. Every day, articles feature stories of famine, while livestock consume enough grain to feed millions. Horrific tales of herbivorous sheep and cows being forced to eat the ground-up remains of their unfortunate brethren as feed have sent shockwaves through the meat-consuming public. And the near-annihilation of many fish species due to overfishing has become routine. Just cutting down on the amount of meat and fish in your diet is something to feel good about.

With proper balance and, in some cases, judicious use of dietary supplements like B vitamins, the vegetarian lifestyle can lead to better heart health, clearer skin, longer life, and fewer disease threats without any deficiencies. The first thing critics of the meat-free diet cite is a supposed dearth of protein. But nutritionists agree on two things: Americans grossly overdose on protein, and the right combination of vegetarian foods gives us more than enough building blocks to complete our protein needs. The pages of this book overflow with all the delicious ways youll need to enjoy food in a whole new way.

Complete Proteins

The building blocks of protein (of which our muscles, bones, hair, and fingernails are made) are called amino acids. Most of the twenty amino acids humans need are produced by our bodies naturally. But we must consume nine essential amino acids in the form of food.

All nine of these amino acids exist in meat, so nonvegetarians simply eat meat to fulfill their bodies need for these vital building blocks. The good news for vegetarians is that the essential amino acids also exist in abundance in the plant kingdom. But vegetarians must draw on several different foods to build the same protein a nonvegetarian gets from meat. Since some but not all of the essential amino acids exist in certain foods, those foods are said to contain incomplete proteins.