McCartney - At my table : vegetarian feasts for family and friends

CONTENTS

I see this new cookbook as a personal journey, bringingto life the wonderful memories of those special occasionswhen family, friends and food mean everything. Fromcelebrations and yearly highlights, to making the mostof a simple gathering, Ive created a complete range ofvegetarian menus to make all these occasions specialand, I hope, to create great memories.

There are moments in our lives, and throughoutthe year, when we come together with ourfriends and family and food plays a huge part inturning these moments into something special.Traditionally, many of these occasions call formeat whether its roast beef for Sunday Lunch,or burgers at a BBQ but Mary wants to show usthat vegetarian cooking can be just as celebratoryand special, and can adapt to any of our demands.

Mary has created an inspiring and approachableselection of food for occasions that range fromthe festive feasts to the most intimate meal fortwo, all built around complete menu plans. Eachmenu has at least four recipes, and is designed tohelp us plan satisfying and delicious meat-freemeals. Her Bonfire Party menu includes One-PotChilli and Apple Wedges with Caramel DippingSauce; her Middle Eastern Feast includes Falafelsand Nutty Baklava; and the Kids Menu hasAlphabet Soup and Mac n Cheese.

At My Table is about food that brings peopletogether, food that we share with those we loveand which becomes part of our memories.

Born in London in 1969, Mary McCartney grewup with a love of photography and vegetariancooking, working with her mother on a range ofvegetarian cookbooks. She continues to consulton the Linda McCartney food brand. In 2009,Mary became a patron of Meat Free Monday,to drive awareness on meat consumption and itsimpact on the climate.

In 2012, Mary combined her photographicexpertise with her lifelong love of vegetariancooking to create her internationally acclaimedbook FOOD: Vegetarian Home Cooking. Inspiredby Marys relaxed cooking style and her passionfor fresh, flavourful and family-friendly recipes,FOOD captures the warmth and simplicityof vegetarian cooking. At My Table is Maryssecond cookbook.

For my mum and dad, thank you for giving
me a passion for vegetarian cooking

Hello. Im back with my second book and lots more ideas, ingredients and recipes that Im really excited about. There are just so many great vegetarian options that I want to share with you.

When I was thinking about how to pull all these ideas together, I was struck by how important food is in terms of my own memories, of those magical moments that stand out over the years. Sharing a meal with family and friends is an opportunity to relax together, to laugh together and to bond together. Some of my happiest memories revolve around food, and Ive tried to recreate those memories for my own children.

So what I decided to focus on for At My Table was specific occasions. For me, food is such an important part of turning an event into something special. The love and passion that you put into cooking for people is repaid with great conversation and an empty plate and lasting memories.

So if my first book, Food, was about individual dishes, this book is about showing that you can create a variety of complete vegetarian menus to complement a range of very different occasions my way of showing how flexible vegetarian cooking can be! I love to plan menus, as it allows you to find the context for each individual dish, and the challenge was to create entire meals that would be delicious and satisfying for meat eaters and vegetarians alike. The menu plans are designed to inspire, and to help take away the stress of cooking for others.

When we were growing up as a vegetarian family, we never felt we were missing out at mealtimes. But time and again, I come up against the idea that, without meat, a meal and certainly a special or celebratory meal is not complete. I hope that this book will show that there are endless and exciting possibilities for meat-free cooking, and enthuse many home cooks to try something new.

Of course Ive added some photographs along the way to help tell the story.

Hope you enjoy

Love, Mary

KEY SYMBOLS:

GF = gluten-free or can be adapted to be gluten-free

V+ = vegan or can be adapted to be vegan

DF = dairy-free or can be adapted to be dairy-free

Since I wrote my last book I have modified the way I eat. Ive become a lot more interested in the science of food because I wanted to expand my knowledge of how to eat well and prepare tasty and satisfying meals while maximising the benefits to my health.

Gluten is the protein component found in grains such as wheat, rye and barley and its also found in some oats. With the increased awareness of the health problems caused by coeliac disease and gluten sensitivity, there is now a good range of gluten-free alternatives available. I realised that I was eating a lot of gluten in my diet and it was starting to make me feel sluggish. After cutting back on gluten I felt more energetic and less bloated. So now, where I can, I always use gluten-free options and ingredients.

BUCKWHEAT FLOUR (gluten-free alternative to wheat or spelt flour): Despite the name, buckwheat is not a cereal grain, it is a fruit seed that is related to the rhubarb family and sorrel. I use buckwheat flour as a gluten-free alternative to wheat flour as it acts as a binding agent in sauces and in recipes such as my ). I like to use Doves Farm buckwheat flour (they also make a wide range of other gluten-free flours).

MASA HARINA CORNFLOUR: Masa, the Spanish word for dough, is the traditional flour used to make corn tortillas. It is made with hominy, or dried corn kernels that have been soaked and cooked in lime water and then ground into masa.

MAIZE CORNMEAL FLOUR: Maize cornmeal flour is different from the purely starch, fine, white powder cornflour, which is separated from the protein and other components of maize flour. Maize cornmeal flour is the entire corn kernel milled into flour, and it contains protein. The grind can vary from fine to coarse (also known as polenta).

GLUTEN-FREE PASTRY: Gluten-free pastry mix is available; I use a brand called Helens Pastry Mix to which you add butter, egg and water. This pastry will appear a little wet at first, but it will absorb the liquid while it is chilling in the fridge before you roll it out.

GLUTEN-FREE PASTA: You can now find a wide variety of gluten-free pastas, made from rice, corn, quinoa etc. My favourite variety is Doves Farm brown rice pasta.