Healthy Vegan - The Vegetarian Library: Introducing My Vegetarian Delectus

Delectus
meaning noun a body of important works of art, an influential body of literature.

It has been a long time coming, but l have been intending to compile a list of vegetarian and vegan cookbooks that inspire me.   Welcome to my delectus!

To make what would otherwise be a generic list of vegetarian and vegan cookbooks, I thought I would offer a personal review of sorts, not the kind of reviews to encourage you to rush out and pick up a copy (though that would be nice), but more how they came to be in my possession, what I like about the book and what I don't like so much.  I will also cook a recipe or two from the cookbook.  I hope to do this once a week. Please do join me if you wish and I will share your link in my side-bar (see rules below).

There was another reason that spurred me to do this now, I was actually a little surprised that my Top 5 vegetarian and vegan cookbooks from 2015 were unknown to a number of readers. I think this is a shame, as often celebrity endorsed and glossy vogue coffee table style cookbooks seem to steal the limelight.  I want to put the spotlight on vegetarian and vegan books that get pushed to the bottom/back or are simply overshadowed for whatever reason. These will not only include new publications, but publications of the past that are still relevant and full of inspiration - you just have to look. 
To start of with I begin with Cranks Fast Food   Its a vegetarian cookbook that inspired and helped me through my University student days.  I wasn't your typical student living off baked beans and jacket potato.  Its also my most stained and splattered cookbook!  I have to admit, it wasn't always this way.  For the first few months, it sat on my bookshelf next to academic books largely being ignored, I wondered why I had picked it up sold by a review, but then one day when it was my turn to cook at the shared student flat, I decided to cook from it. I made the Thai Green Curry, and oh my goodness - the feedback I got from my diners was fabulous and encouraging.  It also gave me a boost of confidence in the kitchen and in myself as a cook.  I swooned my student boyfriend, now my husband on so many recipes in this particular cookbook - well then the rest is really history.

Nadine Abensur's cookbooks opened my eyes to new ingredients then such as balsamic vinegar, black sesame seeds, couscous, halloumi cheese, harissa, miso, pesto, polenta, preserved lemons, sumac, tahini , tamarind, tapenade and even zhug, ingredients that we take so much for advantage now.  Nadine  Abensur is perhaps the number one innovative vegetarian chef who has influenced me and got me cooking out of the so-called culinary vegetable box, injecting bold flavours into traditional fare, but also encouraging me to explore worldwide ingredients.  As a self taught home cook, I often wish that Nadine Abensur still lived in the UK, if she did then I would have loved to have attended one of her cookery classes.  Without meaning to boast, I think I have all of Nadine Abensur's cookbooks from her first Secrets From A Vegetarian Kitchen to Enjoy: New Veg with Dash and will write more about them in time. 

I positively blame Nadine Abensur for starting my love affair with experimental vegetarian cooking, exploring the diversity of vegetables and worldwide cuisines and towards my vegetarian delectus!. 
Here are some recipes that I have made over the years. Some blogged, some not, but more importantly many that I often return to time and time again - I know them now off by heart!
Braised Baby chard and Broad Bean Pilaf
Black Eyed Bean Burgers
Broad Beans with Cumin, Paprika and Olive Oil
Carrot and Thyme Risotto
Chermoula
Coconut Dal with Raita, Cardamon rice and Paneer Tikka
Cream of Fennel Soup with Pernod
Dolcelatte Gnocchi with Broccoli and Squash
Feta Cheese Souffles with Black Olive Toasts
Filled Courgettes with Ricotta and Toasted Almonds
Harira (Chickpea Soup) with Harissa
Linguine with Asparagus and Truffle Oil
Mushroom Strogonoff
Orecchiette with Broccoli, Almonds and Taleggio
Porcini Risotto
Preserved Lemons
Roasted Tomatoes with Parsley, Breadcrumbs and Garlic
Sweet Potato and Tamarind Soup
Tabbouleh with chickpeas and garlic Tzatziki
Thai Green Curry
Sweet Potato Chips with Coriander Pesto
Spanakopita
Vegetarian Paella

 Do you have a vegetarian or vegan cookbook that you go to time and time again?!
PLEASE PARTICIPATE
As I mentioned earlier, if you want to join in and share with me your favourite vegetarian or vegan cookbook, please do.
Share an image of the cookbook and cook a recipe from it (you don't have to share the recipe - please be mindful of copyright)
Mention The Vegetarian Library in your post and link back to .
Then leave a comment on this blog post with link to your blog post.
I will do a Round Up at the start of the following month.  
Please tweet @SeasonalShaheen #VegetarianLibrary #vegetarianlibrary 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Healthy Vegan - Black Chickpeas Salad with Coriander

Image
The weather is so changeable at the moment, its gone all warm again. I came home a little earlier than usual and wanted to eat something quite light, hence this Black Chickpeas Salad with Coriander. Of course, this was not going to be enough as a meal for two, so alongside the Black Chickpeas Salad with Coriander, I made a Tomato Tarte Tatin.   It made for a nice change.  The feta here is optional, I used it as that is what I had in the fridge, but you could substitute it with halloumi cheese or if your going for a vegan or dairy free option, perhaps smoked tofu.  I think you need a soft texture with the nutty black chickpeas and the fragrant herb brings it all together. What I like about this salad too, it that it is quite seasonal in colours - going all autumnal, but also a perfect salad to knock up for a Halloween feast if you are planning a vegan or vegetarian Black Food Menu .   Please don't worry too much if you can't find black chickpeas where you are, just su
Read more

Healthy Vegan - Retro Vegan Hand Raised Pie for Sharing

Image
Yesterday's prompt was reach out! make a new vegan friend and tell us about it.  Its one of the reasons I am participating in Vegan Mofo and for me that is reaching out.  Saying that its also nice to be reacquainted with Rose from Dandylion Vegan Blog and if I had to tell you about a lovely vegan friend, there are quite a few in my real life and quite a few that I have met on blogosphere, so to single one out would be unfair. I love them all in different ways, they know who they are.   And today's prompt is most retro recipe.  I have a couple of recipes that I consider to be retro on my blog, some are vegan like this Lemon Cherry Tofu Cheesecake and this  Chilli Chocolate Tofu Cheesecake , but many other retro recipes are vegetarian.  Some of course can easily be veganized like this retro Kiev's , but instead I am sharing these two rather large vegan Hand Raised Pies, its irrelevant what is in these vegan pies, its more about the size, because this time size does matte
Read more

Healthy Vegan - Three Pea Tagine with Cherry Tomatoes

Image
These days, I don't have much energy to cook from scratch when I get in from work unless its something like pasta such as  Spaghetti dish, but strangely enough I did actually make this Three Pea Tagine after work in the late evening.   I was rather surprised that I had both the energy and the inclination.  This was one of those days, when i decided to myself that I was not going to plonk myself in front of either the computer or sofa and instead use those couple of hours a little more usefully, then laze.  Other than making couscous, grub was made and it was plenty to last us two days if not more.   Its actually a relatively easy recipe, after sauteing the onions, garlic and spices, you could happily leave it for 40 - 45 minutes for the yellow split peas to cook in the vegetable stock, then stir in the remaining ingredients such as chickpeas, raisins, green peas, cherry tomatoes which happen to be home gown for 10 minutes and its pretty much done.  Its not like a risotto wh
Read more