The Flexitarian Table: Inspired, Flexible Meals for Vegetarians, Meat Lovers, and Everyone inBetween [Hardcover]

Peter Berley (Author), Zoe Singer (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 11, 2007

Peter Berley's inspired menus in The Flexitarian Table teach you how to accommodate different tastes and dietary choices.

 

If you're a home cook faced with the challenge of feeding both staunch vegetarians and passionate meat lovers in a single meal, you're well on your way to becoming a flexitarian. The simple, flavorful recipes in The Flexitarian Table show how to prepare vegetarian and meat versions of one dish at the same time without going to any extra trouble. Roast a succulent, crisp chicken with lemon and thyme—and make a tofu version in just minutes. Put some meaty portobello mushroom caps on the grill and, for the carnivore contingent, throw on a steak, then pair them both with a zesty bread crumb salsa. Simmer white beans with carrot and celery and sauté some shrimp, drizzling each with the same rich brown butter sauce with fresh herbs. You'll find many sumptuous meatless dishes as well, including cannelloni with ricotta, Parmesan, and mint or a hearty lasagna with roasted fall vegetables in a sage-scented cheese sauce. In your capable and creative hands, vegetarians will never feel like afterthoughts again, and you'll be able to indulge meat eaters as well, with abundant, satisfying dishes.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. It's the rare cookbook that encourages the reader not just to cook differently but to think differently about food. In this stylish collection of recipes, Berley (The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen) introduces a practical approach to flexitarian—or part-time vegetarian—eating. Given the confusion most of us face when it comes to our diets, flexitarianism, with its healthful emphasis on grains, lean proteins and beans, is an appealing one. He has developed a series of "convertible" recipes, main courses that work equally well meatless or meat-full. There's delicate choice of Baked Fish or Ricotta Dumplings, either of which is served over French Lentils; a hearty Gratin of Cherry Tomatoes and White Beans can be served with sardines. Throw in two or three side dishes like a salad of Mâche, Pea Shoots with Baby Beets, or Soba with Garlicky Spinach and Sesame Oil, and it becomes a satisfying meal in which no one feels shortchanged. Organized by season, the menus are cross-cultural and appealing. The recipes, while sophisticated, require only moderate experience in the kitchen. Berley's savvy tips on technique and flavor-pairing make this an affable and informative guide for any chef—regardless of diet affiliation. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Peter Berley is a contributor for Houghton Mifflin titles including "The Flexitarian Table."

Zoe Singer is a contributor for Houghton Mifflin titles including "The Flexitarian Table."

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; None edition (June 11, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618658653
• ISBN-13: 978-0618658657
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #125,299 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #88 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Cooking by Ingredient > Meat, Poultry & Seafood > Meats

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspired Menus for Meat Eaters and Vegetarians, November 13, 2007

By 

Danielle McClellan (Bellingham, WA, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Flexitarian Table: Inspired, Flexible Meals for Vegetarians, Meat Lovers, and Everyone inBetween (Hardcover)

My neighbor Lola and I have a great thing going. She cooks for both families on Tuesdays and I cook on Wednesdays so that we each get the luxury of a good meal delivered to our door one night a week. We both rely on fresh, organic whole foods, but Lola's family is vegetarian and my family eats meat. I was first drawn to this book because Peter Berley provides easy menus that incorporate both meat and vegetarian options. Once I began cooking his amazing recipes, however, I discovered that my own family enjoyed the vegetarian dishes as much as they did the meat. Instructions are straightforward and intelligent and so far I have received nothing but rave reviews for every dish I have cooked from this book, including the Risotto-Style Fregola with Chard and Feta Cheese, the Mache and Pea Shoot Salad with Baby Beets, the Spicy Lentils with Pumpkin and Greens over Couscous, the Spicy Roasted Winter Squash, and the Toasted Millet Pilaf. Berley cooks the way we like to eat: big flavors, and lots of greens, grains, and vegetables, with cheese and dairy used in moderation to add punch to a dish. Although my kitchen shelves are packed with terrific cookbooks, these days I find myself turning to the Flexitarian Table again and again.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a great cookbook!, July 11, 2007

By 

Shelley (Old New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Flexitarian Table: Inspired, Flexible Meals for Vegetarians, Meat Lovers, and Everyone inBetween (Hardcover)

I absolutely love this book. Peter Berley cooks exactly the way I want to eat -- mostly but not totally vegetarian, using occasional meat but more like a side dish or condiment, and concentrating on what is fresh, local, and in season. It just seems like the healthiest as well as the most delicious food.

The recipes are clear and easy to follow, the photos are gorgeous, and I love the personal and informal way he writes -- it really feels like chatting with a friend while you prepare dinner together. The useful little asides with hints from his experience as a chef come just when you can use them. Great!

I can imagine this book being the perfect gift for anybody with different food preferences in their home -- makes it easy to prepare one meal for the strict vegetarians and everyone else to all enjoy together.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Love the concept, wish for more, November 2, 2010

By 

SeaShell (WI USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Flexitarian Table: Inspired, Flexible Meals for Vegetarians, Meat Lovers, and Everyone inBetween (Hardcover)

As a vegetarian, who sometimes cheats and eats fish, and who cooks for a house of omnivores, this book seemed like an answer for my 'please-let-me-think-of-something-for-dinner' prayers.

I loved the idea of pre-planned meals that fit the way my family eats. I loved the mouth-watering photos, and the yummy-sounding recipes. I loved the seasonal menus.

But in the two months I've had this book, I've used it twice and I'm not dying to cook out of it again. Both times, some of the recipes were hits and some were misses. Mostly, though, the recipes are just a little too involved, take a little too much time, and use too many ingredients to rely on for weekday meals. And with only a handful of menus for each season, there really aren't that many things to try in a three month period if you want to cook seasonally.

I'd love to see a second version with a similar concept, but greatly simplified menus and more menus per season. I don't want Rachel Ray - I want to cook from scratch - but I do need something I can throw together in a little closer to 30 minutes.