The Modern Vegetarian: Over 120 Recipes to Wake Up Your Palate [Hardcover]

Maria Elia (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 16, 2009

Over 120 sumptuous recipes full of sensational flavors, colors, and textures that will stop you in your tracks. With chapters divided into Stylish Starters, Sensational Mains, Sofa Suppers, Sassy Sides, Simple Staples and Stunningly Sweet, this is truly a vegetarian adventure.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Maria Elia's Modern Vegetarian is exploding with color and flavor in every recipe. Her lush cuisine tantalizes the palate and conjures up a world of exotic influences. This truly inspired and mature cookbook is a must-have for chefs and cooks of any diet!" --Neal Harden, Executive Chef Pure Food & Wine, New York City

The Modern Vegetarian, from BBC chef Maria Elia, shows us just how far we've come since the Big Bang of Western-style vegetarianism in the 1970s. You won't find the words "mock," "faux,"or "almost" in any of these dishes; this book loves its grains and vegetables for their own sake, not for their ability to masquerade as meat or camouflage its absence. And there's something sweetly avant-garde about the recipes, which tweak familiar dishes in unexpected directions, whether its Ginger Beer-Battered Stuffed Tofu with Asian Mushy Peas, Lemongrass and Sweet Corn Soup with Creme Fraiche, or Watermelon Panzanella. For vegetarians who have long since succumbed to the steamed-tempeh blues, this smart and startling book could be a surefire cure. --NPR's Top 10 Summer Cookbooks, May 31, 2009

"Chef Maria Elia's The Modern Vegetarian is the book for home cooks who remain unmoved by cauliflower soup and lentil loaf. Lush photography in saturated hues -- jewel-like tomatoes in gold, green and red; a nearly emerald watermelon set against aquamarine -- offers a vision of vegetarian cooking that is rich, silky and deeply textured. And the recipes deliver. Indian, Asian and Middle Eastern flavors inspire many of the guide's more than 120 recipes, but each is distinct and highly original." --Michele Kayal for The Associated Press, June 30, 2009

From the Publisher

This debut book from Anglo-Greek chef Maria Elia finally gives vegetarian food the treatment it deserves. Gone are the uninspiring dishes served up time and again, these new dishes are full of sensational flavors, colors, and textures that showcase the astounding versatility of vegetables. Vegetables are the heroes of THE MODERN VEGETARIAN, from Chilli-roasted Feta and Watermelon to Artichoke and Goat Cheese Ravioli (using wanton wrappers), Maria's recipes combine her grasp of world flavors with her ingenuity in the kitchen. The seasonality of ingredients is key to her dishes, making them not only taste better but cheaper to make and more nutritious. If a fruit or vegetable is out of season she shows how easy it is to adapt and improvise. Dishes such as Roquefort and Fig Crème Brulee can just as easily be made with grapes or sautéed leeks, while Mushroom, Beet, Mozzarella with a Lentil Cartouch also works well with asparagus or as a salad. With stunning photography from Jonathan Gregson, THE MODERN VEGETARIAN is the perfect contemporary cookbook that will appeal to vegetarians, carnivores, and pescetarians alike.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Kyle Books; 1St Edition edition (April 16, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1904920993
• ISBN-13: 978-1904920991
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 8.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #390,796 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Food, Involved Prep., September 5, 2009

By 

James (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Modern Vegetarian: Over 120 Recipes to Wake Up Your Palate (Hardcover)

I have only tried two of the recipes in the book thus far. Both have been quite good. The only downside is that most of the recipes require many fresh or esoteric ingredients that will surely necessitate a trip to the grocery. Most are also a significant time commitment. These are not 30 min recipes from ingredients you have around the house, but the results are commensurate with the time.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Even Non Vegetarians will love this book !, April 18, 2009

By 

L. Youngdahl (Peoria, AZ) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Modern Vegetarian: Over 120 Recipes to Wake Up Your Palate (Hardcover)

My children have many food sensitivities and so I often turn to vegetarian recipes and books to look for tasty and natural recipes and then figure out a way to incorporate the protein. I have already made the "Tomato and Coconut Curry" and the "Coconut Basmati Rice" with a baked whitefish on top- my 7 year old and 9 year old gave them two thumbs up. The recipe instructions are very easy to follow and the combination of flavors is unbelievably delicious. It did not take me very long to prepare these recipes either. I would buy ANY cookbook that Maria Elia writes!!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow!, July 3, 2009

By 

Mom of three (Winter Springs, FL United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Modern Vegetarian: Over 120 Recipes to Wake Up Your Palate (Hardcover)

Our Vegetarian daughter was moving home so I ordered this book after hearing a glowing review on NPR. I was not disappointed. The recipes are so tasty and the photos are wonderful. My husband and I are meat eaters but both of us have enjoyed the variety of foods featured in this book. We may become vegetarians yet!