The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook: 350 Essential Recipes for Inspired Everyday Eating (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Ann Stratton (Photographer) "THE WORD ANTIPASTO TRANSLATES as "before the meal..." (more)
Key Phrases: red leaf lettuce, potato gnocchi, fresh egg pasta, The Complete, Vegetable Stock, Blood Orange Vinaigrette (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Bishop, senior editor of Cook's Illustrated, is also the author of Pasta e Verdura (LJ 3/15/96), a nice collection of vegetarian sauces for pasta. Here are more vegetarian recipes for all courses of a meal, from cold and hot antipasti to dessert. The recipes are fine but nothing special, and some of them seem more like variations on a theme rather than separate entities (e.g., Focaccia with Rosemary, Focaccia with Sage, Parmesan Focaccia). For larger collections and others where vegetarian titles are particularly popular.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook represents a quantum leap forward in vegetarian cooking by marrying the strong, earthy flavors of Italian cooking with short ingredient lists and simplicity of taste. I am happy to say goodbye to the vegetarian's love affair with meat substitutes and culinary complexity when the bright, fresh flavors of Italian cooking fit the bill handsomely. Why didn't someone write this book ten years ago? -- Charles Kimball, Publisher and Editor, Cook's Illustrated

I've been eating Jack Bishop's food for 10 years, and I don't know anyone who approaches Italian cooking with the same wonderful blend of tradition and innovation. -- Mark Bittman, author of Fish: The Complete Guide to Buying and Cooking

It's a great relief to see that Jack Bishop, food writer and cookbook author, prepares his food in a completely ordinary kitchen. The no-frills Sag Harbor setup has no professional range and precious little counter space. The refrigerator is smaller than he is.

It is in this simple kitchen that Bishop tested most of his recipes for his new book, The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook, and it's proof that you don't need anything fancy to make yourself a good dinner.

'There's a lot of culinary rigamarole,' said Bishop. 'In Italy, you have to have a special pot to cook polenta. It's got to be a copper pot. I have a great reverence for things Italian, but I'm an American, and I shop in America. I'm more interested in people facing the challenge of what-on-earth-am-I-going-to-eat-tonight.'

To that end, Bishop has melded two of the most popular trends in cooking in his newest book, a collection of 350 recipes that revel in all manner of Italian food that doesn't contain meat. Bishop calls himself a 'semi-' vegetarian, the kind of no-big-deal vegetarian who doesn't want to face a slab of meat on his plate, but wouldn't mind a little prosciutto in his pasta sauce. 'I like the flavor of pork and lamb, but in the end I prefer vegetables,' he said, 'and I could live without chicken for the rest of my life.'

His newest book is an outgrowth of his earlier book, Pasta e Verdura, a collection of 140 pasta dishes made with vegetables. Although he didn't intend to, Bishop lost 7 pounds off his already lean frame during the writing and the recipe-testing phase of that book. The dishes featured fresh vegetables, usually tossed with a pound of packaged pasta and a little olive oil.

The new book, The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook, while mindful of unnecessary fat, is not lean and mean. It is a bigger, more comprehensive book that features many richer and heartier recipes, such as baked shells with fontina and Parmesan-flavored bread crumbs-macaroni and cheese by any other name. It calls for a cup of heavy cream, 1/3 cup of butter and half a pound of cheese.

The book also features more of Bishop's well-honed advice. He is an editor and writer for Cook's Illustrated, a quirky culinary magazine that has developed something of a cult following for its kitchen-detective format. It takes a topic, say meatloaf, and sets out to find the best possible way to make the ideal recipe. First it'll fiddle with the ratio of ground beef, pork and veal to find the best combination. Then it will test 11 binders, including tapioca and corn flakes. Next, it moves onto the onions: raw or sauted?

Bishop says the magazine is fascinating and fun to work on, if not particularly creative for a writer. But the approach has benefited his own cooking and teaching techniques. When Bishop tackled the topic of how to make polenta in his book, he researched various ratios of cornmeal to water before advising his readers how to proceed.

That advice-filled, leave-nothing-to-chance approach also is evident in the book's thick header notes-those chatty paragraphs that precede each recipe. Bishop is particularly generous with his advice there, warning readers of the possible pitfalls, encouraging them to try new things. And he names names, giving specific brands of ingredients.

'There's no reason not to share that information,' he said. 'People ask me all the time what brands I use. My book is not an armchair book,' he said, 'although I love those kinds of books. I envision it in the kitchen.'

While the book is not written for beginners, Bishop has kept the novice cook in mind. His students are either younger people who are new to the kitchen or older people who are new to vegetarianism. Either way, he finds that Italian cooking is well suited to the task. 'Italian cooking is so friendly,' said Bishop. 'People know it. It's not weird.'

And there are many excellent Italian dishes that are vegetarian by chance rather than design, said Bishop. 'This is not like in England where they have a vegetarian society. Italians say, 'It's food. We're not making politics out of it.'' -- Newsday, 2-4-98

Jack Bishop has given us a celebration of vegetables, cooked simply the Italian way. The recipes are enticing, yet totally approachable and generally low in fat. Bishop even manages to demystify risotto and polenta. This book will enable the home cook to get delicious vegetarian dinners on the table every night of the week. -- Sara Moulton, Executive Chef, Gourmet

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 552 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (September 9, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576300447
• ISBN-13: 978-1576300442
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 7.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #15,983 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #62 in	Books > Cooking, Food & Wine > Vegetables & Vegetarian > Vegan

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Fantastic, My Favorite Cookbook, Inspiring!, February 14, 2000

By A Customer

I come to you deliriously happy after having eaten Bishop's mozzerella and tomato tart with a basil and garlic crust. My husband had to be physically restrained from eating until he was in pain (I had to whisk the tart off to the kitchen, but he vowed to finish it late tonight). All this and I didn't even make the recipe right! I used canned whole tomatoes sliced (no fresh on hand), dried basil (again no fresh around), and didn't wait the extra hour to let the tart dough rest in the fridge before baking it. No matter, it was extraordinary. I'll need to go into a recovery program if I make it the right way! But this is the beauty of this book. He gives these extraordinary yet simple recipes and encourages you to think for yourself. Like his mentor told him and he passes along to us, take what is simple and good and bring it together. Inspired. This is one of those cookbooks that doesn't just give you recipes but gives you ideas. Bishop also simplifies some recipies that have been intimidating to me. He makes polenta so simple, I have made it twice now while busy doing other things. I just go in and give it a stir every ten minutes. It was lovely. I wanted to make the garlicky greens on the cover of the book, but found I had no chard. I made it with fresh broccoli florets, and it was a pleasure. The instructions for risotto are likewise easy and encouraging. All the recipes in this book can be made without fuss and turn out impressively. This is a cookbook for real people, who don't have time to cook all day, and normal kitchens. This is absolutely my favorite cookbook. I make my first risotto next week!

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Have for Any Lover of Italian Food, September 3, 2005

By	K. Walters "Lover of fitness, politics, readi... (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It is clear after using this cookbook that the author is not only an accomplished chef and dedicated vegetarian, but also that he spent time living in Italy (Florence), thoroughly understands the mixture of flavorings in Italian cooking and the importance of fresh ingredients AND is a busy family man who doesn't have hours every night to spend in the kitchen! Whether you are a vegetarian (as I am) or a meat-eater who loves Italian food, this is a must have for your cookbook library. The recipes in this book are incredible and numerous - there are sections for all kinds of Italian specialties, including pizza, risottos, pasta, salads, antipasto, frittatas, legumes, panini, dolci (desserts), vegetable sides and main dishes, etc., etc. For the most part, the recipes are simple to make and not too time consuming and use easily available, fresh and healthy ingredients. Included in the Introduction to the book are suggested menus for varying occasions and seasons. All-in-all one of my favorite cookbooks in my large collection, and one I go to time and time again for delicious, healthful, Italian meals.

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic Cookbook, May 9, 2000

By	steffan (Seattle WA) - See all my reviews

First, I'd like to urge the reader below who gave the title a single star to please try another recipe from the book. (Might I recommend the FANTASTIC recipie for baked tomato and potatoes and herbs... Not bland, at all, and it takes perhaps an hour to prepare, and 40 minutes to cook. But pleae start with a Good olive oil, and fresh tomatoes, or you'll be qute dissappointed, good ingredients are ofteen the key to a successful recipe.) I'm a full time student, and I work 35 hours in addition to that, and I never find these recipes too time consuming, (unless of course, I'm tackling lasagne.) This book has been my source for improvisation and inspiration in the kitchen for about a year and a half. It is my favorite cookbook by far, and I use it for special occasions and when I want to impress my friends, many of whom have been to italy, and are suprised at the authentic flavor I am able to produce. However, I would tend to agree with the anonymous reviewer in Seattle when he/she states that the recipes are not always "low fat."