HolisticGirl
Arnold
Lara MBook Review - Rose Elliot - Vegetarian Supercook
April 24th 2006 12:38
My sister has recently become a vegetarian, and I have therefore been exposed to some interesting and tasty new dishes as part of her attempts to jazz up vegetables. The book that she is ploughing through at the moment is entitled Rose Elliot - Vegetarian Supercook and so far has seemed to live up to its name.
Rose Elliot began by cooking for large numbers of people at the retreat centre her parents ran, but she has not lost any sense of delicacy through this. She also places emphasis on the pleasures of cooking as of equal importance to the pleasures of eating- something we often tend to forget.
Often I find that some vegetarian cooking can be a bit lacklustre, tending to either disguise vegetables as meat or simply reinventing bland variations on a theme. I was particularly impressed with this book because it has a real gourmet feel to it and is more reminiscent of the menu in a gourmet five star hotel restaurant rather than the left over vegetarian options in a Chinese restaurant. The point is, the dishes are not characterised by their ‘vegetarian-ness’, they are simply fine cuisine. The dishes I most like the sound of among the hundred described are ‘Cappuccino Meringue’, ‘Omelette Cannelloni’ and ‘Halloumi in Mini Pitta’.
The book is divided up into several sections including ‘Classics with a Twist’, ‘No Time to Cook’ and ‘Slim for Life’. This is a good spectrum and should just about cover the average person’s weekly needs.
My only complaint would be that many of these recipes, despite their absence of meat, are quite expensive to prepare. This is because they often contain pricey cheeses or greens such as rocket and baby spinach. Nevertheless, they do sound mouth watering, and it is always possible to substitute some ingredients for others if you are on a tight budget.
This would definitely be a worthwhile investment if you have just become a vegetarian and are finding it hard to adjust, or it would make a great present for a friend. In fact, as I have said, the recipes merit a taste from anyone as they are mouth watering examples of meatless cooking.
Rose Elliot began by cooking for large numbers of people at the retreat centre her parents ran, but she has not lost any sense of delicacy through this. She also places emphasis on the pleasures of cooking as of equal importance to the pleasures of eating- something we often tend to forget.
Often I find that some vegetarian cooking can be a bit lacklustre, tending to either disguise vegetables as meat or simply reinventing bland variations on a theme. I was particularly impressed with this book because it has a real gourmet feel to it and is more reminiscent of the menu in a gourmet five star hotel restaurant rather than the left over vegetarian options in a Chinese restaurant. The point is, the dishes are not characterised by their ‘vegetarian-ness’, they are simply fine cuisine. The dishes I most like the sound of among the hundred described are ‘Cappuccino Meringue’, ‘Omelette Cannelloni’ and ‘Halloumi in Mini Pitta’.
The book is divided up into several sections including ‘Classics with a Twist’, ‘No Time to Cook’ and ‘Slim for Life’. This is a good spectrum and should just about cover the average person’s weekly needs.
This would definitely be a worthwhile investment if you have just become a vegetarian and are finding it hard to adjust, or it would make a great present for a friend. In fact, as I have said, the recipes merit a taste from anyone as they are mouth watering examples of meatless cooking.
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Comment by Lia
The 'No Time To Cook' sections sounds particularly useful
Comment by Shani