Good Housekeeping Step-by-Step Vegetarian Cookbook

by Janet Illsley

Recent health scares have seen huge increases in the numbers of peolple choosing a vegetarian diet. Vegetarianism has long since shed its image of worthiness and blandness and the GOOD HOUSEKEEPING STEP-BY-STEP VEGETARIAN COOK BOOK proves once and for all that vegetarian food means far more than dry nut roasts and lentil casseroles. Drawing on the vegetarian traditions of many countries, from the Mediterranean to Mexico, it is both a superb collection of recipes and an authoritative source of information on ingredients, cooking techniques and nutrition. One of the book's outstanding features is a colour index, containing a photgraph of every dish in the book. An ingredients guide then looks at the essential elements of vegetarian cuisine, from rice and grains to eggs and cheese, with information on the varieties available and key cooking techniques. Chapter by chapter the book then builds into an unrivalled collection of over 450 recipes, from Italian and Indian to Thai and Tunisian, with clear step-by-step photographs which make cooking even the most sophisticated dish supremely easy. Preparation and cooking times, freezing instructions, calorie counts, cook's tips and variations are just some of the additional features.

308 pages, Hardcover

First published September 4, 1997

Reviews

[Dane Cobain · Rating 2 out of 5]

The low rating on this one is partly my own fault because I’m a vegan and not a vegetarian. Still, I saw this at a car boot sale going for peanuts, so I thought I’d pick it up anyway in the hope that I could veganise most of the recipes.

I didn’t end up doing that, but not because it wasn’t possible. It was more that there were very few recipes inside this book that actually took my fancy, and I think there were only a dozen or so that I ended up trying from the hundreds that were included here. Even fewer actually made their way into regular rotation in my recipe collection.

Part of that was down to the pictures, which weren’t particularly appealing, and part of it was down to the recipes, which kind of veered between too much hassle and overly simple. A lot of them just didn’t appeal to me as well, including a whole section on soups. I tried a few of them, but I pretty quickly got bored and realised that the soup recipes just weren’t going to be for me.

Ultimately, this book is better as a display book than as an actual reference book, and if you’re looking to cook something nice for a vegan or a vegetarian, you’re better off just Googling it and following a recipe that you find online, especially if you can get a video recipe. Otherwise, there’s not much point picking this up unless you can get it super cheap, like I did. It’s just okay for what it is, and maybe not even that. Go ahead and make of that what you will – and bon appetite, my friends.

[Aurélien Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

As another reviewer stated already, recipes involve either too much hassle or, on the contrary, are far too simple. Either/ or, more than once I found myself adapting the few that suited my fancy to my own needs (e.g. cutting down ingredients to keep it simple, or adding to enhance). As far as cooking goes, then, this was more a source of inspiration than a "step-by-step" guide to follow and to follow to the letter. Personally for example, I was particularly interested in how aubergines can be versatile and in the snacks and starters part.

Having said that, if you are someone like me (read: far from being a foodie, not much bothered to start with but looking to add to your own set of regular, rewarding recipes when actually getting down to it) then I would happily suggest it. Again, it's inspiring and versatile enough for beginners and/ or below-average cooks (read: people like me). If you're a solid cook already, though, or at least someone who is very comfortable in a kitchen, then I wouldn't bother that much. Recipes are (again!) pretty basics; and those that aren't are so only because they have been made unnecessarily complicated.

[Lynn Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear, concise book with photos for every recipe to show what you should be achieving. Easy to follow for cooks of any ability.