The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook

The seven hundred tantalizing recipes live up to their claim, inviting mouth-watering ideas that show vegetarians are missing out on nothing and should be to be neither pitied nor ridiculed. Whether checking out hearty meals, snacks, or dishes learned in Asian restaurants, it’s all good!

The team at America’s Test Kitchens have done themselves proud in The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook. Applause goes first to the design, which allows cooks to set the book down and know the pages are not going to turn themselves at a critical juncture. Each suggestion is prefaced with a comforting ‘Why this recipe works’ and a notation of whether the end result is vegan, gluten-free, and how many hungry folks the dish serves.

The course of action and the illustrations are invariably clear and ingredients are juxtaposed in a fascinating manner with ideas for multiple experiments. Who, for instance, thought to swirl mashed potatoes with pesto, create tasty meals centered on tofu, or try the mysterious quinoa albondigas?

Foodies will slaver as they try to count how many innovative meals they can fix in a lifetime and even the disparaging few who protest that cookbooks are a waste or time or too complicated are in for a truly yummy surprise.