Notes about Recipes in this book

• Tempeh-filled potstickers (Gyoza)

  • blozoff on May 17, 2020

    I would prefer less sesame oil

• Red lentil and kabocha squash soup with harissa oil

  • br22 on April 05, 2016

    Make sure you use the cilantro as garnish. The flavor combination is pretty spectacular. I'm going to try it chopped next time so there's both more of it and it in every mouthful! The color of the soup and the suggested oil accompaniment isn't nearly as attractive as the pic in the book but the taste is good. I'll make this whenever I have a kabocha squash.

  • BigOrangeTiger on September 11, 2022

    can now be found here: https://www.herbivoracious.com/red-lentil-and-kabocha-squash-soup-with-harissa-oil-sneak-peak-recipe-from-the-cookbook/

• Middle Eastern bread salad (Fattoush)

  • jaelsne on July 08, 2021

    Excellent, easy recipe from an excellent cookbook.

• Spaghetti with garlic and oil (Aglio e olio)

  • Njacovina on February 19, 2021

    Great recipe when you have nothing but pantry items. I doubled the garlic, made panko bread crumbs and grated some Parmigiano- Regianno on top. I know it's supposed to be just garlic and oil, but some toasted pine nuts couldn't hurt either.

• Chiang mai curry noodles (Khao soi)

  • radishseed on November 06, 2012

    As written, I thought this recipe was too rich to eat as a soup (so much coconut milk), except in very small portions. However, it made a great curry sauce, eaten over rice, and it was good as a soup after thinning it with broth. I added cooked broccoli and mushrooms to the leftovers, because I wanted some vegetables in there.

• Sichuan dry-fried green beans and tofu

  • Emily Hope on July 17, 2013

    As vegetarian stir-frys go, this was a pretty tasty one--the grean beans get a nice sear, and the sichuan preserved vegetables add a pleasantly funky note (they were, however, challenging for me to find at the asian grocery store--check the refrigerated aisle!) Perhaps not quite as good as the Chinese restaurant that used to be up the street from us in SF, but close, and a little less greasy. However, it did seem to take quite a while to make, between the veg prep, the chopping, and the multiple sautéing steps, so don't expect a quick meal, at least the first time out. Served with brown rice and shredded carrots with lime juice/fish sauce/roasted peanut oil.

• Caramel-cooked tofu

  • jaelsne on September 23, 2020

    Another winning recipe from this cookbook. My husband devoured it and pleaded for me to make it again. I followed the recipe exactly, using four fresh Thai chilis. It could have used a little more spice. The sauce was sweet, as it had to be for caramelization to take place. Very easy recipe, though I’m glad I’m not the one to clean the pan I

• Red curry delicata squash

  • MelMM on February 01, 2019

    10-5-2017 Used my own homemade curry paste. The delicata squash cooks quickly and doesn't need to be peeled, so this is a nice weeknight dish.

• Crispy polenta cakes with white beans and morels

  • jaelsne on October 14, 2012

    My family LOVED this dish! I don't remember having used morels before, but they will be a welcome addition to my future meals. The mushrooms were meaty, and gave a wonderful flavor to the broth. When I make it again, I will probably double the amount of beans.

• Middle Eastern rice and lentil pilaf (Mujadara)

  • jaelsne on August 30, 2013

    This was absolutely delicious. Followed the recipe almost exactly. My husband dislikes caramelized onions, so we did the "quick" option of frying them over higher heat. I also added a miniscule amount of extra seasoning after tasting. I like the fact that the seasoning is light--it makes it a very fresh-tasting dish.

• Chana masala with mushrooms

  • jaelsne on September 18, 2012

    This recipe may not suit every taste, but our family decided that this was the best chana masala recipe that I've made. It is highly fragrant, not at all like some of the watered-down-for-American-taste chanas that I've tried. We thought it might taste too strongly spiced until we added the final layer of mustard seeds and oil. Fabulous!

• Chili borracho

  • Emily Hope on March 25, 2013

    In the end, this turned out to be a very nice vegetarian chili with great depth of flavor--but I felt like I really had to wrestle it to the ground to get it to turn out well. His suggestion of 33 minutes in the pressure cooker wasn't enough time--not surprising given the salt and acid included in the recipe (which can toughen bean skins). I made a double batch, so I tried 40 minutes in the p.c. for the second round, and that worked well. However, I felt that the beans hadn't really absorbed the flavor of the sauce, so rather than reducing the sauce separately as he suggests, I cooked the beans and sauce together until the sauce reduced, which took quite a while (at least an hour). I'm also wary of chilis that call for beer as I tend to find the hops make them bitter, so I reduced the amount of beer (carefully chosen for non-hoppiness) by about 1/3, and the chili was still a bit bitter and needed a pinch of sugar. But, it was highly praised by the vegetarians at the superbowl party!

• Kimchi stew with shiitake and daikon (Kimchi jigae)

  • Emily Hope on February 09, 2013

    This was good, straightforward and relatively quick to make. Pretty close in taste to kimchi chigae that I've had in restaurants, if lacking a bit of funk. My kimchi was pretty spicy, so I didn't need to add any extra chili. I also only used 1 tbsp of soy sauce and it was plenty salty. Served with pan fried rice rolls.

• Brussels sprout and apple hash

  • radishseed on October 30, 2012

    This is really good. I made mine with some Asian pears instead of an apple, and added some sweet potatoes because I was craving them. It was great as a dinner side dish, and all by itself for lunch the next day.

  • jaelsne on October 03, 2020

    I made this dish for a potluck dinner party and it was well received. I think it’s absolutely delicious. I made it per the recipe, using apple cider vinegar rather than champagne vinegar and added tart Montmarcy cherries. I don’t give five stars often!

• Argentine parsley sauce (Chimichurri)

  • Krisage on July 29, 2017

    Nice as is. Used white wine vinegar. Also added a small seeded jalapeno and 1 tsp Mexican oregano with good results.

• Banana raita

  • radishseed on October 21, 2013

    Mmmm. I love this.

• Mercury News (San Jose)

  Both the book and his blog share the same name and the same philosophy, that vegetarian cooking should be a riot of bold, bright flavors and global influences dancing upon the palate - also interview.

  Full review

• Herbivoracious

  Errata sheet for this book on the author's website. An EYB note has also been made on each affected recipe.

  Full review

• Kitchn

  His recipes are meatless, yes, but in a way that is persuasive and engaging even to cooks who find it hard to put the meat away. ...the vegetarian book I most want to cook out of this holiday season.

  Full review

• RecipeGirl

  I love this book because I don’t often think of preparing a vegetarian main dish for my family- but this book smack full of great ideas.

  Full review

• Knit and Nosh

  Calling it a book of vegetarian food is too limiting. This is a book full of great food, period... I know that it is going to become one of my most favorite go-to cookbooks.

  Full review

• NPR by T. Susan Chang

  ...if you embrace a certain globe-trotting ethos of meatlessness this is an easy choice...photographs are colorful, the headnotes informative, and the attitude more flavor-forward than right-minded.

  Full review

• Austin American-Statesman

  Instead of meat substitutes or a preachy subtext, you'll find 150 recipes that are inspired by Natkin's world travels,...meticulous, straightforward directions...guide even less-accomplished cooks.

  Full review

• examiner.com

  Even in today’s nutrition-concious environment, vegetarianism has a reputation of being "hippie food" that’s not appetizing. Michael Natkin...hopes his new book will change that perception.

  Full review