Notes about Recipes in this book

• Tomato and mozzarella risotto

  • Jane on September 21, 2015

    I'd never made a tomato risotto before and I liked it a lot. I used passata rather then crushed tomatoes. The mozzarella added at the end becomes rather stringy as it melts but it tasted great. I served it with roast chicken.

  • Zosia on July 10, 2015

    Made with my homemade marinara instead of the author's roasted tomato sauce, this tasted like pizza and was a huge hit with family.

  • WFPLCleanEating on September 29, 2015

    I liked this a lot. The tomato sauce added a lot of flavor to the rice and the cubes of mozzarella give it richness. I'll definitely repeat this. -Jane

• Broccoli salad with Asian-style dressing

  • Breadcrumbs on March 14, 2012

    p. 316 – This dish underwhelmed and it may be because the broccoli was over-cooked. I think 2-3 mins of steaming would be ample for us and unfortunately 4 mins made the broccoli too soft for our tastes. The dressing was tasty but somehow this just didn’t live up to my expectations. I may try it again in the summer when broccoli is fresh from the market but I also have many other similar recipes that I’d like to try. I had high hopes for this book w it’s beautiful photography and enticing sounding recipes. I sure hope this was an isolated incident.

  • eliza on May 12, 2022

    Very simple and a good way to serve broccoli. I also cooked it less than the given 4-5 minutes. Will make again.

  • Zosia on September 05, 2015

    This was a great way to serve broccoli - it was crisp and fresh with a lively flavour, and we loved the nutty crunch of the sesame seeds.

  • csavegetablesfan on April 05, 2019

    I added some grated daikon. Great way to eat a lot of broccoli.

• Zucchini, carrot or beet tea loaf

  • Pangur Ban on November 22, 2012

    Made this with carrot. Moist, not too sweet, but could maybe manage with a little less sugar. Nice crisp crust.

• Stir-fried sesame cauliflower

  • wester on February 04, 2018

    Very tasty, a good combination of (Asian) flavors. I preferred not to precook the cauliflower.

  • Zosia on June 26, 2014

    Very tasty way to prepare cauliflower. The method of cooking it in the pan with some water allowed the vegetable to absorb the flavours of the aromatics that had gone in first and produced nicely cooked, tender-crisp florets. The dish was a little beige, but the flavour more than made up for its appearance.

• Roasted Brussels sprouts with shallots

  • wester on November 16, 2020

    This was pretty good. I think I want to try the variation with cumin as well.

  • twoyolks on March 28, 2013

    At this time and temperature, the brussels sprouts don't caramelize.

  • Zosia on October 21, 2014

    Using small, halved brussels sprouts, this recipe worked for me with both shallots and sprouts cooked through and caramelized in the time given. The brussels sprouts lost their bitter, cabbage-y flavour and were complemented nicely by the sweet shallots and tangy lemon juice.

  • Rutabaga on November 29, 2016

    I quartered my Brussels sprouts since they were quite large. This is a very basic, easy roasted veg dish, but the sweet shallots really complement the sprouts and make it something special.

  • ricki on January 10, 2023

    Easy (just about all the work is in prepping the sprouts) and pretty good. Allow more time to get the veggies to caramelize. The lemon is essential.

• Roasted cauliflower with lemon and paprika

  • wester on January 11, 2019

    You can never have too many cauliflower dishes, and this one is a good everyday one. Stir-fried instead of ovenbaked; the lemon caramelizes really quicky, maybe better to add it halfway. Like other reviewers, I would tweak the lemon/paprika ratio toward paprika, at least halving the lemon and doubling the paprika.

  • Zosia on October 21, 2014

    The smoked paprika and lemon worked well with the roasted cauliflower but I did find the dish a little too lemony with the final squeeze of roasted lemon at the end. Better to serve those wedges on the side and allow everyone to add to taste.

  • ksg518 on October 01, 2015

    Great and easy dish. I didn't find it too lemony (as suggested by previous note) although that could be due to amounts of cauliflower and lemon. I might add a bit more paprika next time just to provide a more pronounced smoke flavor.

• Tamarind raita

  • wester on June 06, 2018

    I had to add a lot more tamarind than stated to make it even noticeable, and even then it was not that interesting.

• Kale "speltotto" with goat's cheese

  • wester on November 04, 2018

    Very flavorful. My daughter loved it, my son not so much. I cooked the kale and leeks together with the onions from the start, and that worked well. I also used about two times the kale asked for because I misread, to no ill effect. It makes a lot.

  • eliza on February 02, 2018

    I made an adaptation of this with carrots and spinach substituted for the leeks and kale, and I also used my own chicken stock. The result was a very good speltotto although the texture is different from a traditional risotto. Very easy to make and I'll definitely make again.

  • Zosia on May 30, 2015

    Cooked like risotto, it wasn't nearly as creamy but had a nice texture and great flavour. I cut back on the number of dirty pans produced by cooking the leeks with the onions and using fresh spinach added towards the end of the cook time.

• Cauliflower and chickpea curry

  • wester on January 31, 2018

    I thought this was OK but even with the spices doubled (per the other reviews) not a very interesting flavor. With so many other good and easy curries around I won't repeat this one.

  • ksg518 on January 11, 2016

    We've made this several times and it's always a favorite. The curry flavor isn't strong (although it could be adjusted). Agree with the previous post, that it is somewhat bland looking but overall a very comforting quick curry.

  • WFPLCleanEating on September 14, 2015

    This didn't feel like a curry to me at all - the spicing was very muted. It looked fairly insipid too. Not one I will repeat. - Jane

• Eggplant and green bean curry

  • wester on January 29, 2018

    A good basic curry. Could be done with other vegetables instead. I used Turkish ground bell peppers instead of the chillies to tone done the heat and make it more childproof. I thought the optional nuts didn't add much. I did make a very simple raita (yogurt and cumin), which did go very well with it.

• Roasted parsnip, green lentil, and watercress salad

  • wester on January 30, 2018

    A lovely combination of flavors and textures. Vegan if you leave out the honey and cheese, neither of which is essential. I subbed rocket for the watercress and used walnut oil in the dressing, which worked fine. I would have liked more dressing, I will increase the amount next time.

  • Zosia on March 21, 2015

    I really enjoyed this salad with the caramelized roasted parsnips a lovely flavour contrast to the dressed lentils, peppery greens, and sharp cheese. As with another lentil-based salad, I doubled the lemon juice in the dressing.

  • ksg518 on November 25, 2022

    Very good. I love parsnips and the mustard dressing really helps them shine. This would also be good with carrots or a carrot and parsnip mixture.

• Celery, orange and pecans

  • wester on September 11, 2018

    Nice and fresh-tasting. I think the orange actually complements the celery better than the classical apple. I did use less orange than the recipe said, and added some walnut oil.

  • sharifah on September 06, 2012

    Fresh, fruity, quick and low fat as no oil was used - in other words, fabulous! OH rates it 5 stars too.

  • Zosia on November 27, 2014

    Lovely, bright and fresh tasting. Will definitely be making this often.

  • ricki on February 25, 2020

    Very nice! Half the recipe was as much as two of us wanted at one sitting. The celery leaves seemed especially tough and bitter, so I added a few chopped salty olives in place of the salt, pepper, and celery leaves.

• Mushroom risoniotto

  • kari500 on August 21, 2020

    Deviated slightly from the recipe, mostly in that I served the sauce over ravioli. I didn't really measure anything. We liked this a lot. A shallot or garlic, or leeks might be nice in this. The balsamic gives it that little extra something that keeps it from getting boring (as cream sauces sometimes can).

  • veronicafrance on January 27, 2013

    This is a nice simple supper dish, very quick to do. I added some dried mushrooms because my fresh ones weren't that tasty. It would be even better with fresh ceps.

  • chele on June 02, 2012

    Nice and quick to make - introduced us to risoni (or orzo) pasta as an alternative to rice in this type of dish. Like most of the recipes in the book that I have tried I will be making this one again.

  • Zosia on September 14, 2014

    Easy to make dish of cooked orzo pasta added to a mushroom ragout with great flavour, even using just cremini and white button mushrooms.

  • Lepa on July 22, 2016

    Delicious. A great treat for the mushroom lovers in your family. It is rich and delicious.

  • WFPLCleanEating on October 07, 2015

    This was a quick and easy weeknight dinner. I used cremini mushrooms and although there was a good mushroom flavor I think I would add a few dried mushrooms next time to make it even more mushroomy. - Jane

• Beets with walnuts and cumin

  • kari500 on October 24, 2020

    We don't love beets. But we're getting lots of them lately from the CSA, and I figured it is time to make beets happen. I was making a main from Falastin, and this looked easy and fitting. And ... it was! I've only ever roasted beets before, not served them raw, and it was surprisingly easy. Peeled and then put into the FP to grate. Juice of one orange, some lemon juice (I'd use more next time), S&P, oil, toasted and bashed cumin seeds and some toasted walnuts. None of us will ever adore beets, but these were a pleasant enough side.

  • lorloff on October 01, 2016

    We loved it too. Made it with freshly shelled walnuts and golden beets. Added a bit more garlic will definately make this again it was a perfect combination of flavors and textures

  • Zosia on August 07, 2015

    Loved this. The cumin and walnuts went beautifully with the raw beets but it was the orange and lemon juices that really enlivened the salad.

• North African squash and chickpea stew

  • kari500 on April 08, 2020

    Virus time cooking and EYB came through for me in a big way. No squash, but some forlorn looking carrots worked. I added a bit of dried harissa, and slightly more lentil and orzo. About 7 cups of water with 2 large veg bouillon cubes. I really liked this. C would have liked it more without so much ginger/cinnamon.

  • ksg518 on January 11, 2016

    Wonderful. I'm not sure what I expected since I only made it to use up a CSA pumpkin. It tastes faintly Indian with a bit of heat. I didn't have red lentils and so used green but I don't think that makes a difference. Very substantial stew for a cold winter night.

  • Lepa on November 25, 2019

    This was a very healthy and satisfying soup for a cold evening, even for a family that doesn't normally like squash.

• Ribollita

  • lorloff on July 04, 2016

    This was scrumptious will make again. Added a technique of salting the greens first from Paula Wolfert's Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking p 37 and added 1/2 cup parsley and fresh thyme from the garden to the soup when the vegetables are sautéing. Great dish gets better the next day.

  • Zosia on June 09, 2015

    Excellent flavour from pantry staples. I loved the method of thickening the soup by pureeing some of the beans before cooking, allowing the veggies to keep their shape and texture. The flavour was even better the next day.

• Chickpea, chard and porcini soup

  • Emily Hope on November 28, 2011

    This has a nice depth of flavor for a vegetarian soup. However, I wish that the porcini flavor was more prominent (especially given their expense and the fact that they need to be soaked, washed, and the liquid strained) -- it added a bass note to the soup, but the flavor blended with that of the tomatoes and chard. The tomatoes do play a prominent role in the flavor of the soup, which made it a bit too much like a variation on minestrone for me. Not sure that I'll be rushing back to make this one again. Served with roasted carrots, beets, fennel, onions, and garlic that were deglazed with some balsamic vinegar and tossed with avocado and an aged goat cheese, and a homemade whole wheat seed bread.

  • Zosia on April 28, 2015

    Delicious, richly flavoured soup with great mushroom flavour. Given the choice of using canned tomatoes or tomato sauce, I opted for a homemade marinara that added tomato flavour without overwhelming the mushroom. I also included a Parmesan rind and used kale, one of the suggested chard substitutes.

• Curried sweet potato soup

  • Emily Hope on November 15, 2011

    This was pretty good, though not great, for my taste--I like the curried flavors--I reversed the proportion of garam masala and curry powder--but I thought the texture was a bit too starchy. I might try again and roast the sweet potatoes rather than boiling the in the soup. But then again, I may just not like sweet potatoes in soup, so YMMV. C liked it better than I did. With the asian-inspired coleslaw from the same book, and homemade bread on the side.

  • eliza on October 07, 2022

    This soup was a rare miss for me; we usually love River Cottage recipes. The combination of the curry powders and coconut wasn’t a win for us. Possibly my curry powder, which I usually love, was not the right one for this. Probably not a repeat as I have other sweet potato soups (such as the moosewood African peanut soup) that I like much better.

  • frabjuosity on August 07, 2012

    This is one of my favourite soups - I think the recipe calls for a bit too much lime, though.

  • ckbkaddict on December 09, 2014

    Wow. This was a great soup and surprisingly easy despite the longish ingredient list. To make this family friendly I omitted the chilli, still plenty fragrant with the curry powder and garam masala. Also just used juice of 1 lime. As I didn't have any, I left out the cilantro - don't think anyone missed it. Soup received high praise. Definitely make again.

• Asian-inspired coleslaw

  • Emily Hope on November 15, 2011

    This was quick to make, healthy, and pretty tasty. I used peanut oil (I think he recommends rapeseed or olive oil), which I prefer for these kinds of salads. Also added a few chopped peanuts in at the end. I didn't have any spring onions, so left them out, but I imagine it would be good with them. It needs a healthy squeeze of lime juice at the end to lift up the flavors. C thought it was OK--I think he prefers the fish sauce/lime juice dressing for this type of salad. Served with the sweet potato and coconut milk soup from the same book.

  • eliza on March 25, 2022

    Really good simple coleslaw. I used red cabbage and more cilantro in addition to the carrots. I also added some black rice vinegar to the dressing and scattered some seeds on top. Peanuts would be a nice addition. Keeps well in the fridge, I will definitely repeat this. Edit: still love this salad and it has become a winter staple.

  • Zosia on August 16, 2014

    Rice vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger and garlic - ingredients I often use in stir fries - as a salad dressing? Why not? The dressing worked quite well with the cabbage and carrot slaw but as the previous reviewer noted, the lime juice added at the end was critical in brightening the flavour. I used only half the sesame oil and am very happy that I reduced it since even the 1 tbsp was quite noticeable. An interesting variation of a classic salad.

• Baby carrot and fava bean risotto

  • crandall57 on May 06, 2024

    Delicious risotto, but not that different from other risottos I've made. I would make this version again if I had fava beans and carrots. I served it with a small side salad.

  • Beckiemas on March 30, 2020

    This was a great meal - right at the end added juice of half a lemon which really worked. Will continue to make this one and will continue to add the juice!

  • Zosia on July 07, 2014

    Nice variation of risotto that showcases the young vegetables. I used the author's method of adding a quarter of the stock at a time instead of only a ladle full and it worked perfectly with less fuss and stirring especially when the stock first goes in.

  • mfranklin125 on December 16, 2019

    I didn’t have fava and it was still great. I let the carrots soften a bit in the warm broth first while making the risotto. And I made it witb green onions and parsley.

• Beet and walnut hummus

  • eliza on February 01, 2018

    Really good! I made this after seeing the program. It's easy to make and freezes well. I agree with Zosia that it tastes quite strongly of cumin so some may want to reduce the amount.

  • Zosia on November 16, 2015

    As with most hummus I make, I found that the flavour was better the next day, and in the case of this recipe, the colour was richer and far more intense. Unfortunately, the cumin was overpowering. If I were to make it again, I would use half.

• Baba ganoush

  • eliza on October 16, 2019

    A good basic recipe for baba ganoush. I added some smoked paprika and blackened the eggplant a bit. Also sautéed the garlic first.

  • sharifah on November 11, 2011

    Tried this last week, followed the recipe to the letter. Quite difficult to peel the aubergine skin, a bit of a palaver. Had this in Egypt & Jordan, somehow this version is not as nice. Needs a lot of cumin & olive oil to make it nice. taste better after a day. Maybe I should've really burned the aubergines...not sure I'd do this again.

• Pasta with greens, garlic and chile

  • eliza on October 02, 2024

    Very easy and great way to cook greens from the garden. In my book it calls for chard, kale, or Savoy cabbage, all of which are most abundant in late summer to fall. Can reduce the amount of pasta if desired, and it’s easy to adapt to 1 or 2 servings. Other than the greens it’s mostly pantry staples. This is something I make a lot, mostly with shredded kale, whole grain pasta, and pepper flakes. There are 2 variations on the same page not indexed: pasta with broccoli, and with chickpeas and lacinato kale, both good.

  • Zosia on January 18, 2015

    Very quick and flavourful. I used baby spinach and added it to the pan just before the pasta, cooking just long enough to wilt it.

• Patatas bravas

  • eliza on October 08, 2024

    I turn to this book each year when my allotment garden is in full production. I made this with potatoes, tomatoes, herbs, garlic, onions, and peppers all from the garden. It’s hard to go wrong with fried potatoes in a spicy tomato sauce, so this is very delicious! I ended up adding some smoked paprika since my chilli (variety: roulette) turned out to be not that hot.

  • Zosia on November 10, 2014

    Spicy tomato sauce with fried potatoes is an excellent - and unusual for me - combination. Rather than serving them tapas style, I served them as a side to Ottolenghi's cauliflower cake with a green salad for a delicious lunch.

• Roasted potatoes and eggplants

  • eliza on February 06, 2018

    This is a very simple recipe and is very tasty. As per the previous notes, I kept the garlic whole and kept an eye on it as the veggies roasted. I used my preserved salted herbs on this after roasting which added a nice herby flavour.

  • Zosia on January 04, 2015

    Great alternative to plain potatoes, the eggplant was so caramelized, it was almost unrecognizable - a good thing in my family. The garlic slices cooked unevenly and added nothing unless you ate a slice (and then it was a bit too much!) so I would add whole cloves at the start next time.

  • Rutabaga on October 04, 2018

    This is a delicious roasted veg dish, although I can't say it was a general family favorite, since many in the family aren't big eggplant fans. Still, it's a dish that even many non-eggplant eaters may enjoy (or at least tolerate). I tossed the veg with smoked paprika, mint, parsley, and cilantro in addition to the lemon juice after roasting, which was a nice mix of flavors.

  • ricki on October 05, 2017

    Great use for a surplus of eggplant from the garden. Cautioned by the previous note, I sliced the garlic very thin and it was cooked perfectly after ten minutes. I snuck in a few cubed small white turnips and the whole dish was enjoyed, even by one who would never knowingly eat turnips. A half teaspoon of smoked paprika added a nice touch.

• Shaved summer veg

  • eliza on September 29, 2023

    What a lovely simple salad idea. I have grown small turnips for the first time, and used them in this salad along with some yellow zucchini. I used the mandoline for paper-thin slices. The dressing was bright and complemented the veg very well. Will definitely make again.

  • Zosia on July 07, 2014

    My trusty mandoline made short work of shaving the 600g of assorted vegetables required for the salad and made for a very pretty presentation. The sweet dressing was perfect with the boldly flavoured vegetables, especially the kohlrabi. Will be making this often. I used carrots in place of beets.

• Couscous salad with herbs and walnuts

  • eliza on August 12, 2023

    I used this recipe as a template and adapted it to the veg I had from the garden. Used quinoa as the grain, parsley and basil for the herbs, and just onions and garlic as the cooked vegetables. I also toasted a mix of sunflower seeds and walnuts for the nuts. Quinoa needs more seasoning so I added additional lemon juice. If I made it again, I would reduce the cumin by about half (or omit it entirely), and omit the lemon zest (just personal preference as I don’t really like it). Had as a light meal with some cooked greens, snow peas, and Boursin cheese. Probably not a repeat for me.

  • Zosia on November 19, 2014

    Initially, I quite enjoyed the anise flavour from multiple sources (celery, fennel seed, fennel the vegetable), but soon tired of it. I couldn't eat this as a meal but it did make a very good side dish for some grilled Italian sausages. I used freekeh and brown Calrose rice.

• Sweet potato and peanut gratin

  • eliza on December 07, 2016

    I really liked this dish. The sliced sweet potatoes are spiked with chilli and garlic, and layered with peanut butter/lime juice. I made a couple of changes in that I didn't use the cream, instead made a thin white sauce, and I used a bottled chilli sauce for the chillies. The resulting dish is very tasty. It's quite rich, and if made with the cream would be even more so. I will probably increase the chilli level a bit next time. Very easy to make.

• Cannellini bean and leek soup with chile oil

  • eliza on March 26, 2022

    This makes a tasty and nutritious soup, and it’s easy to put together. I used small red beans instead of the cannellini beans (soaked overnight in lightly salted water, then added to soup and simmered 40 minutes). I made my own chilli oil and also added a whole bunch of fresh spinach at the end. I agree that you could do without the oil, and still have a good soup.

  • Zosia on October 07, 2014

    Very herby, flavourful soup that's suitable for a weeknight it comes together so quickly. I used store-bought chile oil that everyone could add to their own bowl to taste (or omit altogether - the soup was good without it)

  • Rutabaga on December 28, 2016

    This is a great, super simple soup to pull together quickly. I used dried herbs and didn't have the chance to make any chile oil, but it was still good. Using dried herbs makes it a real pantry-friendly meal; you only need fresh leeks. It's also perfect for a make-ahead meal or feeding a large group.

• Kale and onion pizza

  • eliza on July 24, 2017

    This made a very good pizza. Like a lot of Hugh F-W recipes, I took it as a general outline and added some roasted red pepper and some goat cheese to the kale and cheddar. I also used a sourdough pizza crust that I had made and frozen.

  • Zosia on October 16, 2014

    Kale and cheddar is a wonderful combination, especially when the kale is roasted until crisp and briny tasting. I used only 1 onion and its sweetness still came through - a good foil for the salty ingredients.

• Squash and walnut toastie

  • eliza on December 23, 2018

    This was very nice. I used goat cheese and a bit of good cheddar in place of the blue cheese and also added some golden raisins to the mix. A squirt of lemon or lime juice at the end is really needed to bring out the flavours; I also omitted the honey.

  • Zosia on November 04, 2015

    Delicious end use for leftover roasted squash. I used sharp cheddar and omitted the honey.

• Tomato, thyme and goat's cheese tart

  • eliza on August 15, 2023

    A delicious easy tart that makes good use of heirloom tomatoes. My only change is to bake the tart a bit longer than stated.

• Pumpkin and raisin tea loaf

  • saladdays on August 04, 2012

    Made this using courgettes (zucchini) as suggested in the recipe variation. Quite a lengthy recipe as it needs beaten egg whites but looks and tastes excellent. The egg whites beaten in mean that it contains no fat so it is less calorific than most cakes and teabreads.

  • Zosia on October 21, 2014

    Really very nice loaf, surprisingly fruity in flavour with the spices taking a back seat to the lemon, raisins and squash. With no added fat, the loaf was sturdy but still quite moist. I used cake & pastry flour, 1-3/4 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp table to make up the weight of the self-raising flour.

  • ricki on August 24, 2017

    Very fruity, and surprisingly sweet from all the raisins, but in the final analysis not worth all the effort and cleanup.

• Tahini-dressed zucchini and green bean salad

  • FJT on June 04, 2019

    Great dressing. I swapped green beans out for asparagus but otherwise followed the recipe.

  • sharifah on November 11, 2011

    this dressing was really, really yummy. I'll be making this again

  • imaluckyducky on July 03, 2021

    4 stars. Great flavor overall, although the recipe is a little fiddly - pan searing what feels like a million zucchini rounds is usually more work than I'm willing to spend on a salad BUT it was worth it for this recipe. Didn't follow the dressing recipe exactly, mostly because I don't understand "half a clove of garlic," so I ended up making a double batch of the dressing, and processed in in the Ninja blender with great success. Needed about 1/4 C of water to thin it out. Took away a star because it needs a crunchy element to add some texture.

  • Zosia on August 16, 2014

    The light, creamy dressing was a great complement to grilled zucchini and blanched green beans but would work well with a variety of grilled or roasted vegetables. Served with the honey-roasted cherry tomatoes from the same book and salad greens, this was one delicious salad. A few toasted pistachios or almonds would be a nice addition.

  • Rutabaga on August 14, 2018

    I agree that this is a great salad. To make it into a meal, I added chopped rotisserie chicken. Unfortunately, the children didn't appreciate it, but my husband and I ate it happily, and it makes a perfect easy summer supper.

  • saarwouters on December 12, 2017

    Lovely light and original salad. The tahini has a wonderfull lemon and orange flavour. Served it with grilled salmon.

• Quinoa with leeks and squash

  • veronicafrance on March 30, 2012

    This is really good. I've made it several times, with Ebly instead of quinoa.

• Macaroni peas

  • veronicafrance on June 03, 2012

    This turned out a lot better than I expected -- a very pleasant surprise. I had some peas and broad beans, so I cooked them separately, and because the beans were rather big I skinned them and smooshed them up for the sauce. I didn't have any macaroni, so I used risoni, and the end result had the creamy texture of risotto. Excellent, I'll make it again. Non-veggies could fry some prosciutto or serrano ham till crisp and crumble it on top.

  • Zosia on June 22, 2015

    The sauce was a little too sweet made with just the peas etc, so I added 150g cooked spinach, an extra garlic clove, fresh basil and extra Parmesan. It was a hit with family with the changes.

• Roasted squash and shallots with merguez chickpeas

  • veronicafrance on March 31, 2012

    Excellent; I cooked the chickpeas and roasted the squash the day before, making it very quick to put together -- I just reheated everything and tossed the hot chickpeas in the spiced oil. Added some diced cooked chicken for the non-veggies. Don't stint on the spices. I think it would be nice in flatbread, with maybe a squirt of harissa.

  • Zosia on November 27, 2014

    Loved this! Each of the components was delicious on its own and together they were fabulous!

• Tourte de blettes

  • veronicafrance on January 08, 2012

    I'd long heard of tourte de blettes, a Provencal Christmas dessert made with Swiss chard, raisins, and apples, but never tried it. My curiosity got the better of me when we had some chard in our weekly veggie box, and I wish it hadn't. It turned out looking exactly like the picture in the book. We ate one small slice between us and by mutual consent threw the rest in the bin. Still, at least I know now :)

• Carrot hummus

  • chele on July 22, 2012

    The recipe is very nice - hence the 4.5 stars. In my oven 35 minutes wasn't enough to roast the carrots, they needed 1 hour.

  • Zosia on March 14, 2015

    Slightly sweet, and nicely spiced, this was a tasty alternative to a more traditional recipe. I found that the flavours improved the next day with the sweetness taking a backseat to all of the savoury ingredients. Sadly, family didn't appreciate it much - too sweet for them - and I don't relish eating an entire batch by myself so it probably won't be repeated.

  • ksg518 on January 11, 2016

    I've made this several times and everyone loves it. The last time I made it I was out of cumin and substituted smoked paprika which worked well.

• Vegetable biryani

  • twoyolks on January 21, 2013

    This was not particularly flavorful for an Indian dish. It also felt like it was missing some form of richness to it.

  • WFPLCleanEating on September 14, 2015

    I agree with twoyolks that this seemed to be missing something. I felt that there should be more spice though the caramelized onions, almonds and cilantro on top helped. I made a mistake when making it as I added the rice and saffron to the vegetables to cook, rather than cooking the rice separately and then baking in the oven with the vegetables. I don't think that would have affected the flavor though, in fact it may have been blander doing it the correct way. - Jane

• Summer stir-fry with egg-fried rice

  • twoyolks on June 18, 2012

    It wasn't entirely clear to me what a "green chili" was so I used a jalapeno. Almost no heat came through. After it was cooked, I stirred in 1/2 tsp chili-garlic paste which really improved it overall (both the heat and the sourness). In the future, I'd leave out the green chili and replace it with chili-garlic sauce.

  • Zosia on August 20, 2014

    This is a good basic recipe, though a little unusual for me with the aromatics added at the end of cooking but it worked. I made a few substitutions using gai lan, enoki mushrooms and edamame but the recipe is one that can easily be adapted to whatever you have on hand. I did wish it were a little saucier and I didn't like the mint with the other ingredients so would omit that. I served it with steamed brown rice as suggested in the headnotes.

• Spiced spinach and potatoes

  • twoyolks on October 29, 2012

    I made this with half a Serrano pepper but it didn't provide enough heat. I think that the optional heavy cream would go very well in this. Also, I served it with a poache egg that works very well.

• Spinach and thyme pasties

  • twoyolks on May 28, 2013

    Ricotta may be substituted for the goat cheese.

  • Zosia on August 24, 2015

    Really delicious spinach-cheese hand pies. The crust was an easy one to work with and not particularly greasy in the hand, and the filling (made with ricotta and Parmesan) which was heavy on the spinach, was very flavourful.

• Honey roasted cherry tomatoes

  • twoyolks on September 21, 2012

    This would be very good as a bruschetta topping or over polenta.

  • Moo on January 09, 2013

    Was nice but probably wouldn't bother with it again.

  • Zosia on August 16, 2014

    Sweet and tangy.....like tomato candy. With only a 30 minute roasting time, it's the perfect summertime treatment for the little tomatoes.

• Zucchini penne "spoufflé"

  • twoyolks on August 28, 2012

    I don't think this could reasonably serve four people unless there were a number of side dishes. Depending on the shape of the souffle dish, it may take longer to cook than specified. That said, it is very very good.

• Beet top (or chard) and ricotta tart

  • twoyolks on August 19, 2012

    I made this with sweet potato greens which worked well. While eating this, we determined that it really need some form of hot sauce. We only had Siracha but a milder Mexican hot sauce may work better.

  • SugarFree_Vegan on April 17, 2013

    I made this with some beautiful Beet/Beetroot greens (not baby ones) that were attached to my beetroot in this weeks veg box. I didn't have ricotta so used some feta which worked very well. I felt that they needed a side with a bit of sharpness so used this recipe - Baked Marinated Courgettes from another of my books. http://www.eatyourbooks.com/library/recipes/914652/baked-marinated-courgettes

  • Zosia on March 21, 2015

    This had good flavour but the custard filling was a little too soft for my taste. That improved the next day once it settled a bit but by that time, the pastry - which was excellent on the first day - was a little soggy. I used Swiss chard.

• Chilli, cheese and rosemary polenta with tomato sauce

  • twoyolks on November 27, 2012

    It doesn't specify well in the recipe but the polenta needs to cool completely and dry out before it's fried. Otherwise it just falls apart in the frying pan. I would make the polenta a day in advance. Also, I would cut the polenta into squares instead of wedges.

  • macfadden on May 10, 2016

    The polenta was delicious. I used whole grain cornmeal instead of instant polenta, and let it cool in the fridge for about an hour, and had no trouble with it falling apart in the pan. The tomato sauce was not very exciting, so if you have a recipe you like, I would go with that.

  • Zosia on November 16, 2015

    Following twoyolks's recommendation, I chilled the polenta overnight and cut it into squares. The pieces held their shape in my grill pan and were quite delicious served with the simple garlicky tomato sauce.

• Refried beans foldover

  • lorcalon on August 27, 2012

    Made this with borlotti beans and some home made roast tomato purée. Use a dash of berbere mix and some sumac, and barley max wraps and it was fabulous. This will become a regular meal as it is so tasty and quick and easy to make

  • Lepa on February 23, 2020

    These beans are tasty and easy but I had a very sad winter tomato and I'm guessing this would be much better with a nicer tomato.

• Oven-roasted roots frittata

  • lorcalon on August 24, 2012

    Delicious!

  • Zosia on September 14, 2014

    This one takes a while to make since the vegetables must be roasted first but I do appreciate that the frittata is baked in the same pan afterwards. I used what I had on hand - which is the purpose of this particular recipe - but was glad that I included potatoes which helped balance out the sweetness of some of the other vegetables.

• Leek and cheese toastie

  • Yildiz100 on December 30, 2018

    Very good, but very rich. I think I would experiment with reducing the cream and cheese a little next time.

  • Zosia on April 29, 2015

    Makes a quick and satisfying lunch. Aged cheddar or another strongly flavoured cheese is a must with sweet leeks.

• Spicy merguez oven chips with yogurt dip

  • VineTomato on September 25, 2017

    Made these for a second time and I don't remember them being so good! Crisp on the outside, soft on the inside with a wonderful spicy blend. I tossed the oil with the potatos before putting them in the oven as I use a baking tray (large enough to separate chips) so heating oil in that would not be advisable!

  • Zosia on May 09, 2015

    I loved the spice blend on these and the yogurt dip was a very nice accompaniment but I didn't see any benefit in parboiling the potatoes and am likely to skip that step next time. 3 tbsp olive oil was plenty.

• White beans with artichokes

  • macfadden on May 10, 2016

    I thought it was just okay. The recipe, oddly, says not to dress the greens and then just set the warm beans and artichoke hearts on top. Of course, this resulted in dry, undressed greens. I would definitely suggest making a simple salad dressing for the greens, or at least tossing the salad so that some of the oil from the vegetable mixture gets on the greens.

  • Zosia on October 16, 2014

    This salad took about 5 minutes to put together and with the (optional) Parmesan cheese and a slice of crusty bread, made a delicious meal. Using the oil from the jar of grilled artichokes and warming the ingredients before topping the greens added great flavour.

• River Cottage summer garden soup

  • Zosia on July 08, 2014

    A little bland and too much like eating vegetables and their cooking water. A squeeze of lemon and a sprinkling of grated Parmesan made it seem more of a finished dish.

• Mexican tomato and bean soup

  • Zosia on July 07, 2015

    Quick cooking soup that uses richly flavoured tomato sauce to help reduce cooking time without sacrificing flavour. I didn't realize how much jalapeno heat is lost in cooking so added fresh minced just before serving. This was really very good made with the first field tomatoes of the season and will be repeated.

• Kohlrabi 'carpaccio'

  • Zosia on May 24, 2015

    The combination of vegetable, cheese and thyme worked quite well but the dribble of lemon juice didn't add much. I think it would have been much better with the honey mustard dressing from the shaved summer vegetable recipe (which included kohlrabi)

• Belgian endive, pears and salty-sweet roasted almonds

  • Zosia on September 27, 2015

    Very nice combination of sweet, salty and bitter ingredients. The pears must be very ripe for this to work (or sweeten the dressing to compensate if they're not) and I recommend making extra almonds since they make a delicious snack on their own.

• Tomatoes with Thai dressing

  • Zosia on July 26, 2014

    This dressing just didn't work for me. The sesame oil was overwhelming and there was really nothing about the balsamic and rice vinegars that brought "Thai" flavours to mind. However, the mint-chilli-tomato combination was delicious...all it needed was a little lime.

• Avocado and ruby grapefruit with chile

  • Zosia on August 20, 2014

    This is a refreshing salad with the creamy avocado providing flavour and textural contrast to the juicy grapefruit. Bright, palate-awaking flavour made it a great starter.

• Marinated cucumber with mint

  • Zosia on June 14, 2015

    Cucumber with mint makes for a very refreshing salad that would brighten any summer plate. I used white wine vinegar and a few pinches of sugar.

• Pearl barley broth

  • Zosia on May 11, 2015

    No wow factor here, just a homey soup with pleasant flavours. Great for a casual soup and sandwich meal.

• Green lentil and spinach soup

  • Zosia on September 14, 2014

    Very flavourful soup with a tomatoey broth that's more attractive than most lentil soups with pops of colour provided by the carrots and spinach. I used Puy lentils which retained their shape nicely. Delicious served with the garlicky flat breads from the same book.

• Porotos granados

  • Zosia on October 07, 2015

    We enjoyed the smoky flavour but between the corn and the squash, this ended up being quite sweet; family only ate it after I added a good amount of passata.

  • WFPLCleanEating on October 08, 2015

    This feels rather worthy i.e. something you would eat to get your 5 servings of veg in a day, rather than something you eat because you are enjoying it. It's rather bland and feels like it is missing something. Maybe grated cheese on top or sour cream would help? - Jane

• Creamy mushroom soup

  • Zosia on April 11, 2015

    Good mushroom flavour and velvety texture but quite rich.

• Mushroom soup

  • Zosia on October 07, 2015

    Mushroom overload, even for mushroom lovers.

• Parsnip and ginger soup

  • Zosia on November 04, 2015

    Very flavourful and creamy. I like parsnip prepared in various ways but the flavour of it in this soup was just a bit too concentrated for me.

  • saarwouters on October 08, 2017

    Nice soup. It's a bit on the sweet side. I added some lemon juice for a nice kick. And served it with salty ham and cheese piadines.

• Quick couscous salad with peppers and feta

  • Zosia on August 16, 2014

    A very unfussy salad that can be put together quickly with pantry staples. Since I had a few leftover, I used fresh roasted peppers instead of jarred. With just a lemon juice and olive oil dressing, it did need the feta and lots of fresh herbs to make it a bit more special.

  • MmeFleiss on March 14, 2015

    This was easy and very good. I subbed fresh roasted pepper for jarred.

• Cheesy peasy puff turnover

  • Zosia on March 21, 2015

    Easy peasy and surprisingly delicious for how few ingredients and how little effort it requires. I used Gruyere. A bit hit!

• Green beans, new potatoes and olives

  • Zosia on May 24, 2015

    I used small sweet potatoes which made this a very pretty dish as well as a flavouful one. The olives and fresh basil made it taste quite special.

  • ksg518 on January 11, 2016

    Great simple side dish. The addition of the olives and the basil make it especially delicious.

  • Rutabaga on September 23, 2014

    This is a great combination, and easy to throw together on a week night, while still tasting like you put in a little effort. I used small German butterball potatoes cut into 1 inch cubes, and it turns out they really don't need to boil 8 minutes before adding the green beans; no more than 6 would do it. However, the way the mushy potatoes coated the beans and soaked in the garlic oil and lemon was really delicious, so maybe overcooking the potatoes wasn't such a bad idea. It would be a great dish to double or triple to feed a larger crowd.

  • Hannaha100 on November 30, 2018

    This was an easy weeknight meal. If serving as a main this is for 2 not 3. We added cherry tomatoes and a fried egg to bulk it up. Delicious.

• Apple and blue cheese toastie

  • Zosia on November 04, 2015

    Apple and cheddar is a favourite combination and it made a delicious topping for an open-faced sandwich.

• The "vegiflette" toastie

  • Zosia on September 27, 2015

    I quite liked the bitter greens in this sandwich topping but potatoes on bread are just too heavy and starchy for me.

• Welsh rarebit

  • Zosia on August 24, 2015

    Pretty tasty cheese on toast. The mornay "sauce" was more of a spread (with a rather unappealing texture) that loosened up quite a bit once heated but not enough for me - I would have preferred it saucier.

• Tomato rarebit

  • Zosia on August 24, 2015

    I preferred the flavour of this variation to the Welsh rarebit in the book but spreading the mornay "sauce" on the tomatoes was difficult and the toast was a challenge to eat.

• Hot squash foldover

  • Zosia on September 27, 2015

    Roasted squash as a sandwich filling was tasty but rather insubstantial as a meal. Adding cooked beans would give this a little more staying power.

• Asparagus pizza

  • Zosia on May 24, 2015

    I made this with asparagus but also with cooked fiddleheads as topping - excellent both ways, in part because of the magic bread dough pizza crust.

• Nachos with refried beans

  • Zosia on March 21, 2015

    Unlike any refried beans I've had before. Made with white beans and tomatoes, it was easy and flavourful. I served it on baked whole wheat tortilla "chips" with Greek yogurt and home made salsa toppings.

• Spicy carrot and chickpea pita pocket

  • Zosia on August 05, 2015

    Not a combination I would think of for a sandwich filling but easy to put together and very tasty. The orange zest and juice gave the flavour a nice lift.

• Bruschetta with fava beans and asparagus

  • Zosia on July 07, 2014

    Delicious, simple topping that allows the flavours of the vegetables to shine. I do recommend using the optional garlic rub (and a sprinkle of salt) on the toast for added but subtle flavour.

• Bruschetta with lacinato kale

  • Zosia on January 08, 2015

    Not much of a recipe, just another tasty way to serve kale.

  • Lepa on July 22, 2016

    I LOVE this. Doesn't sound like much but it is exquisite. If I have fresh bread and kale on hand, this is what I eat.

• Magic bread dough

  • Zosia on June 16, 2014

    Made an excellent pizza crust, crisp yet chewy, just the way I like it, and able to support heavy toppings. I used multi-grain bread flour and unbleached all purpose and let the dough ferment overnight so it had great flavour.

  • Rutabaga on November 13, 2019

    I made this to use for the potato and blue cheese pizza recipe in this book. Ultimately, it's worked well, which was a little surprising considering I was using a mix of flours that I had on hand - all-purpose, cake, and whole wheat pastry - and my dough was also drier than it should have been. On top of that, I left it to rise in the refrigerator all day, and it seems the yeast was not very effective. So, I can say this is a very forgiving dough! It would be good to make again to the recipe's specifications and note the difference.

  • mfranklin125 on April 11, 2017

    So easy and so good

• River Cottage garlicky flatbreads

  • Zosia on September 14, 2014

    In spite of how thinly I rolled the dough, it insisted on puffing up while cooking so the breads were not quite as flat as I'd hoped. Wonderful made with all whole wheat bread flour and finished with a sprinkle of za'atar but next time I'll make them a little smaller (10-11). I used less than half the garlic oil.

• Beet pizza with cheddar

  • Zosia on September 27, 2015

    Delicious pizza topping with the sharp cheddar acting as a great foil for the sweet beets and onions. I omitted the optional tomato sauce and next time will omit the mozzarella as well since it didn't really add much to it.

• Pizza with new potatoes, rosemary and blue cheese

  • Zosia on June 16, 2014

    This was an attempt to introduce blue cheese to the family. I chose a mild, creamy Danish that mellowed a little during baking and was helped out by the sweetness of the potatoes and onions. Common consensus was that goat cheese would have been preferred but the pizza did get eaten (a success in my books!). I used magic bread dough pizza crust from the same book.

  • Rutabaga on November 13, 2019

    The flavor combination in the topping is quite good. Pre-cooking the potatoes, or using leftover potatoes, makes it pretty easy to put together. Since the kids aren't fans of onion-based pizzas, I made them one with pepperoni instead.

• Three-root boulangère

  • Zosia on November 16, 2015

    There was far too much liquid in this and it baked for more than an hour before all of the vegetables were cooked - I suspect it was the celeriac that was the hold out - but the flavour was very good. A great alternative to an all-potato boulangere or super rich dauphinoise.

• Herby, peanutty, noodly salad

  • Zosia on May 06, 2015

    Very refreshing and bright tasting dish with Thai flavours. I used Chinese long beans and rice vermicelli noodles.

  • saarwouters on September 20, 2017

    Loved this salad! Wonderfull Asian dressing and at the same time healthy and comforting. Great main course and brought leftovers to the office the next day for lunch.

• Baby beet tarte Tatin

  • Zosia on October 16, 2014

    Dressing up roasted beets with a sharp vinaigrette and crisp pastry is a fantastic way to serve this vegetable. The recipe worked with small beets with a slightly longer roasting time. I tried my hand at the author's rough puff pastry recipe (page 52) and it works. The warm beets and dressing alone make a delicious side dish.

• Rutabaga and potato pasties

  • Zosia on March 21, 2015

    These were quite bland (and I did include the optional sharp cheddar) and heavy and not worth the effort. The recipe calls for you to cut almost half a kilo of vegetables into a 3mm dice that was to be baked raw inside the pastry case. Instead, I diced them into 1cm cubes and parboiled them. I wish I could remove my rating since I did make a rather major change to the method, but it does still reflect my impression of the flavour.

• Corner shop spanakopitta

  • Zosia on January 08, 2015

    Very quick to assemble especially if using chopped frozen spinach, and flavours were fine but family prefers the more traditional phyllo pastry and thought they could have used a little more cheese. I "stir-fried" the defrosted spinach with the onions rather than cooking it separately, and made (8) turnovers.

• Mushroom ragout with soft polenta

  • Zosia on April 28, 2015

    The polenta was a little bland but the flavourful mushroom ragu more than made up for that. I've never cooked instant polenta before and noticed that it didn't retain its creamy texture for long.....I found myself adding extra milk to it even as I was dishing it out into serving bowls. I'll use regular polenta next time.

  • breakthroughc on March 29, 2022

    This was very good. I used my own method of making creamy polenta, but we enjoyed the mushroom topping as an easy weeknight vegetarian recipe. I did add a couple of teaspoons cornstarch at the end as I wanted the sauce a little thicker. I would make again.

• Spinach, penne and cheese "spoufflé"

  • Zosia on November 27, 2014

    Described as a one pot dish, it's anything but. However, it is delicious and worth the sink full of dirty dishes. I used a 300g package of frozen spinach so scaled up the other ingredients accordingly and baked in 5 ramekins. It puffed up beautifully and was done in 22 minutes. The onion flavour in the bechamel didn't come through....next time I would add minced, sauteed onion.

• Kale and mushroom lasagne

  • Zosia on January 08, 2015

    Delicious but quite rich. I made a half recipe (sort of) but used the full amount of vegetables and flavourings for the bechamel which was among the best I've ever made, and 125g dried noodles which I precooked (though no instructions are given for this step). A huge departure from my usual bolognese-based lasagne but a hit nevertheless. I will definitely make this again.

• Chiles stuffed with beans

  • Zosia on July 26, 2014

    Sad looking poblanos led me to use sweet bell peppers for this recipe instead. There was a fair bit of time and effort involved in putting this dish together with the peppers having to be roasted and peeled first (I wonder if jarred would work) and the filling made, but once the peppers were stuffed, they just needed to be heated in the oven; it would be a great make ahead meal. These were very tasty but the sweetness of the peppers needed to be tempered: I'm sure the accompanying garlicky yogurt would work but I served this with the Lemony Guacamole, also delicious. There was only enough filling for 4 medium peppers.

• Stuffed cabbage leaves

  • Zosia on November 10, 2014

    The flavour of these was really quite good, and better the next day, but I had issues with the texture: the crunchy walnuts and chewy farro-barley filling was pleasant, but the crunchy vegetables in the sauce were not, something a longer cooking time would rectify. But my real issue was with the cabbage; there's a time and place for crunchy cabbage, in my opinion, in a cabbage roll is not one of them. I used green cabbage and more than just blanched the leaves before filling, cooking them for 8-10 minutes to make them pliable. They didn't cook any further during baking. Perhaps the savoy cabbage called for in the recipe would be different.

• Pinto bean chili

  • Zosia on September 14, 2014

    Made with end of summer zucchini and bell peppers, this quick cooking chili isn't as hearty as most, perfect for transition into fall. I really enjoyed the sweet element the vegetables brought to the dish.

  • ksg518 on October 02, 2017

    This is reasonably good, although we both couldn't help but thinking some sausage would make it better. We used hot Hungarian peppers for the green chilies and threw in an extra poblano since we're trying to get through a pepper surplus. The lettuce in the ingredient list is just a suggested topping, along with cheddar, sour cream and guacamole.

• Spelt salad with squash and fennel

  • Zosia on January 21, 2015

    Roasted squash and fennel helped to make this a very flavourful salad. I used farro instead of spelt and preferred it served warm.

• Summer couscous salad

  • Zosia on May 29, 2017

    A simple salad but with lots of flavour brightened by a lemon dressing. I omitted the zucchini but included the tomatoes (which seemed to be optional ingredients).

• New potato salad "tartare"

  • Zosia on June 14, 2015

    Fantastic! The vibrant flavours in the dressing brought out the sweetness of the little potatoes and didn't remind me at all of mayo-based tartar sauce (thank goodness) which served as inspiration for this recipe. Cooked eggs were a nice addition to take it into main course territory but not necessary. This is my new go-to potato salad recipe.

• Arugula, fennel and green lentil salad

  • Zosia on March 21, 2015

    With a base of delicious cooked lentils, this was a hearty salad with great texture and flavour. I did reduce the oil and used the juice of the whole lemon in the dressing to perk it up a bit more, and with no arugula to be found, used a mix of baby kale, chard and spinach.

• Panzanella

  • Zosia on July 26, 2014

    Very good variation of this classic salad that uses juice extracted from fresh tomatoes as part of the dressing. I would recommend using bread that is more than just "slightly stale" otherwise it will tend towards sogginess.

• Fennel and goat's cheese

  • Zosia on September 14, 2014

    Raw fennel gets a little lift from a lemon juice-olive oil dressing and some tangy goat's cheese. Makes a great starter.

• Carrot, orange and cashews

  • Zosia on October 07, 2014

    Vibrant Moroccan salad that adds some spark to raw carrots. I used toasted almonds and added more than just a few drops of (white wine) vinegar to keep it on the savoury side.

• Celery root with apple, raisins and parsley

  • Zosia on March 21, 2015

    This is a wonderful winter salad - crisp and fresh tasting and a great complement to rich roasted/braised meat dishes. I used dried cranberries instead of raisins.

• Brussels sprouts, apple and cheddar

  • Zosia on April 28, 2015

    Fantastic lettuce-free winter salad with great texture and bright flavour. I made it several times during the past few months and never tired of it.

• Warm salad of mushrooms and roasted squash

  • Zosia on October 07, 2014

    Wonderful ode to fall: roasted garlicky squash and sage with sauteed mushrooms bound by a balsamic vinegar dressing. I used more family friendly goat's cheese. A big hit!

  • ksg518 on November 25, 2022

    Very good salad I’ve made several times. I skip the garlic since it just burns on the sheet pan. The mushrooms take longer than suggested so I start them when the squash goes in the oven.

• Cauliflower with toasted seeds

  • Zosia on January 08, 2015

    Family really enjoyed the bright and nutty flavours of this salad, and I loved that I had another use for that jar of sumac in my pantry. But slicing the cauliflower with the mandoline was a messy business....next time I'll just use a knife. The dressed salad held up very well so would make a great addition to a packed lunch.

• Red cabbage, parsnip, oranges and dates

  • Zosia on April 09, 2015

    A little too sweet for me even with some added white wine vinegar. I think I would have preferred it with apricots, or perhaps without any dried fruit at all.

• Griddled asparagus spears with lemon dressing

  • Zosia on May 24, 2015

    This was more a technique than a recipe, but a brilliant technique at that. I'll never again lose an asparagus spear to the grill!

• Grilled eggplants with chile and honey

  • Zosia on June 22, 2015

    Sweet, tangy and a little spicy, this dish was much more delicious than I anticipated. I discovered with this recipe that broiling is a great alternative to frying, browning and crisping the eggplant slices with minimal oil. I mixed the lemon juice with the honey for more even distribution of the flavours.

• Sweet corn fritters with cilantro or mint raita

  • Zosia on January 08, 2015

    Very tasty, especially with the yogurt-goat cheese raita but cooking them involved a bit trial and error since they browned very quickly, long before the interior was cooked.

• Halloumi, new potato and tomato kebabs

  • Zosia on June 09, 2015

    I loved the idea of this but the tomatoes cooked too quickly on the outdoor grill to get a nice char on the potatoes and cheese. I served them with lemon wedges.

• Charred baby leeks with romesco

  • Zosia on July 07, 2015

    Tomato based variation of romesco that's nicely tangy with an underlying sweetness from the hazelnuts, optional red pepper and tomatoes. No baby leeks to be had yet so I served it with grilled cauliflower steaks. Also delicious served with grilled chicken and fish (it made a lot!)

• Roasted squash

  • Zosia on October 21, 2014

    Basic method for roasting squash. The list of serving suggestions is worth noting.

• Stuffed peppers with new potatoes, feta and pesto

  • Zosia on August 04, 2015

    These were delicious thanks to a simple and very flavourful filling of cooked potatoes and cubed feta dressed with pesto. I made the basil-parsley pesto from the book but a good store-bought would work well.

  • Rutabaga on October 02, 2017

    This filling is a little different from the usual stuffed peppers; the pesto, potatoes, and feta are a nice combination. With pre-made pesto, it would also be very easy to put together, although it's not exactly fast, requiring almost a quarter of an hour in the oven. Since I had a lot of fresh basil, I made pesto from scratch using the recipe found earlier in this book, although I used all basil instead of a mix of basil and parsley. Drizzling some fresh pesto over the finished peppers is also nice.

• Caramelized carrots with gremolata

  • Zosia on August 16, 2014

    Easy way to add a little bit of zing to a pan of roasted vegetables. My carrots didn't brown as well as I would have liked so I'll omit the foil covering next time.

• Roast parsnip chips

  • Zosia on November 19, 2014

    Delicious way to serve this vegetable especially with the optional shallots.

• Roast new potatoes with two mojo sauces

  • Zosia on September 02, 2015

    The mojo picon was delicious with layers of flavour: smoky, sweet, tangy. Unfortunately, vinegar and raw garlic dominated the mojo cilantro sauce. It wasn't very good for dipping but it did make a great marinade for chicken breasts. I omitted the step of parboiling the potatoes prior to roasting them.

• Oven-roasted ratatouille

  • Zosia on March 21, 2015

    Always a magical combination of vegetables and tomatoes, this variation of ratatouille calls for a tomato sauce that's cooked separately and added to the roasted vegetables towards the end. The bay leaf and thyme weren't very noticeable but the fresh oregano was a nice touch.

  • ksg518 on July 21, 2020

    I'm not sure this is a ratatouille - perhaps more like a ratatouille stew. But it's a good alternative when you don't have fresh tomatoes but have the other ingredients for a traditional ratatouille. I had one less pepper than the recipe calls for but otherwise made it as directed.

• Roasted tomato sauce

  • Zosia on August 04, 2015

    This is a delicious fresh tasting sauce with intense tomato flavour and notes of garlic and thyme. My batch was on the thin side because of the variety of tomato I used so I'll make sure to make this again when the meaty Roma tomatoes are ready.

• Runner beans with tomatoes and garlic

  • Zosia on May 24, 2015

    This recipe produced a tender bean in a fresh tasting tomato sauce that was so delicious I could eat a plate of it as a meal!

• Cheat's cauliflower cheese

  • Zosia on June 29, 2015

    A crisp and cheesy toasted breadcrumb topping is an easy way to dress up any steamed vegetable, cauliflower in this case. I omitted the butter, added the optional cream and used panko crumbs and goat's milk cheddar cheese curds.

• Chocolate and beet ice cream

  • Zosia on July 07, 2014

    I really enjoyed this rich and creamy custard-based ice cream. It tasted primarily of the dark chocolate I used (70% cacao) with the earthiness of the beets as a secondary flavour. Definitely not for everyone, but fans of bittersweet chocolate enjoyed it.

  • WFPLCleanEating on October 08, 2015

    Suprisingly good. The beet flavor is there but didn't dominate - and the color from the beets is gorgeous. I used good quality (Valrhona) 70% cacao chocolate which I think makes a difference. I used the Vitamix and strained through a fine sieve which is important as you want a smooth texture. - Jane

• Big baked mushrooms

  • Zosia on January 04, 2015

    The roasting instructions worked well and flavour was good but achieving a cheese topping that was "golden and bubbling" took some effort, draining the liquid from the caps and blotting them dry before adding the optional cheese.

• Potato rosti

  • Zosia on March 21, 2015

    Parboiling the potatoes is a neat trick to ensure a creamy, fully cooked centre and crisp exterior. I didn't shred the potatoes finely enough and with no binder to help, had difficulty keeping them together during cooking. Still tasty.

• Celery gratin

  • Zosia on November 16, 2015

    Not a hit. The celery was stringy and tasted quite unpleasant. Even a crispy cheesey topping couldn't save it.

• Rutabaga with onion and sage

  • Zosia on January 09, 2016

    The method of first steaming, then caramelizing the vegetable with onions brought out its sweetness and greatly reduced its bitterness. The sage was the perfect complement. I used 2 tbsp olive oil (instead of 3 tbsp butter) and my cook time (covered) was only 25 minutes.

• Jerusalem artichoke frying pan gratin

  • Zosia on October 07, 2014

    Not as rich as potato dauphinoise, the dish it most resembles, and much quicker to prepare, this was a terrific side dish that could be prepared on a weeknight. When sunchokes are no longer in season, I'll try it with potatoes. I topped it with Gruyere.

• Lentil and parsley salad

  • Zosia on April 11, 2015

    Perhaps not very exciting, but simple and flavourful.

• Raid-the-larder bean and spelt broth

  • Zosia on September 02, 2015

    This was fine for a quick and nutrient dense meal-in-a bowl but make sure to use a well-flavoured broth, otherwise it would be quite bland.

• Quick chickpea pasta

  • Zosia on January 08, 2015

    Recipe lives up to its name and has nice flavour as well. It was a little dry and needed some of the pasta cooking water to create a little bit of a "sauce" (really just a light coating).

• Chickpeas with cumin and spinach

  • Zosia on January 09, 2016

    Quick and tasty but family prefers a slower cooked "stew" I make that has a similar flavour profile but includes potatoes.

• DIY 'pot' noodles

  • Zosia on January 25, 2015

    As fun to make as it was to eat. It's easy to customize and better still, can be assembled the night before for a quick work/school lunch next day. I used "instant" egg noodles with a 1 minute cook time in boiling water that needed the full 10 minutes in the jar to soften. Also, I needed a 750ml jar to hold all of the ingredients.

• Pasta with raw tomato

  • Zosia on July 26, 2014

    Tasted like a delicious bruschetta topping for pasta instead of bread. I put the ingredients together in the morning to allow the flavours to meld during the day and had dinner on the table in just minutes with only the pasta to be cooked. Fantastic and fresh tasting but only as good as the tomatoes you use.

• Pasta with new potatoes, green beans and pesto

  • Zosia on April 12, 2015

    Wonderful flavour but despite its light and spring-like appearance, was quite a substantial dish caused by the starch+starch combination. I appreciated the economy of cooking the main ingredients together in a single pot, but for this to work, you really needed to know just how long each would take (4 minutes would have been too long for my green beans, 2 was perfect).

  • Rutabaga on October 19, 2017

    This is an excellent, very fast one-pot dish if you use store-bought pesto (I used Costco's jarred pesto). Of course, if you have the time and the basil, homemade makes it even better. Cooking everything in the same pot simplifies the process greatly, but I found 12 minutes too long for my potatoes. They turned to mush when I mixed the pesto in at the end. Fortunately, it still tasted good, although it gave the dish a rather mealy texture. Next time, I will only cook the potatoes for 10 minutes. Brined black olives would also be a great addition along with the pesto.

  • Rutabaga on December 05, 2019

    I made this again, making the pesto from scratch as written (except I used a greater ratio of basil to parsley), substituting broccolini for green beans, and using baby potatoes sliced in half (rather than matchsticks). It was very good, but in this case I should have added the potatoes right from the start, or perhaps a minute prior to adding the pasta. Because I added them a few minutes after the pasta, the pasta was slightly overcooked by the time the potatoes were just done.

• Quinoa with zucchini and onions

  • Zosia on May 24, 2015

    I reduced the onions in this to only one since we're not fans so I probably shouldn't complain that the dish was quite bland. I grilled the zucchini for added flavour but it wasn't enough. I won't repeat this one.

• Leek risotto with chestnuts

  • Zosia on January 08, 2015

    Nice seasonal risotto but a little sweet for some, nothing a little Parmesan cheese couldn't fix.

• Linguine with mint and almond pesto and tomatoes

  • Zosia on July 07, 2015

    I think the ratio of nut to other ingredients is off (I used weights and metric measurements) because the pesto was very thick and a little bland. After adding extra oil, I resorted to pasta cooking water to thin it out, which didn't help the flavour any. The finished dish with the fresh tomatoes and Parmesan cheese was very nice in the end, the tomato-mint combination particularly good, so it's worth repeating but with fewer almonds in the pesto.

• Cauliflower pakoras with tamarind raita

  • Zosia on September 21, 2014

    This converted even the cauliflower haters in the family! The batter needed extra seasoning (salt and lots of cayenne pepper!) but there was enough for a 1.2kg (trimmed of leaves) head of cauliflower. Dipping sauce was a great accompaniment especially with the optional coriander.

• Deep-fried zucchini flowers stuffed with ricotta and herbs

  • Zosia on June 22, 2015

    I'm not a fan of deep frying but I had to try this and I'm glad I did. They were fun to make and delicious to eat. The batter was light and crisp but the recipe made far too much for a dozen flowers. I used parsley, basil and Parmesan to flavour the filling.

• Artichoke and white bean dip

  • Zosia on January 18, 2015

    Tasty and very easy to put together using pantry ingredients. I used marinated artichokes which provided most of the flavour with the beans adding body.

  • thepeby on December 02, 2013

    Made this for family Thanksgiving -- needed something gluten free and appealing to unadventurous kids and foodies alike. It was loved by everyone. I used marinated artichoke hearts because I couldn't find any that were just in oil. Really tasty and very quick to make.

  • Rutabaga on January 02, 2020

    Quick and simple, this makes a satisfying vegan dip if you leave out the yogurt (which I did). It's hearty and tasty as is, but I could see how adding feta would also be quite good.

  • ricki on October 30, 2018

    We both enjoyed this. Now that we've eaten up the batch, I miss having it in the fridge for snacks. A few substitutions that worked: marinated artichoke hearts rather than plain, Calabrian chiles instead of dried chile flakes, and a few ounces of sheep's milk feta instead of yogurt.

• Oven-dried tomatoes

  • Zosia on November 16, 2015

    I used the last of the season's plum tomatoes to make these. Fantastic flavour! I'll definitely make them again next year.

• Vegetable tempura with chile dipping sauce

  • Zosia on June 16, 2014

    Delicious! The batter was light and crisp (and stayed that way even when the vegetables cooled to room temperature) and the sweet-tart dipping sauce heated with fresh chillies was an excellent accompaniment. The recipe makes enough batter for approx 1kg prepared vegetables (I used asparagus, red pepper and baby bellas) but the dipping sauce recipe should be doubled for that amount. The (North American) volume amount for the sparkling water is incorrect in the Canadian edition of the book (it's closer to 3/4-1 cup) - I'll be sticking to the original metric weights and volumes provided.

  • ricki on February 14, 2020

    Just the sauce, to dot the top of a noodle/veg bowl dinner with smoked tofu or chicken. Made with what I had at hand: the jelly part of sour cherry preserves and ½ tsp red pepper flakes for one-half of the recipe. Nice and easy. Definitely sweet but also fruity. Would also work with apricot, plum, quince.

• Winter stir-fry with Chinese five-spice

  • Zosia on March 21, 2015

    This was a really delicious combination of vegetables, albeit quite a departure from my usual. I particularly liked the play of the 5 spice with the sweet carrots and parsnips.

• Pistachio dukka

  • Zosia on June 09, 2015

    Very tasty and somewhat spicy but it was a little too salty for me.

  • WFPLCleanEating on October 13, 2015

    Tasty, but too much salt. Interesting to read that Zosia indicates it was too salty. I thought I erred by using ground sea salt as versus flake salt as the recipe prescribed. Even so, if I made it again, I'd add salt to taste as I'm not sure it needs nearly as much as the recipe states. (Rachel S-K)

• New potato gnocchi

  • Zosia on August 13, 2015

    These were really delicious. They were light and airy, flavoured subtly with goat's cheese, and made from a dough that was easy to handle and shape. Though not specified, I used starchy potatoes.

• Lemony guacamole

  • Zosia on July 26, 2014

    Very basic recipe that was a hit with those who aren't fans of raw garlic and onion. I don't usually add oil to guacamole so omitted it.

• Cannellini bean hummus

  • Zosia on April 11, 2015

    Quite bland without the nuttiness of the chickpeas. The smoked paprika oil added much needed flavour.

• Lettuce, egg and fried bread salad

  • ksg518 on July 21, 2020

    This was fine but the recipe as written is very confusing. It calls for "1 romaine lettuce", "2 Little Gem lettuces" and "1 small butterhead lettuce". I read that to refer to heads and figured my four small heads of Little Gems could substitute. But I wound up with a lot of lettuce in relation to the other ingredients. When I finally looked at the photo, I wondered if this means leaves of lettuce. Certainly the photo shows a serving with perhaps three lettuce leaves. Otherwise this was fine but nothing special.

• Roasted beet soup with horseradish cream

  • Rutabaga on January 10, 2017

    Working with what I had, I used about 2/3 beets and 1/3 carrots for this recipe. Although my beets weren't particularly large, I still cut them in half, and roasted the veg with some springs of rosemary for a full hour. The flavor was probably little less beet-centric as a result, but it still was a dazzling fuchsia color. For the topping, I mixed dried dill and jarred horseradish with sour cream, seasoning it with salt and pepper - not bad! This soup is a great one to prepare in advance, and the adults liked it, but the kids were less than crazy about it.

  • mfranklin125 on April 11, 2017

    This was good and not too involved and I didn't even have to cut the beets just threw in the vitamix

• Dhal

  • LFL on August 24, 2020

    3.5 or 4 stars. There are a million dal recipes out there but what makes this one good is that it only has seven ingredients (six if you leave out the optional cilantro as I did) so it’s quick and easy. And the taste is great too. Pantry-friendly as well. I may use one and a half instead of one teaspoon of cumin seeds next time, but otherwise it’s lovely. I substituted yellow lentils (my first time using them) for red lentils and added the salt at the end. The color is bright yellow. From the turmeric, I’m sure, but I suspect from the lentils too. I didn’t have any cilantro (or any of the alternative herbs) so I left that out. Added a bit more water while it was simmering and it still came out nicely thick. Delicious! I’m tempted to put it in regular rotation since it’s tasty and easy.

• Roasted baby beets with walnuts and yogurt dressing

  • Lepa on June 05, 2018

    I have been trying lots of beet salad recipes lately and this one is a stand out. It's very refreshing!

• Chickpea ketchup curry

  • Lepa on July 22, 2016

    I had high hopes for this and it was just okay.

• Lettuce, green onion and cheese tart

  • WFPLCleanEating on October 08, 2015

    This was good though the lettuce made it very hard to cut into neat slices. I think if I made it again I would chop the lettuce up before putting it in the tart case. Good flavor - I think a strong cheese is important (I used a mature Cheddar). I served it warm from the oven but I think it would be better at room temperature when it had firmed up a bit. - Jane

• Chard and new potato curry

  • WFPLCleanEating on September 29, 2015

    This had a good depth of flavor from the spices though it wasn't very hot. You should add the chile seeds if you want more heat. I liked that both the stems and the leaves were used from the chard - no wastage. Definitely add the yogurt/tomato paste mixture at the end - it makes the dish much richer. This is a good standby meal - any greens could be used instead of the chard. -Jane

• Squash and fennel lasagne

  • WFPLCleanEating on October 06, 2015

    A lot of dirtied pans for something not that interesting. (rms-k)

• Calgary Herald

  ...Fearnley-Whittingstall has a tone that appeals to me. More conversational than other authors, but the instructions are still, well, instructive.

  Full review

• Oregonian

  ...designed to show meat-lovers that exciting cooking can be done using only vegetables, dairy and eggs.

  Full review

• New York Times

  ...the Anglo-Saxon culinary tradition drastically demotes the vegetable kingdom, and as a result, the repertoire of truly inspired dishes remains limited. “River Cottage Veg” comes to the rescue...

  Full review

• Epicurious

  An interview with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

  Full review

• Publishers Weekly

  A collection to be treasured—and, more importantly, frequently and thoroughly used—this book will excite, delight, and sate appetites every time.

  Full review

• KQED Public Media

  ...for omnivores on your list looking to eat more veg, or expand their repertoire of intriguing, appetite-whetting vegetable sides or Meatless Monday offerings, River Cottage Veg should do the trick.

  Full review

• Kitchn

  It's a wonderful walk through the countless number of things we can do with vegetables, many of them quick, simple, and very seasonal (you won't find a fresh tomato called for in a winter dish...)

  Full review

• Washington Post by Joe Yonan

  ...it becomes clear why I’ve been finding “River Cottage Veg” so useful as I’ve been cooking through it:...[he] delivers enticing recipes that make everyday vegetables jump off the pages.

  Full review

• Way to Garden

  ...among the recipes are many clever bits to take away, too, such as this one for making vegetable stock: Grate the vegetables—onions, carrots, celery–before sautéing, to get the most flavor.

  Full review

• Serious Eats

  Let's be clear—this is no diet book, and most of the dishes are written for those with substantial appetites. There are plenty of salads, of course, but hearty comfort dishes outnumber...

  Full review