Felicity O’Driscoll of Cook the Books reveals her favourite vege-based cookbooks. Find out more at cookthebooks.co.nz or visit 19 Williamson Avenue, Grey Lynn, Auckland.

SIX SEASONS: A NEW WAY WITH VEGETABLES

JOSHUA MCFADDEN, ARTISAN, $79.99

This is a book that celebrates all the ways to use all parts of a vegetable at its peak. With over 225 recipes, it encourages you to eat what’s in season in autumn, winter and spring, then a summer of three parts – from early freshness to late abundance, when we can preserve for year-round use. It would take a year of cooking to pick a favourite recipe and I’m not quite there yet.

Advertisements

MOOSEWOOD COOKBOOK

MOLLIE KATZEN, 10 SPEED PRESS, $49.99

In 2024 ‘the Moosewood’ will celebrate 50 years in print. What started out life as a hand-illustrated, spiral-bound book was fully revised in 2014 to celebrate 40 years and acknowledge that times had changed, and with it so has much of what we understand about nutrition and healthy eating. It’s still handwritten, it still has the quirky illustrations and it still has the Gypsy Soup, the Cauliflower Cheese Pie and the Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp.

 

VEGFUL

NADIA LIM, NUDE FOOD, $55

This is possibly one of the most useful vegetarian books I own and probably the one I’ve recently used most often. I like the adaptability of it – most recipes can be made vegan, dairy-free or gluten-free if needs be without compromising the end result. I like that the ingredients are readily available and, if you are eating seasonally, very cost-effective. The tacos with walnut and almond chilli are superb.

BAZAAR: VIBRANT VEGETARIAN RECIPES

SABRINA GHAYOUR, MITCHELL BEAZLEY, $49.95

Middle Eastern flavours just seem to make vegetarian food come to life. Is it the spice, the earthy grains, the aromatics or the abundance of herbs? Whatever it is, the modern queen of Persian cooking, Sabrina Ghayour (author of Persiana) has absolutely captured it in Bazaar. From Grilled Haloumi Flatbread to Potato, Ricotta & Herb Dumplings with Walnut Sauce, there isn’t a recipe I haven’t enjoyed and so many more I want to cook.