Over 100 delicious vegetarian and vegan recipes, full of flavour and meat free!
My dear reader will note that I don’t often cover celebrity cookbooks. I wasn’t expecting much from The Hairy Bikers’ Veggie Feasts, but I found it to be something of a culinary page turner – and I am not even a vegetarian.
The Hairy Bikers’ Veggie Feasts: Over 100 delicious vegetarian and vegan recipes, full of flavour and meat free!, to give the full title, is gift-quality with not only delightful recipes but sumptuous pictures. Yes, it’s all about veggies but there is nothing over-noble or self-consciously worthy about this book. It’s simply filled with accessible and tasty dishes.
The Hairy Bikers, Dave Myers and Si King, have collected their most comforting recipes that are missing nothing apart from meat! They are triple-tested and that is an accolade that sadly few cookbooks can boast. The recipes are international so plenty to suit every taste. All the ingredients can be found in supermarkets or online and they won’t break the bank.
This book will spend more time in the kitchen than on the coffee table. It’s a usable book with enticing dishes for every season. I have my favourites and they include Root Vegetable Tray Bake, which is wonderful as a vegetarian main dish but will also work as a side dish with roast chicken. These recipes are adaptable.
Less guilt
Stuffed Baked Potatoes with a filling of leeks and blue cheese is hearty and rich and a wonderful lunch. Crispy Pancakes take me back to my youth when less-appealing versions were found in the supermarket freezers. The Bikers have offered cheese and spinach crispy pancakes, and they are baked, so less calories and guilt, too. Kids would love these, and one could vary the filling to use up a little of the summer courgette or tomato glut.
There are sweet treats in The Hairy Bikers’ Veggie Feasts too. Banana Tray Bake is a winner and would work for either a family dessert or even a dinner-party finale. And how’s about an attractive and zesty Lemon Bundt cake for afternoon tea?
The Hairy Bikers’ Veggie Feasts will be the perfect gift not only for vegetarians but for any food lover.
The Hairy Bikers’ Veggie Feasts: Over 100 delicious vegetarian and vegan recipes, full of flavour and meat free!
Authors: Dave Myers and Si King
Published by: Seven Dials
Price: £22.00
ISBN-13: 978-1841884295