The Bold Vegetarian Chef: Adventures in Flavor with Soy, Beans, Vegetables, and Grains

Want to put verve in your veggies, snap in your soy, and bounce in your beans? With The Bold Vegetarian Chef to guide you, you'll never have to prepare a bland or boring vegetarian meal again. Bold and innovative chef Ken Charney lets you in on all of the spicy secrets that you can use to create rich and exciting vegetarian flavors that will satisfy even the most adventurous palate.

From beautifully simple but luscious combinations like Lentil-Scallion Fritters with Feta Cheese to the more complex range of flavors found in Broiled Polenta with Chipotle-Mushroom Ragout and other tempting dishes, you'll discover new textures, tastes, and presentations that will bring new excitement to your kitchen — and your table. Chef Charney provides more than 200 easy-to-follow recipes, explains the place and purpose of each dish, and shows you how to combine dishes in new and surprising ways. He shares foolproof preparation techniques that bring out the full flavor of every ingredient. He also provides valuable shopping pointers to help you select the best possible ingredients, whether you're looking for local produce or exotic items from around the globe.

Complete with an extra-long chapter on soy, the most versatile of all food products, The Bold Vegetarian Chef also offers inventive approaches to less familiar ingredients, such as tempeh and seitan. Beyond the book's stunningly stylish recipes, you'll also learn principles and techniques that will inspire you to create your own bold vegetarian masterpieces.

Delight yourself and everyone you cook for with bountiful breakfasts, lively lunches, and sumptuous suppers — all meat-free and proud of it! The Bold Vegetarian Chef blazes a tasty trail into a brave new world where every meal you make can be audacious, fresh, and deliciously different.

More and more people are turning away from meat and looking for fresh ways to prepare vegetables and soy products. This book offers an unusually lively, upbeat and contemporary take on the subject, with irresistible recipes packed with spicy, fusion flavors to satisfy today's vegetarian palate. Illustrations.

Discover the secrets of lively vegetarian cuisine

Think vegetarian cooking is bland? Not any more! Now you can create outrageous appetizers, adventurous soups, exciting entrees, and daring desserts that will have everyone clamoring for seconds. The Bold Vegetarian Chef offers more than 200 dazzling recipes that bring out the best in all of the fresh natural ingredients you crave. You’ll learn the secrets behind such irresistible delights as:

• Savory scrambles, burgers, and sandwiches
• Tasty tofu and tempeh
• Comfort carbos–pasta, polenta, and risotto
• bold and beautiful beans
• The wonderful wheat meat: seitan
• Crisp salads and a slew of side dishes
• Delectable, dreamy desserts

You’ll also discover a wealth of tips, techniques, and ideas that will inspire your own vegetarian creations–bursting with flavor and flair. All you need is a little help from The Bold Vegetarian Chef.

CHEF KEN CHARNEY works for PCC Natural Markets, the largest chain of natural food cooperatives in the country. A graduate of the Chef’s Training Program at The Natural Gourmet Cookery School in New York, he has appeared on local television in the Seattle area and has written numerous articles on vegetarian and soy cooking.

Acknowledgments.

Introduction: Vegetarian Delights.

Chapter 1. Starting Off Right: Appetizers and Snacks.

Chapter 2. Soups and Stocks: Warm Beginnings.

Chapter 3. Breakfast, Lunch, and Brunch: From Scrambles to Sandwiches.

Chapter 4. Burgers, Fritters, and Loaves: Stars of Vegetarian Cuisine.

Chapter 5. Outrageous Soy: Tempting Tofu and Tempeh.

Chapter 6. A Bold Way with Beans: Powerhouse Dishes.

Chapter 7. Pasta, Risotto, and Polenta: Comfort Carbos.

Chapter 8. Seitan: The Power of Wheat Meat.

Chapter 9. Vegetables and Grains on the Side: All the Best Accompaniments.

Chapter 10. Green Salads: Crisp and Well Dressed.

Chapter 11: Just Desserts: Sweetness and Light.

Index.