Hint – It’s Not Meat: The Heart of the Plate by Mollie Katzen #weekendcooking @BethFishReads

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cover imageAt first, I didn’t like the cover of Mollie Katzen’s latest cookbook, The Heart of the Plate: Vegetarian Recipes for a New Generation (although I knew I wanted the book, anyway). Mollie Katzen, along with the Moosewood Restaurant collective, popularized vegetarian home cooking for my generation, and I liked the homey, hand-illustrated style of her early books. But, OK. I’m part of the old generation and maybe that hippie-dippy style is a little out-of-date now, too.

(I’m not hurt. Actually, Mollie Katzen is older than me, even though she doesn’t look it.)

So even though this cookbook has photographs (I think it’s her first cookbook to have them.) they are actually kind of homey-looking. The dishes look like real food prepared at home. (Prepared in a spacious, plant-filled California kitchen, maybe, not a dark, cramped, inefficiently laid out kitchen in the middle of a cold New England winter, but all cookbooks should inspire some level of aspirational fantasy, right?)

Just about every recipe in this cookbook sounds delicious. Vegetables are the heart of the plate (Did you guess?) and the recipes seem lighter and more healthful than older-generation vegetarian cooking that relied on cheese, butter, and eggs to disguise the fact that there wasn’t any meat on the plate.

There is enormous variety in The Heart of the Plate, with a focus on using fresh ingredients that are usually going to be easily available, especially in season. The dessert section is very small. There seems to be a ton of vegan recipes and they are designated as such. Gluten-free home cooks will find a large percentage of the recipes are naturally gluten-free, or can be easily adapted, so there are a lot of options.

Check out the recipes on Mollie Katzen’s Web site to get a feel for the kind of recipes in the cookbook. View an excerpt from The Heart of the Plate here. Click on Google Preview to see the layout of the book and some of the illustrations.

What I’ve made so far (If recipes are available online, click on the photos to get them.):

photo of end result
Winter Risotto with Escarole, Leeks, and Dried Figs was my first attempt at risotto, and now I want to make it for every meal. It was delicious as leftovers the next day for lunch, too. The greens didn’t keep their color as well as in the cookbook photo , but the veggie-fig combination was so tasty, I barely had time to take the photo before I dug into it. (Plus, it took longer to make than I thought it would, so we were starving.)
photo of prepared recipes together in a serving dish garnished with orange slices
Soft Cuban-Style Black Beans and Orange Rice is a suggested recipe combination. Came out great!
photo of sprouts and cranberries cooking in skillet
Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries was great in February, but will definitely appear in the Thanksgiving/Christmas menus.

Each recipe in The Heart of the Plate comes with “Optional Enhancements”. Another recipe I’m planning to try soon is Blueberry Rice.  The optional enhancements for blueberry rice include “Stuff it into a baked acorn squash half” and refers you to a photo of this gorgeous color and flavor combination. As an example of the serving suggestions that she offers with every recipe, here are the ones that come with the Blueberry Rice recipe, under the heading “Purple Rice, Yellow Beans,” in case you don’t want to use the stuffed squash idea:

Serve Blueberry Rice juxtaposed, in your own inimitable way, with steamed yellow wax beans tossed with brown butter and a little fresh mint or dried thyme. Round out the meal and expand the rainbow theme with a side of Citrusy Beets (page 98). A platter of cheese is also welcome.

Disclosure: I own my own copy of The Heart of the Plate – a gift that I hinted strongly about in the weeks before my birthday and when that didn’t work, hinted about again in the weeks before Christmas.

The Heart of the Plate
Katzen, Mollie
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Sept. 2013
9780547571591
464 pp.

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rhapsodyinbooks
10 years ago

Every recipe I’ve made by her has been great. However, they are not necessarily low fat/low calorie! (which is probably why they are so good LOL)

Maria @ A bookworm's life

This sounds really good, I’m always trying to add more veggie meals to our staples.

JoAnn @ Lakeside Musing

This will most likely be my next cookbook purchase. I love Katzen’s usual style, but am excited by the prospect of photos in this one. The black beans with orange rice looks amazing!

jama
10 years ago

I’ve been curious about this book and it’s nice to hear your thoughts on it. I really like her illustrated cookbooks, so I’ve been holding off on this one until I can see it at the library.

Diane (@bookchickdi)
10 years ago

The Cuban black beans and orange rice looks so good.

Carole from Carole's Chatter

We need to cut down on our meat so this would be helpful. I don’t like the cover of the book much at all. Cheers from Carole’s Chatter

Heidi'sbooks
Heidi'sbooks
10 years ago

I love vegetarian cookbooks, especially one with pictures. I have the old versions of the Moosewood Cookbook. I’ll have to check this one out. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.

Janel @ Creating Tasty Stories

All of the recipes you mentioned sound delicious. I’ll have to find a copy of this at the library and see what other goodies I can find.

Cecelia
10 years ago

I am quite ignorant when it comes to chefs and cookbooks, and have never heard of Katzen. This looks great, and I’m all for a cookbook with photos, especially if there are great vegetable recipes. I’m off to request this at my library…

rachel at the crispy cook

All those Moosewood cookbooks are great. I especially love “Sundays at the Moosewood Cafe”, which features great ethnic menus and recipes. That Cuban plate of rice and beans looks particularly tasty. Better have breakfast….

Beth F
10 years ago

Actually the recipes from the last decade or so are much more healthful than her early ones.

Beth F
10 years ago

I adore Katzen and have this on my wish list. So glad it passed your approval. LOL

rachel at the crispy cook

Somehow I deleted your kind comment by mistake about the Indian vegan/gluten free feast back on The Crispy Cook. Hope you don’t feel “rejected”. Better have that second cup of coffee.

Amanda
10 years ago

I adore risotto! Can’t wait to try that winter version 🙂

I’ll have to look for this book at my library – it sounds like a keeper.

Vasilly
10 years ago

I love the idea and look of orange rice! I may have to check out this book to make it myself.

Charlie
10 years ago

Glad you finally got the book 🙂 I really like the look of the macaroni cheese that’s currently top on her site and your preparation of the rice looks wonderful, full of flavour.

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