When The Global Vegetarian Kitchen recipe book by Troth Wells landed on my doormat I was rather eager to see what East European inspired dishes would be included. While Eastern Europe is not renowned for its tolerance of vegetarianism there are plenty of renowned vegetarian dishes from the region. I was rather pleased to see that of more than 100 recipes, Wells has included some East European delights in this latest book promoting vegetarianism.
The first recipe to grab my attention was the Turkish Thick Lentil Soup on page 58. With onion, garlic, red lentils, cumin and chilli, this is a version of lentil soup which I particularly enjoyed at breakfast while in Istanbul. This is my ideal of heaven on cold, winter days.
Rather more excitingly was the Turkish Moussaka recipe on page 108. I would personally normally associate Moussaka with Greece but apparently this version is spelt musakka in Turkish which derives from the Arabic for chilled.
Yet another one of my favourites can be found on page 110: Mushroom Stroganoff. The beef is substituted with chestnut mushrooms.
The ‘Swooning Imam’ or aubergine bake on page 138 particularly caught my eye. Using onion, peppers, cumin, coriander, tomatoes and parsley, these stuffed aubergines look fantastic. It’s no wonder the Imam fainted at the taste!
For those with a sweet tooth the Russian Gramma cake featured on page 228 looks to be particularly pleasing and is complete with old family recipe (is there anything better than that?).
Of course the book also contains fabulous recipes from all over the world: America, India, The Orient etc. This is quite possibly my favourite cookery book to hit the shelves this year.
The Global Vegetarian Kitchen
Published by New Internationalist
Author: Troth Wells
ISBN: 9781906523381
Publication date: October 2010
Price: £20.00
Hardback
Available from www.tr.im/nishop and all good bookshops
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