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Monday, May 3, 2010

Speedy Gourmet

What is it about gourmet recipe titles? They always just state exactly what's in the dish, like Tofu and Soba Noodles with Hot-Sweet-Sour-Pungent Sauce or Mangos with Lycees and Mint. I think it's the lack of originality in the names of most gourmet dishes that turns me off. I want cutesy names, like Tofu Surprise or Mad About Mangos.

But I'm glad the not-so-creative recipe titles in Speed Vegan: Quick, Easy Recipes with a Gourmet Twist didn't prevent me from actually trying anything in the book. This new cookbook by Alan Roettinger (published by the Book Publishing Company) promises fancy fare at a fast food pace. I made this simply-titled Spaghetti with Olives and Lemon in under 30 minutes:

The pasta is brown rice pasta, which I found surprisingly better than the whole wheat spaghetti I normally buy. The sauce is made from salty kalamata olives, lemon juice and zest, and garlic. I'm a huge fan of olives, especially kalamata ones, so this recipe immediately drew me in. I guess, in this case, the matter-of-fact title came in handy.

While the pasta was cooking, I also whipped up this tasty veggie side — Asparagus with Cannellini Beans:

So simple, so tasty. The asparagus is blanched to maintain a very crisp texture. I have a tendency to over steam asparagus, so I think I'll be blanching from now on. The topping is made from cannellini beans (duh), diced tomato, onion, fresh basil, and a touch of red wine vinegar. I think this also came together in about 30 minutes, and that includes washing and chopping veggies.

Speed Vegan features easy-to-whip-up soups, pastas, salads, vegetables, and sweets. Most are minimally seasoned and feature only a few basic seasonal ingredients. And I suppose, if you're in a hurry, the simply stated recipe titles (by the way, the tofu and mango dishes mentioned in the first paragraph are also in this book) might even help readers quickly choose a dish based on what's in it. As a girl on the go, this book is sure to become one of my staples.

10 comments:

  1. I've recently starting blanching my veggies as well. I think it makes a world of difference!

    That asparagus looks amazing! I love that it's finally back in season. That pasta looks yummy too, says the kalamata fool.

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  2. I like those gourmet names- "seared seitan on sweet potato puree with sour cherry reduction and a sprig of thyme.." it makes me laugh.

    Have to try brown rice pasta..

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  3. I've been wondering about this book. Thanks for the review! That pasta looks great.

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  4. i saw that book while in ny and thought it looked kinda neat. i might have to check it out as both the pasta and asparagus with white beans look wonderful! kalamata olives, garlic, and lemon sound like a great combination for the spaghetti, too. yummers, fo 'sho! when i went gluten-free dan and i were surprised that we loved the brown rice pasta as much as we do. not knowing what to think, we were pleasantly surprised - we both like it better than whole wheat pasta. :) i'm a big fan of cute 'n fun dish names as well - out with the boring and in with some creativity! ah ha ha!

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  5. That book sounds perfect for me. I'm all about quick but elegant fixes, boring name or not. That pasta sounds great, too- I have some kalamatas and lemons to use up! Is there any oil in the sauce?

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  6. I've been looking into picking up a non-raw vegan cook book to try more vegan recipes and this may be the one. Thanks.

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  7. I never heard of that cookbook before. It sounds perfect though for when I don't want to spend hours in the kitchen. Thanks for sharing! That spaghetti sounds really good!

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  8. Oh, interesting.. I haven't heard of this book.

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  9. Did you just make up the aspargus recipe or is that from a book too?

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  10. I love the review. This book sound just like what I want for a cookbook to be.

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