Hi friends! Did the title of this post scare you a little? A vegan cookbook? To be perfectly honest, it scared me a little bit. Ok, perhaps more than a little bit. I’ve toyed with the idea of eating a more plant-based diet. Vegetarian only means more salads, right? Well, as it turns out, there is much more to it. There are plenty of wonderful dishes out there that don’t include meat. Even the word “vegan” doesn’t have to be scary!
In Jean-Christian Jury’s new book “Vegan – The Cookbook” he explains that: “At the root of it, vegan food is just food; vibrant, flavorful, fresh – making you feel good inside and out.” His goal is to “surprise non-vegans with delicious vegan recipes, to show that meat wasn’t necessary for a delicious satisfying meal. When food is fresh and brimming with flavor, it will leave you feeling sated.”
Shockingly enough to my bacon-wrapped, steak-loving heart, I couldn’t agree more!
The book begins with a chapter on items essential to a vegan pantry, then expands to starters, salads, soups, main courses, grains and beans, pasta and noodles, recipes from guest chefs and a very large chapter on my favorite topic – desserts! There are recipes from all over the world! Not only are you eating healthier foods, you’re eating globally as well!
Did I mention this book is huge? HUGE! Just shy of 500 pages, it is packed with simple, yet satisfying recipes like homemade Jalapeño Hummus, Daikon Rolls with Avocado and Micro-greens, a roasted couscous salad with vegetables that seriously needs to be in my life all summer long, artichokes with almonds and fava beans, green enchiladas stuffed with red onion, garlic, cumin, pinto beans and a variety of fresh chiles and the list goes on and on and on! The majority of recipes have very simple ingredients. All of them easy to find at your local grocery store. This is another plus for me! I’m interested in trying more of these recipes because I know I’ll be able to find everything I need. Win – win!
It may shock you to discover the first dish I tried from this book was *not* a dessert. I know, right? My world is changing! The recipe I chose was a main dish from Madagascar – Carrots in Ginger Sauce. It’s a one-pot meal that comes together in about 40 minutes and is surprisingly very hearty.
I used multi-colored carrots in this dish because I thought they were pretty! The purple ones turned my fingers purple when I was cutting them though, so use at your own risk.
When the carrots were cooking, the colors (mostly that beautiful purple again) did change the color of the glaze a bit, so my final dish was pretty dark. I’m not sure if it would have been different had I used regular carrots, but I’m going to try again and I’ll let you know!
See what I mean? It almost looks like rounds of kielbasa or something. Not the look you’re going for with a Vegan Cookbook! HOWEVER, this dish was phenomenal! I loved the ginger and soy sauce with a bit of sweetness from the orange juice. It was very satisfying! The texture of the carrots was perfect too. They still had a nice bite to them and they weren’t mushy.
Check out Jean-Christian’s book for yourself and let me know what you think!
For more information about the book and the author himself, here is a link to the Facebook Live presentation at Melissa’s Produce: Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/MelissasProduce/videos/10155539609157171/
Follow him on Twitter: @JCVeganChef
Or on Facebook: Jean-Christian Jury
Disclaimer: I was given a copy of Jean-Christian Jury’s cookbook to review, but received no other compensation. All options expressed are 100% my own!
Until next time friends. Let’s lI’ve life deliciously and more healthy!
Those carrots look amazing. I am loving this globally-inspired cookbook.
Me too! Such a great book! Thanks for reading, Cathy!
These look so good ~ I’ve never been a fan of cooked carrots but I am trying these for sure!!
Sue, me too. Never been a huge fan of the texture, but these are great! You should try them for sure!