Celebrate
Author: Bettina Campolucci-Bordi
Publisher: Hardie Grant Books
ISBN: 978-1784883867
National Vegetarian Week 2021 supporter and self-taught chef, Bettina Campolucci-Bordi, is back with a third cookbook. This is a beautiful, colourful cookbook focused on celebration food, aptly named ‘Celebrate’.
The plant-based recipes have accessible and affordable ingredients. Bettina made a conscious decision to have a strong focus on using seasonal produce, and many of the recipes use the same ingredients, just in different ways. This means there is no need to buy a large amount of produce to cook from this book. You’ll also be using every piece of the vegetable – no broccoli stalks are getting thrown in the compost here!
On these chilly evenings, I’ll be making the creamy sweet potato and leek bake. It’s the ultimate cosy, comfort food! And, while it’s sprout season, Bettina’s ‘Pickled Brussels Sprouts’ recipe is a great way to use up the deluge of spare sprouts. This book is impressive, yet fuss-free. There is a dish for every celebration.
Reviewed by Vegetarian Society staff member, Courtney Lambert
The competition to win three copies of Celebrate has now closed.
Soupologie: 5 A Day Soups
Author: Anastasia Argent
Publisher: Kyle Books
ISBN: 978-0-85783-881-0
Soupologie: 5 A Day Soups is delightfully vegan. It doesn’t advertise its vegan credentials; it just quietly is. The book is bright and cheerful in sturdy hardback. As the title suggests, its aim is to pack 5-a-day into each recipe. Nutritional analysis is provided with every recipe.
There is a soup for every taste and season. ‘Jerusalem Artichoke and Parsnip’, ‘Watermelon and Chilli Gazpacho’ and ‘Mushroom, Leek and Asparagus’ are just a few of the recipes on offer. Most are written to serve one or two, with a handful written to serve four. Quantities can easily be increased or reduced according to need. There are no unusual ingredients to buy or complicated methods to follow. This is simply a collection of straightforward, wholesome, vegan recipes.
The book has a surprising twist, too: it includes more than just soups! The first half of the book is exclusively soup recipes, but the second half departs from the ‘soups’ theme and offers recipes like ‘Tagliatelle with Olive and Sundried Tomato Tapenade’ and ‘Black Bean Burritos with Avocado Salsa’. The author’s enthusiasm for healthy, easy-to-prepare, vegan food clearly could not be contained to soups alone – and that is no bad thing. Readers looking for a book entirely devoted to soups, however, should take note.
My family tested three of the book’s recipes: ‘Carrot Cake Porridge’, ‘Sweet Potato, Apple and Maple Soup’ and ‘Brussels Sprouts Crisps’. We truly enjoyed them all, and each was something we would make again. The recipes didn’t take ages to prepare (which is always a bonus) and the results left us with that feel-good afterglow that comes from eating food full of nutritional goodness.
Soupologie: 5 A Day Soups will not only be popular with soup lovers; it will also be a hit with anyone looking to boost their fruit and veg intake, while enjoying some truly tasty food… that also happens to be vegan.
Reviewed by Vegetarian Society staff member, Susan Furmage