I was instantly drawn by the simple and beautiful cover of “The French Market Cookbook” from Clotilde Dusoulier. I have to admit I was also intrigued by the idea of a French vegetarian cookbook. Quite an oxymoron considering how meat and fish are so engrained in traditional French cuisine.
Clotilde Dusoulier is an omnivore who enjoys her vegetables and in “The French Market Cookbook” she has put together 90 vegetarian recipes inspired by French cuisine. The recipes are beautifully photographed and organised by season. A French food writer based in Paris, Clotilde Dusoulier also writes Chocolate & Zucchini, a blog where you will find recipes based on fresh, colourful and seasonal food.
“The French Market Cookbook” provides mouth-watering and inspiring dishes that will delight everyone from vegetarians and vegans to flexitarians and omnivores. I also love the fact that, unlike some other vegetarian cookbooks, the recipes do not include too much cheese, cream or pasta. In fact, many recipes are vegan.
I really enjoyed this book. Nothing is too complicated (French cooking can be pretentious) and the ingredients are straightforward so no running around ten different shops in order to make one meal. Most recipes are easy and quick enough to cook during the week yet they look and feel impressive enough if you are entertaining. With the holiday season around the corner “The French Market Cookbook” makes a great gift idea for any vegetable lover whether flexitarian, vegetarian or vegan.
Some of my favourite dishes in this book include Poor Man’s Bouillabaisse, Softly Spiced Carrot and Almond Soup, Savoury Pumpkin and Cornmeal Quick Bread plus Mushrooms Stuffed with Plums and Hazelnuts.
Bon Appétit!
Notice: Thanks to Random House for sending a complimentary copy of this book. I was not paid to review this book, all opinions and thoughts are my own.
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