Vegetable Harvest: Vegetables at the Center of the Plate by Patricia Wells

Vegetable Harvest: Vegetables at the Center of the Plate Reviews

• 
  Tracy

  A better title for this might be: Garden and Field Harvest: Not Meat at the Center of the Plate. This is not a vegetarian cookbook, but rather a book for people who want to think differently, and more healthfully, about planning meals.
  
  If, instead of making a beef roast or chicken the star of the meal, you'd prefer to start with something from the garden (including potatoes, bread, and/or corn, which dietetically are not "vegetables") this book might be helpful...
  
  IF you appreciate a French approach to cooking and eating. But if you think a French lifestyle is just too much hoity-toity rigamarole, skip this book.
  
  Patricia Well's style is not for everyone. She appeals to omnivores, like me, who happily eat a huge variety of food (basically, everything that's deemed edible) as long as the recipe begins with honestly good ingredients. These recipes are all from-scratch. People who don't seriously enjoy spending time in the produce section of the grocery store, at the farmer's market and in gardens, and people who view kitchen duty as something to be gotten through with ASAP, probably will not enjoy this book.
  
  Because Patricia Wells lives in France, her cookbooks are imbued with a French sensibility, references to French ways and French language. That might put some people off.
  
  But if you've visited France and loved it, or dream about going there someday, this book is like taking a mini food-themed vacation there. Patricia Wells a skilled writer. The progression and organization of her recipes are always thoughtful and sensible, and her food knowledge and home-cooking expertise are outstanding.
  
  The reason I didn't rate this book 4 stars is the very reason some people will love it--it's a heavy coffee-table tome, chock full of pictures (and therefore pricey). I'd much rather have a paper-back version. It would be easier to hold and carry, and I wouldn't feel bad if it got spattered and dripped on while hanging out with me in the kitchen.
  
  I suppose the publishers thought this kind of food is what most people only dream about and rarely actually cook. But I'm passionate about good food and I love to eat. Cooking this way--lush meals with varied ingredients that do not star meat, but relegate it to supporting actor or even character bit status--is the only way I know how to satisfy my food appetite and still maintain a healthy weight. I pay attention to nutritional information. P.W. graciously includes nutrition info with each recipe, for this reason (these are her words, but my sentiment):
  
  [The reason to include nutritional information for each recipe is] Not to make us slaves to calories or fat, protein, or carbohydrates. But to let us know what we are consuming. As well as pleasure, food is fuel, so let's put the best fuel we can into our bodies....I find that I need to pay careful attention to portion size as well as nutritional balance. I want every bit of my food to count, so there is simply no room for empty calories or food that is more caloric than need be."
  
  If everything about food--from planning to shopping, preparation to eating--is a joy to you, if you like a French sensibility about food, and if you want your meals to be as tasty and nutritious as can be, you should like this book.
• 
  Liz

  I checked this out of the library yesterday, about a third of the reason being that it had recipes for fennel bulb and I wanted to try something different with the year's first fennel bulbs than the ideas I've tried so many times in the past. (Another third was a second recipe that looked good and used ingredients currently in season, and the last third being that I generally like the style of cooking that the book was presented as being.) I was very disappointed in the taste of the recipe I chose to use the fennel in, and ended up glad I had cut the recipe and reserved some of the fennel bulbs to use in something else. More details on my experience with the recipe are below. I logged on here to check others' reviews of the book while deciding to return it to the library immediately or try a different recipe first. Since it seems to have gotten rave reviews from so many others, I suppose I will try a second recipe and see how it goes. I love Mediterranean cooking, which forms one of the backbones of my cooking (all three bordering continents - European, Middle Eastern, and North African), and I was expecting to like this cookbook, but so far have been disappointed. [Note: In the end, I decided that I already have enough cookbooks that I trust not to waste more produce on the possibility of another ho-hum recipe, and simply returned the cookbook to the library without trying any more.]
  
  More on the recipe I've tried: I thought the instructions for the fennel bulb salad were confusing. For one thing, it says to put the fennel bulb and the herbs in water in containers "up to four hours before" serving, but it doesn't say how little time you can leave it, only how long (as if the idea that someone wouldn't be a busy hostess creating a huge meal for a large dinner party literally hadn't occurred to the author), and it gives the (only) reason being that this will stop the fennel from browning, only I've never had a problem with fennel browning if something is served quickly after preparation, so it left me unsure if that was the ONLY reason to do it, and I ended up skipping that part. I tried to cut the Parmesan-Reggiano the way she said to do so, using a vegetable peeler, and it was a miserable failure, just flaking into bits on the cutting board (though at least I'd had the foresight to put one under the salad bowl) instead of cutting into neat thin slices the way she'd said it would. I also substituted mint for the parsley because I had one on hand and not the other (something that would, indeed, be a common type of thing to do in many Mediterranean kitchens). It was the cheese and the mint that made this dish, and even so, it was more bland than I could have imagined, the normally delicious fennel bulbs being turned into something boring instead of the tasty star I'm always advocating for to other Americans. It made me wonder if my fellow countrypeople dislike fennel because the only way they've eaten it is in boring dishes like this.
• 
  Inder

  I can hardly say I've "read" this book, when I've only tried two recipes, but I get bogged down when my "currently reading" list gets too long.
  
  Long story short, I think I like it! It's not actually a vegetarian cookbook, but oddly, I sometimes prefer that - it often means the vegetarian dishes are more decadent and a little less health-foody. And maybe my husband can get some use out of it too.
  
  I use Ms. Well's Provencal cookbook with some frequency, but it's very meat-oriented. This is a nice balance, with more veggie options. It isn't Deborah Madison - these are generally more special-occasion, higher effort, recipes - but there's really good stuff here.
  
  As I immediately discovered and Happyreader points out, it's a little intimidating looking (there is a ton of French, which loses me), but most of the recipes aren't too bad once you get into them (same as her Provencal recipes).
  
  I checked this out from the library, but I might have to buy it.
  ______________________________________________
  So far, it's a bit chichi (turns out that's an actual word, I looked it up). Meaning, lots of french and some less than common ingredients. But there might be some gold here. I'll keep you posted.
• 
  Nancy

  Very hoity-toity and nothing in here really sounds good. Not that it's high falutin' food, she just writes with a very condescending air about everything. Including pumpkin seeds? Tossing pumpkin seeds in the oven is not a recipe, and repeating the name in French also doesn't make it any fancier.
  
  Lots of meat in a book that's supposed to be veggie centric (at least based on the title)
  
  Pretty pics of the veggies, but no pics of the recipes. Phooey!
  
• 
  Agathafrye

  Gotta love the fancy vegetables. Patricia Wells has always seemed like she would be a nice woman to me, and one that I'd like to live next door so that she can bring over platters of delicious food on a whim. Worth noting for vegetarians: many of her vegetable dishes contain meat.
• 
  Ella

  This is a wonderful cookbook. Everything I've made in it so far has been wonderful. I especially love her appendix that has basic recipes for things to have on hand such as chicken stock, curry powder, salad dressings, etc.
• 
  Happyreader

  Patricia Wells' recipes are frequently easier than they appear and offer maximum flavor with minimal fuss. Recipes like broccoli puree with mint, grated beet salad, and steamed leeks with mustard and caper vinegrette are easy to make and tasty to eat.
• 
  Melissa

  The only frustrating thing about this book is that I can't cook everything at once! Wells captures the elegant simplicity of French cooking with these easy recipes which focus more on quality ingredients than fancy preparation.
• 
  Joanna

  Lots of simple, but delicious looking recipes. Haven't tried any yet, but most top out at about 5 ingredients and sound amazing.
  
  
• 
  pam

  Good recipes - some require unusual ingredients that I'll have to hunt for. Big complaint though: there are gorgeous pictures, but none reflecting any of the recipes!
• 
  Helen

  Knowing more about her I have acquired several of her books. All her recipes are good. Since I eat alot of veggies this was a good addition.
• 
  Julie

  I really liked she suggested wine with each dish and she uses normal items.
• 
  Crystal

  There are so many recipes in this book that I've marked to try. I love the idea of having veggies be the center of attention!
• 
  Camille

  Wonderful recipes. Unique combinations. Wine pairings. YUM!