Vegetable Harvest: Vegetables at the Center of the Plate

Additional Vegetable Harvest: Vegetables at the Center of the Plate Information

The potager, or French vegetable garden, represents the very best of French cuisine: fresh, flavorful, and easily accessible for home cooks everywhere. In Vegetable Harvest, Patricia Wells presents a collection of recipes inspired by the garden she tends at her home in Provence.

No one has done more than Patricia to bring the art and techniques of French cooking into American kitchens. Now, in her tenth cookbook, she covers every kind of produce favored by French cooks from north to south. In addition, there are charming profiles of French farmers, home gardeners, and cooks, with sixty-five stunning color photographs.

From arugula to zucchini, Patricia offers up a wealth of dishes that incorporate vegetables, herbs, nuts, legumes, and fruits fresh from the garden. And her recipes aren't limited to summer's bounty—there are plenty for fall squash and winter potatoes, too.

The recipes in Vegetable Harvest include everything from appetizers, soups, and salads, to meats, poultry, and pasta. There are classics like Spicy Butternut Squash Soup, Roast Leg of Lamb with Honey and Mint Crust, and Pea and Mint Risotto, as well as innovative new dishes that are sure to become time-honored favorites, such as Potato-Chive Waffles with Smoked Salmon, Capers, and Crème Fraîche, Tomato and Strawberry Gazpacho, and Zucchini Blossoms Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Basil. To finish your meal with a flourish, there are decadent, fruity desserts like Pistachio-Cherry Cake with Cherry Sorbet, Rhubarb-Berry Compote in Grenadine, and Crunchy Almond-Pear Cake. In addition, there is a chapter on pantry staples that includes Patricia's recipes for Zesty Lemon Salt, Truffle Butter, and Fresh Cilantro Sauce.

And while Patricia's wonderful dishes sound sinful, they are in fact quite healthful, low in fat and calories; nutritional information is given for each recipe.

With Vegetable Harvest, you'll be eating the best nature has to offer—fresh, flavorful produce—all year round.

What Customers Say About Vegetable Harvest: Vegetables at the Center of the Plate:

That seems likely. This book includes many meat dishes, but all dishes feature vegetables prominently. Don't buy this book if you want to cook vegetables. There is nothing wrong with this cookbook, but there are so many books like this about French food and one cannot recommend all of them. One reviewer noted that this book might be part of a multi-book deal with the publisher. Maybe buy it if you want yet another book with a selection of French recipes or if you collect everything Wells have written. If you haven't read any of her cookbooks, buy her "The Provence cookbook" instead.

I have great admiration for Patricia Wells. She was giving a talk to our Anglo-American Group. Her books are well thought out, the photographs superb, and the recipes clearly written and thus easy to follow. She encourages a cook to change a recipe according to one's likes and desires.I met her once when I was living in Aix-en-Provence. She was warm and friendly, and without pretension. We rewarded her with an enormous bouquet of tulips.I own most of her books, and read/use them with delight.

The special ingredient to add at the end is definitely walnut oil. There are recipes for winter vegetables and summer vegetables.

Since I have Patricia Wells' other books, I thought I would bite the bullet and try this one. I'm so happy I did.

After reading some of the negative reviews I almost didn't buy this book. You can choose what you're in the mood for.

I read the introductions to each recipe in one sitting and imagined I was in France again. Yes, some of the recipes are simple, but others are more complex.

I made the simple pepper soup (with orange peppers) and it was great. Since everyone is starting 2009 on a diet, this book is perfect inspiration to cut back on heavy dishes with lots of calories and to eat healthfully.

I tend to ignore my cookbooks and just use [.]., but on the advice of a friend I bought this book, since I'm going mostly vegetarian. One of the things I particularly appreciate is that Wells tells you up front what equipment you need - very helpful to those of us with tiny apartments who would dearly love to have a rice cooker or indoor grill but would have to get rid of some important furniture for that. Also if you need parchment paper, it's helpful to know that at the front of the recipe.Food-loving recipes, great illustrations and a hand-friendly sized book. I might actually use this more than Epicurious.

There is a certain kind of cookbook that is fun to read in bed (this one is very pretty, with clearly written recipes and nice photos), but doesn't lend itself to constant use in the kitchen. I have a huge vegetable garden, but I'm much more likely to reach for books by Deborah Madison or Marion Morash or Mark Bittman.

Some of the gushing reviewers sound like they're working for Patricia Wells's publisher. I've always liked her cookbooks; my copy of "Bistro Cooking" is full of cooking stains.

My goodness. There's little new here, except for an annoying tendency to stick "piment d'espelette" (try finding THAT in the supermarket) in everything.

And I have a thing for cookbooks. But this one is not worth the money.

Some have called this a "foodie" cookbook, which I call damning with faint praise. This is one of those.