One of my major complaints about eating out as a vegetarian is the lack of dishes based just on vegetables. A lot of times you go to a restaurant and the only vegetarian option will be something with a faux meat just standing in for the meat in their regular dish. Many of these dishes rely on the meat for flavor so when you take that it you end up with a bland, tasteless dish.
That's why I was so excited to see this cookbook. I want recipes about vegetables. This cookbook came out of the realization that the author was cooking fish in minimalist ways to best show off the flavor of the fish. He decided to take that same approach with vegetables.



The recipes here are very simple. Each is designed to show off the ingredients at peak seasonality and flavor. There are several I would like to try. Watermelon pizza is similar to a watermelon and mint salad I make but arranged in pizza form. There is a apple dish slowly baked in caramel that sounds amazing. I want to try Flash-Cured Cucumbers and making my own Mushroom Consumee. There are simple ways to try some vegetables I don't eat a lot that make me want to try them. Endives and bok choy get seasoned and grilled. Plantains get sauteed instead of fried.
The photography is also amazing. It isn't the typical beauty shots of each finished dish. There are close ups of parts of the dish or portraits of the vegetables used. It is a beautiful book to flip through.

I really enjoyed this being a vegetarian it gave me some new ideas for food. I will put this book to good use and learn from it. I found it to be very informative and easy

The asparagus on the cover is what got me, as I'm always cooking asparagus...and always the exact same way. A lovely foray into the world of cooking vegetables. As a timid cook who adores vegetables and is always happy with a vegetable simply steamed and buttered, I appreciate that the recipes were not too complex. As someone who spent two years in Paris and was underwhelmed by the vegetables in restaurants--which were often overcooked and mushy--I also appreciate that Ripert's cooking has an unfussy, Northern California attitude.

An essential addition to any unfussy cook's collection.

Chef Eric Ripert is a master craftsman in the kitchen and this book is an absolute masterpiece.

Who knew vegetables could look so enticing?

Ripert, always known for his deft hand with fish and seafood now tries his hand at bringing vegetables to the forefront and what a marvel it is.

With so many cookbooks available, the choice is simple... this is a must have for any home cook, or anyone who just wants to look at a stunning cookbook.

He is a joy in and out of the kitchen and I'm thrilled to have seen an advance of this book.

Can't wait for the hardcover to come out... I will buy it for sure.

I was given an advanced copy of this book by the publisher. THANK YOU!.

I was intrigued by the idea of a book devoted solely to the preparation of vegetables by the chef of a Michelin-starred restaurant. Before starting, I was half expecting the recipes to involve complicated lists of difficult-to-find ingredients, with impossible to follow directions that would be far past my skill level. However, I was so pleasantly surprised to find that this really is a cookbook full of simple recipes featuring vegetables.

The book starts out by explaining why vegetables are so important to the author, and closes with a quick guide about how to select and clean vegetables, with special emphasis on the seasons in which specific vegetables are available in the Northern Hemisphere.

There's such a variety of cultural influences in the recipes - Asian, Middle Eastern, European, and Latin American. Nearly every ingredient listed can easily be found in my local supermarket, and the few that aren't can still be found easily by visiting an Asian supermarket. Each recipe is preceded with a stunning photograph, giving me a visual idea of what to expect, and there were so many recipes that I bookmarked.

While vegetables are the star of the show, there are a few recipes featuring fruits as well, so there's a dessert section as well, and a few recipes for alcoholic beverages as well. The recipes run the gamut from appetizers to dessert, with everything in-between, and makes me excited to pick up some ingredients and give these recipes a try. It's perfect for everyone, including vegans and vegetarians.

This is a gorgeous gourmet cookbook that delivers exactly what it promises -- it's all veggies (though some are stretches, like popcorn and nuts) and the recipes are written refreshingly simply even when they are decidedly upscale. There is a gorgeous photo for every recipe. Most require few ingredients and let the produce shine, though sometimes exotic ingredients or specialty tools are required. It will work well for vegetarians and vegans (something you can't always assume, since many chefs use copious animal products even in their vegetable recipes), and for folks who are paleo, gluten free, etc. for the most part. No nutritional information is provided.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book via NetGalley.

A Chef’s Ode to Vegetables

As a “mostly” vegetarian with aspirations to be vegan, I love me some good, simple recipes that star vegetables. This is precisely what esteemed Le Bernardin chef Eric Ripert has delivered in this cookbook. The photographs are gorgeous—shiny, colorful vegetables glistening with juices or oil—making you want to create and eat the food seen. As promised by the title, the recipes are indeed simple, most only having a few ingredients—though you will have to make an effort to get some of them as they are not pantry staples, like a variety of good quality fresh olives or atypical vinegars. Similarly, the preparations are relatively straightforward. Above the ingredients, you'll find any special equipment needed. Good knife skills or a food processor can replace some of the more unusual equipment, like a mandolin or mortar and pestle. As one who has long enjoyed reading cookbooks like a book, I appreciated the chef's wonderfully written headnotes that give more insight into ingredients, preparation, or the recipe itself. You'll find many of the usual vegetable recipe suspects here, like baba ganoush and tapenade, but you'll also find more unusual combinations like Warm Potato and Goat Cheese Parfaits and Grilled Corn, Elote Style. What I love is that even though Eric Ripert is a world-renowned chef, he doesn't look down on things like frozen peas or canned chickpeas or hearts of palm, appreciating not only their convenience but also quality. The book is loosely organized, going from appetizers to desserts. In the introduction, the chef says this is intentional, as he needs you to simply flip through it and be inspired to create a simple menu based around vegetables. I can say he has certainly inspired me, and I look forward to trying many of these delicious-sounding and beautiful-looking recipes where vegetables are the star.

Thank you to Random House & Net Galley for my review copy. Vegetable Simple, A Cookbook by Eric Ripert, elucidates culinary creativity with nourishing vegetables, providing 110 unpretentious everyday recipes. This cookbook will be published in April 2021 and has already been named one of the best cookbooks of the year by Publishers Weekly. The author includes professional tricks that enhance simple cooking processes, which yields a big difference in the end result. Throughout, these recipes turn into an undeniable, satisfying sophistication on simple vegetables and flavors that work well together, including notes of fresh earth. The New York-based, legendary photographer, Nigel Parry, adds an artistic dimension and an aesthetic appeal to this cookbook. From start to finish, this compilation of recipes will inspire readers to savor the combination of ingredients in each dish. Vegetable Simple is a restorative reminder for the essential pursuit of simple pleasures, offering perspective for the world to seem a little less grim in uncertain times by returning to the spirit of back to the basics.

Vegetable Simple: A Cookbook is what the title implies—a collection of very simple recipes for cooking vegetables. The early recipes felt too simple: things I already knew how to make or could make without instruction. The later recipes grow increasingly interesting without getting intimidatingly complex. If you do a lot of vegetarian cooking already, this book may not teach you much that's new. If you know someone making the switch to vegetarianism—or who simply wants to eat more, delicious vegetables—this book is exactly what's needed.

I received a free electronic review copy of this book for review purposes from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.

The title says it all. This truly is a simple vegetable cookbook. Some recipes surprised me... like the matcha powder and water... yes, that's the complete recipe.

I do like the premise behind the cookbook and I appreciated the list of seasonal vegetables at the end, but overall the book didn't "wow" me or inspire me as other cookbooks tend to do.

A gorgeous new cookbook by the brilliant Eric Ripert! Don't be daunted by this highly acclaimed chef though, all of these recipes are simple enough for any level of home cook. Short ingredient lists and simple instructions that highlight and elevate these glorious vegetables.

Thank you to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me to preview this cookbook. My review is voluntary and all opinions are my own.

Excellent Cookbook. I love them, especially with new veggie recipes. I have used most of these ingrédients, but fall in a rut where I cook similar recipes.

This is from a Chef at Le Bernadin, and I was so lucky to have eaten at the restaurant once. Most of these recipes, if you have some cooking skills, you will do well with.

My favorite were Coconut Toasted, Baby Leak Potato Soup, Videla Onion Risotto, and Spicy Sautéed Shitakes. Those were the more interesting to me to try, but most of the recipes are not that difficult. Imagine, a little practice, but most look absolutely delicious!

Thank you NetGalley and Eric Ripefert for an ARC of this book.

I'm not a huge fan of the way this cookbook is laid out. I think the introduction was a little too long and the recipe pages look like someone just pasted a picture into Word and then typed a recipe underneath. That being said, the recipes look and sound really good and I will definitely be using the toasted coconut one along with some others!

I should start by admitting how big a fan I am of Chef Eric Ripert, having eaten his food on one memorable occasion and enjoyed his many television appearances over the years with the late Anthony Bourdain. So, I was excited for the chance to read a book that might provide a deeper insight into his personality and culinary process. However, I was also a little wary at the outset because far too frequently I have found that cookbooks by celebrity chefs can be shallow vanity projects not worthy of time they require to digest. Happily, Vegetable Simple rises far beyond that level.

As Ripert himself admits in an introductory essay, a cookbook featuring vegetables might seem like a curious choice for someone who has built his career and reputation around cooking fish. It is not strange at all, as it turns out, given his appreciation for the simplicity and beauty of well-executed plant-based dishes that he developed from cooking with his parents and grandparents as a boy growing up in France. In fact, Ripert makes a passionate case that vegetables deserve to be central ingredients in their own right, a position that he has increasingly adopted in his own cooking. His aim with this project is showcase the flavors and qualities of those products.

Overall, Vegetable Simple does just that. The book contains more than 100 separate recipes covering the gamut of courses from salads and appetizers to main dishes and desserts. Just as comprehensive is the range of vegetables and fruits he includes, from the well-known (potatoes, carrots, zucchini, tomatoes) to the less common (rutabaga, endive, delicata squash). Before each recipe, he offers a brief description of what makes it special, as well as, in some cases, what his personal connection is to the dish. These charming passages were almost too brief but provided great insight into just how much he loves his craft. Each of the recipes is also beautifully illustrated with a color photograph of the finished dish.

There are some real standouts among this collection, although I suspect that each reader will have their own list of which are the winners. For me, the most appealing recipes tended to include the heartier courses, such as Mushroom Bolognese, Vietnamese Pho, Vegetable Pistou, Green Asparagus Tempura, and Warm Golden Beets, Aged Balsamic. Honestly, though, I am not sure that there is a single recipe in the volume that I would not be happy to try at least once. The only real criticism I have is that some of the preparation and cooking instructions seemed surprisingly involved; I guess “simple” can be a relative concept for an accomplished chef. Nevertheless, this is a cookbook that I will enjoy using for a long time.

Unless you eat a plant-based diet, you may consider vegetables just as the side dishes to fill in next to whatever meat and starch you’re having. Eric Ripert’s Vegetable Simple elevates vegetables to the stars of the meal, but simple stars with simple preparation so that the flavor of the vegetable is enhanced–not overwhelmed.

Vegetable Simple is filled with beautiful photographs of tantalizing vegetable meals. As I read over the pages, stopping on a halved juicy tomato that has been baked with an herbes de provence crust, I am thinking of summer and how a freshly picked tomato will taste with this simple preparation. The mushroom bolognese in a nest of tagliatelle. And can you imagine the taste of Watermelon Pizza with olives, feta and mint? Vidalia Onion Risotto? Vegetable Lasagna where the noodle are zucchini. There are so many delicious-sounding recipes like Eggplant Au Poivre for those of us who would once order the meat version whenever possible.

Besides the chapters devoted to vegetables, Ripert has also included some of his favorite beverages and desserts. Summertime will definitely contain Frosé–frozen rosé. And Cherry Clafoutis, a fresh cherry custard dessert!

I highly recommend Vegetable Simple for everyone who is already eating a plant-based diet as well as those who want to incorporate more vegetables into their diet. This cookbook will certainly demonstrate one of the easier and tastier ways to do it. Also, the recipes will definitely enhance the repertoire of vegetarian cooks.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The best part of this book was that nearly every recipe here can easily be created by the home cook, even one with limited access to "fancy" ingredients and this is very rare in famous chef's books. Eric really brings the simplicity to these dishes.

This cookbook is not just vegetables. There are other recipes also.
Nothing fancy , but just reading Ripert's descriptions will make you want to prepare every dish in here.
I don't believe this cookbook is intended to be any replacement for your Good Housekeeping Cookbook or such. But, it is a great cookbook. Simple recipes that one can mix and match to make a meal.
I recommend.

Vegetable Simple: A Cookbook is not one that I would recommend for curriculum adoption.

However, Vegetable Simple: A Cookbook did have some interesting twists on simple cooking. There were a few recipes that sound interesting. I was underwhelmed though with the content of this cookbook. More images or explanations would have enhanced this.

You had me at this gorgeous cover! The cookbook is simple and houses some vivid pictures of cooked vegetables.

What did I like? Anyone loving vegetables will absolutely adore this picturesque cookbook. Seriously yummy looking recipes of every type of vegetable imagined. All in a simple recipe. From the coleslaw to grated carrot salad...you will be amazed.

Would I recommend or buy? Vegans or vegetarians will absolutely love this simple but amazing cookbook. From blending to mandoline to soups this makes a fun but universal cookbook. I would definitely recommend and would love to own a paper copy.

I received a complimentary copy to read and voluntarily left a review! Five stars!

This is a simple yet beautiful cookbook! It has fabulous picture that provide great recipes for all types of veggies. I am so excited to try out many of these. In particular I want to try the Vidalia Onion Risotto! Thanks so much for this opportunity.