The Green Barbecue - Rukmini Iyer
plant-based food doesn't mean you can't barbecue anymore. Nor does it mean that you only have to eat ready-made burgers and the occasional vegetable skewer. Not only does a barbecue give an awful lot of flavor to meat, vegetables also get a delicious smoky flavor when you grill them on the bbq.
Because it's not necessarily obvious, a little inspiration on what exactly to do with vegetables is nice. The Green Barbecue from Rukmini Iyer helps you add delicious flavor to vegetables from the barbecue. Rukmini Iyer is best known for books such as The Green Baking Tray ️ and incredibly good at coming up with not too complicated recipes with an awful lot of flavor.
The Green Barbecue was first published in 2021. The book has 240 pages containing 75 vegetarian and vegan recipes for the bbq. The photos are clear and show the end result well. The photos follow the style of Rukmini Iyer's other books, with an even-colored background.
What's so great about The Green Barbecue - Rukmini Iyer?
With the rising popularity of vegetarian and vegan food, it is not surprising that more and more people also want something other than meat from the barbecue for a change. Cookbook authors are capitalizing on this, and more and more cookbooks are coming on the market with vegetarian and vegan recipes from the barbecue. The Green Barbecue from Rukmini Iyer is one of them. But what makes this book so much fun?
The recipes in the book are nicely varied. The recipes are all not too complicated and generally quick ready, while containing a lot of flavor. Also, most ingredients can just be bought in the supermarket. Instead of the usual bare vegetable skewer (which I also just really like, by the way), the dishes are flavored with herbs, marinades and dressing. This produces delicious flavor combinations. Besides some lighter vegetable dishes, it also includes dishes that provide a bit more filling, such as potatoes from the barbecue and recipes for vegan burgers (that don't fall apart).
Many dishes are a bit reminiscent of Ottolenghi, and I won't be surprised if he provided some inspiration. That's not a bad thing at all, because it makes for delicious dishes. What I do miss a bit are tips for combining dishes. It is mainly smaller vegetable dishes that are not enough on their own. Making your own combinations is of course also very nice, but suggestions as to which dishes go well together are something I would have liked to see in the book. However, this is not a big problem, because many dishes go well together, and at bbq it often takes a while before the next dish is on your plate. Do you have any leftovers after the barbecue? Then Rukmini Iyer also gives tips on what to do with the leftovers.
Another thing about this book is that it not only contains savory dishes from the bbq : it also contains several sweet dishes. So you can end your barbecue with the most delicious desserts. Now, you might see pineapple grilled on the barbecue quite often, but how about combining it with mint, lime and coconut? With just a few additions, you'll get a very special result in no time.
How suitable is it for vegans?
The Green Barbecue contains vegetarian recipes as well as vegetarian recipes, which contains egg or cheese. In some dishes you can easily omit or replace it, but not all recipes can be veganized. However, you can use them as inspiration, and with some creativity perhaps still transform them into a vegan recipe . Although not all recipes are suitable for vegans, this book is definitely recommended.
ingredients
Many cookbooks, especially those focused on plant-based cuisine, use in their recipes ingredients which can be hard to come by. And often you end up with a (large) portion of that ingredients left over and not so sure what else to use it in. That is why I think it is important that a cookbook does not use too complicated ingredients . The amount ingredients is also important: I prefer to keep things as simple as possible. So how much I like a cookbook definitely depends on the complexity of ingredients. At The Green Barbecue from Rukmini Iyer that's certainly fine. For most recipes you need very few ingredients , which are also generally easy to find.
How hard is it?
In general, the dishes in The Green Barbecue are not at all complicated. Most recipes are easy to prepare, quick ready and contain only a few ingredients. However, some dishes are a little more laborious or take a little more time. For example, burgers do take a while to prepare, but that doesn't mean they are difficult to make.
As I wrote earlier, the dishes in this book are similar to those of Ottolenghi. He is known for making somewhat more complicated recipes , with ingredients that you sometimes have to search for. If you compare The Green Barbecue with SIMPLE from Ottolenghi, which is one of his easier books, the recipes in the book from Rukmini Iyer are generally a lot simpler.
Favorite dishes
- Portobello & soft leeks with tarragon-walnut dressing. The combination of almost meaty portobello's and the soft leeks is incredibly delicious. In my recipe , I used thyme instead of tarragon because it is more readily available. In terms of preparation, you have almost no work, but the vegetables do need a little longer on the barbecue.
- Easy cannellini burgers with sage & dijon mustard. Burgers remain a favorite on the barbecue, and the advantage of plant-based burgers is that there is that you can vary a lot with different types. These white bean and potato burgers are a nice variation. The only disadvantage of these burgers is the preparation time: you have to cook the potatoes first. After forming the burgers, you have to pre-cook them in the oven. This does, however, has one big advantage: they keep there shape a lot better on the barbecue than other vegan burgers.
- Spiced carrots with hazelnuts, maple syrup & dill. These carrots are SO delicious and SO easy. With lots of herbs you can keep eating these. The hazelnuts give them a nice bite. It is best with fresh dill, but dried dill works fine too.
- Chipotle Potatoes with tarragon peanut dressing. There are several dishes with potatoes from the barbecue in the book, and this is one of them. Because you pre-cook the potatoes, they don't have to go on the barbecue for very long at all. The dressing completes it, delicious with crunchy peanuts.
- Crispy lettuce sprouts with tofu, cashews & nuoc cham This dish is a little more work compared to many other dishes in the book. For example, the nuoc cham needs some attention, but it is well worth it. Rukmini Iyer itself describes it as "Nuoc cham is such an addictively delicious dipping sauce that you could almost drink it." You also have to marinate tofu and pickle carrots in vinegar. All not difficult, but you it requires some more ingredients and actions. Then again, the end result is delicious.
Recommended?
The Green Barbecue from Rukmini Iyer ️ contains 75 vega and vegan recipes for the bbq that are generally not too complicated. This does not mean they taste boring: quite the contrary. With a simple marinade, sauce or dressing, for example, vegetables suddenly take on a lot of flavor. Barbecue potato dishes are also delicious, allowing you to make some dishes that are a bit more filling in addition to vegetables.
Combined with recipes suitable to take along (such as to a picnic), useful information to compose the most delicious salads yourself, what to do with leftovers and also sweet dishes from the barbecue, this book is definitely recommended.
