To learn to cook without a book is a very useful skill to have. You then can use up whatever is leftover in your fridge, or cook up something from seasonal ingredients at the farm shop or from a veg box. Sometimes (like for vegan baking), sticking to a recipe is important. But for most savoury meals, you can often just eyeball the ingredients and use skills and experience, to create a tasty and nutritious meal.
Although vegan recipe books are wonderful, it’s also good to know how to make a meal, if you don’t have a recipe to hand. This is often what people of former generations (or who live in very poor areas) do. For instance, many Neapolitans will make you the tastiest pasta sauce, even though this area of Italy is one of the poorest, with little access to the expensive ‘Italian foods’ that a London deli would have. Here are (ironically!) books to help you cook without a book!
Vegan Yum shows how to create taste, texture and deliciousness, with 75 recipes to satisfy each part of teh palate. Each of the 6 chapters is devoted to a different aspect of cooking, with recipes. But also you will learn how each recipe is crafted, so you can adapt and make your own meals. Megan Sadd has spent nearly her entire life studying plant-based cuisine and now shares all her secrets. Recipes to learn and then adapt yourself include:
- Crispy Southern Chickpea Sandwiches
- Meat Lover’s BBQ Pulled Jackfruit
- Spring Linguine with King Oyster Scallops
- Smoky Gouda Melt
- Pesto Mac n Cheese
- Roasted Vegetable Romanesco Lasagna
Learning how to cook vegan without a recipe is not just good for you, but also good to prevent food waste. You can just look in the fridge or cupboards, and come up with whatever you have to hand, to make something nice to eat. Here are some books to teach you how to cook, without always following a recipe:
The Happy Pear: Cooking for Everyone shows how to make different meals, using the same key ingredients and methods. Using easy charts for any budget and to use anything in your cupboard, Irish twins David and Stephen walk you through the fundamentals of taste and texture, teaching you the role of each ingredient used. You can then swap ingredients in and out, and even come up with recipes of your own. Make: 200 recipes including:
- Fluffy Coconut Granola
- Homemade Vegan Pizza
- Creamy Broccoli Pie
- Carrot Cake with Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
Vegan Yum offers 75 recipes to start, then uses each of the six chapters to explore a different aspect of flavours. So you can learn how each recipe is crafted and balanced, to make your own variations. Recipes include:
- Crispy Southern Chickpea Sandwiches
- Meat Lover’s BBQ Pulled Jackfruit with Avocado Slaw
- Spring Linguine with King Oyster Scallops
- Smoky Gouda Melt
- Pesto Mac n Cheese
- Roasted Vegetable Romanesco Lasagna
