The Bean Book is a fresh tutorial guide to the staple versatile legumes written by Steve Sando, with recipes curated by the author. Due out 10th Sept 2024 from Penguin Random House on their Ten Speed Press imprint, it's 288 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.
Beans (and other legumes) are often shoved to the side in most dishes. There are relatively few recipes where they are really allowed to shine. Beans are used to provide protein and bulk to soups and stews. The author is a true believer and the 100 recipes here are both traditional and innovative. Additionally, the author invites readers to learn about the different types of beans and their uses, and the book is full of minutiae and interesting tidbits about origins and species of bean, and how to showcase them at their best. This -is- a book full of heirloom beans (which the author's company sells), but he provides alternatives in the recipes to rarer heirloom beans.
The introductory tutorials (how to choose, how to grow, general how to cook, and pantry/staples lists), a very handy primer on bean types, leads directly into the recipes, arranged thematically: bean dips/appetizers, salads, soups, braises stews & stovetop dishes, beans & grains, baked beans, patties fillings sauces & more, and sweets stocks & salsas.
Recipe ingredients are listed bullet style in a sidebar, followed by step-by-step prep instructions. Ingredient measures are given in imperial (American) units. The recipes do not have nutritional info listed. The ingredients will mostly be readily available at any well stocked grocery store in North America. Some of the bean varieties might require a specialist grocery store or international grocer. The emphasis is on whole ingredients and the recipes are fairly light on premade/convenience ingredients, which is a plus. The author does use items like premade hot sauce/pepper sauce, but otherwise very few convenience items.
About 20% of the recipes are accompanied by one or more photos. The dishes are professionally styled, colorful, appealing, and appropriate.
This is a good "everyday" recipe book and will find a home in casual home kitchens. Not all the recipes are vegetarian/vegan friendly (many are), but there are a generous number of entries which are without meat or animal products and most of the others can be adapted fairly easily.
Five stars. This is a very attractive colorful and useful book. It would be an excellent choice for public library acquisition, home use, smallholding, gardening club library, or similar uses.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
No comments:
Post a Comment