Vegetables Unleashed: A Cookbook―Creative Vegetable Recipes from a Star Chef

I love José Andrés, and his passion for cooking is all over this book. But passion can only carry you so far, because that's about all this book has.To show what I mean: There are 2 recipes in this book for vegetable hamburger alternatives, which each barely merit an index card on their own. The first is to replace the hamburger with a beefsteak tomato. José has an entire restaurant, Beefsteak, predicated on this idea. But that's all it is. Beefsteak tomatoes are so meaty and full of umami that they can be used in place of meat - that's literally where they got their name. The second recipe is a little more substantial, in that it says to use a thick slice of pickled beet in place of the burger. Beetburgers are delicious, but again, that's all the recipe really is. José ends up pushing those two ideas out to perhaps 8 pages before it's said and done. There's intro text talking about his passion for tomatoes, and his passion for beats, and his ideas for sides, and listing out how to make a homemade mayonnaise or aoli on a different page. But again, the recipe itself is basically just, "use a slab of beefsteak tomato in place of a burger patty". Thanks José, now what else have you got?There are some great recipes in here. Every single recipe is, as you'd expect from José, amazing. Fresh flavors, interesting twists, and really end-to-end recipes that detail sids and accompaniments. You could cook all of your meals from this book, so in that sense it's a fine offering.But if you pulled out the self-congratulatory text, I think you could print this same book on only 50 pages - instead of 350 - and not lose a single word from an actual recipe in the process. This isn't like Joe Beef's amazing books, which are full of fun stories and gardening techniques and history... this is just José patting himself on the back. I got tired of that, wrote the recipe for pickling beets on a note card, and filed this book away for a rainy day.If I wanted a real, comprehensive vegetable cookbook, I'd recommend Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian. That book has 650 recipes from around the world, so even if you cut the minimal flavor text, World Vegetarian would still outweigh Vegetables Unleashed by a healthy margin. And I'd put Madhur Jaffrey's recipes up against José Andrés any day. Only get Vegetables Unleashed if you're really in the mood for Chef Andrés' very Spanish passion for cooking. I have to read it in his voice to keep me from just rolling my eyes and skipping the text.

This is a lovely book, full of fantastic recipes, beautiful photos and wonderful narrative. Bought a new copy to give as a gift, and Amazon sent a damaged copy with no dustcover. Attempted resolution via chat, but the bot gives no option other than refund or replace. If replace, would I be sent the another copy in the same condition? Who knows? Amazon's customer service is nil these days. Anyway, buyer beware, you may be sold a copy that isn't actually new.

I love José Andrés ever since I followed his cooking shows on Spanish television where he taught recipes that were original or at least with an original twist. I enjoyed this book for a few new ideas but, as a person who lives in Spain, I was disappointed to find that so many of the recipes he includes are simply well-known Spanish dishes for which everyone here knows the tricks. So nothing new there. I was especially appalled to find a Creme of Zucchini recipe which was the same one that young Spanish housewives passed around in the 90s, including a cube of bouillon and 3 pieces of (that gosh awful processed) Vaca que Rie cheese (Laughing Cow cheese). I remember that recipe used by those who didn't know how to cook and now its found its way into the book of a major chef. Yes, that was the final blow for me. Otherwise, for a non-Spanish audience, learning the cooking techniques behind Spanish cuisine could be very rewarding. I must commend this book in that it is kindle friendly: each recipe is listed in the contents and thus easy to access on its own.

Full disclosure, I bought this book because I hate vegetables and I'm not a great cook but I love Jose Andres' restaurants. I thought to myself if anyone can get me to like these nasty, bitter plants then it's gotta be him. I've owned this book for a week and have already made several of the recipes, all of which turned out surprisingly well (for someone who is hit-or-miss in the kitchen). I appreciate that the recipes and the writing style are approachable and encouraging, many of them start off in a simple place and then provide additional suggestions for how you could experiment to alter the flavor profile based on what you might already have in the kitchen. The food styling/photos were also a nice perk - the food looks delicious and the photos inspire you to want to try each dish, but they're not perfectly manicured w/ Instagram-worthy tableaus. They actually look like food I could make in a reasonable amount of time, with a reasonable amount of effort which I found to be empowering. Some of the ingredients could be hard to find if you live in an area where there aren't a lot of fancy grocery stores, but I was able to buy everything I needed off of Amazon (like white miso paste and gochujang.)

As a chef, I have hundreds of cookbooks and this is probably my all-time favorite! The recipes are easy to follow and delicious, and it a great read too! Jose Andres is an incredible human being that I only wish we could clone!!

Chef Jose Andres is a legend and this book does not disappoint. If you’re looking for innovative tasty ways to prepare veggies, I highly recommend. Come on, just do it. You’re going to have fun trying the easy-to-implement recipes in this book.

Ive been a big fan of Jose since some early episodes with A.B on No Reservations and more recently the Parts Unknown series, and also of the literary works by Matt since his "Rice. Noodle. Fish" Japanese food/travel guide (an invaluable book which lured me to Japan for a month after reading it). This outstanding collaboration is much more than just a cookbook, though it does an extraordinarily delicious job at that. It's also very philosophical, helping change the way you look at vegetables (and so-called food "waste") in a multitude of creative culinary ways, while simultaneously nudging you to source local seasonal ingredients for not only superior results but a greater environmental good.The recipes in this book and the stories peppered throughout it are mutually inspiring and just downright wonderful. It's a cookbook I never knew I needes and it's easily becoming one of my go-to cookbooks that I use all week long.Outstanding.

Some cookbooks are recipe collections, other cookbooks teach you new ways to cook, this book does a little of both while mainly getting you excited about vegetables. Jose Andres makes that very clear right from the start. Interspersed throughout the recipes are articles on food innovators (a group focused on growing produce on rooftops, a man who grows vegetables in food deserts, etc.) and on the work Jose Andres and his organization are doing. The recipes for the most part are very simple and straightforward with, of course, some Jose Andres flourishes thrown in. Fruit and veg are definitely the focus but the book makes no apologies for suggesting some well-placed meat or cheese into certain dishes because the through-line is a generous love of delicious food. It’s a fun book. And like the author hopes, you’ll feel excited about vegetables after cracking it open.

I love a cookbook that explores where our food comes from and the people who are passionate about growing it. These are not labour intensive recipes-they are humble vegetables, beautifully prepared, in ways you may never have thought of. The pictures are so beautiful they make you want to stop reading and go into the kitchen so you can smell and taste!

Having watched this funny chef on TV, I immediately was taken by his approach and love for vegetables, how to better prepare and mix them. In a few short weeks we have broken many bad cooking habits and have returned to steaming in. a pot vegetables with less water, a bit more salt (to release the flavours) and now use the veggie water as a base for stock. His approach will change boring greens into something exotic.

thumbs upwould recommend to anyonepreparation of food is easy to follow