INTRODUCTION
Let’s get this out of the way now: I will not try to convince you to become a vegetarian. You don’t need to be a vegetarian to enjoy vegetables, and you certainly don’t need to be a vegetarian to eat a meatless meal once in a while. No matter what you usually eat, as long as you love to eat, I think we’ll get along great.

We probably all ask ourselves the same question every day: What’s for dinner? I’ll confess, I’ve already asked this question twice today. First to Anguel, my husband, over breakfast. It was followed by a blank stare, a long pause, and an obnoxiously long sip of coffee. So I turned this question back to myself.

Not to be dramatic, but I think the idea of “dinner” stresses out a lot of people, myself included. What will I make? What do I need to buy from the store after work? Did Anguel polish off that last piece of bread in the cupboard? And as if the idea of dinner isn’t stressful enough, throw a dietary preference into the mix. What the heck can I cook if I want to make a meatless main that isn’t a salad?

My hope for this book is that it will help make your dinnertime a bit easier, and even more exciting. I want you to feel confident cooking a meatless meal that everyone at the table will love. Whether you’re just looking for veggie-forward meal ideas, trying out Meatless Mondays, or feeding a vegetarian friend or family member, this book is for you. It’s stuffed full of 100+ delicious vegetarian dinner recipes. The focus is entirely on main dishes (and a sprinkling of desserts) so there’s no need to make a bunch of side dishes, unless you want to.

To cook the recipes in this book, you won’t need to hunt down any specialty meat substitutes. All the necessary ingredients should be available at a well-stocked grocery store. Perhaps somewhat selfishly, these recipes reflect how I like to eat and what I like to cook for others. Mostly healthy. Occasionally indulgent. Always full of flavour. And, if you haven’t figured it out by now, each recipe just so happens to be vegetarian.

This book is also about helping you become more confident as a home cook. Since we may never get a chance to cook together in your kitchen, I’ve also included some tricks I use in my own—like a speedy hands-free way to grate a chunk of Parmesan cheese, the method for “peeling” carrots that you never knew you needed, and a better way to “pick over” lentils (plus why you should even bother in the first place). Because photos are often more helpful than words, there are plenty of step-by-step images throughout the book, to illustrate exactly how to get it done. We’ve got you covered.

The Evergreen Kitchen

After a couple years of dating, Anguel and I (kind of) quit our very intense corporate jobs in Toronto, packed our bags and our kittens, and moved to the Pacific Northwest. When the plane touched down in Vancouver, British Columbia, I was home. This was also the same year that Anguel asked if I wanted to try eating vegetarian with him. Surprisingly, it felt like a much bigger question than when he asked me to marry him a couple years later.

Eating is my favourite thing to do. I live to eat. My biggest concern was what would change if we became “those” people. Would friends ever want to come over for dinner again? Would we be signing up for a life of bland food that gets a pass just because it’s vegetarian? Despite my fears of commitment, the enthusiasm beaming from this very meat-and-potatoes man was hard to deny—we jumped in, taste buds first.

We learned a few things very quickly. Yes, there’s a lot of bland food out there (vegetarian and otherwise). Yes, the best way to eat the food you love is to make it yourself. And no, it’s not as hard as you might think. Over time, we realized our very-not-vegetarian friends and family kept coming over for dinner and what’s more, they were asking for the recipes! Our blog Evergreen Kitchen was born.

Over the years, Evergreen Kitchen (evergreenkitchen.ca) has grown into something bigger than we expected. Now our recipes aren’t just for friends and family. Readers are cooking and sharing our recipes around the world! Many of our readers aren’t full-fledged vegetarians, and we think that’s pretty cool. We’re all about cooking food that anyone can enjoy. To make sure of it, most of the amazing recipe testers for this book would consider themselves very-not-vegetarian. Good food is good food, right?

I hope you find inspiration in these pages and dis-cover some reliably tasty vegetarian dinner recipes to turn to. The opportunity to share recipes with you is not something I take lightly. So thank you so much for being here. I hope you love eating what’s inside.

Now, let’s get cooking!

Bri

HOW TO MAKE VEGETARIAN FOOD TASTE BETTER

People often ask me: “How do I make vegetarian food that actually tastes good?” The good news is, making vegetarian food taste better is the same as making any kind of food taste better.

Perhaps you were a bit too “free” when you free-styled dinner, or that delicious meal from last night tastes a bit flat today, or maybe your taste buds are just asking for a little something-something. If you’re faced with some bland food—vegetarian or otherwise—let’s fix it! Here are some tips for boosting flavour, including pantry ingredients that can help.

Sprinkle That Salt

Don’t skip the salt: Home cooks often under-season. So if your food is tasting a bit bland, ask yourself: Is it seasoned enough? Even an extra pinch can go a long way.

Salt as you cook: Salting while cooking, rather than all at the end, gives the salt time to penetrate the food. The result is a well-seasoned and more delicious finished dish.

Salt to suit your tastes: Everyone has different tolerance levels for salt. Taste often as you cook and add more as needed. A small dish of extra salt on the table will let others season to their taste if they like things a bit saltier.

Add Some Acid

Vinegar isn’t just for salads: I often add a splash of vinegar to soups and sauces after cooking. It’s a subtle difference, but it brightens and balances the dish.

Use citrus, usually at the end: Use citrus zest and juice for the biggest impact. The flavour of citrus can fade as it sits, so I like to zest and juice just before adding it to the dish. If you’re looking to retain the brightest flavour, add the citrus after cooking.

Quick pickles on everything (well, almost everything): I usually have a jar of quick pickled something in the fridge. Pickled vegetables add a delicious tangy element to a dish. You can use the quick-pickling technique on a variety of vegetables, such as red onions (page 289), carrots (page 171), and shallots (page 51).

Amp It Up with Umami

Umami isn’t just from meat: Umami, or savouriness, is a rich and meaty element in food. Umami boosters like fish sauce, anchovies, and Worcestershire sauce get a lot of the attention, but there are plenty of vegetarian umami-rich foods too.

Enhance it by cooking or roasting: Our perceptions of umami are heightened in warm foods. Roasting vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, and asparagus brings out their savoury characteristics more than when they’re eaten raw.

Use fermented foods: Fermented foods such as tamari, miso, kimchi, and Parmesan cheese are rich in umami. Try incorporating one (or many) of these ingredients in your cooking.

Don’t Forget the Fat

Fat is essential: We are programmed to want fat! Fat not only helps prevent foods from sticking to the pan, but it also facilitates browning, adds flavour, and improves mouthfeel. It’s hard to make a dish feel satisfying without a little fat.

Add it yourself: Animal proteins contain fat—and they’re usually cooked in it too. With vegetarian foods, you’re going to need to add fat. Don’t be nervous if it seems like a bit more than you’re used to.

Look beyond oil: Some of the most obvious sources of fat are oils, like grapeseed, olive, and sesame oil. But other foods like nuts and seeds, dairy, and avocados are also sources of tasty fat.

Go On, Make It Spicy

A little heat goes a long way: The sensation of heat can elevate a dish. It doesn’t need to be blow-your-head-off spicy, or even register as a “spicy dish.” Start small and go from there.

Not just pepper: Black pepper and red pepper flakes are easy ways to add a bit of heat. But there’s a whole world of spice out there! Freshly grated ginger, Dijon mustard, and sambal oelek all bring heat in their own ways.

Spicy to you, not to me: We can all handle different amounts of heat. Make it how you like it. If you’re serving a crowd, you can always go lighter on the heat—and give people the option to add more with hot sauce, red pepper flakes, or sliced fresh chilies on the side.

Layer on That Texture

Crunch factor: Searing, grilling, and roasting create a crispy, caramelized exterior. You can also add crunch through ingredients. Raw veggies such as radishes, carrots, celery, and snap peas add crunch. Or sprinkle on a crunchy topping such as chopped nuts, panko breadcrumbs, or croutons.

Soft and creamy: Creaminess can come from garnishes like a dollop of yogurt or gooey melted cheese. Condiments, sauces, and spreads are often creamy as well—think mayonnaise, tzatziki, or mashed avocado. The jammy yolk in a 6½-minute egg is creamy, as is a vegetable soup that’s been blended until silky smooth.

Don’t forget chewy: Chewy isn’t always bad. Chewy elements, like al dente pasta, squeaky halloumi cheese, and sourdough bread or pizza crust, add varied texture to a dish.

Dress It Up

First, we eat with our eyes: We see a dish before we taste it. Sure, a bit of garnish isn’t going to redeem a bad dish, but if your food is looking a bit meh, take a second to accessorize.

Throw on some greens: Fresh greens can really liven things up. I often reach for flat-leaf parsley, cilantro, dill, basil, or thyme, depending what suits the dish. Microgreens and sprouts are another pretty (and healthy) way to incorporate some edible greenery.

Get creative: Try a scattering of red pepper flakes, coarsely ground black pepper, nuts and seeds, citrus zest, flaky salt, a spoonful of yogurt, breadcrumbs, a drizzle of olive oil, hot scallion oil, or whatever else looks good to you.