Planning Vegetarian Menu

Planning a meatless menu offers great flexibility. Vegetarian meals may have a main entrée, or they may consist of two or three courses of equal importance. A vegetarian cook can serve a light meal of soup, bread, and salad, or for a heartier meal, a casserole or a pasta dish. Different combinations of flavors and textures provide variety, adding zest and contrast to any meal.

When planning your own menus, you may want to consider the seasons of the year. Serve a hot, thick soup on a cold winter night and perhaps a chilled fruit soup on a warm summer evening. Although imported produce may be available at all times of the year from almost any place in the world, certain fruits and vegetables are fresher and easier to find when they are at their peak. For example, crisp spears of asparagus appear in most markets in the spring, while summer brings sweet corn and bright red tomatoes. As a cook, you’ll learn to enjoy taking advantage of fresh seasonal foods.

Adding an international flair to vegetarian meals offers a whole new world of flavors. The recipes in this book are a sampling from around the globe, representing more than a dozen countries, so step into the kitchen and explore some of the world’s culinary treasures.