Greens & Beans: Plant-based Recipes Featuring Peas, Lentils and Beans

Weber (In Love with Paris) crafts an ode to leaves and legumes in this attractive if occasionally user-unfriendly collection of vegetarian and vegan recipes. Passionate about beans and their benefits for both personal and climate health, Weber tends to neglect the specifics craved by less-experienced cooks. A chart listing common beans alongside their cook time and whether to soak, for example, is more useful in theory than in practice since soak times, quantities of water, and details of cooking method (i.e., lid on or off, simmer vs. boil) are not provided. Thankfully, the recipes themselves offer more detail, lovely photography, and fresh ideas for plant-based food, such as lentil and chocolate granola, beetroot fritters with labneh and quick pickled radish, and lentil and mushroom cottage pie. Weber even manages to sneak beans into desserts, as in her chocolate, hazelnut, and black bean brownies. American readers unfamiliar with European recipe conventions should note that all measurements are metric only (including Celsius oven readings). Home cooks already familiar with Weber’s beloved ingredients will find plenty of inspiration, but bean novices may want to seek out Steve Sando with Julia Newberry’s The Bean Book for a more comprehensive introduction. (Nov.)