The Bean Bible: A Legumaniac's Guide to Lentils, Peas, and Every Edible Bean on the Planet!

From Publishers Weekly
In the growing field of bean and grain cookbooks, Green does an above-average job with these well-written multiethnic recipes ranging from Italian Chickpea Fries to Chinese Steamed Clams with Fermented Black Bean Sauce. Her hefty introduction is packed with history, helpful information and the requisite section on minimizing gas when eating a legume-loaded diet. A legume family tree divides beans and their ilk into four major branches, and the glossary covers even rarer varieties like appaloosa beans. A sub-section on products derived from soy (i.e., soy sauce and miso) is also a winning inclusion. Best of all, Green has a knack for enlivening tired ideas. For example, her Vegetarian Chili with Red Beans and White Hominy contains butternut squash and cumin seeds. Some of the main dishes consist of several different components: Grilled Lamb Patties with Turkish White Bean Salad and Marinated Carrots, and Israeli Couscous with Eggplant Rolls and Chickpeas. And Green pays homage to recent culinary trendsAsuch as Asian Wrap Sandwiches with Shiitakes, Bean Sprouts and Hoisin Sauce (rolled in tortillas)Awithout neglecting old legume favorites like Spicy Homemade Beer Nuts. Not all recipes are vegetarian, but those that are she thoughtfully marks as such. This is a worthwhile addition to the bean cookery shelf. (July) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Green, a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer, has an impressive and wide-ranging cooking background, and she's lived and traveled around the globe as well, so her imaginative, mouthwatering recipes have an intriguing international sheen. She starts with the basics, describing more than 100 types of beans, peas, and other legumes, then moves on to more than 200 recipes. Numerous boxes and chef's notes provide a huge amount of information on the legume family and on food and techniques as well. Although there are recipes for hearty comfort food like Diner-Style Baked Beans with Bacon, Green regards beans as "a culinary delight," and many of her dishes, such as French Lentil and Foie Gras-Stuffed Ravioli with Truffle Oil, elevate legumes to a gourmet treat. Both a reference and a cookbook, this is highly recommended. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
This comprehensive guide to the world of beans and bean cookery belongs in every cookbook collection. Beans figure in most gastronomic traditions, whether Asian, African, American, or European. Yankees have baked beans, southerners have black-eyed peas, Mexicans have frijoles refritos, Brazilians have feijoada, Egyptians have ful, and Indians have dal. As with the potato and tomato, the real history of the bean in cooking begins with the opening of the New World in the sixteenth century. Europe once knew only fava beans, chickpeas, lentils, and peas. Asia introduced the soybean. Most of the beans taken for granted today originated in the Americas, and they figure in both native and colonial cooking. Contemporary chefs are discovering the virtues of obscure heirloom varieties such as Jacob's Cattle and Scarlet Runners. Exotic bean dishes such as hummus have become part of everyday American fare. Green furnishes recipes using many bean varieties and highly diverse ethnic traditions to illustrate the adaptability of this superior vegetable protein source. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


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From skillet-roasted chicken with black-eyed peas and savory to a one-pot Beef, Bean and Barley Casserole, Bean Bible is packed with a range of bean dishes from appetizers to side dishes and desserts, and will please any who want to use the versatile bean as a staple in their diet. No photos, but the easy recipes don't need them.


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