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Guides for cooking vegetarian, country by country and ingredient by ingredient.

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Photo illustrating the article “Anti-inflammatory diet: what goes on the plate”

Anti-inflammatory diet: what goes on the plate

The anti-inflammatory diet without a list of forbidden foods: the compounds actually studied, and existing dishes that already bring them together.

·2 min read
#anti-inflammatory#turmeric#ginger
Photo illustrating the article “Chilli peppers, from mild to Scotch Bonnet”

Chilli peppers, from mild to Scotch Bonnet

How Caribbean and African cuisines harness the perfume and heat of Scotch Bonnet, and how others pair chilli with palm sugar, tamarind or pomegranate.

·4 min read
#chilli peppers#scotch bonnet#capsaicin
Photo illustrating the article “High-fibre vegetarian meals built on whole grains”

High-fibre vegetarian meals built on whole grains

High-fibre vegetarian meals built on a whole or cracked grain and a pulse, told through eight real dishes, from Kenyan githeri to Ethiopian injera.

·4 min read
#nutrition#pulses#grains
Photo illustrating the article “How to cook tofu so it is never bland”

How to cook tofu so it is never bland

Why tofu is not a meat substitute but a carrier of flavour, and traditional Asian techniques to give it real depth and texture.

·3 min read
#tofu#cooking techniques#asian cooking
Photo illustrating the article “Meatless Moroccan cooking, from bessara to tagine”

Meatless Moroccan cooking, from bessara to tagine

Bessara, zaalouk and taktouka are plant-based by tradition; harira, tagine and couscous, often made with meat or smen, work just as well without.

·3 min read
#moroccan cuisine#maghreb#tagine
Photo illustrating the article “Mediterranean diet: a way of building a plate”

Mediterranean diet: a way of building a plate

What actually defines the Mediterranean diet beyond the folklore, illustrated with real dishes from Greece, Italy, Spain, Lebanon and Morocco.

·2 min read
#mediterranean diet#olive oil#legumes
Photo illustrating the article “DIY oat milk and the plant milks of the world”

DIY oat milk and the plant milks of the world

Valencian horchata, Chinese doujiang, medieval almond milk, coconut milk: where plant milks come from, and a method in grams for making DIY oat milk.

·6 min read
#world cooking#technique#culinary traditions
Photo illustrating the article “Savoury breakfasts around the world, and why”

Savoury breakfasts around the world, and why

From Egyptian ful to Costa Rican gallo pinto and Turkish menemen, why so many cultures greet the morning with warm, savoury, protein-rich dishes.

·3 min read
#breakfast#culinary traditions#legumes
Photo illustrating the article “The chickpea, from one kitchen to the next”

The chickpea, from one kitchen to the next

The chickpea’s four states — raw ground, cooked whole, puréed, milled to flour — what each one makes possible, and why a tin cannot stand in for them.

·6 min read
#chickpeas#technique#falafel
Photo illustrating the article “Cooking rice for the dish you actually want”

Cooking rice for the dish you actually want

Four methods cover almost every rice dish. Which grain to pick, whether to rinse, how much water, what heat, and why the resting time matters.

·6 min read
#rice#technique#cooking
Photo illustrating the article “Umami without meat in China, Japan and Korea”

Umami without meat in China, Japan and Korea

Fermented pastes, kombu and dried shiitake, tofu and high heat — four sources of flavour that stand in for meat in Chinese, Japanese and Korean cooking.

·6 min read
#umami#fermentation#tofu
Photo illustrating the article “Vegetarian and gluten free, from maize to teff”

Vegetarian and gluten free, from maize to teff

The kitchens that never needed wheat, from nixtamalised maize to teff and cassava, and the places gluten hides where nobody thinks to look.

·6 min read
#gluten free#maize#rice
Photo illustrating the article “Vegetarian dinner in thirty minutes, from scratch”

Vegetarian dinner in thirty minutes, from scratch

What actually saves time on a weeknight: a hot pan instead of an oven, rinsed tinned pulses, one loud aromatic, and a starch cooking while you work.

·6 min read
#quick meals#weeknight#pan cooking
Photo illustrating the article “Vegetarian Maghreb cooking, with nothing missing”

Vegetarian Maghreb cooking, with nothing missing

What Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia share — semolina, pulses, olive oil — and how their everyday dishes stand up perfectly well without meat.

·6 min read
#maghreb#morocco#algeria
Photo illustrating the article “Eating vegetarian on a tight budget, with variety”

Eating vegetarian on a tight budget, with variety

A dried pulse, a grain and one strong aromatic: the structure working kitchens have always used, and how to make it taste different every single day.

·6 min read
#tight budget#pulses#grains
Photo illustrating the article “Eating vegetarian in Spain and Portugal”

Eating vegetarian in Spain and Portugal

The Iberian vegetable dishes that predate the word vegetarian, what actually holds them together, and the ham stock and hidden tuna to watch for.

·6 min read
#Spain#Portugal#tapas
Photo illustrating the article “Why falafel falls apart in the pan”

Why falafel falls apart in the pan

One mistake explains the overwhelming majority of falafel that disintegrates in hot oil. The six other causes, and why flour and egg fix nothing.

·6 min read
#chickpeas#technique#pulses
Photo illustrating the article “The tomato, three centuries to conquer the world”

The tomato, three centuries to conquer the world

The tomato reached Europe in the sixteenth century and was distrusted for two hundred years. What each kitchen made of it, and the handling that matters.

·4 min read
#tomato#sauce#salad
Photo illustrating the article “Coconut milk, from Kerala to the Caribbean”

Coconut milk, from Kerala to the Caribbean

What coconut milk does in each tropical kitchen, the difference between first and second pressing, and how to stop it splitting.

·4 min read
#coconut milk#curry#tropics
Photo illustrating the article “Pulses, the backbone of the world's kitchens”

Pulses, the backbone of the world's kitchens

Which pulse each kitchen chose and why, how to cook them without guessing, and what turns a dry bag into a whole meal.

·4 min read
#pulses#lentils#chickpeas
Photo illustrating the article “The aubergine, one vegetable and ten kitchens”

The aubergine, one vegetable and ten kitchens

How the aubergine travelled from India to the Mediterranean, what each kitchen made of it, and the techniques that decide the result.

·4 min read
#aubergine#mediterranean#technique
Photo illustrating the article “Rice and beans, the dish everyone invented”

Rice and beans, the dish everyone invented

Why the same rice and pulse pairing turns up on every continent, and what each kitchen added to it on its own.

·4 min read
#rice#pulses#world cooking
Photo illustrating the article “Lebanese mezze, a table that is mostly vegetarian”

Lebanese mezze, a table that is mostly vegetarian

Why the Lebanese table puts vegetables at the centre, how to balance tahini and lemon, and how to build a mezze for guests.

·4 min read
#lebanon#mezze#tahini
Photo illustrating the article “Japanese vegetarian cooking, beyond sushi”

Japanese vegetarian cooking, beyond sushi

Learn to make dashi without bonito, tell the forms of tofu apart, and build a Japanese vegetarian meal from small plates.

·4 min read
#japan#tofu#dashi
Photo illustrating the article “Ethiopian cooking, vegetarian two days a week”

Ethiopian cooking, vegetarian two days a week

How the Orthodox fasting calendar built a vegan gluten-free cuisine, and how to assemble your first shared injera platter at home.

·4 min read
#ethiopia#injera#spices
Photo illustrating the article “Indian vegetarian cooking, where to begin”

Indian vegetarian cooking, where to begin

Learn the north-south divide, the tadka technique and the spices worth buying first so you can cook Indian food without meat.

·5 min read
#india#spices#pulses
Photo illustrating the article “Where to find protein on a vegetarian diet”

Where to find protein on a vegetarian diet

How much protein you actually need, which foods carry it, and how to cook it without thinking about it every day.

·3 min read
#protein#nutrition#pulses
Photo illustrating the article “Greek ladera, vegetables cooked down in olive oil”

Greek ladera, vegetables cooked down in olive oil

What the word ladera covers, why these dishes are eaten warm rather than hot, and how they differ from the rest of the meatless Greek repertoire.

·4 min read
#greece#mediterranean#olive oil
Photo illustrating the article “Peasant soups, feeding a table on almost nothing”

Peasant soups, feeding a table on almost nothing

What gives a country soup its body, how to thicken one without cream, and which of these recipes need adapting to do without meat.

·5 min read
#soups#vegetables#pulses
Photo illustrating the article “Mexican vegetarian cooking: maize, beans, chilli”

Mexican vegetarian cooking: maize, beans, chilli

What the milpa and nixtamalisation bring to a meatless meal, how dry charring builds a sauce, and what the Spanish added to the repertoire.

·5 min read
#mexico#corn#beans
Photo illustrating the article “Italian vegetarian cooking, the cucina povera way”

Italian vegetarian cooking, the cucina povera way

Why the everyday repertoire of the Italian countryside does without meat, how to bind a sauce with pasta water, and what stale bread can do.

·4 min read
#italy#pasta#tomatoes