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Chez Panisse Vegetables
For twenty-five years, Alice Waters and her friends at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California have dedicated themselves to the ideal of serving the finest, freshest foods with simplicity and style. From tender baby asparagus in early spring, to the colorful spectrum of peppers at the height of summer; crisp, leafy chicories in autumn, to sweet butternut squash in the dark of winter, much of the inspiration about what to put on the menu comes from the high quality produce Waters and her chefs seek out year-round. Using the treasures from the earth, Chez Panisse Vegetables offers endless possibilities for any occasion. Try Grilled Radicchio Risotto with Balsamic Vinegar at your next dinner party, or Pizza with Red and Yellow Peppers for a summer evening at home. Why not forgo green-leaf lettuce, and opt for Artichoke and Grapefruit Salad drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil? Or serve Corn Cakes with fresh berries for breakfast instead of cereal?
Throughout Vegetables, Waters shares her energy and enthusiasm for what she describes as "living foods." When she first began in the restaurant business, the selection of good-quality vegetables was so limited that she found herself searching out farmers with whom she might do business. Luckily, today's explosion of markets and organic farms across the country ensures that any home cook can find freshly harvested produce to put on the table. And with the increased popularity of home gardening, more and more people are taking their vegetables straight from the earth and into the kitchen.
Cooks, gardeners, vegetarians and everyone who appreciates good food will find Chez Panisse Vegetables to be not only a cookbook, but a valuable resource for selecting and serving fine produce. From popular vegetables like corn, tomatoes and carrots, to more unusual selections like chard, amaranth greens and sorrel, Vegetables offers detailed information about the seasonal availability, proper look, flavor and preparation of each selection. Arranged alphabetically by vegetable, and filled with colorful linocut images, Chez Panisse Vegetables makes it easy for a cook to find a tempting recipe for whatever he or she has brought home from the market.
Throughout Vegetables, Waters shares her energy and enthusiasm for what she describes as "living foods." When she first began in the restaurant business, the selection of good-quality vegetables was so limited that she found herself searching out farmers with whom she might do business. Luckily, today's explosion of markets and organic farms across the country ensures that any home cook can find freshly harvested produce to put on the table. And with the increased popularity of home gardening, more and more people are taking their vegetables straight from the earth and into the kitchen.
Cooks, gardeners, vegetarians and everyone who appreciates good food will find Chez Panisse Vegetables to be not only a cookbook, but a valuable resource for selecting and serving fine produce. From popular vegetables like corn, tomatoes and carrots, to more unusual selections like chard, amaranth greens and sorrel, Vegetables offers detailed information about the seasonal availability, proper look, flavor and preparation of each selection. Arranged alphabetically by vegetable, and filled with colorful linocut images, Chez Panisse Vegetables makes it easy for a cook to find a tempting recipe for whatever he or she has brought home from the market.
344 pages, Hardcover
First published May 8, 1996
186 people are currently reading
3,242 people want to read
About the author
Alice Waters
104Ìýbooks389ÌýfollowersAlice Waters is a chef, author, food activist, and the founder and owner of Chez Panisse Restaurant in Berkeley, California. She has been a champion of local sustainable agriculture for over four decades. In 1995 she founded the Edible Schoolyard Project, which advocates for a free school lunch for all children and a sustainable food curriculum in every public school.
She has been Vice President of Slow Food International since 2002. She conceived and helped create the Yale Sustainable Food Project in 2003, and the Rome Sustainable Food Project at the American Academy in Rome in 2007.
Her honors include election as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2007; the Harvard Medical School’s Global Environmental Citizen Award, which she shared with Kofi Annan in 2008; and her induction into the French Legion of Honor in 2010. In 2015 she was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Obama, proving that eating is a political act, and that the table is a powerful means to social justice and positive change.
Alice is the author of fifteen books, including New York Times bestsellers The Art of Simple Food I & II and The Edible Schoolyard: A Universal Idea.
She has been Vice President of Slow Food International since 2002. She conceived and helped create the Yale Sustainable Food Project in 2003, and the Rome Sustainable Food Project at the American Academy in Rome in 2007.
Her honors include election as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2007; the Harvard Medical School’s Global Environmental Citizen Award, which she shared with Kofi Annan in 2008; and her induction into the French Legion of Honor in 2010. In 2015 she was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Obama, proving that eating is a political act, and that the table is a powerful means to social justice and positive change.
Alice is the author of fifteen books, including New York Times bestsellers The Art of Simple Food I & II and The Edible Schoolyard: A Universal Idea.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
July 10, 2012
This is a great vegetable cookbook by Alice Waters from the famous Chez Panaisse restaurant. The book is divided up by vegetables and arranged alphabetically. I didn't count how many recipes this book features but it must be substantial and most are vegetarian. Most of the recipes are simple and easy to prepare. The reason for my four star rating is the amount of information on each vegetable is impressive. Selection and storage tips are a big plus. I also really liked the vegetable illustrations done by Patricia Curtain. On my rating, I actually wavered between three and four stars. For one thing, I don't appreciate books that promote local food but are printed in China. Also in the introduction Waters mentions a charatible benefit banquet they were invited to in New York where they flew in boxes and boxes of "fresh" organic California produce. Seriously? When in New York why not not to turn to New York farmers for a benefit? Plus, when you fly food across the country it's not really local. And in the next sentence Waters remarks, what can you the reader do to search out good vegetables to eat? I don't know, maybe fly produce in from California???? Why doesn't Waters follow her own advice and appreciate produce where it grows? This one instance colored the rest of my experience with this book.
December 27, 2013
Ms. Waters has been on my to-read cookbook list for YEARS. Finally, we meet. I tried the pumpkin soup, which was fantastic, and almost tried a cabbage recipe, but ended up just oven-roasting the cabbage instead (I think she would have approved.) The simplicity of her recipes, combined with lovely, rustic illustrations of vegetables, made for an appealing combination. Sadly, the library wanted their copy back. Next time, Alice!
April 21, 2019
Life saver –ÌýI was spending nearly a quarter of my paycheck ordering delivery. This and some other texts (and the guilt/bloat that comes with eating restaurant food) helped me get out of that phase.
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February 16, 2024Interesting and contemporary dishes. However, even though the book focuses on vegetables many of the recipes use ingredients I try not to use in my kitchen like butter, cream, etc.
March 23, 2009
A literal A-Z of almost every veggie out there.Every chapter gives a history of each topic,followed by recipes and suggestions of what they would go with.
In the forward Waters mentions a chef that came in and said"this isn't cooking,it's shopping".Which is the point.The best in season doesn't need to be fucked with.A couple of guys from Aureole in NYC came to hang out in SF.They were amazed that I had four pages of just lettuce in my order sheets.
Waters proves that cooking isn't working the food,it's working with what you have,and what's best.
In the forward Waters mentions a chef that came in and said"this isn't cooking,it's shopping".Which is the point.The best in season doesn't need to be fucked with.A couple of guys from Aureole in NYC came to hang out in SF.They were amazed that I had four pages of just lettuce in my order sheets.
Waters proves that cooking isn't working the food,it's working with what you have,and what's best.
September 30, 2023
I would never have bought this book but happened upon a copy set on a table on the sidewalk, being given away by a neighbour.
I can imagine how Alice Waters, the great chef at Berkeley's Chez Panisse, intended this cookbook to be used: if you grow your own food, or return from the farmer's market with a boatload of the seasonal crop, you can refer to the section on that vegetable here for some ideas on how it can be used. Is it corn season? Try Corn Soup with Salsa or a Corn Pudding Soufflé. Turnip season? Waters has recipes for Turnip and Potato Gratin or Roasted Winter Vegetables.
For the rest of us mortals who buy whatever is on sale at the supermarket, there is still a good deal to find useful here. Waters' 1-2 page descriptions of each vegetable usefully describe its various uses and cooking methods, as well as its taste. The recipes generally fall into the same French-Italian spectrum as the dishes served at Chez Panisse. They are basic but seem promising (I have not yet made any).
One last note: the book's presentation is very handsome, as are the woodcut illustrations by Patricia Curtan.
I can imagine how Alice Waters, the great chef at Berkeley's Chez Panisse, intended this cookbook to be used: if you grow your own food, or return from the farmer's market with a boatload of the seasonal crop, you can refer to the section on that vegetable here for some ideas on how it can be used. Is it corn season? Try Corn Soup with Salsa or a Corn Pudding Soufflé. Turnip season? Waters has recipes for Turnip and Potato Gratin or Roasted Winter Vegetables.
For the rest of us mortals who buy whatever is on sale at the supermarket, there is still a good deal to find useful here. Waters' 1-2 page descriptions of each vegetable usefully describe its various uses and cooking methods, as well as its taste. The recipes generally fall into the same French-Italian spectrum as the dishes served at Chez Panisse. They are basic but seem promising (I have not yet made any).
One last note: the book's presentation is very handsome, as are the woodcut illustrations by Patricia Curtan.
December 4, 2017
This is a wonderful cookbook for vegetarians and meat eaters who want to try to incorporate more vegetables into their diet. You can find a recipe for almost any vegetable you can think of. The recipes are simple and delicious. The hand drawn / rustic illustrations match the mood of the recipes and the tone of the writing. Some of our personal favorite recipes are the Braised Belgian Endive, Caramelized Fennel & The Chard, Spinach and Escarole Pasta.
January 15, 2019
I know lots of people are, but I'm just not really a fan of cookbooks that are all text. I know it shouldn't be necessary, but a picture here and there really helps break up the monotony and also makes my mouth water! I must say, however, that this has a LOT of information about vegetables (best seasons, basic overview, uses, etc.).
May 11, 2021
As with all of Waters's cookbooks, this is a wonderful compendium for beginner cooks who are learning to use fresh foods. The book design is beautiful and user-friendly, and the recipes are simple and classic. As for myself, I've mostly moved beyond the kinds of recipes in this book, but I found a few new combinations to pique my interest.
October 22, 2017
I made ratatouille from this and that's all. And it didn't really turn out. However, I think that was mostly my own fault and the book is lovely with beautiful illustrations. It's organized by vegetable, and then there's several recipes for each one. It was v/fun and I'd get it again.
August 2, 2017
This is my favorite amongst all of my Alice Waters cookbooks.
February 12, 2018
Some great veggie recipes from the place that helped start the American fresh food movement. A good cookbook to have in the arsenal.
October 1, 2020
Incredibly wholesome!
May 31, 2022
This was one of my most-referenced books in my kitchen in SF. I downloaded the Kindle version so I can have it with me where I may go (cook).
October 10, 2022
I will always give Alice Waters 5 stars - she has changed my life and my cooking !
February 19, 2024
Highly recommended; of course your cookbook should be ordered by vegetable (types) and seasons, and of course the veggies can be the main stars. Thank you, Alice.
May 14, 2024
A very good book, focusing on cooking vegetables in an easy, flavorful and minimally processed way.
I did not give 5 stars because if some recipes deserves a 5, some are a little more fragile.
I did not give 5 stars because if some recipes deserves a 5, some are a little more fragile.
March 10, 2025
Love the thought of visiting this restaurant in Berkley sometime. Really enjoyed Alice’s memoir. Lots of recipes from the restaurant and I love vegetables.
June 4, 2011
I love just about everything about this book. I love the way it looks. I love the descriptions of the vegetables. I love that other people are cooking with and eating things I’ve never encountered before. I love that the vegetables are centered on common ones that grow well in all areas of North America. I love that any one of the recipes could be served to guests. When one has grown or purchased fine expensive local produce (and it is expensive in time if not money if you grow it yourself)it is so nice to have a recipe which doesn’t obscure the taste, color, flavor of the vegetable, but makes it sublime. I love that many of the vegetables and herbs are discussed in detail, including their season of ripening, so you know when to expect the harvest to grace your kitchen. And the original lino-cuts of the vegetables are not to be missed. You simply MUST see this book, even if you have to visit your local bookstore to do so. The lino-cuts are exquisite full-color drawings of each vegetable with its unique characteristics. You may decide to try something new for your family when you’ve seen this lovely tome. One gift deserves another.
What I don’t like is that the book is so beautiful I hate to bring it into the kitchen. I don’t particularly like that the vegetables must be pulled from the garden THAT DAY to be used in these simple veggie-centered meals. If you have an abundant garden, or live close by a farmer’s market with innovative vegetable choices, you may survive. But you simply cannot expect to use supermarket groceries for these recipes and expect them to taste like they would in Alice Waters� restaurant, the Chez Panisse. The simpler a recipe it is, the more difficult it can be: for instance, “a drizzle of olive oil� really requires the best olive oil if that is the only dressing. And one must have infinite experience to make a simple meal: sautéing must have the proper proportion of oil at the correct temperature for the proper amount of time—this is all experience—no recipe can tell you when it is right for your ingredients. And –horrors—I often don’t follow a recipe EXACTLY because of ingredients or amounts on hand. The recipes in this book really work better when you follow the directions within reason. I have much more respect for those chefs that make simple, beautiful, flavorful meals and know why they are so expensive. Less is often more.
But every year I tell people about the first time I tried Alice’s suggestion at a dinner party: tiny baby hakuri with greens attached laid in a tiny amount of boiling water in a large saucepan for a short time until greens are bright green and bulbs slightly softened. That’s it—and it will change the way you view turnips, and vegetables in general. It’s beautiful, soul-satisfying, simple, and fresh. There was also a time I used 1-lb of kale, 2-lbs of spinach, and 1 large head of escarole in one dish feeding six people. It cooked down to perfect portions!
Now that farmer’s market and local produce is popular again, do yourself a favor and see this book. You may want to treat yourself. This is the way rich people eat.
What I don’t like is that the book is so beautiful I hate to bring it into the kitchen. I don’t particularly like that the vegetables must be pulled from the garden THAT DAY to be used in these simple veggie-centered meals. If you have an abundant garden, or live close by a farmer’s market with innovative vegetable choices, you may survive. But you simply cannot expect to use supermarket groceries for these recipes and expect them to taste like they would in Alice Waters� restaurant, the Chez Panisse. The simpler a recipe it is, the more difficult it can be: for instance, “a drizzle of olive oil� really requires the best olive oil if that is the only dressing. And one must have infinite experience to make a simple meal: sautéing must have the proper proportion of oil at the correct temperature for the proper amount of time—this is all experience—no recipe can tell you when it is right for your ingredients. And –horrors—I often don’t follow a recipe EXACTLY because of ingredients or amounts on hand. The recipes in this book really work better when you follow the directions within reason. I have much more respect for those chefs that make simple, beautiful, flavorful meals and know why they are so expensive. Less is often more.
But every year I tell people about the first time I tried Alice’s suggestion at a dinner party: tiny baby hakuri with greens attached laid in a tiny amount of boiling water in a large saucepan for a short time until greens are bright green and bulbs slightly softened. That’s it—and it will change the way you view turnips, and vegetables in general. It’s beautiful, soul-satisfying, simple, and fresh. There was also a time I used 1-lb of kale, 2-lbs of spinach, and 1 large head of escarole in one dish feeding six people. It cooked down to perfect portions!
Now that farmer’s market and local produce is popular again, do yourself a favor and see this book. You may want to treat yourself. This is the way rich people eat.
February 26, 2017
I think every Chez Panisse cookbook has the same flaw, and the same magic: the recipes seem simple, trivial almost, in their lack of sophistication, and yet sweet god do they work! If you've been eating modern American cuisine at all over the last 30-odd years, this food will all seem familiar to you, not because it's derivative, but because this weird little restaurant in Berkeley CA is the birthplace of contemporary ideas about how to cook, and how to eat.
Which is to say, you probably won't find anything earth-shatteringly novel here. There are some techniques that differ from what I'm used to, and recipes for vegetables not frequently treated elsewhere. But then, the restaurant and the cookbook both take advantage of the bounty available to northern California, and in some cases just about nowhere else. Still, it's a great read as a historical look at modern American cooking, and a fine reference book to have on the shelf.
Which is to say, you probably won't find anything earth-shatteringly novel here. There are some techniques that differ from what I'm used to, and recipes for vegetables not frequently treated elsewhere. But then, the restaurant and the cookbook both take advantage of the bounty available to northern California, and in some cases just about nowhere else. Still, it's a great read as a historical look at modern American cooking, and a fine reference book to have on the shelf.
June 10, 2008
OOOoh do I wish I could eat at Chez Panisse... I recently joined a CSA garden, and this book is great. For each vegetable /vegetable family it gives background information, how to choose your vegetables at the market, notes on how to cook the vegetable simply, and then detailed recipes for more fussy dishes. One drawback is that sometimes the notes for simple cooking are too brief, and do not contain amounts for each ingredient, so you may need some cooking know-how in order to assemble the less detailed dishes she mentions. But the full recipes are quite in-depth, and all the recipes sound DELICIOUS!!!
This book is NOT vegetarian, but anyone who has been cooking vegetarian for a while should be able to make their own substitutions without difficulty.
I am buying this one!
This book is NOT vegetarian, but anyone who has been cooking vegetarian for a while should be able to make their own substitutions without difficulty.
I am buying this one!
June 26, 2012
I read this book probably the way Alice Waters intended: to learn techniques and to see what goes well together that I hadn't thought of.
If you're buying solely from farmers' markets that sell only local produce, you cannot always follow a given recipe because a needed ingredient might be out of season or simply sold out before you get there. So, you have to learn to prepare what's available and combine what you can.
A big plus was her nice descriptions of vegetables, their seasons, what to look for when buying, standard cooking techniques, etc. But, I also have to ding her a star for her somewhat inconsistent technique descriptions (giving a detailed explanation in one recipe, but not another with no explanation that you should look at the other recipe).
If you're buying solely from farmers' markets that sell only local produce, you cannot always follow a given recipe because a needed ingredient might be out of season or simply sold out before you get there. So, you have to learn to prepare what's available and combine what you can.
A big plus was her nice descriptions of vegetables, their seasons, what to look for when buying, standard cooking techniques, etc. But, I also have to ding her a star for her somewhat inconsistent technique descriptions (giving a detailed explanation in one recipe, but not another with no explanation that you should look at the other recipe).
March 4, 2008
Did anyone else read that Vanity Fair Article about Chez Panisse? Right, so I love this book. Beautiful wood cut illustrations! Each section is arranged into the various vegetables, with an explanation of what and when and how. This allowed me to confront Kohlrabi, as well as deal with cabbage. Its about vegetables, but there are some meat recipes, so is great for those who need to confront their own vegetable intake, but aren't interested in vegetarian cooking. Plus I love the idea of a bunch of broke coked-up Berkeley stragglers cooking mad french food and eventually finding fame and international recognition for services to nutrition. When is the movie coming out?
January 7, 2014
While I'm always a fan of the vegetable-centric cookbook, and I greatly value Alice Waters' influence on American cultural approaches to eating in season, I was disappointed by the recipes in this book. Either they were too straightforward--I know how to select a vegetable or roast a root--or they were uninspiring (slow-cooked broccoli?). It's possible, certainly, that Waters has influenced American cookery to the extent that this particular work is less resonant in 2014. Probably a decent foundational volume, or excellent for fans of Chez Panisse specifically, but I will turn to other vegetable-centric cookbooks for ideas and techniques.
January 2, 2016
So much of what's in this book is classic in a way that can sometimes seem self-evident or even dated, but I love it all the same. Because the recipes rely mostly on combining one or two fresh vegetables with common staples, it can be a nice book to turn to when there's produce in your refrigerator that you're not quite sure what to do with, but don't want to do anything complicated or involving extra shopping trips. In that sense it's often more of a nudge-book than a cookbook, but sometimes a nudge is exactly what's needed.
February 27, 2008
This cookbook surprised me. The recipes were much simplier than I was expecting. Good vegetable overviews describing how best to prepare each veggie along with good flavor pairings. At the same time, nothing too original recipe-wise for my two favorite veggies, brussells sprouts and beets. Have to give some points back for actually coming up with original ideas for the overlooked radish, which mostly involve, surpringly, pairing with anchovies.
April 24, 2009
Love love love Alice Waters. Her prose is so lovely to read and the recipes are so inspiring and her tenderness for the food is so sweet, you just want to be an amaranth leaf in her kitchen.
My only frustration is that often, her recipes call for vegetables that are nigh impossible to find in this country (unless you grow your own) and the ones that you can find all the ingredients for turn out to be the most expensive things in your shopping cart that week.
My only frustration is that often, her recipes call for vegetables that are nigh impossible to find in this country (unless you grow your own) and the ones that you can find all the ingredients for turn out to be the most expensive things in your shopping cart that week.
January 22, 2008
Alice Waters talks about vegetables like only she can do. She gives thorough advice on selecting, growing, and preparing each vegetable, and I love how the book is formatted by vegetable, then seasonally. Doesn't get five stars because the recipes, when cooked, are not really something to write home about, although more than decent.
August 15, 2007
This book is, at heart, a beautifully illustrated encyclopedia of vegetables. It contains a wealth of information about the varieties of each vegetable, when they are in-season, and how to select, store, and cook them. Waters's recipes are more seductive than specific, but cooking may as well be an adventure! Nothing has disappointed yet.
January 1, 2009
Another beautiful book by Alice Waters, and I at least recognized the names of nearly all the vegetables listed, but I just can't see myself making "wild mushrooms baked in parchment" or "cabbage and bean soup with duck confit." The potato section, though, was -as always happens with potato sections- inspiring and hungrifying.
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