Under-an-hour dinner? How delicious!

Vegetarian Times, Jan, 2005 by Deborah Krasner

Fresh Food Fast: Delicious Seasonal Vegetarian Meals in Under an Hour By Peter Berley and Melissa Clark (ReganBooks/HarperCollins, 2004)

Fresh Food Fast is a beautifully designed and easy-to-use cookbook that's destined to become a classic. In it, Peter Berley, past executive chef of New York's renowned Angelica Kitchen, teaches us how to prepare restaurant-quality dishes at home.

Berley's recipes are designed for time-pressured cooks who have an hour or less to prepare dinner. The recipes are gathered into two-part seasonal menus, with detailed directions and a game plan to help prepare both dishes in tinder an hour. Each menu makes a dessert-flee meal.

Berley keeps his time promise. For example, his pressure-cooked Carrot Leek Soup--which takes about 10 minutes to prep and 7 to cook--is half of a spring menu that also includes a quick Bruschetta with Broccoli Rabe and Ricotta (about 25 minutes start to finish). It's a menu that's both light and satisfying. Other interesting menu combinations include Giant Arepas (corncakes) with Aged Gouda, and the Braised Pinto Beans with Delicata Squash, Red Wine, and Tomatoes (cooked with canned beans, for speed).

This book has many appealing elements. Its color-coded chapters instantly orient the reader in the season. Each menu lists the foods and equipment needed, enabling a cook to quickly scan what's required. A bonus: All chapters conclude with seasonal desserts.

I love this cookbook. The recipes are extraordinarily delicious, and the sidebars are informative. My only quibble: Recipes sometimes needed one more edit--for instance, the carrot soup instructs the cook to slice baby carrots, but doesn't specify how thinly. Otherwise, Fresh Food Fast is a cookbook to treasure.

IN A NUTSHELL

Completely vegetarian; many of the recipes are also vegan.

There are no nutritional breakdowns of recipes; however, this is careful, healthful cooking by a master chef.

While nothing in this book is technically difficult, recipes require that you use quality ingredients and follow the directions precisely for best results.

Beautiful photographs illustrate some of the recipes.

All of the recipes are designed to be prepared and cooked quickly.

At a big 294 pages with great photos, this keeper sells for $34.95.

Sample Recipe
CARROT LEEK SOUP

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Freshly dug spring carrots have bright, thin
skins, which aren't bitter like the skins of
older storage carrots. Skip peeling these
tender roots if you've got them.

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium leeks, white and tender
greens parts only, cleaned
and sliced
2 pounds baby carrots, scrubbed
and sliced
1 large sprig of tarragon
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher
salt, plus additional to taste
Juice of 1 orange
1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
Freshly milled black pepper

1. In a pressure cooker over medium heat,
melt 1 tablespoon of the butter with the
oil. Add the leeks and saute until
translucent, about 2 minutes.

2. Add 1 quart water, the carrots, sprig of
tarragon, and 1 teaspoon salt. Secure the
lid, and bring to full pressure over high
heat. Cook the carrots for 7 minutes.
Transfer the pot to the sink and run cold
water over it to release the pressure.

3. Discard the sprig of tarragon. Add the
orange juice, maple syrup, and remaining
tablespoon of butter. Using an immersion
blender puree the soup (or transfer in
batches to a standard blender or food
processor). Season with salt and pepper.

VT's NUTRITIONAL ANALYSIS

PER SERVING: 140 CAL; 2G PROT; 6G TOTAL FAT

(3G SAT. FAT); 20G CARB; 10MG CHOL; 510MG

SOD; 3G FIBER, 12G SUGARS

Deborah Krasner is an ardent reader, reviewer and writer of cookbooks. Her latest is The Flavors of Olive Oil, a 2003 James Beard Award winner.