Vicky Goes Veg … green, fresh and exciting
‘Going green has never been so deliciously exciting. Bon Apetit…’
Farhan Akhtar
Roasted Red Bell Pepper & Broccoli Salad from Vicky Goes Veg. Everything about the book is colourful, fresh, exciting, full of flavour and vegetarian of course! It’s an exciting new book by Chef Vicky Ratnani and holds a LOT of promise. Vegetarianism is no longer considered ‘second food. Slowly but surely vegetarian centric cookbooks are appearing on bookshelves, grabbing eyeballs as they do so!
We were hosted by Harper Collins & Nachiketa at the lush and beautiful ‘The Palms‘, Gurgaon for the book launch. Vicky Ratnani has infectious energy, is animated and absolutely passionate about food. I was fortunate to meet him in Jan last year at a tea & food pairing session, and it certainly was a pleasure to meet him again.
He held fort by the poolside under the blazing setting sun, which shouldn’t have been quite so blazing in Mid March … but was! Sporting that he is, he didn’t blink an eyelid, no complaints nothing. He was there well before the guests began to arrive and after a short delay {thanks to the TV crew}, he fired up!
Sauteing, chatting, sharing tips and trivia and a load of his passion, he held the attention of the select audience. As he stirred up magic, we were served the same from the kitchen alongside. The flavours blew us away! Who wants to eat non vegetarian food if vegetarian food can be so exciting. Not me!! The Braised Plantain with Thai spices was out of the world good, as was the Eggplant & Bok choy in sambal.
I love the energy throughout the book. It entices you to ‘try’ something different. I also love that Vicky has stuck to the concept of sourcing local produce, something that makes the locavore in me do a merry dance. The photographs that liberally colour the pages are a journey of the food chain in India including the merchants and the local bazaars.
Vicky is often seen arm in arm with the guys who matter … yes, those who grow, deliver and sell local produce. It’s refreshing to see so much space dedicated to the local sabziwala i.e. vegetable vendors. The recipes in the book are unique, hail from across the world but come with an Indian twist, all green and fresh!
The good thing is that Vicky encourages you to think out of the box, constantly innovate and evolve. He offers his book as a stepping stone for new ideas in vegetarian cooking, and tells you to be fearless. If you don’t have this, use that. There’s plenty of trivia tucked within that makes the book even more interesting. One downside is that the number of portions or ‘servings’ aren’t specified.
So I set off to make the Roasted Red Bell Pepper & Broccoli Salad. Of course, my heart followed his advice and my recipe meandered off as I was short on time. I didn’t blend the dressing, only whisked it. Substituted apricots for walnuts, simplified the dressing a bit. I also made Stromboli from the book which disappeared too quick!
If you’d like to win a copy of the book, VICKY GOES VEG, please leave a comment below telling me which your favourite vegetarian dish from across the globe is. Please be sure to leave a valid email address so I can contact you. This giveaway is open to residents of India, or anyone with an Indian mailing address. {Giveaway sponsored by Harper Collins}
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Recipe: Roasted Red Bell Pepper & Broccoli Salad
Summary: Summary Info Goes Here
Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes Ingredients:
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Salad
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1 red bell pepper, roasted
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1 yellow bell pepper, roasted
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1 big head of broccoli, cut into florets
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1 broccoli stem, peeled, thinly sliced
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Salt to season
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A pinch of cracked black pepper
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A few sprigs of thyme
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2tbsp olive oil
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1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves
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Dressing
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2 cloves of garlic, cut into chips
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2tbsp olive oil
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1/2 a white onion, sliced
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1 tbsp red wine vinegar
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Salt to taste
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Pepper to taste
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1 spring onion, cut into 3cm long batons
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4-5 dried apricots
Method:
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Season the bell peppers, broccoli florets and stems with salt, pepper, thyme and olive oil {I blanched the broccoli for 2 minutes first and then plunged it into ice cold water} -
Cut the bell peppers into strips
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Fry the garlic in olive oil, and allow to cool and crisp. Reserve the garlic flavoured oil for the dressing.
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Dressing
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Sauté the white onion in the garlic oil. Deglaze with red wine vinegar. Transfer into a bowl to blend it to a dressing.
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Season with salt and pepper. Add the coriander leaves including their juicy stems. Whizz to blend to a smooth, sour, creamy, garlicky dressing.
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Mix the spring onion batons and apricots along with the broccoli and peppers. Spoon the dressing over the veggies. Garnish with the fried garlic chips.
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Yum! Toss all the veggies along with the dressing. Chill before serving.
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Deeba @ PAB
About me: I am a freelance food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Food is my passion - baking, cooking, developing recipes, making recipes healthier, using fresh seasonal produce and local products, keeping a check on my carbon footprint and being a responsible foodie! I enjoy food styling, food photography, recipe development and product reviews. I express this through my food photographs which I style and the recipes I blog. My strength lies in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. Baking in India, often my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients, and this has now become a platform to get creative on. I enjoy cooking immensely as well.
34 Comments
Aditi
My favourite dish was a vegetarian tapas at a spanish restaurant in glasgow. It had orange, green beans, goat cheese and croutons and is called Ensalada Sevillana!
stephanie
We love broccoli salads and are looking to switch it up. This looks amazing. Our favorite veg dish is Fattoush.
Chris
I know I can’t win this unfortunately (I live in the United States) but I thought I would share my favorite Vegetarian Recipe … it is really pretty simple (and something I made up myself) …
I buy fresh Spinach Fettuccini
When the pasta water comes to a boil I steam 2 zucchini and 2 summer squash that have been cut into large but bite size chunks. When the squashes are steamed I use them below. I typically add the pasta when I add the mushrooms to the sauce (just be cautious to try and get everything done about the same time).
I start by sautéing a large red onion until soft and translucent when the onions are just starting to get a little color I add about 4 cloves of garlic (I like a lot of garlic so sometimes I use more, you may want to use less it is to taste). I then add a few mushrooms (again, I love mushrooms so I just use a combination; but use what you like). When the mushrooms are just starting to soften I add some cannellini beans, halved cherry tomatoes, the steamed squashes and season with what ever fresh herbs I have (I like thyme and rosemary with this or marjoram if using dried herbs) and salt and pepper to taste.
I toss the pasta and the veggie sauce together and serve with crumbled feta and some slightly toasted walnuts. This is so good!
I have changed it up a few times with different veggies but this is my favorite combination … I hope you all enjoy!
gloria
look absolutely beautiful Deeba!! xoxoxox
jan
Veggie stir fry is my favorite. YUM!
nags
That looks delicious! Been reading reviews about this book all over and coveting it now. Fave veg dish has to be lasagne. Tried different versions and so far have liked them all
Ritu Jain
My favourite dish is veg biryani. Being the only person who cooks in a vegetarian family, this book will no doubt be of great help.
Hari
I grew up a vegitarian but switched when I turned twenty. Now I am thinking about switching back.
My fav would be a full “Onam Sadya”
Anuya
Salad looks great Deeba !! 🙂
My fav vegetarian dish is Pani-puri. I know , I know its not much of a dish .. but its vegetarian and I am hooked 🙂
Anuya
Salad looks great Deeba !!
My fav dish is Pani puri 🙂 .. i know i know.. its not much of a “dish” , but its vegeterian and I am hooked 🙂
Deepali Jain
My favorite veg dish has to be Lasagna & Ratatouille. Absolutely love both of them. 🙂
Aqiyl Aniys
Awesome looking salad. I would like 2 servings please.
shweta jani
Hi, i would like to enter the giveaway. My favourite vegetarian dish in the world Dal Dhokli with cucumber, onion and tomato salad. Thanks a lot !
Madhuli
Deeba, stunning photos as usual.The salad looks refreshing, given the current heat wave salads seems to be my to go food!
Samruddhi
Salad looks delicious.My fav veg dish is ” batatyache song” made by my mum. I know “song” in the name is a bit funny, no idea why it is called so, its a curry made with potatoes and coconut. We have it with hot phulkas. Yummy.
Meenu
My favorite summer veg dish is a simple salad – rocket, feta, water melon, a sprinkle of sunflower seeds and some vinaigrette. In winters its veg stew served with appams. Well actually a veg sizzler is as much a favorite!
Great plating, great colors of this dish Deeba…and a beautiful plate that I’d love to have a couple of pieces of too!
Cheryl D.
Hi! Being goans, fish and meat have always dominated the menu at home. It isnt that we do not like veg food, but unfortunately our exposure to good veg cuisines have been limited. My favourite dish till date is baigan bartha. I love brinjals! And this dish does warm my heart. I would love to win the copy of veg recipes! We really could do with some education in that department of foooood!!
ARCHANA SHARMA
My favourite veg dish across the globe is Pineapple Fried Rice which has amazing aroma and
simply divine in taste.
ARCHANA SHARMA
My favourite dish across the globe is Pineapple Fried Rice which has amazing flavours and
divine taste.
Megha Jain
Hi I have seen Vicky Goes Veg on TV he is amazing he has really helped making my cooking very special n gourmet.
My favorite dish across globe is a desert Tiramisu Cake, it’s just heavenly.
Getting Vicky’s veg recipe book is gonna be amazing as I am from a vegetarian family so this will help me make some really tasty n new dishes.
Thanks!!
Chaitra
Deeba, you inspire us with those lovely clicks and I am really jealous of those bakes which come out fresh from your oven esp the ones with Nutella.
I was happy to see you with Vikas Khanna as well.
I love Simple Walnut n Roasted pears salad with Honey mustard dressing and some pinenuts as well in it.
Bedobani
When it comes to vegetarian food I like homemade ‘aloo bhaja’ with rice and daal. It’s a dish any Bengali will live and vouch for. There is another dish of a whole lot of seasonal vegetables with paanch phoron. I like that too. Apart from that grilled vegetables and stuffed capsicum are other favourites. Your salad looks delicious! Will definitely try it.
Bedobani
Aloo bhaja with rice and dal are firm favourites. I also like a dish with seasonal vegetables tempered with paanch phoron. Apart from that stuffed capsicum and grilled vegetables are yum. Your salad looks delicious. So colourful and refreshing specially when it’s getting warmer. Hope to try it soon !
Puja
Ironically, I write an all vegetarian food blog, and Vicky Ratnani’s twists on modern classics is a great inspiration. My favourite vegetarian dish is the som tam, which is a thai papaya salad. I find that most places don’t get the correct balance of flavours, and if you are plated a perfectly tasting som tam, no doubt it would be your favourite too!
Beth
I’m not vegetarian but, seem to be choosing to cook vegetarian much more often recently. Looking forward to trying out some of these recipes on
Suchi Garg
Well, i am a pure vegetarian and almost all Indian veg food is my favorite. Right from north indian paneer tikka to south indian Rice idli, to gujarati dhokla to bengali rosogulla. I love them all!!!
Meenakshi
Has to be Kerala pineapple pachadi…when I eat a banana leaf ‘sadhya,’ I’ll happily forego sambhar for extra helpings of pachadi!!
Nithya
I am a vegetarian and my favorite dish is simple rice with rasam and sautéed vegetbles. Would love to win a copy of the book.
SHWETA
Hi, my favourite dish would be zucchini pasta with marinara sauce.. Errr. whats zucchini pasta ? We its a really difficult recipe.. its zuchhini.. scraped of its waxy skin… and then grated as thick or thin as you like. 🙂
Eat this once, you wont like your wheat pasta for sure.
Goes well with all tomato based sauces.
Neha
Hi,
Just came across your site while googling “best food blogs” in India. I am a budding blogger and I am really inspired by your blog.
Vicky Ratnani is a great and amazing chef. I love his shows and can’t believe you have a give away 🙂
So my favorite dish all time is “Paneer Paratha” from cream center, Chennai. No one makes it like them.
Neha
Hi, Just came across your site when I was searching for top food blogs of India. I am a budding blogger and your page is an inspiration.
Vicky Ratnani is an amazing Chef and a give away of his, I am sure to leave a comment 🙂 🙂 🙂
So my favorite dish of all time is “Paneer Paratha”. I tried from cream center, Chennai. (cannot be replicated, best tasting ever)
DS
Hi,
Your blog is an inspiration for me with its colorful and eyecatching layout !!!
My alltime favorite veg dish is ‘Bise bela bhath’ its a sambar and rice combo with lots of veggies and spices and is from Karnataka state.
manjeet
Hey Deeba,
My favorite veg recipe? So…many..what to choose?
Kathal biryani
Lotus stem fries and nargisi koftey
Stuffed mushrooms
Green papaya bird’s eye salad
and so many more….
Cheers,
Manjeet
Mekha Jaiswal
Hi,
Hmmm fav veg dish has to be Falafel with pita bread and lots of crunch thanks to desi taste of onion tomato and dhania chutney.. soft warm bread with crunchy falafel and fresh salad.. fast fresh and simple…