The HappyCow Cookbook

The HappyCow Cookbook

Sample amazing vegan dishes from around the world—right in your own kitchen.

HappyCow.net helps millions of people everywhere find delicious vegan and vegetarian cuisine across the globe through the site’s extensive database of restaurants and reviews. Now, Eric Brent, creator of HappyCow, and Glen Merzer, coauthor of Better Than Vegan and Food Over Medicine, bring the HappyCow concept home with a collection of nutritious and delicious dishes from top-rated vegan restaurants around the world.

Featuring recipes from many of the world’s finest and most popular vegan restaurants, The HappyCow Cookbook shares the history and evolution of each restaurant, provides Q&As with the owners, and teaches you how to make some of their mouthwatering dishes.

With entrées like Blackbird Pizzeria’s Nacho Pizza, desserts such as Sublime Restaurant’s Apple Crumble Pie à la Mode, and drinks such as El Piano’s Granada Chai tea, HappyCow fans and newcomers alike will enjoy a selection of international gourmet vegan fare from the comfort of their own kitchens. The HappyCow Cookbook is a must-have guide for vegetarians, vegans, and those who simply want to experience some of the most delicious and healthy food on the planet.

Gluten-Free Coconut Strawberry Shortcake Cupcake

Gluten-Free Coconut Strawberry Shortcake Cupcake

Thai Noodles

Thai Noodles

Nacho Pizza

Nacho Pizza

About the Editors

Eric Brent

Eric Brent, founder and director of HappyCow, first had the idea to create an online guide to vegan restaurants in the late 90s. As a 20-plus year vegan who has traveled to more than 50 countries, Brent knows firsthand how difficult it can be to find “safe” food upon arriving in a new city. More than a decade after launch, HappyCow.net garners about 850,000 visitors per month and helps vegans and vegetarians all over the world find great food nearby.

Learn more at happycow.net.

Glen Merzer

Glen Merzer is coauthor with Del Sroufe of Better Than Vegan, with Pamela A. Popper, PhD, ND of Food Over Medicine, with Eric Brent of The HappyCow Cookbook, with Howard Lyman of Mad Cowboy, with Howard Lyman and Joanna Samorow-Merzer of No More Bull!, and with Chef AJ of Unprocessed. He is also the author of Off the Reservation. Merzer is also a playwright and screenwriter, having most recently completed a screenplay for Mad Cowboy. He has been a vegetarian for 40 years and a vegan for the last 20.

Featured Recipe

Buddha Lentil Burger (from Buddha Burgers in Tel Aviv, Israel)

8-10 Servings | On Page 38

Download the Recipe
Buddha Burger

The principle of this burger is simple: to include as many healthy and energizing ingredients as possible. Therefore, the base is sprouted lentils and quite a lot of flaxseed. All other ingredients are included for texture and taste.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil (optional)
1 ½ cups minced white onion
7 cups sliced white mushrooms
¾ cups sliced celery stalks
3 cups sprouted green or black lentils
1 ½ cups minced toasted walnuts
10 garlic gloves, minced
¼ of a green jalapeno pepper, minced well*
1 cup tomato paste
1 cup ground flaxseeds
4 tablespoons tahini mixed with
4 tablespoons water
4 tablespoons soy sauce**
30 minced fresh basil leaves
1 ½ teaspoons ground sea salt (or regular salt)
1 ½ teaspoons ground black pepper

Steps

Notes: Wear gloves when handling these peppers and never touch your eyes. For a gluten-free version of this recipe, use gluten-free soy sauce or Bragg Liquid Aminos.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Warm the olive oil in a pan and add the minced onion together with the mushrooms and the celery. Sauté for five minutes. Drain the vegetable mixture in a colander and press out all the juices and oil.

Then put the mixture in a food processor together with the lentils and walnuts. Using a large food processor, work in batches. With the food processor half-full, pulse the ingredients for 5 to 8 seconds until it resembles the texture of ground beef.

Transfer the mixture out of the food processor and into a large bowl, and stir in the rest of the ingredients with a large spoon (or a mixer). Set aside and let it rest for 10 minutes so the ground flaxseeds can bind the mixture. The mixture should be soft and moist.

To make each patty, take about 5 heaping tablespoons of burger mixture and press them flat into a disc onto an oiled baking pan. Bake the patties at 375 degrees. After 10 minutes, flip the patties and rotate the pan around in the oven back to front (for even baking). Bake another 10 minutes. Remove and cool. The patties should be crunchy on the outside and softer on the inside.

Serve in a whole spelt bun with toppings, like our Bechamel “Cheese” (recipe in full cookbook), a vegan Thousand Island dressing (vegan mayonnaise, ketchup, pickles, and dried onion), mustard, lettuce, tomato, red onion, or chives.

Tip: The healthiest way to prepare these burgers is to dehydrate them rather than baking. After shaping the patties, place them in an oven at 115 degrees for 12 hours.

Publication Details

The HappyCow Cookbook
  • Title: The HappyCow Cookbook
  • Author: Eric Brent and Glen Merzer
  • Publisher: BenBella Books, Inc.
  • Publication Date: 06/03/2014
  • Price: $19.95 US/$23.00 CAN
  • Format: Trade paper and ebook
  • Trim Size: 7 x 9
  • Page Count: 296 pages
  • ISBN: 978-1-939529-66-4
  • Ebook ISBN: 978-1-939529-67-1

Endorsements

For so many years, HappyCow has given vegans the ability to access vegan food anywhere we go, which is crucial to the vegan lifestyle and sense of belonging. This book takes that mission to the next level, bringing the fantastic food we seek out into our homes and kitchens. What a brilliant addition to any chef's library!

— Mayim Bialik, actress on The Big Bang Theory and author of Mayim's Vegan Table

These chefs are the go-to connoisseurs of great vegan food, and now they're making it possible for us to eat at home what we would have had to travel the globe to find! These dishes are going to make you so happy!

— Kathy Freston, New York Times bestselling author of Veganist, The Lean, and Quantum Wellness

HappyCow, the amazing website and indispensable app, has directed me towards delicious vegan cuisine in my travels and even at home for years. I highly recommend this gorgeous, inspiring collection for anyone who appreciates the art of cooking and/or just enjoys eating delicious, health-promoting food.

— Julieanna Hever, MS, RD, CPT, author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition and host of Veria's wellness talk show, "What Would Julieanna Do?"

The HappyCow Cookbook is the next best thing to sitting at the table of the best chefs in the world.

— Howard F. Lyman, author of Mad Cowboy

Well done, HappyCow! Here’s your chance to enjoy delectable, health-promoting, plant-based cuisine from some of the finest restaurants in the world—without leaving home.

— J. Morris Hicks, author of Healthy Eating, Healthy World and international blogger at hpjmh.com

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