Misunderstood Vegetables

Starred review from December 4, 2023
In this informative and inspiring collection, private chef Selengut (Shroom) invites readers to consider (or reconsider) 25 oft-neglected vegetables, including “the gnarled root, the twisted tuber, the prickly green.” Lovely photos and vivid descriptions accompany three recipes per vegetable, all organized by season. Acknowledging that what’s “unfamiliar” varies by culture and exposure (okra is better known in the South, for example), Selengut offers shopping, prepping, and cooking tips, all of which are crucial for a first encounter with an artichoke, the stick-shaped burdock, or a tomatillo, and shares what to expect in terms of flavor and texture. Nettles are hard to find, but “supremely tasty” in creamy scrambled eggs with nettle pesto. The edible flowers that blossom from squash plants are not only attractive, they allow cooks to make use of the whole vegetable; stuffing one is “fiddly” but, Selengut asserts, worth the resulting “melt-in-your-mouth blossoms.” Recipes include classics and inventive twists: Saag paneer made with mustard greens brings out that vegetable’s “horseradish-like sharpness”; a kohlrabi slaw with apples, herbs, and mustard seed dressing promises to take home chefs outside their “cabbage coleslaw comfort zone”; and jicama elotes play on the flavors of Mexican street corn. For curious cooks looking to branch out, this exploratory introduction will be invaluable.

Starred review from January 1, 2024

Selengut, a chef, culinary instructor, food journalist, and author of cookbooks, including IACP Book Award finalist Good Fish, believes there is no such thing as a bad vegetable; there are just misunderstood ones. Writing with a dry sense of humor and a zesty enthusiasm, she plays matchmaker between 25 different wallflower vegetables--fava beans, nettles, fennel, beets--and shy cooks who have yet to discover their gastronomic potential. The cookbook is arranged seasonally, with each vegetable receiving an overview providing historic, scientific, and nutritional information, along with tips on purchasing, storing, cooking, and substitutions, followed by a small selection of clearly written recipes featuring the misunderstood vegetable. Gorgeous color photographs and bonuses such as a recipe for homemade ricotta (for the fava bean, sweet pea, and ricotta dip) round out this stellar cookbook. VERDICT Even with the bounty of excellent vegetable-focused cookbooks that are available (such as Deborah Madison's brilliant Vegetable Literacy and Abra Berens's thoughtful Ruffage), this effortlessly entertaining and endlessly empowering book deserves its own spot in every kitchen.--John Charles

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