Description:
Vegetable cooking can be tricky. To the rescue comes How to Cook Garden Vegetables, a pithy guide. In fewer than 100 pages, it presents illustrated, step-by-step instructions for preparing asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, eggplant, green beans, and other garden favorites--basic recipes, tips, and information that all cooks can use. Asserting that each vegetable has its own best-followed cooking methods--boiling or steaming for asparagus, for example--the book then presents vegetable prep basics and master recipes with interesting variations. Want to fix cauliflower? A typically succinct chapter offers a basic formula for steaming the vegetable and then includes accompanying recipes using curry-basil vinaigrette and bread crumbs, capers, and chopped egg, and suggestions for browning and braising techniques using Asian or Indian flavors. Underlying techniques are explored and illustrated throughout (cutting and otherwise preparing greens is one) and sensible tips abound (for example, to avoid burning, add aromatics to the pan after you've begun to stir-fry the vegetables). A true primer, the book is part of the Cook's Illustrated Library, a modest yet consistently authoritative series from the editors of Cook's Illustrated magazine. Like the magazine, the books are dedicated to presenting tried-and-perfected recipes and cooking techniques in a concise, approachable way. --Arthur Boehm
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