Susie Middleton - The Fresh & Green Table: Delicious Ideas for Bringing Vegetables into Every Meal

For Roy and Libby

I remember the thrill of the first timethe first time I grilled a pizza, the first time I hand-shaped a rustic tart, the first time I made a great chili. Funny thing is, I still get a thrill out of learning howto cook something new. For me, cooking is all about technique, and every day I thank my lucky stars for the cooking skills Ive collected over the years. I feel so grateful, in fact, that all I really want to do is pass the best of that knowledge on to you. You might think that cooking vegetables is all about the ingredients. (Vegetables are, after all, so sexy.) But I think the real secret to making delicious vegetable dishes is a repertoire of good and easy techniques, brought to lifeof coursein detailed recipes.

Im hoping you and I can use these techniques and recipes to blow vegetable cooking out a bit. Veggies are ready for their day in the limelighttheyre not just for vegetarians or vegans, but for all of us. And while veggies are perfectly comfortable hanging out on the side of an entre, they can move to the center of the plate with amazing agility. knowIve been a witness!

After writing my first cookbook, Fast, Fresh & Green a collection of vegetable side dishesI began to think about the possibilities of vegetable main dishes. Since Im not a vegetarian, my mind didnt wander to recipes that feature soy or other meat substitutes. Instead I immediately thought about the kinds of dishes that everyonemeat-eaters and vegetarians alikewould already be familiar and comfortable with, things like soups, salads, and stir-fries. Next I thought of pastas and frittatasdishes that could easily star veggies front and center. Then I considered the fun factorrecipes that are a real kick to make and eatthings like grilled pizza and savory rustic tarts. Boy, would they make great veggie vehicles. Pretty soon my mind went into overdrive: Grains! Gratins! Galettes! Oh My! Suddenly, my list of vegetable main-dish recipes was too long for one book.

So Ive narrowed down. A bit. (My editors are breathing a sigh of relief.) But you will find in The Fresh & Green Table (and by green we mean all things vegetable, red tomatoes and orange squash included) that I have not skimped on two things: recipes with lots of detailsand recipes that yield delicious results. (My very, very favorite, to be completely honest, is the first recipe in this book, . But there are so many more.)

In the detailed recipes, youll find good techniques waiting for you to absorb. Slow down, sit back, and read the recipes through before starting. Pay close attention to things like the type of pan called for, the way the vegetable is cut, and when ingredients are added. But, most especially, pay attention to the doneness clues I provide. (How brown is it? Is the pan sizzling? Is the sauce bubbling?) This isnt just me being fussyits me doing my best to hand you the tools to becoming a good cook, tools Ive picked up from every cooking experience Ive ever hadfrom culinary school to my first restaurant job to my days as editor of Fine Cooking magazine. Sensual clueswhat something looks like, smells ike, sounds likeare more reliable than cooking times. (Rest assured, however, that my cross-testers and I have made every effort to give you the best possible estimates on timing. But every stove is a little different.)

Also, make more than one recipe in a chapter, and youll begin to see the takeaways. For example, most of the grain dishes in chapter 8 pair a simple cooked grain (like quinoa orfarro) with a sauted or roasted vegetable (like carrots or green beans). Make a couple of these recipes, and soon youll be improvising your own combos. Youll have a new kind of dish in your repertoireone defined by the details of the way its made.

A veggie main dish is any recipe that features vegetables and is substantial and interesting enough to plan a meal around. It doesnt have to be the entire meal (though many dishes can be), but it should be a major component. In fact, the primary goal of a veggie main dish is to get you thinking of great ways to eat more veggies and to shift the portions on your plate so that meat might play a supporting role in dinner, rather than a starring one. If youre a vegetarian (in which case meat isnt playing a role at all), you probably already think of veggies in this way. But perhaps now youre looking for veggie main dishes that feel familiar to your non-vegetarian eating companions, so you can all eat veggies together.

Regardless of your world eating viewand I think of mine as pro-veggie, rather than anti-meatyou might enjoy eating a more veggie-centric meal at dinnertime for two other reasons: Veggies are delicious (especially when cooked well), and theyre incredibly versatile. (Thats where the fun-in-thekitchen part comes ina big priority for me.) And, yes, veggies are really good for you; it goes without saying that wed all like the benefits of eating more of those antioxidants. But since Im a cook, and not a nutritionist, I can only speak to what I intuitively know best: If something tastes good, people will eat more of it.

Heres a list of the twenty kinds of main dishes in this bookfrom which you can choose if youre looking for a satisfying destination for your veggies:

• 1. Warm Salads
• 2. Grilled Salads
• 3. Creamy Soups
• 4. Chunky Soups
• 5. Chili
• 6. Stovetop Pastas
• 7. Baked Pastas
• 8. Cool Pastas
• 9. Frittatas
• 10. Savory Bread Puddings
• 11. Gratins*
• 12. Tians*
• 13. Galettes*
• 14. Savory Rustic Tarts
• 15. Veggie Sauts
• 16. Ragots
• 17. Grain and Veggie Combos
• 18. Rice and Veggie Combos
• 19. Baked Pizzas
• 20. Grilled Pizzas

*(Ill explain these, I promise!)

, for example, beg to be eaten in smaller portions and to be paired with a generous green salad or a cup of soup.

To help you wrap your head around how a particular recipe might fit into your meal planning, Ive included serving suggestions in the headnotes whenever possible. (And many times, I offer ways of rounding out a meal for both meat-eaters and vegetarians.) Also, Ive included a collection of simple and delicious side dishes and side salads in chapter 10 so that these perfect accompaniments for veggie main dishes will be right at your fingertips.

Heres how my simple mind thinks: Good technique + detailed recipes = great flavor and texture. On my veggie blog, SixBurnerSue.com, Im always talking about how much I love high-heat cooking methodsroasting, sauting, and grilling. Theres hardly a vegetable that doesnt benefit from the caramelized flavor it picks up when cooked with high heat. So you will find that in many recipes in this book, veggies are cooked first before joining other ingredients in the main dish. In addition to thinking about how Im going to cook my vegetables, I think about my choice of vegetables. Before I even focus on a primary veggiesay, broccoli or green beans think about aromatic veggies as a base for a dish. The best aromatics are all members of the allium familygarlic, shallots, onions, leeksand browning them as part of the flavor base for a vegetable dish is one trick for making a meatless dish taste meatier. My other favorite aromatic is fresh ginger, which I use in soups, sauts, and even custards.