Milk Street Vegetables

Christopher Kimball

Chili-spiked carrots. Skillet-charred Brussels sprouts. Mashed potatoes brightened with harissa and pistachios. These are just three ways to put vegetables in the center of your plate.

Here in the U.S. meat is cheap and has been in the center of the plate for centuries. The rest of the world however knows how to approach vegetables grains and beans not only with respect but with a fresh lively approach one that transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary.

To get a vegetable education we traveled to Athens to learn how winter vegetable stews could taste light and bright not hearty and heavy. In Cairo we tasted eggplant and potatoes that punched up flavor with bold pops of texture from whole spices. And in Puglia Italy we had a revelatory bite of zucchini enriched by ricotta cheese and lemon.

This is a world of high-heat roasts unctuous braises drizzles of honey and stir-fries aromatic with ginger and garlic. And with 250 recipes the possibilities are nearly endless: A simple head of cauliflower can become Cauliflower Shawarma Sichuan Dry-Fried Cauliflower or Curried Cauliflower Rice with Peas and CashewsHumble cabbage travels the world to become Butter-Roasted Cabbage with Citrus Hazelnuts and Mustard; Hot and Sour Stir-Fried Cabbage; and Thai-Style Coleslaw with Mint and CilantroMushrooms are transformed into Stir-Fried Mushrooms with Asparagus and Lemon Grass or Miso Soup with Mixed Vegetables and Tofuand greens get the Milk Street treatment in dishes like Pozole with Collard Greens; Hot Oil-Flashed Chard with Ginger Scallions and Chili; and Persian-Style Swiss Chard and Herb Omelet
It's never too late to get your vegetable PhD.