Vegetables: A Love Story

Happy Almost Valentine’s Day! Rather than a recipe, today I have a story to tell. It’s an origin story, or maybe more of an epiphany, about why I did an about-face around 6 years ago with my approach to cooking. And it’s also a love story.

6 or 7 years ago, I moved off-campus with some good friends and was able to cook for myself for the first time. Everything I made, from weeknight dinners to chocolate cakes, was altered in some way to make it “healthier.” Honestly, that had been my cooking style since I’d started cooking early in high school. The more calories I could wring out of a recipe and the more fiber I could pack in, the better. This was often at the expense of flavor and satisfaction. And I thought this would make me a good dietitian.

At the end of that year, something happened. A very tall, very cute man whom I considered a close friend asked me out. And on one of our first dates, he went all out. We went to Boston’s Bistro du Midi, where we had tempura baby artichokes followed by entrees of duck (for him) and goat cheese gnocchi with cauliflower, spring peas, crumbled nuts, ricotta salata, and pistou. It was so shockingly good that I still remember every bite as if we ate there yesterday.

But what was more shocking was this cute boy’s reaction to my food. In all the years we’d been friends, I don’t think I had ever seen him willingly eat a vegetable. In fact, there was one dinner he made that was literally just meat with seasoning. And even though he’d already lied about liking asparagus to impress me, I knew he wasn’t the world’s biggest fan of most vegetables.

And yet, he gobbled down the artichokes like they were the best food he’d ever had– to be fair, they were– and ate all the vegetables that came with his duck. And then, he started picking shaved cauliflower and blanched peas off of my plate! (It was ok, we were friends first, remember?)

At the time, I just thought it was funny, but upon later reflection, I realized something far more important. This vegetable-averse man had just happily eaten vegetables, not because they were “healthy” or because he was “supposed to” but because they were beautifully presented and prepared to highlight the uniqueness of each food.

In the hands of the skilled culinary team, these oft-dreaded vegetables became an enhancement, and even a highlight, of the meal as a whole.

And just like that, my philosophy of food changed. Essentially, I went from thinking like a calorie-crazed dietitian to a cook who just happened to enjoy foods that are healthy. When I think about what to make for lunches, dinners, and even breakfast, vegetables are a vital part, but not because of the nutrition they contribute.

Vegetables contribute crunch when raw, but if the chunks are too big, the crunch can be distracting, so why not take a page from Bistro du Midi’s book and present them shaved or julienned? (By the way, another restaurant we love, SRV, serves a shaved winter squash salad, and I’ve never seen aforementioned cute-but-vegetable-hating man eat squash in any other form with out gagging.) Vegetables can cut through an otherwise overly-greasy meal by adding some bitterness or acidity. If sauteed or roasted, they contribute richness, sweetness, or umami notes, as well as softness or creaminess. A simple salad can be the bed for a hearty protein, or can round out one-note meal like pizza or soup.

So if you, like many many people, think you don’t like vegetables, think a little harder next time. Rather than focusing on just the overall “yuck,” try to figure out exactly what you don’t like about certain vegetables, and maybe what you do like about other vegetables. Look up recipes and ideas that can use those attributes- good or bad- as a highlight or balancing note to a dish, and start trying new things out.

It’s never too late to learn to like vegetables, if you only give them a chance to stand on their own merits. For some starting points, try my Skate Wing paired with Radishes and Cauliflower, Jammy Squash Carbonara, or Lentil Root Vegetable Salad. Imagine these dishes without the vegetables, and how bland, soft, or oily they could be. Vegetables deserve to be seen for how they taste, and not just what they do for health!

And by the way, that cute-vegetable-hating boy is now my ok-with-vegetables-most-of-the-time husband, and we are living happily ever after!