30 TIME December 11, 2017
The ViewFood
A recent report from the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention found that
Americans are failing bitterly to eat their
greens: more than 90% of people in the
U.S. don’t consume the recommended
two to three cups of vegetables per day.
Given that pleasure is a better motivator
than far-off health benefits, we asked five
renowned cooks to share their favorite
ways to transform drab produce into
prizewinning meals.
Mark Bittman’s
steam-sauté
The best-selling cookbook author cites
three reasons we should all appreciate
veggies: they provide variety, everyone
likes at least a few of them, and they’re
nearly impossible to overeat. Bittman,
who recently released a new edition
of his classicHow to Cook Everything
Vegetarian, shares his go-to: “Most
vegetables, gently steam-sautéed with
good olive oil, a little water, garlic, onion,
salt and chili flakes, are unbeatable.”
Martha Stewart’s
buttery beans
“My favorite way to prepare fresh string
beans from my garden: Snap off the stem
end, bring a pot of heavily salted water
to a boil, add the beans, then boil until
flaccid,” Stewart says. “Immediately
immerse in a bowl of cold water, and
chill until you’re ready to serve. Heat
one cup of water and four tablespoons of
salted butter; boil, add the string beans
and stir until heated through.”
Amy Chaplin’s
pureed soup
One of Chaplin’s favorite all-vegetable
meals is pureed soup. Start with just a
few ingredients, like cauliflower, greens
and dill—no stock needed. Sauté onions
and garlic, add your veggies and enough
water to almost cover them, then simmer
until the cauliflower softens. “Stir in
kale, collards or spinach and dill. Then
blend,” says the author ofAt Home in the
Whole Food Kitchen. “It’s so simple and
nourishing. It’s soothing too—you want
something warming this time of year.”
Jeremy Fox’s
decadent cabbage
Even after writingOn Vegetables, Fox
went through a phase of unhealthy
eating. Determined to reset, he tried a
juice cleanse and ended up “cheating”
with braised beet greens. “It was one of
the best things I’ve ever had,” he says.
“I have a rediscovered appreciation
for vegetables. One of my favorites is
green cabbage, sliced up and cooked
down in butter with salt and lots and
lots of black pepper. Just let it slowly
caramelize—it’s amazing. It’s such a
simple thing, a few ingredients, yet it’s
really decadent and rich.”Matthew Kenney’s
ceviche
“There’s so much earthiness and natural
sweetness to vegetables, and endless
possibilities of cooking with them,”
says thePlantlab author. “Vegetables
get lost when paired with much heavier
things. Standing on their own, they’re
just stellar. I find that eating food that’s
alive makes you feel alive.” One of
his favorites: a heart of palm ceviche.
Kenney marinates hearts of palm in a
lemon and olive oil mixture, then serves
it with a ginger, pepper, cilantro and
coconut milk sauce topped with red
chili pepper oil and a radish garnish.These famous chefs want to
help you eat your veggies
By Lucy Feldman
LEE PEI LING—MOMENT RF/GETTY IMAGES