It’s hard to be intimidated by celery root – or rutabaga, radicchio, eggplant or okra – when it wiggles its wide eyes at you. “You’ll laugh,” said Selengut, who began observing produce while teaching a cooking class on “Misunderstood Vegetables” and writing a related new cookbook.
Laughing is second nature to Selengut, a tall, lively and very funny native of New Jersey who inexplicably hated tomatoes as a child. Working in fine dining restaurants after graduating from the Seattle Culinary Academy, Selengut was often the only woman on guard, a gay woman facing annoying questions about her qualifications from her male counterparts. “I tried to be one of the guys, and I ended up using humor to get in with these guys, and I ended up loving them like a band of brothers, depending on who was there.”
She later worked as a private chef and taught, podcasted and improv comedy, and wrote cookbooks. In her words, she has made a career out of “taking the inaccessible and breaking it down for the novice.”
For misunderstood veggies, that means disarming cooks into opening their minds – and their veggie dips, pot pies and pasta sauces.
Which vegetables are misunderstood?
In the years that Selengut asked students this question, it meant any vegetable they passed by in the grocery store without ever thinking about buying it. On an individual level, this decision depends on the students’ culture and background. Above all. (Apparently no one understands rutabaga.)
Other candidates for “misunderstood” are vegetables that people didn’t like the one time they tried them because they were poorly prepared, or vegetables for which only one preparation comes to mind. ‘spirit. (Think about tomatillos: most students find themselves in a dead end after “salsa.”)
Selengut has plenty of practical advice on all of these categories: for those who treat beets as “metal balls of dirt,” for example, she suggests adding flavors that offset their earthiness and sweetness. “Just like you wouldn’t want a margarita without lime juice, you have to have that balance,” she said.
She pairs beets with sour, creamy and crunchy ingredients, like with a bright magenta hummus blending roasted beets with tahini, chickpeas and lemon juice, topped with fragrant and crunchy pistachio dukkah.
It’s not always that simple, because food is about context as much as flavor. “My misunderstood vegetables may not be yours,” Selengut said. Indian students tend to enjoy eggplant, native Italians generally recognize radicchio, as they are common in their respective cuisines. Textures are a problem for many American cooks; As Fuchsia Dunlop points out in her writings on Chinese cuisine, Western palates generally reject the textures popular in Chinese dishes. (Dunlop speaks of “viscosity” and “slipperiness”.)
Slime is a turn-off for many diners trying gumbo — but again, context is everything. Southerners often know that its mucilaginous texture can benefit stews and okra by adding thickness and body, or they know how to cook it in a way that eliminates the goo. Add to that its complicated history: “Ships carrying African slaves brought okra to America; it is a legendary food that cannot be separated from the complex and brutal way in which it arrived on our shores,” Selengut wrote.
Such understanding breeds more understanding, and Selengut began to realize an important corollary: human empathy and plant empathy are not that far apart.
“It’s human nature to put people into categories, to differentiate them, to say they’re ugly, to say they don’t know anyone like that or they wouldn’t want to know anyone like that,” she declared.
If a student found nettles horrible and hate-worthy because they were stung by wild greens on a spring hike, for example, Selengut could show them how blanching deactivates the stingers. “It’s the most delicious” when mixed with pesto or potatoes in a vibrant nettle colcannon, she said. Haters turn into evangelists.
How is that different, she asked, from someone meeting someone gay for the first time and realizing, “My God, they’re really funny and adorable and wonderful?”
Here are some common vegetables that Selengut considers misunderstood, with her suggestions on how to improve your understanding:
Radicchio, “revered” in Italy, is generally misunderstood in the United States because it generally cannot be eaten alone like romaine lettuce or arugula. This requires some advance preparation, Selengut said, especially for “super tasters” who might react to it more negatively.
“Yes, it’s very bitter. So how can we use this bitterness? » said Selengut. “Think of it like bitters, and what do bitters do in a cocktail? They create depth.
● Radicchio is part of the chicory family and has several varieties. If you’re looking for a milder version, try the yellow-green Castelfranco rather than the more common red Chioggia.
● Fruit or a balsamic glaze helps balance its flavors, as do creamy ingredients.
● Immerse thin ribbons of radicchio in water for 30 minutes to tame its bitterness.
● Grill or roast it for sweetness and complexity, but don’t burn it, which will add more bitter notes!
While some people love eggplant, many others see it as “a slug making love to a worm on my plate,” Selengut wrote. According to her, the slug sighters were victims of improper cooking techniques.
“For me, eggplant is the fish of the plant world,” Selengut mused at the farmers’ market. “It has a perfect cooking window.” Go too far and it gets “snotty”, pull back too soon and it’s cottony and dry.
● Eggplants come in such different sizes, varieties, and other variables that it is difficult to provide cooking times. Instead, look for visual signs of doneness – when they’re “caramelized, aromatic, tender and almost moist in the middle, without any white or light spots of undercooked flesh.”
● Different varieties have somewhat different qualities: Italian eggplants are denser and a little more flavorful than the larger, more common black “globe” eggplants, while long, light Japanese eggplants cook quickly and small, green Thai eggplants are best cooked lightly.
● Due to their high water content, give the eggplant plenty of space while cooking.
● For the same reason, cook them over high enough heat to quickly evaporate the moisture so they cook rather than steam.
Selengut calls rutabaga “the superfood that no one talks about,” perhaps the most ignored and undervalued vegetable in the produce aisle. It’s inexpensive, very rich in vitamin C and also full of fiber, potassium and other nutrients.
● Look for firm, smooth-skinned roots that feel heavy for their size.
● Use a sharp chef’s knife to peel them before using.
● Store in cool places for up to two months.
● Rutabagas take longer to cook than other root vegetables; cook or boil for 10 minutes separately before adding to a mixed group.
● Substitute mashed potatoes or gnocchi for added flavor and nutrition.
Okra takes the sad prize as the most misunderstood vegetable of all, in Selengut’s eyes – “historically, culturally and culinaryly”. She gained practical knowledge by learning “to use mucus for good and not evil” – and a deeper appreciation by studying its history and talking with experts such as culinary historian Jessica B. Harris. (Harris herself called okra “the Rodney Dangerfield of vegetables” for the lack of respect it commands.)
“I can learn to appreciate something culinary-wise when I learn something historically-wise. Things taste better when I understand the context,” Selengut said.
● Choose smooth, brightly colored pods without brown spots.
● Use as soon as possible — do not let the pods soften or brown.
● Do not wash okra pods until you are ready to use them and dry them well after washing.
● Most commonly recommended methods for reducing the gelatinous texture of okra (cooking whole, soaking in vinegar, drying overnight) do not have the desired effect. What works, Selengut says, is cooking at high temperatures, allowing good air circulation around the pods and cooking with acidity.
● Looking for an okra substitute? Try cactus paddles.
It’s hard to be intimidated by celery root – or rutabaga, radicchio, eggplant or okra – when it wiggles its wide eyes at you. “You’ll laugh,” said Selengut, who began observing produce while teaching a cooking class on “Misunderstood Vegetables” and writing a related new cookbook.
Laughing is second nature to Selengut, a tall, lively and very funny native of New Jersey who inexplicably hated tomatoes as a child. Working in fine dining restaurants after graduating from the Seattle Culinary Academy, Selengut was often the only woman on guard, a gay woman facing annoying questions about her qualifications from her male counterparts. “I tried to be one of the guys, and I ended up using humor to get in with these guys, and I ended up loving them like a band of brothers, depending on who was there.”
She later worked as a private chef and taught, podcasted and improv comedy, and wrote cookbooks. In her words, she has made a career out of “taking the inaccessible and breaking it down for the novice.”
For misunderstood veggies, that means disarming cooks into opening their minds – and their veggie dips, pot pies and pasta sauces.
Which vegetables are misunderstood?
In the years that Selengut asked students this question, it meant any vegetable they passed by in the grocery store without ever thinking about buying it. On an individual level, this decision depends on the students’ culture and background. Above all. (Apparently no one understands rutabaga.)
Other candidates for “misunderstood” are vegetables that people didn’t like the one time they tried them because they were poorly prepared, or vegetables for which only one preparation comes to mind. ‘spirit. (Think about tomatillos: most students find themselves in a dead end after “salsa.”)
Selengut has plenty of practical advice on all of these categories: for those who treat beets as “metal balls of dirt,” for example, she suggests adding flavors that offset their earthiness and sweetness. “Just like you wouldn’t want a margarita without lime juice, you have to have that balance,” she said.
She pairs beets with sour, creamy and crunchy ingredients, like with a bright magenta hummus blending roasted beets with tahini, chickpeas and lemon juice, topped with fragrant and crunchy pistachio dukkah.
It’s not always that simple, because food is about context as much as flavor. “My misunderstood vegetables may not be yours,” Selengut said. Indian students tend to enjoy eggplant, native Italians generally recognize radicchio, as they are common in their respective cuisines. Textures are a problem for many American cooks; As Fuchsia Dunlop points out in her writings on Chinese cuisine, Western palates generally reject the textures popular in Chinese dishes. (Dunlop speaks of “viscosity” and “slipperiness”.)
Slime is a turn-off for many diners trying gumbo — but again, context is everything. Southerners often know that its mucilaginous texture can benefit stews and okra by adding thickness and body, or they know how to cook it in a way that eliminates the goo. Add to that its complicated history: “Ships carrying African slaves brought okra to America; it is a legendary food that cannot be separated from the complex and brutal way in which it arrived on our shores,” Selengut wrote.
Such understanding breeds more understanding, and Selengut began to realize an important corollary: human empathy and plant empathy are not that far apart.
“It’s human nature to put people into categories, to differentiate them, to say they’re ugly, to say they don’t know anyone like that or they wouldn’t want to know anyone like that,” she declared.
If a student found nettles horrible and hate-worthy because they were stung by wild greens on a spring hike, for example, Selengut could show them how blanching deactivates the stingers. “It’s the most delicious” when mixed with pesto or potatoes in a vibrant nettle colcannon, she said. Haters turn into evangelists.
How is that different, she asked, from someone meeting someone gay for the first time and realizing, “My God, they’re really funny and adorable and wonderful?”
Here are some common vegetables that Selengut considers misunderstood, with her suggestions on how to improve your understanding:
Radicchio, “revered” in Italy, is generally misunderstood in the United States because it generally cannot be eaten alone like romaine lettuce or arugula. This requires some advance preparation, Selengut said, especially for “super tasters” who might react to it more negatively.
“Yes, it’s very bitter. So how can we use this bitterness? » said Selengut. “Think of it like bitters, and what do bitters do in a cocktail? They create depth.
● Radicchio is part of the chicory family and has several varieties. If you’re looking for a milder version, try the yellow-green Castelfranco rather than the more common red Chioggia.
● Fruit or a balsamic glaze helps balance its flavors, as do creamy ingredients.
● Immerse thin ribbons of radicchio in water for 30 minutes to tame its bitterness.
● Grill or roast it for sweetness and complexity, but don’t burn it, which will add more bitter notes!
While some people love eggplant, many others see it as “a slug making love to a worm on my plate,” Selengut wrote. According to her, the slug sighters were victims of improper cooking techniques.
“For me, eggplant is the fish of the plant world,” Selengut mused at the farmers’ market. “It has a perfect cooking window.” Go too far and it gets “snotty”, pull back too soon and it’s cottony and dry.
● Eggplants come in such different sizes, varieties, and other variables that it is difficult to provide cooking times. Instead, look for visual signs of doneness – when they’re “caramelized, aromatic, tender and almost moist in the middle, without any white or light spots of undercooked flesh.”
● Different varieties have somewhat different qualities: Italian eggplants are denser and a little more flavorful than the larger, more common black “globe” eggplants, while long, light Japanese eggplants cook quickly and small, green Thai eggplants are best cooked lightly.
● Due to their high water content, give the eggplant plenty of space while cooking.
● For the same reason, cook them over high enough heat to quickly evaporate the moisture so they cook rather than steam.
Selengut calls rutabaga “the superfood that no one talks about,” perhaps the most ignored and undervalued vegetable in the produce aisle. It’s inexpensive, very rich in vitamin C and also full of fiber, potassium and other nutrients.
● Look for firm, smooth-skinned roots that feel heavy for their size.
● Use a sharp chef’s knife to peel them before using.
● Store in cool places for up to two months.
● Rutabagas take longer to cook than other root vegetables; cook or boil for 10 minutes separately before adding to a mixed group.
● Substitute mashed potatoes or gnocchi for added flavor and nutrition.
Okra takes the sad prize as the most misunderstood vegetable of all, in Selengut’s eyes – “historically, culturally and culinaryly”. She gained practical knowledge by learning “to use mucus for good and not evil” – and a deeper appreciation by studying its history and talking with experts such as culinary historian Jessica B. Harris. (Harris herself called okra “the Rodney Dangerfield of vegetables” for the lack of respect it commands.)
“I can learn to appreciate something culinary-wise when I learn something historically-wise. Things taste better when I understand the context,” Selengut said.
● Choose smooth, brightly colored pods without brown spots.
● Use as soon as possible — do not let the pods soften or brown.
● Do not wash okra pods until you are ready to use them and dry them well after washing.
● Most commonly recommended methods for reducing the gelatinous texture of okra (cooking whole, soaking in vinegar, drying overnight) do not have the desired effect. What works, Selengut says, is cooking at high temperatures, allowing good air circulation around the pods and cooking with acidity.
● Looking for an okra substitute? Try cactus paddles.
