5 Reasons to Love Vegetables Illustrated

Vegetables Illustrated is a beautiful cookbook filled with inspiring recipes and beautiful pictures about a large variety of vegetables. When I started flipping through this cookbook at the bookstore, I saw so much value in it that I knew I wanted to have it on my shelf to reference all summer!

From the color photographs, to the storage and prep tips, to the many recipes, I can see this cookbook becoming a favorite. Below are 5 reasons why I’ll be pulling out this cookbook often:

1. Alphabetical organization by vegetable.

When I have a particular vegetable that I want to cook with, it’s nice to be able to turn to the chapter for a particular vegetable. This cookbook has 41 chapters with vegetables from Artichokes to Zucchini. In addition, there is an alphabetical list of recipes with more precise vegetables categories, so you can flip right to the vegetable for which you need inspiration!

2. Includes storage and preparation instructions.

Each chapter has a brief summary about the vegetable, along with storage and preparation instructions. As someone who has prepped artichokes, not knowing about the thorns you have to remove (!), this is great information to have.

I’ll have to study the section about how to prepare artichokes before attempting to use fresh artichokes again!

3. Multiple recipes for each vegetable.

A variety of recipes follow the instructions for preparing each vegetable. Some cookbooks I’ve looked at have only one or two recipes for a given vegetable, but not this one. With so many recipes to choose from (700+) I’m sure there will be some new favorites in these pages. I can’t to have some homegrown vegetables so I can begin experimenting with some new flavor combinations.

4. Additional recipe notes.

Each recipe has a “Why This Recipe Works” section. These additional notes share important information from the test kitchen about the techniques and flavor combinations for each recipe. I love that the editors included this information. Sometimes it’s nice to go beyond just the directions for how prepare a recipe to understand some of the whys.

5. Highlighted cooking techniques.

Many chapters have a special color section that highlights a particular cooking technique. I love the color illustrations along with instructions for each step. Since I’m very much a visual person, seeing the step-by-step is particularly helpful.

Recipes to Try

I have not had a chance to try any of the recipes yet, but the two that are at the top of my list are the Cornish Pasties on page 279 and the Creamy Kohlrabi Soup on pages 274 and 275.