With the scholarly understatement that made his books “Sauces” and “Fish & Shellfish” so refreshing, James Peterson refused to call his latest work “complete” or a “bible.”
It is simply “Vegetables” (Morrow, $35). In more than 400 pages, he presents 64 of them, from artichokes to zucchini, in encyclopedia fashion, then cooks them in 300 recipes.
In the distinction between vegetable and vegetarian cooks, he puts himself in the former camp.
“There’s no agenda here,” he said during a visit to the Tribune’s test kitchen. “I wanted to provide basic recipes, less complex than chefs’ recipes, that were cookable in a short time. I did not follow someone’s notion of what’s good for me, nor did I include any recipe that held no appeal for me. I used bacon and prosciutto and cream when they make a dish more luxurious and more tasty. But I use most of these ingredients in very small amounts.”
In this era of fusion cooking, Peterson is unabashedly European and American in his choice of techniques and ingredients. He acknowledges Chinese, Japanese and Thai cooking, but spends much more time in the gardens of Italy and France. He shows a fondness for Mexican fare as well.
The book contains a 32-page section of color photos depicting technique and beautiful finished dishes. He gives lots of tips and hints and provides useful cross-references to “other recipes using” the vegetable being presented.
But the organization of the second part of the book, which follows the encyclopedia section, is a hodgepodge. Sections dedicated to (in order of appearance) salads, gratins, pasta, soups, stews and sauces are interspersed with others dealing with techniques such as frying, grilling, pickling and pureeing. Two hybrid chapters, “Four Flavorful Favorites” and “Tasty Starters for Parties and Meals,” are included as well.
Peterson shrugs this off as the editor’s decision.
“I could have written forever,” he said, “but you reach a point where you have to stop. I didn’t include canned or frozen vegetables because I don’t love them and I hope people who buy this book will be looking for the opportunity to cook. For beginners, some of whom are very sophisticated eaters, I’ve included some very fundamental methods.”
That doesn’t prevent the appearance of white truffles and zucchini flowers or a two-hour marathon at the oven roasting summer vegetables.
But most of the recipes are readily accessible and very flavorful. This gratin will make a splendid companion to a fall roast of pork or lamb.
TURNIP AND POTATO GRATIN
Preparation time: 35 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Yield: 4-6 side-dish servings
From “Vegetables,” by James Peterson.
4 slices dense-crumb white bread (such as Pepperidge Farm), crusts removed, cut into 1/2-inch dice
4 medium leeks, white portion only, cleaned and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons butter
1 slice, 1/8- to 1/4-inch-thick, prosciutto (about 2 ounces), cut into 1/8- to 1/4- inch dice, or 2 thick slices bacon, cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup whipping cream
Salt
3/4 pound turnips (2 medium), peeled and sliced into
1/8-inch-thick rounds
3/4 pound waxy potatoes (about 2 medium) peeled and sliced into
1/8-inch-thick rounds
Freshly ground black pepper
1. Bake the bread cubes in a 250-degree oven for about 30 minutes or until they turn pale brown and crunchy. Reserve.
2. Cook the leeks in the butter in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat until they turn pale brown, about 15 minutes. Don’t cook them too quickly or they may burn instead of caramelize. If you’re using the bacon, cook the cubes in a small pan over medium heat for about 8 minutes, or until they begin to turn crispy. Drain off the fat. Add the prosciutto or bacon cubes, chicken broth and cream to the leek mixture and boil the mixture down over medium to high heat until only about 1 1/2 cups remain. Season the sauce with salt until it tastes almost too salty–the sauce is the gratin’s only seasoning.
3. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
4. Spoon about a fourth of the leek sauce over the bottom of a medium-size oval gratin dish or baking dish. Spread half of the turnip slices in an even layer over the bottom. Spoon over another fourth of the leek sauce and then half the potatoes in a thin layer. Spread over another fourth of the leek sauce and then the rest of the potatoes in a single layer. Spread over the rest of the turnips and the last of the sauce, and cover the gratin with an even layer of the reserved bread cubes. Bake for an hour to an hour and 20 minutes, or until the potatoes and turnips are easily penetrated with a knife and most of the liquid in the gratin has been absorbed. Grind fresh pepper over the gratin and serve.
Nutrition information per serving (based on 6; added by the Tribune):
Calories ………… 320 Fat ………… 18 g Saturated fat .. 10 g
% calories from fat .. 50 Cholesterol … 50 mg Sodium ……. 645 mg
Carbohydrates …… 32 g Protein ……… 8 g Fiber ……… 2.9 g
