A Girl and Her Greens: Hearty Meals from the Garden

The follow-up to chef Bloomfield’s excellent A Girl and Her Pig gives vegetables the same inventive and creative treatment that made her previous book such a success. Though she doesn’t give up meat altogether (there are sweet potatoes with bone marrow, broccoli with bacon, and steamed eggplant with ground pork and Thai basil), the vast majority of the book’s 80-plus recipes place vegetables at the center of the plate. Toothsome classics like zucchini bread, kimchi, focaccia, and hasselback potatoes sit comfortably next to simple riffs like sweet-corn polenta and imaginative dishes like winter squash pancakes with squash syrup and pecan butter. As in her previous book, she manages to sneak in a few English dishes such as mushroom pies with Swiss chard, and the book’s opening recipe, crushed spring peas with mint. Although some recipes may seem daunting in terms of both ingredients and preparation—there’s a lot of chopping, dicing, and peeling going on—readers will find that the dishes come together quickly once they’ve gathered the requisite supplies, and that the small details, such as salt-packed anchovies in the rich, potato-laden Jansson’s Temptation, make all the difference. Those expecting a collection of low-cal dishes and smoothies will be sorely disappointed—Bloomfield isn’t shy about using cream, cheese or other rich ingredients—but those with an adventurous palate are sure to find some new favorites in this impressive and imaginative collection. Color photos. (Apr.)