Eat Your Vegetables

British food personality and restaurateur Dawson%E2%80%99s love letter to veggies is a creative collection of more than 250 recipes for 50 different vegetables. Dishes range from inventive riffs on classics (like a lentil tart made with sweet potatoes and topped with a dollop of sour cream; chicken soup spruced up with juniper berries, star anise, shallots, and dumplings; and wine-braised herb-stuffed artichokes) to more elaborate and impressive fare (like fennel and salmon ceviche, a handmade tagliatelle with porcini and girolles, and a %E2%80%9Ckohl slaw%E2%80%9D made from shredded kohlrabi and carrots, studded with pomegranate seeds, capers, and pine nuts). In addition to individual recipes, Dawson includes several %E2%80%9CFeasts,%E2%80%9D like curry and Tex-Mex menus, as well as easy-to-follow %E2%80%9CSkill%E2%80%9D sections (e.g., roasting or pickling) that will keep cooks and their guests on their toes and eager for more. Dawson (The Acorn House Cookbook: Good Food from Field to Fork), a vocal proponent of sustainable eating, even provides ideas for leftovers, like dipping spinach stalks in a tempura batter and then frying them. Arranged according to veggie type (e.g., %E2%80%9CRoots & Tubers%E2%80%9D and %E2%80%9CFruits & Fungi%E2%80%9D) and with a handy guide to %E2%80%9CWhat%E2%80%99s Best When,%E2%80%9D this collection of inspired sides and mains is one of the most outstanding vegetable cookbooks in recent memory, accessible to novices and imaginative enough for veterans. Photos. (Aug.)