Vegetables become en vogue
A new day is dawning for vegetables in the culinary world. No longer are they just rogue companions to humorless rice on the plates of vegetarians. Veggies, as they are affectionately known, are being embraced by everyone from celebrities to school systems to home cooks. Even European chefs, who once disdained vegetarian food as a form of punishment, have elevated baby peas and Brussels sprouts to levels of haute cuisine.
It鈥檚 a position that hasn鈥檛 been easily won. Ever since Frances Moore Lapp茅鈥檚 鈥淒iet for Small Planet鈥� took off as a bestseller in 1971 鈥� declaring that more resources were used to raise cattle than feed the world 鈥� eschewing meat has been something of a political statement that railed against food waste and the unethical treatment of farm animals. For decades, nonmeat eaters and vegetables sagged under the labels of 鈥渧egetarian鈥� and 鈥渁genda.鈥�
But suddenly wild ramps and zucchini blossoms are hip, and school children, who once fled at the sight of spinach, now munch on sesame kale chips with gusto. Take note: Vegetables are en vouge.
鈥淚鈥檝e always struggled with the 鈥榲egetarian鈥� label,鈥� cookbook said author Deborah Madison, who has written about vegetables for more than three decades, to . 鈥淲hen I began writing it was so much about a lifestyle. You were or you weren鈥檛 and people didn鈥檛 cross that line.鈥� Ms. Madison has recently published 鈥淰egetable Literacy,鈥� which strives to educate home cooks on the delight of discovering flavor relationships within the vegetable family tree.
Eating less meat has had its periodic revolutions in American culinary history. Rev. Sylvester Graham, father of the graham cracker, advocated against eating meat, pepper, and milled flour in the 1830s. A Vegetarian Society gained traction in the mid 1800s. During World War I the United States Food Administration promoted Meatless Monday and Wheatless Wednesday to save resources, and during World War II the government asked Americans to cut back on meat consumption and grow their own vegetables in Victory Gardens to support the war effort abroad.
While those efforts faded after World War II, Meatless Monday was reintroduced in 2003 as a public health awareness program as part of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Britain adopted a similar campaign in 2009, Meat Free Monday, launched by rocker Paul McCartney and his daughters Stella and Mary.
In fact, Mary McCartney has just published a cookbook, 鈥淔ood: Vegetarian home cooking.鈥� The mission of her cookbook is simply, 鈥渇ood that鈥檚 healthy but doesn鈥檛 feel righteous,鈥� she told , thankful the political discussions that would inevitably flare up when carnivores discovered she was a vegetarian are mostly a thing of the past. 鈥淚 was shocked by how many debates I鈥檇 get into when I had dinner,鈥� she told the Times. 鈥淓xcuse me, I just met you, I鈥檓 having dinner 鈥撀爓hy are you on my case?鈥�
In addition, best-selling author Michael Pollan (鈥淥minvore鈥檚 Dilemma,鈥� 鈥�In Defense of Food鈥�) has advocated for an American diet of less meat and more plants. And New York Times minimalist-cook-turned-food-columnist Mark Bittman has recently published 鈥淰B6,鈥� shorthand for 鈥渧egan before 6 p.m.,鈥� as a life-transforming manifesto he swears by for better health.
But while environmental and diet advocates have long rallied under the banner of carrots, peas, and beets, it seems that vegetable-based diets are finally catching on at the alfalfa sprout level.
In February, adopted Meatless Monday in its citywide school lunch program. A school in New York City, however, has taken it one step further.
鈥淧.S. 244 in Flushing has about 400 students in pre-K through 3rd grade who now munch on meatless meals every day of the week, and if they鈥檙e buying their lunch these days 鈥� they鈥檝e gone veggie,鈥� reported at the end of April. 鈥淭he school started by serving meatless meals three days a week, and gradually increased to four, before announcing they鈥檇 dropped it altogether....鈥�
As a culinary renaissance continues to gain momentum in the US with two 24-hour cable channels dedicated to food, scores of food bloggers, and an avalanche of cookbooks infused with ethnic cuisine, the average diner鈥檚 palate is reaching a new level of sophistication. And suddenly, more people are open to the possibility of vegetables carrying the main course of a meal.
鈥淲e鈥檝e brought so many cultural influences into the conversation,鈥� Diane Morgan, author of 鈥淩oots,鈥� told . 鈥淭he granola-era people weren鈥檛 making risotto. They were turning spaghetti and meatballs into something else 鈥� the meatballs had brown rice, but they weren鈥檛 sophisticated. Now the volume of ethnic cookbooks coming into the conversation changes that.鈥�
Indeed, vegetarian and vegan diets have long culinary traditions in Asian cultures. But perhaps the most stunning sign of a vegetable was recently reported by declaring that, 鈥渉aute-vegetarian menus are conquering Europe.鈥�
鈥淭here is a growing demand for vegetarian dishes from our clientele, which is very international,鈥� chef Christophe Moret of Paris鈥� Lasserre told the l.
Food writer Alexander Lobrano was skeptical of this new direction but even he became a convert once he tasted what highly skilled chefs could do with the humble offerings of the ground. 鈥淚 am convinced we鈥檝e left the hair-shirt brand of vegetarian gastronomy behind,鈥� he wrote.
Vegetable lovers, rejoice.
