Dandelion and Quince: Exploring the Wide World of Unusual Vegetables, Fruits, and Herbs

by Michelle McKenzie

Overview

James Beard and IACP award nominee

"A beautiful tribute to so many of my favorite vegetables, fruits, and herbs; and Michelle McKenzie knows exactly how to treat to them—with curiosity, love, and respect.”—Alice Waters,

“Dandelion & Quince is a loving paean of the unsung and unexpected, showing us that in the kitchen, as in life, astonishing beauty and flavor are often hidden in plain sight.”—Samin Nosrat, author of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat


Dandelion and Quince features plant profiles—from dandelion to quince—for over 35 uncommon vegetables, fruits, and herbs available in today's markets—with over 150 recipes that explore their flavors.

This illustrated cookbook celebrates the abundance at farmers' market and local grocery store yet to be discovered by the everyday cook. From mustard and kumquats to nettles, fava leaves, sunchokes and more, the blossoms, berries, leaves, and roots featured in Dandelion & Quince are simple foods that satisfy our need for a diversity of plant life in our diets, grown with care and prepared by our own hands for our families and communities. This book:

   • Explores more than thirty-five uncommon vegetables, fruits, and herbs
   • Offers over 150 recipes to satisfy curious palates
   • Provides enough guidance, tips, and advice that by following recipes, tasting constantly, and making mistakes, you’ll gain newly skilled hands and a knowing palate

Discover new ingredients and open up a fresh culinary adventure in your kitchen.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781611802870
Publisher:	Shambhala
Publication date:	08/02/2016
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	7.20(w) x 10.10(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

MICHELLE MCKENZIE is the program director and an instructor at 18 Reasons, a cooking school, event venue, and community gathering place in San Francisco's Mission District, founded by the well-known Bi-Rite Market. A chemistry major turned culinary school graduate, Michelle cut her teeth at Blue Hill at Stone Barns before opening her first restaurant in Atlanta. After introducing thousands of Southerners to amaranth with pickled ramps and walnuts and the like, she became a private chef for high-profile clients, including Ted Turner and Jane Fonda. Her desire to teach drew her westward, where she lives today a few blocks from 18 Reasons, melding home, work, and community.

Table of Contents

Introduction vii

Asian Pears 1

Bolting Herbs 9

Buddha's Hand 17

Burdock 27

Cardoons 35

Celeriac 41

Celery Leaves 47

Daikon Radish 55

Dandelion 63

Dates 71

Edible Ornamentals 79

Fava Leaves 85

Fennel Fronds, Flowers, and Pollen 93

Fig Leaves 99

Gooseberries and Ground Cherries 109

Green Garlic 115

Horseradish 123

Huckleberries 129

Kohlrabi 135

Kumquats 141

Mustard Greens 149

Nettles 157

Persimmons 165

Pomegranates 173

Purslane 183

Quince 191

Radicchio 199

Ramps 207

Rose Petals 213

Shallots 219

Sorrel 229

Sprouts 237

Squash Blossoms 249

Sunchokes 255

Tomatillos 263

Weeds We Want 271

Pantry Essentials 281

In My Larder 291

Sources 296

Acknowledgments 298

Index 299

Editorial Reviews

06/06/2016
McKenzie shares her experience working in several San Francisco farmers’ markets in this encyclopedic collection of more than 150 suggested recipes for 35 different plants. Each profile begins with a short description of the plant, its common varietals, and its key characteristics before moving on to a handful of recipes featuring that fruit, vegetable, or herb. Readers will likely be struck by the number of plants they’ve seen in grocery stores or farmers’ markets and wondered about, such as the citrusy Buddha’s Hand and celeriac. They’ll also find additional uses for parts that are often thrown away, such as roasted celery leaves, which can be used in lieu of bay leaves in soups and sauces, as dill blossoms that are used to add flavor to a smoked trout and potato hash. Those expecting arcane ingredients and hard-to-source dishes will be pleasantly surprised. Many of McKenzie’s recipes are simple and practical, requiring little or no effort to put together: roasted broccoli with grated horseradish, dried persimmon tea, and mustard greens with potatoes and whole spices are well within the reach of all readers. Inventive, inspiring and informative, this is a key part of your next visit to the local farmers’ market. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

This is a beautiful tribute to so many of my favorite vegetables, fruits, and herbs; and Michelle McKenzie knows exactly how to treat to them—with curiosity, love, and respect. We should all learn from her inspired example by reading and cooking from this book." —Alice Waters

“Thorny thistles, overlooked leaves, weeds, and seeds have found an ardent champion in Michelle McKenzie. Dandelion & Quince is a loving paean of the unsung and unexpected, showing us that in the kitchen, as in life, astonishing beauty and flavor are often hidden in plain sight.” —Samin Nosrat, author of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat

“Buddha’s hand. Dandelion. Gooseberry. Purslane. The food writer Michelle McKenzie demystifies oft-overlooked offerings at farmers’ markets like those in San Francisco, where she is the program director and chef at the nonprofit community cooking school 18 Reasons. After a quick, one-page run-down about each foreign piece of produce, she offers hearty and nutritious recipes for preparing them at home. From a nettle soup with chive blossoms to short ribs with kumquat and kombu—or her secret formula for chewy granola bars that won’t fall apart—the book’s beautifully photographed pages offer a chance to learn a lot, and luxuriate in the soothing act of preparing a wholesome dish.” —New York Times

“An exceedingly pretty book… also happily pragmatic, a very good thing in a farmers market handbook. There are suggestions for using frequently overlooked ingredients (a chapter on fava leaves), pantry essentials (kombu stock), tips (build a smoker) and sidebars that read like short stories (a “refugee” breakfast of delicious spent vegetables). And then there are the recipes themselves, vibrant and seasonal and creative.” —Amy Scattergood, Los Angeles Times

“I can’t remember the last time a cookbook culinarily colonized me the way Dandelion & Quince has. Quinces were in season when I received the book, and I rushed, per Michelle McKenzie’s direction, to fill a bowl with them. At first spring I’ll make her recipe for Whole Roasted Fish Stuffed with Green Garlic, Rosemary, and Lemon, and her Eggs Baked with Dandelion and Cream. I’m in love or at least infatuated.” —Tamar Adler and author of An Everlasting Meal 

“To introduce a new ingredient into your kitchen you need information on where and how it is grown, instruction on how best to cook with it, and inspiration to make you want to take the plunge, put it in your shopping basket, and bring it home. Whether it be fava leaves, sun chokes, nettles, dandelion, purslane, or pomegranates, under Michelle McKenzie’s superb guidance you can now add them to your larder and enhance your recipe repertoire.”—Joyce Goldstein, author of The New Mediterranean Jewish Table and Inside the California Food Revolution 

“Finally! A collection of delicious recipes and useful tips that celebrates so many of my favorite, less appreciated vegetables. Michelle gives us reason to experiment, to explore, and to engage—exactly what you need to discover interesting ingredients, cook great food, and meet diverse people, creating a stronger community along the way.”—Sam Mogannam, Founder, The Bi-Rite Family of Businesses and co-author of Bi-Rite Market’s Eat Good Food

From the Publisher

07/01/2016
San Francisco-based chef and cooking instructor McKenzie here introduces cooking with Asian pears, celeriac, rose petals, sunchokes, and other overlooked plants. Each ingredient-based chapter comprises a descriptive "plant profile" and three to five simple yet memorable recipes for small plates, light meals, drinks, and desserts (e.g., pickled pears, hibiscus and lime iced tea, wild greens with summer melon and avocado). Part cookbook, part culinary reference, this sumptuously photographed book reflects the best qualities of wonderful titles such as Domenica Marchetti's The Glorious Vegetables of Italy, Cathy Thomas's 50 Best Plants on the Planet, Diane Morgan's Roots, and David Tanis's One Good Dish. VERDICT Home cooks with access to farmers markets and well-stocked grocery stores will relish McKenzie's recipes, which will tempt them to explore less-familiar ingredients.

Library Journal