Lots of chefs these days speak of their desire to use their cooking skills to make the world a better place. Few practice what they preach with as much conviction as José Andrés, a Michelin-starred chef as famous for dishing out millions of meals to hurricane survivors in Puerto Rico as for executing wondrous culinary feats like spinning foie gras into cotton candy.
An unapologetic carnivore with a steadfast devotion to jamón, the air-dried ham of his native Spain, Andrés has come to believe that vegetables hold the key to the planet’s survival. Rather than push us to give up meat, his aim in “Vegetables Unleashed: A Cookbook” (Ecco, $39.99) is to open our minds to new possibilities the vegetable kingdom has to offer.
Matt Goulding, his Emmy award-winning co-writer, chronicles his journey tagging along with Andrés from the olive orchards of Spain to the beehive-filled backyard of his Bethesda home, capturing brilliant culinary aha moments and translating them into instructions practical enough for a novice to follow.
I was thrilled with my rendition of China’s Sweetest Tomato Salad, a dazzling dish inspired by one he tasted on a trip to China. Heirloom and cherry tomatoes are blanched, peeled and air-dried in the fridge (easier than it sounds, and worth the effort), then dressed with a simple Asian vinaigrette, garnished with herbs, and sprinkled with a mixture of sugar, kosher salt and sesame oil for a delightfully unexpected salty-sweet crunch. His favorite method for cooking corn — in its husk, in the microwave — couldn’t be simpler. He offers four different ways to slather and season the shucked ears, and I tried two — both delicious: a Creole remoulade-flavored mayo with pinches of paprika and cayenne; and a blend of Greek yogurt and tahini followed by a sprinkle of za’atar.
Other experiments I’m itching to try: Cucumber Shaved Ice, Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Barbecue Sauce, and Yakitori Brussels Sprouts.
Andrés is more than a chef and a humanitarian. He’s also a magician who, as Goulding puts it, “can find a way to make something as simple as eating a boiled root vegetable feel like a seminal life moment.”
Susan Puckett is a cookbook author and former food editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Follow her at susanpuckett.com.
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