Brassicas are the black sheep of the vegetable kingdom, unfairly maligned by childhood memories featuring insipid mounds of overcooked broccoli or stinky boiled cabbage. It’s time to give these captivating vegetables an image makeover.
Brassicas, which include broccoli, bok choy, cauliflower, collard greens, and their many botanical cousins, are anti-inflammatory, low in calories, and chock-full of nutrients that help prevent cancer. So what’s stopping us from eating them daily? Proper preparation. Dispel the notion that brassicas must endure death by boiling—possibly the worst way to prepare them—or burial under a thick blanket of cheese. Instead, try cooking methods that play to each vegetable’s strengths, favoring those that celebrate the intrinsic flavors instead of masking them.
Find out which foods and flavors complement brassicas.
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All recipes reprinted with permission from Brassicas: Cooking the World’s Healthiest Vegetables by Laura B. Russell (Ten Speed Press, 2014). Photo credit: Sang An.
