Ugly, Unloved, Unappreciated

Oh, grow up!

Do you have an allergy? Do you object on political grounds?

No? Then shut up and eat your vegetables!

It’s time to stray outside of your comfort zone of carrots, green beans, zucchini, broccoli, and spinach. You will encounter unfamiliar tastes, odd textures, and the occasional aroma of feet. But there will be no pouting, food phobias, or knee-jerk reactions. These are vegetables for grown-ups, so act your age.

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Celeriac (Celery Root)

There’s no getting around this; celeriac is one ugly vegetable. It’s the knobby root of a celery variety that’s grown for its root. It peels like a potato, the flesh is firm and white like a potato, the texture is potato-like, and it can be cooked just as you would a potato? roast, french fry, bake, boil, mash?but the taste is all its own, falling somewhere in between the sweetness of a carrot and the grassiness of celery.

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Kohlrabi

Kohlrabi is often described as tasting like a cabbage crossed with a turnip. Or a cucumber crossed with a radish. Or broccoli crossed with brussels sprouts. You could say that kohlrabi has an identity problem. Its peculiar, martian probe-like appearance doesn’t help. It’s a pity because kohlrabi is crunchy and juicy as an apple, can be eaten both raw and cooked, and has a mildly sweet taste.

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Okra

I probably won’t win any converts when it comes to okra. Too many of you have tried it once and knew right away that it didn’t require a second opinion. But I will tell you that it doesn’t have to be slimy. Stir-fry or deep-fry it quickly and the goo isn’t released; cook it long enough in a gumbo or stew and the goo dissolves. My only hope is that someday, a well-prepared okra will catch you in a weak moment.

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Turnips and Rutabagas

Most people don’t know their turnips from their rutabagas. They’re both knobby, gnarly root vegetables that are interchangeable in many recipes. Turnips are the smaller white or purple ones. They are juicy, mild, and sweet when young and small; older, larger turnips are woody and less appealing. Rutabagas are bigger, rounder, and brown-skinned with dense yellow flesh and a sweeter taste than turnips. Pretty much anything  you might do with cooked carrots you can do with rutabagas and turnips.

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Brussels Sprouts

Has any vegetable been more maligned than brussels sprouts? The low water mark of  many a childhood dinner, overcooked brussels sprouts smell like a barnyard and taste of sulfur. Roast, sautée, grill; just don’t boil them into the mushy, sulfurous mess you remember. I gave you a pass on okra, but you’re not off the hook with brussels sprouts.

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These six vegetables are not the beauty queens of the vegetable world. They can be unappealing in their natural state; you don’t pick up a rutabaga and think Yum! Let’s have a go at this! You might have been turned off or even have sworn off some of them years ago. But you’ve grown up and so has your palate. Think of wine and whiskey, coffee and gorgonzola; every one of them took a taste bud turnaround.

It’s time to act your age in the produce aisle.

The Alphabet of Vegetables has shopping, storing, and prepping tips plus loads of recipes for everything from asparagus to zucchini.

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