Devoted to Veggies

Devoted to Veggies

Words by Sue Burns

Cara Mangini loves vegetables, and she wants everyone else to love them too. After all, what’s not to love? They’re beautiful, nutritious, and delicious—and Cara’s recipes in her newest book, “The Vegetable Eater: The New Playbook for Cooking Vegetarian” make them even more so, season by season.

Cara grew up in her grandfather’s butcher shop in San Francisco, watching him connect with his customers by sharing information with them. His interactions showed Cara firsthand that we don’t all “just know” what to do with foods, and instilled in her the desire to create a safe space for people to learn and ask questions. Surprisingly, the questions she ultimately wanted to answer were about vegetables, rather than meats.

Realizing the importance that food had in her family, Cara tuned in to how food made her feel, discovering that she loved the flavors of dishes made with produce, and how healthy she felt when she ate them. Visiting countries, studying at a school, and working for a farm and restaurant with a vegetable-forward focus fed her growing passion. This eventually led to her being hired as a Vegetable Butcher at the famous Eataly in New York. She was committed to finding innovative ways of working with vegetables and bridging the gap between knowledge and comfort level for foodies everywhere. In 2016 she published “The Vegetable Butcher”, a resource to increase people’s confidence with identifying, selecting, storing, and handling vegetables, with tutorials on how to break them down for recipes.

When readers of “The Vegetable Butcher” began asking Cara how they could make vegetables the main of their meals, she began writing “The Vegetable Eater,” released this spring. The book provides formulas for dozens of essential dishes, pairing familiar produce with new flavors and combinations (like the recipe for uniquely delicious Avocado Toast with Turmeric Nut-Seed Mix). Seasonal variations facilitate taking advantage of locally grown produce. Cara’s go-to recipes include all the salads and grain bowls, and Once A Week Broccoli Stir Fry. Summer Tomato Crostata with Olive Oil-Parmesan Crust, a beautifully simple way to highlight summer tomatoes, is a family favorite. Potato and Creamed Leek Galette and Caramelized Onion and Apple Crostata are seasonal variations.

Cara loves that there are always new eaters coming to this way of cooking, and she strives to make it approachable. She hopes her recipes can become the foundation of cooks’ repertoires, whether they’re just starting to integrate vegetable-based meals or have been vegetarian or vegan for years. “I want this book to fit into people’s everyday lives and celebrations, all through the year.”