THE VEG FORWARD KITCHEN: A SHORT, OPINIONATED GUIDE

The following are my MVPs that will shake up your veg kitchen, give vegetable-rich meals deeper flavor, and take your cooking in new and unexpected directions.

The Pantry

These pantry ingredients will elevate your cooking.

Balsamic vinegar

Keep a bottle of the good stuff around for balancing the bitterness of radicchio or other bitter greens. Un fortunately, balsamic got a bad name from the watered- down, caramel- colored supermarket imitations. Although you don’t need to pay $50 or more for a bottle of the good syrupy stuff that’s aged in a series of oak barrels, it’s worth investing in a decent one. I like Giuseppe Giusti from Italy, which is aged for twelve years, or Elsa, which comes in six- and twelve-year versions, and are priced accordingly. All are available on Amazon for about $25 and $40 dollars, respectively.

Dried cranberry beans

Also called Roman beans or borlotti beans, cranberry beans are the best all-around dried bean, in my humble opinion. Mottled with pink streaks when raw, they turn a slightly purple-pink color when cooked. They have a creamy quality but still hold their shape thanks to their thicker skin, making them perfect for salads and soups. They’re widely available (at your supermarket, find them under the name Roman beans) or from ranchogordo.com or Kalustyan’s (foodsofnations.com).

Pearled farro

A versatile high-protein, high-fiber variety of ancient wheat, farro is now available in most supermarkets— thank goodness! It’s easy to cook (it takes just 15 to 20 minutes), after which it retains some springy chew. I like to use it in salads, pilafs, bakes, and soups.

Freekeh

This smoked green durum wheat is set on fire to burn the straw and chaff. Since the grains are still young and