this is what happens when a scientist cooks

Nik Sharma studied microbiology and biochemistry in college, so when he started cooking and eventually gardening, he went at it as a scientist would. He studied the recipes he grew up eating, he looked into local ingredients, and he tested and experimented and tried and tried again until he figured out how to bring out the best and most flavor out of his dishes. And now he’s sharing that with us in his cookbooks. Veg-Table is his third cookbook, and it’s smart and gorgeous and filled with tasty ideas.

First off in the cookbook is a deep dive into vegetables. If you ever had a question, this is where Sharma will answer it. There are the geographical origins of different types of veg as well as a long answer to the question, “What is a vegetable?” He talks about how he’s learned to grow vegetables in his California backyard (I do envy those who can grow citrus trees in their yards) and some basic cooking tips to get the most from your veggies. He talks storage and fresh versus processed and gets you set to use the hundreds of recipes that are forthcoming. This is also where he unveils his Veg-Table, a table that tells you the average weight in grams of a small, medium, large, or extra-large version of the veg in question, so you can know just what is expected for each recipe.

And then it starts. Each chapter focuses on one family of vegetables, for example, Bamboo and Corn. Paired together because they are both members of the Grass Family, Sharma starts the chapter with information about the vegetables, storage, and cooking tips. And then come the recipes, like Toasted Corn Husk Stock; Corn, Cabbage, and Shrimp Salad; A Grilled Corn Feast with a choice of four savory butters; Bamboo Shoot Sesame Salad; Kimchi Creamed Corn; Braised Bamboo and Mushrooms; Creamy Corn Soup with Jalapeno Oil; and Sweet Corn Pulao. Each recipe comes with Cook’s Tips for adding flavor or substituting ingredients and includes beautiful photographs.

This is not a vegan cookbook. Sharma uses dairy products and eggs and an occasional meat, but these recipes can be converted to vegan with little effort. And it’s not so much a vegetarian cookbook as it’s a cookbook that is primarily focused on bringing out the best in vegetables from around the world. Omnivores can always pair these recipes with a meat, or save them for days they want to go meatless. What Veg-Table is, simply put, is a master class in vegetables.

Veg-Table is a beautiful cookbook. It is about 350 pages, dense with information and recipes. It’s crazy-smart in its depth, and the number of vegetables Sharma brings to the table is almost overwhelming. He writes his recipes with the ingredients listed throughout the directions, not as a separate list, which is not my favorite, but he chose it specifically because his readers had requested it. Veg-Table would be the perfect cookbook for students of cooking and anyone wanting a wide range of vegetable recipes to choose from. For beginning home cooks, it might be intimidating, just because of the size and breadth of information.

Egalleys for Veg-Table were provided by Chronicle Books through Edelweiss, with many thanks.