5 Misunderstood and Misjudged Vegetables and 5 Recipes

Have you ever stood in the fruit and vegetable aisle of the supermarket and looked at the produce wondering what the heck some of it is?

We all have our favourite vegetables come dinner time – but there are so many others out there just begging to be tried.

Here are five we think you should put on your plate and five recipes to tempt you:

Endives are a bit of a mystery in the vegetable world, although they may have been tucked into your salad without you realising it. This bitter, crunchy leaf vegetable from the chicory family most commonly appears as the white, oblong Belgian endive with light green ends or the slightly, milder red endive.

 

It is best enjoyed with sweet, creamy, or acidic foods to balance out the bitter taste and it is common for endive to be served as an appetiser with something on top of it. Woolworths has some great endive recipes, click here for details.

Also known as aubergine, eggplant is one of those vegetables that most people are scared of cooking because they don’t know how to. It is actually an extremely versatile vegetable – it can be barbequed, char-grilled, whizzed into a dip or slow-cooked – and lends itself to multiple cuisine styles from Italian and Greek to Moroccan and Middle Eastern.

 

Try this eggplant relish recipe from Maggie Beer to add a kick to your next cheeseboard.

The artichoke is the bud of a thistle – a flower. The leaves (called bracts) cover a fuzzy centre called the choke, which sits on top of a meaty core, called the heart, which is completely edible and delicious.

You can boil, grill, braise, stuff or bake artichokes, but the most easiest way is to steam them on the stovetop or in a pressure cooker.

 

One method you probably haven’t thought of is to include the vegetable in a dessert – but that’s exactly what The Kitchen at Bec Hardy Chef, Connor Bishop has created with his Jerusalem artichoke and chocolate recipe.

It’s a vegetable you either have a love affair with or simply can’t stand – the Brussels sprout is a cultivar group of the same species as broccoli, cabbage, collard greens, kale and kohlrabi. These vegetables may help protect against cancers of the stomach, lungs, kidney, breast, bladder and prostate.

Crunchy veggies may also help stave off other health issues, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease and diabetes. While most people roast Brussels sprouts, try this delicious and healthy grain bowl recipe with quinoa, bacon, Parmesan and Dijon dressing.

 

Celeriac, also called celery root, is a variety of celery cultivated for its edible steam and shoots. It may look weird but its flavour is familiar and its uses in cooking are endless making it one of the unsung heroes of the root vegetable world. 

It has a mild celery flavour with a refreshing crunch and a little bitterness when raw and a subtle undertone of sweetness when cooked. Next time you are cooking your favourite steak for dinner, try this celeriac gratin recipe from Sum Yung Guys’ Matt Sinclair.