Down to Earth: Great Recipes for Root Vegetables
A new emphasis on "underground" is driving sales of once-ignored vegetables, such as beets, radishes, salsify, and even taro. Food writer Brennan, author ofPotagerandThe Glass Pantry, among other books, marries French, oriental, and Mediterranean cuisines to elevate 30 root vegetables to a more visible kitchen position. Information, of course, precedes the more than 80 recipes, but it's pared down to include only the major features of the specific root, from identification to best uses. Among the dishes are unusual combinations (turkey salad with celery root, celery, pine nuts, and dried cherries) and extraordinary applications (parsnip dark spice cake, for one). Still-life, model-posed color photographs by the San Francisco team of Spathis and Miller help break the seriousness so prevalent among foodaholics.Barbara Jacobs