Mr Wilkinson's Favourite Vegetables: Spring

Book excerpt: For chef Matt Wilkinson, vegetables come first. Whether he's cooking in the kitchen of his Melbourne eatery Pope Joan or for his young family at home, Matt plans and builds his dishes around the vegetables in season, when they'll taste the best, be cheapest and most readily available. Today too many of us - chefs and home cooks alike - plan our meals around the meat (or protein) and carbohydrate components letting the vegetables play second fiddle. In this book Matt Wilkinson lets his favourite vegetables take centre stage. This beautifully illustrated book will appeal to vegetarians but it's not a vegetarian cookbook. There are plenty of dishes incorporating meat but Mr Wilkinson's favourite vegetables are the true stars. Recipes include: Blanched white asparagus with ricotta and witlof; crushed broad bean and lentils, goat's curd & pear; barnsley onion soup; salad of heirloom beetroot, smoked eel, bresaola, blood orange and bitter leaves; green garlic champ with poached egg and grilled ox tongue; nettle and crab ravioli with silverbeet and samphire; and many more. All titles in this series: Mr Wilkinson's Favourite Vegetables: Spring Mr Wilkinson's Favourite Vegetables: Summer Mr Wilkinson's Favourite Vegetables: Autumn Mr Wilkinson's Favourite Vegetables: Winter Mr Wilkinson's Favourite Vegetables: The Collection