Introducing The Vegetable Butcher

When you need advice on how to properly cook a piece of meat, or how to cut it up just right, who do you ask? Your butcher, naturally. But what about when we need a little help on the vegetable front, too? Enter The Vegetable Butcher.

June is the month when gorgeous vegetables finally hit the farmers market like a rainbow flood. So, naturally, we’re devoting June here at The Kitchn to vegetables in all their glory. And our guest column for the month is a fun one — introducing The Vegetable Butcher!

The Vegetable Butcher is a monthlong column from Cara Mangini, the executive chef and owner of Little Eater, a produce-inspired restaurant, food product company, and soon-to-open grocery and artisan foods boutique in my own hometown of Columbus, Ohio.

Cara and I met through mutual food friends, and I discovered that she’s working on a book called The Vegetable Butcher (out from Workman Publishing in spring 2016) — a fresh, playful guide to vegetables, and knowing them inside and out.

So together we cooked up this column, which will bring you a set of fresh tips or surprising ideas on a different vegetable each day of the month. Want a peek at the schedule? I can hardly wait to share Cara’s genius cauliflower hummus, her tips for storing vegetables so they last much longer, and her smart and delicious takes on carrots, jicama, zucchini, and more.

• Radishes
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Asparagus
• Jicama
• Sorrel
• Fennel
• Nettles
• Broccoli
• Beets
• Carrots
• Escarole
• Romanesco
• Swiss Chard
• Celery Root
• Zucchini
• Eggplant
• Turnips
• Peppers
• Garlic