Six Seasons ─ A New Way With Vegetables

Six seasons--each with its own character. The first vegetables of spring are all about tenderness and new growth. We’ve been eating sturdy winter fare for so long that slender, tender, and delicate is exactly what we need . . . a ripe juicy tomato would feel too much, too soon. Early summer steps up that game a bit--the flavors aren’t yet intense, but the fresh and green notes are deeper and all is livelier. Midsummer starts the flavor riot--more variety, more colors and textures. Late summer is the lush period--the richest colors, most vibrant flavors, and sensuality. Then back to fall and winter, when life in the fields slows down.

In each of the six seasons, McFadden celebrates vegetables as only a chef with the soul and experience of a farmer can. Vegetables appear not only in their prime seasons but also in multiple seasons, because how you handle, say, a young spring carrot bears no relationship to what you do to storage carrots in winter.

McFadden’s intuitive feel for the way seasons affect flavor translates into recipes that coax out the best of each ingredient. The 225 fresh, modern, and entirely approachable recipes range from the raw to the cooked to the preserved. While 75 percent of the recipes are vegetarian, there are plenty in which meat, seafood, and poultry play a supporting role. All have that great vibrancy made possible by McFadden’s keen sense with seasoning, and his ability to get to deep and rich without the use of unnecessary fats. These are but a few of the many lessons taught in this beautifully photographed book.