Read

For the veggie lover

GENNARO’S VERDURE by Gennaro Contaldo

Perhaps best known as mentor to ubiquitous British TV chef Jamie Oliver, Gennaro Contaldo has his own modestly innovative way with Italian cuisine. His latest book is an eye-popping celebration of fresh vegetables, each chapter colour coded to emphasise green, purple and “sunshine” coloured produce, with recipes to match: asparagus carbonara, radicchio terrine, pumpkin gnocchi, etc. For each specimen from his garden, he breaks down the health benefits and makes the case for its flavour potential for main meals, rather than some marginal side dish.

For veggie-friendly Turkish cuisine

SEBZE by Özlem Warren

The queen of Turkish cooking returns with a new book that takes its title from her native term for “vegetables”. Among these 85 new recipes are plant-based substitutes for meaty street foods and kebab shop staples, as well as a full spectrum of less familiar regional breakfast dishes, savoury bakes, casseroles, pickles, soups and salads. Unlike many such volumes Özlem goes heavy on veg-based desserts, too, including milk-based speciality fırın sütlaç (Turkish baked rice pudding) and her take on the classic pumpkin-walnut baklava.

For the veggie-conscious foodie

HOW TO EAT 30 PLANTS A WEEK by Hugh Fearnley Whittinstall

For some it’s a simple matter of taste and habit, but for others it’s more of a chore to monitor personal fruit and vegetable intake and ensure the recommended minimum of five per day. How helpful then, of Whittinstall to provide a full programme of recipes that taken together pack 30 varied plants onto your plate every week. Meat and fish are factored into many of these, as he treats some unexpected cuts and fillets as optimal pairing suggestions for certain vegetables.

Watch

GARDENER’S WORLD

First broadcast on British terrestrial TV in 1968, this show has lately graduated from stalwart national treasure to global institution via contemporary streaming services. Each episode features growing tips from presenter Monty Don in his own garden, Longmeadow, and field reports on pros and amateurs upholding traditions or innovating in other areas. Often the focus is edible produce and the show is a gold mine of expert advice for home growers, on everything from pruning fruit trees to cultivating fertile soil in vegetable patches.

Amazon Prime

Listen

A REGENERATIVE FUTURE WITH MATT POWERS

Author, gardener and dogged permaculturalist Matt Powers presents this increasingly popular podcast about growing a “syntropic” future that might somehow reverse the havoc our species has wreaked on vital earth systems. He routinely talks to specialists about their world-saving work in seeds and soil, and the talk often turns to little things the individual can do in their own backyard.

A Regenerative Future: The Podcast