The Book of Greens

Starred review from December 5, 2016
Louis, a Food & Wine Best New Chef and chef and owner of restaurants in Portland, Ore., and Los Angeles, and Squires, a winner of the M.F.K. Fisher Award for food writing, have written a comprehensive guide to over 40 varieties of leafy greens. The authors include helpful tips on how to choose, clean, and store the greens, along with often surprising nutritional information (for example, chrysanthemum leaves have more potassium per serving than a banana). The inspiring and unusual recipes make this book a great addition to anyone’s cookbook library. There are simple salads with complex flavors, such as mustard greens, aged gouda, and cashews, and carnivore-friendly main dishes that include chicken and pork belly paella with watercress and Yemeni braised beef short ribs with nettles. Cultures are mashed together in some of the recipes, with promising results: miso straciatella soup and an Italian-style kimchi made with Swiss chard both marry the flavors of Asia and Italy in a way that would make Marco Polo proud. Even a straightforward-sounding recipe such as Swiss chard frittata is bumped up to the next level with the addition of crème fraîche, pancetta, and kimchi. For the CSA-produce subscribers and enthusiastic farmers market shoppers who find themselves staring cluelessly at piles of unknown greens each week, Louis and Squires’s book is a boon.

March 15, 2017

This informative guide to greens from chef Louis (Pasta by Hand) and freelance writer Squires (Coolhaus Ice Cream Book) has a kinship with excellent titles such as Jennifer McLagan's Bitter, Diane Morgan's Roots, and Michelle McKenzie's Dandelion and Quince. These 150 recipes (e.g., radicchio hand pies with quince paste and blue cheese, sake-braised Chinese celery, and deviled eggs with dandelion greens and cornichon) showcase dozens of plants and herbs, including lesser-known varieties of celtuce, nettles, spigarello (leaf broccoli), and water spinach. This volume is arranged alphabetically by ingredient, and a handy list near the front makes it easy to browse for individual courses, vegetarian dishes, and even butter lettuce panna cotta. VERDICT Recommended for anyone who wants to explore unfamiliar greens from grocery stores and farmers markets.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.