3 Tricky Vegetables and How to Eat Them!

Don’t overlook delicious and nutritious vegetables just because they’re a little less common or their shape and texture confounds you. Artichokes may look like leafy flower buds. Leeks can resemble mutant green onions. But despite their appearance, these vegetables are packed with nutrients -- and they taste pretty good too. We’ll share a few tips so you can easily prepare these three seemingly “tricky” vegetables, making them convenient, everyday options to add to salads, enjoy as a side dish or even eat on their own.

• Leeks, Part 1: Remove the Top and Bottom: “Leeks have a flavour similar to onions or shallots, but offer a bit more subtlety,” says Brooklyn chef and author James Peterson. The vegetable is high in vitamin K, which aids in blood clotting, and it may help maintain strong bones in the elderly. One leek has 31 micrograms of vitamin K, which meets about 34 percent of your daily needs. “To prep the leek, remove the root end and the dark green top with a knife. Cut it lengthwise, then slice crosswise into half-moon shapes,” says chef and author Virginia Willis.
• Leeks, Part 2: Separate and Simmer: Separate the half-moons with your fingers, place them in a sink or a large bowl of cold water and swish the slices to let the dirt fall to the bottom. Scoop them out with your hands or a sieve and discard the sandy water. Repeat the process until the leeks are free of dirt. Chef Virginia Willis recommends simmering the leeks in stock and then allowing them to chill. Once fully chilled, mix the leeks with vinaigrette for a salad. “You can also bake them in a gratin or add them chopped to soups or broths,” says chef James Peterson.

• Artichokes, Part 1: Prep Work: Artichokes are a good source of fibre, vitamins C and K and folate, a B vitamin that aids new cell generation and helps prevent major birth defects, which makes it especially important for moms-to-be. An artichoke contains 107 micrograms of folate, or about 26 percent of the recommended dietary allowance for men and women. It also has 10 grams of filling fiber. “To prepare a fresh artichoke, cut off the stem and the top inch, then snip the top half-inch of each pointy, thorny leaf with scissors,” says chef and contributing writing for the Food Network Virginia Willis.
• Artichokes, Part 2: Cook and Cut: Place the artichoke bottom down into boiling water, lower the heat to a simmer and put a heatproof dish on top so it’s fully submerged. Simmer for 30 to 40 minutes. To eat, pick off each leaf and run your teeth along the thicker side, gathering the tasty flesh. “You can also cut off the bottom part of the artichoke, known as the heart,” says Brooklyn-based chef James Peterson. At the center of the heart near the stem is a knot of inedible fibrous strands -- scrape these out with a spoon. Cut the heart into pieces and serve on a salad.

• Fennel, Part 1: Sliced and Diced: “The light liquorice flavour of fennel marries very well with fish and shellfish, and it’s delicious raw in salad and slaws,” says cookbook author and chef Virginia Willis. Most recipes call for the bulb of the plant, but you can save the stems and leaves to boil in a stock, or dry them and add to a wood-fire grill to give fish an herbaceous flavor. Fennel bulbs are a good source of potassium. One bulb has 28 milligrams of vitamin C, which meets 37 percent of women’s daily needs and 31 percent of the daily needs of men. “To prepare fennel, cut off the green stems so that you just have the white bulb, then cut the bulb in half vertically and remove the tough core,” advises chef Virginia Willis. It can then be thinly sliced or diced. Willis recommends mixing thinly sliced fennel bulbs with reduced-fat mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, lemon zest and juice, fresh chopped dill and a drizzle of honey.
• Fennel, Part 2: A Close Shave: Chef James Peterson likes to shave off the outside of the bulb with a vegetable peeler, cut the bulb into wedges and bake it in a pan with a little water or broth and covered loosely with parchment paper or foil. Bake until the liquid has evaporated and the fennel bulb is soft but not mushy.

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