The Secret Life of Vegetables

With a farmer’s wisdom and chef’s creativity, Abra Berens will change the way you look at everyday vegetables

Cabbage is Berens' favorite vegetable, she writes in a love letter to the brassica: “... It is cabbage that I come home to. She is a reliable and hardworking friend. As in people, these crucial but not fancy attributes are rarely as highly praised as showier traits.” EE Berger

Abra Berens is on a mission to make cabbage as coveted as caviar.

“[That] is, I recognize, an uphill battle,” she admitted with a laugh. But the Michigan-based chef, former farmer, and cookbook author makes a strong case for the overlooked brassica. She recommends it shaved thin with chunks of smoky-sweet grilled cantaloupe and cilantro, all laced with fiery chili oil; or seared in duck fat until sweet and caramelized, then tossed with roasted potatoes in a brown sugar-vinegar sauce and served alongside a crackly skinned duck breast.