My 5 Top Recipes from Cooking with Vegetables by Jesse Jenkins

If you're anything like me, you probably have a shelf groaning under the weight of cookbooks. And while I love scrolling through online recipes, there's something truly special about a physical cookbook. It's not just a collection of ingredients and instructions; it's an invitation to explore, to expand your culinary mindset, and to genuinely boost your cooking skills. That's exactly what I found with Jesse Jenkins' Cooking with Vegetables.

This isn't just another vegetarian cookbook, which is fantastic because I'm not strictly veggie, but I'm always looking for ways to make vegetables the hero of my plate. Jesse Jenkins, with his laid-back Californian vibe mixed with serious culinary chops, shows you how to treat vegetables with the same respect and bold flavour energy usually reserved for meat. He chars, grills, caramelises, and infuses them with so much flavour that you'll forget they were ever a "side dish." It's truly a game-changer for anyone wanting to inject more exciting veg into their meals. The way he organises the book by vegetable type is brilliant too – super easy to grab whatever's in season or needs using up from the fridge.

After diving deep into Cooking with Vegetables, I've definitely got my top five go-to recipes that have genuinely elevated my kitchen game.

1. Miso-Glazed Courgettes

I never knew courgettes could taste this good! Inspired by Japanese miso aubergine, Jesse's version swaps in courgettes for a lighter, summer-ready twist. The trick is scoring the courgettes deeply to let that umami-packed miso glaze really soak in, then a quick bake until it's beautifully caramelised. It's sweet, savoury, and incredibly moreish. This recipe taught me that humble vegetables can be transformed into something truly special with the right technique and flavour pairing.

2. Smashed Cucumber Caesar Salad

Forget limp, boring salads. This Smashed Cucumber Caesar is all about texture and flavour. Jesse advocates for smashing the cucumbers (which is oddly therapeutic!) to create jagged edges that grab onto the dressing. It's a revelation! The dressing itself is a flavour bomb – garlicky, tangy, and I might even add a little extra anchovy for that salty kick. It’s fresh, crunchy, and absolutely addictive. This one truly opened my eyes to how much more interesting a salad can be with a bit of playful prep.

3. Kimchi Pasta Puttanesca

Who knew kimchi could elevate a classic puttanesca? This recipe is pure genius. The salty capers, briny olives, and spicy chilli flakes are already a winning combination, but the addition of kimchi and its brine adds an incredible layer of funky, fermented flavour that ties everything together. It's a quick weeknight meal that tastes like something you'd get in a fancy restaurant. It really highlights how exploring global flavours can radically change familiar dishes.

4. Grilled Radicchio with Caper-Anchovy Sauce

This one is for when I want to feel a bit fancy but still keep things relatively easy. Grilling radicchio brings out a smoky bitterness that’s absolutely delicious, and when paired with Jesse’s punchy caper-anchovy sauce, it’s a flavour explosion. It's visually stunning too, making it a great dish to impress. It showed me how charring vegetables can completely change their character and add a surprising depth that makes them truly shine.

5. Roasted Carrots with Carrot-Top Pesto

This recipe is a perfect example of Jesse's "no waste, all flavour" philosophy. Roasting the carrots brings out their natural sweetness, while the pesto, made from the often-discarded carrot greens, adds a fresh, herbaceous, and slightly peppery kick. It's simple yet incredibly elegant, turning humble carrots into something truly memorable. This dish taught me to look at every part of a vegetable with new eyes and how a simple pesto can transform a dish.
The Ultimate Vegetable Pizza

My Own Twist: The Ultimate Vegetable Pizza

While Cooking with Vegetables doesn't feature a specific pizza recipe, Jesse's genius for making vegetables the star of any dish completely inspired my ultimate vegetable pizza. Okay, so a good pizza is a weekly staple in my house, and Jesse's approach to vegetable treatment is just brilliant. It's not about piling on every veg imaginable; it's about making each one sing. The key here is proper roasting or charring of the vegetables beforehand to bring out their sweetness and intensity. For me, it's about a base layer of rich tomato sauce, then perfectly caramelised onions and bell peppers, maybe some smoky aubergine slices, and then a scattering of fresh rocket and a drizzle of really good olive oil after it comes out of the oven. It's simple, but the depth of flavour from the roasted vegetables makes it feel gourmet. It expands my mindset because it makes me think about how to prepare each component to its best, rather than just throwing it all on. This is truly a testament to how a good cookbook can spark your own culinary creativity!Using cookbooks, especially one as inspiring as Cooking with Vegetables, has become an essential part of my cooking journey. It’s more than just following instructions; it’s about learning techniques, understanding flavour profiles, and gaining the confidence to experiment. Each recipe I try expands my repertoire, pushes me to use ingredients in new ways, and honestly, just makes cooking so much more fun. If you're looking to put vegetables front and centre and truly elevate your home cooking, Jesse Jenkins' book is an absolute must-have.

Using cookbooks, especially one as inspiring as Cooking with Vegetables, has become an essential part of my cooking journey. It’s more than just following instructions; it’s about learning techniques, understanding flavour profiles, and gaining the confidence to experiment. Each recipe I try expands my repertoire, pushes me to use ingredients in new ways, and honestly, just makes cooking so much more fun. If you're looking to put vegetables front and centre and truly elevate your home cooking, Jesse Jenkins' book is an absolute must-have.

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