Read: Irish Examiner | Mark Diacono: Meet the man for all growing seasons
First published in the Irish Examiner on 5 July 2024.
“What do I do with this great thing now that I’ve grown or bought it?” With his new book Vegetables, Mark Diacono wants to help people make the most of their veggies. We’ve all been there: something unfamiliar has arrived as part of a veg box subscription or in one of those waste not vegetable and fruit box from the supermarket. But what to do with that oddly shaped celeriac that you accidentally grew or the freshly pulled turnips that your neighbour has just landed on your doorstep? With three decades of growing and cooking under his belt, Diacono’s the man to help you get the most from your precious vegetables – after all, he knows how long it takes to grow them. “There’s a lot of love and care gone into this book,” says Diacono. “I’ve 30 years of experience of growing the stuff and I’m very dedicated to making the best of it.”
Since he first appeared on our screens heading up the gardening team in the Channel 4 River Cottage television series, dispensing advice and wisecracks in equal measure, he has written and photographed a range of award-winning cookbooks, created the Otter Farm climate change smallholding in southwest England, runs courses, workshops and events focused on growing and cooking and is also writing a cookbook – Abundance – in weekly instalments on the Substack newsletter platform.
While many of his previous books – the River Cottage handbooks on fruit and vegetables, A Year at Otter Farm, Herb: A Cook’s Companion – are firmly rooted in the garden, Diacono decided on a different focus for this new publication. “My earlier books were very much plot to plate but in the last fifteen years or so, if people want to figure out what the spacing is between broad beans they can Google it. I wanted to share lots of vegetable recipes that are mainly main courses – not just side dishes – and I wanted it to be the answer to the question: what am I going to eat tonight?” he says. “What’s going to be delicious? What’s cheap? What’s at its best? What’s seasonal? Because often those things are all lined up together.”
We need to learn this for our health. Ireland has one of the highest rates of obesity in Europe, with 61% of the population registered as overweight or obese, according to 2022 figures from the OECD. The HSE points out that “a healthy diet is crucial in maintaining a healthy weight” and recommends that people eat “more than 400g fruits and vegetables a day.”
Knowing all of this, why don’t people eat more vegetables? “It’s a few things,” says Diacono. “We don’t know how to get the best from them – this book will help people with that! – we’re not taught how to cook at school and we don’t understand that how we eat is our landscape. It’s our carbon footprint. It’s our embedded water. It’s the way we relate to the people around us, the way we see the places that we move through…It couldn’t be more important yet we value it less and less. A lot of forces are pushing us the other way.”
Vegetables gives people a gentle nudge towards putting vegetables in the centre of the plate. In his introduction to the book, Diacono states that “somehow the complications of modern life and the interests of certain multinational shareholders have encouraged us to a place where many are over-fed and under-nourished.” He’s passionate about encouraging people to eat more seasonal and local vegetables, both for themselves and for the planet. Although Diacono would like to encourage people to produce some of their own food – “just grow something…grow the herbs that you get the most pleasure from at your kitchen door” – he knows that you don’t have to grow the vegetables to appreciate them. “Shortening the food chain is always a good thing. The shortest thing is to grow some food yourself but, if not, is there a box scheme near you, a good producer, a local green grocer? If you know the face of the grower – if that face is yours, all the better – you have a deeper appreciation for your vegetables. Buy from your country, buy in season. It’s better for you, it’s likely to be cheaper – and it tastes great.”
While people may be used to Diacono’s eye for the esoteric – he’s previously written about growing mulberries, English mace, Szechuan pepper and many other interesting edible plants – he’s focusing on accessibility with Vegetables. “It’s an exciting way to grow food,” he notes, “but most people, most of the time, are going to eat beetroot, potatoes and tomatoes. That doesn’t mean that there’s not invention and fun in the book but most of the ingredients are ones that can be accessed easily.” These are vegetables that can be easily grown or purchased in Ireland – sometimes leading to boredom or fatigue – but Diacono brings big flavours to the table, and has numerous tempting options to change minds and hearts: tomato and plum crumble; cauliflower, potato + caraway homity pie; celeriac + shallot pappardelle.
“I wanted these recipes to become friends,” he says. “There are 100 recipes, with seasonal swaps so you can make the chicory gratin in January and then with different vegetables – asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower – throughout the year. With every recipe, make it once as it is then it becomes yours to make as it you want.” Vegetables also includes options for those on gluten-free or vegan diets, enabling everyone to eat more veg.
“If we can eat simple delicious food in season, it’s a life changer,” says Diacono. “I just want to make it easy and accessible for everyone.”
Vegetables: Easy and Inventive Vegetarian Suppers by Mark Diacono (£27) is published by Quadrille Publishing.