Vegetable "Butchery"
Collard Greens, leaves + stems separated
Vegetable butchery is nose-to-tail cooking for produce. Consider the whole vegetable. Does it have edible stems? Do the stems contribute to the ‘look’ of the whole vegetable? Is the peel edible? Does the base need to be trimmed? How much will be left when it's cleaned up? Can the scraps be used as aromatics? How could it be served as whole as possible? How far can you break it down and keep its integrity?
There is not one correct way to cut most vegetables. The way you start is how you should do each one. Uniform cuts are important for even cooking, but the homecook is likely to get 2-3 different cuts from a vegetable. That’s just fine! Vegetables have different shapes and homecooks should want to use as much of the vegetable as possible, rather than trim it to get perfect cuts.
The different cuts should be uniform though. For example, a sweet potato will give you cubes and triangles.These natural differences are often beloved aspects of a dish- little bites of extra caramelization. Be discerning, pick through your prep and locate any cuts that are too small (going to burn) or too large (not going to cook through). Trim large pieces, discard or repurpose small pieces.
Vegetables should be cut in ways that maximize symmetry. Try to find a flat side and start cutting flat side down. This is the safest way to cut anything. If a fruit or vegetable is unwieldy (or cutting it feels dangerous), give yourself a flat side. Cut a small slice off the bottom of a melon to stand it upright. Or trim the tops of turnips off and turn upside down to cut.
Think before making your first cut. Don’t remove tops or bottoms that will compromise a vegetable’s integrity (ex. heirloom carrots). Consider the width of the vegetable and visualize how many equal sized cuts can be made. Start by cutting fruits and vegetables into two ‘hemispheres’ if possible (ex. onion or cherry tomato) or cut it into even slices (sweet potato) or sections that can be cut evenly (parsnip, butternut squash).
Find your preferred way to cut each vegetable. Do you love large dice sweet potatoes? Brunoise carrots? French cut onions? Fine dice jalapeno? Matchstick jicama? Once you find your method, you’ll work faster and more precisely. Pay attention to your scraps and offcuts- if you find yourself losing a lot of a vegetable, be sure to find a use for the scraps.
