Healthy Vegetable Dishes

The Egyptian spice blend dukka is a fantastic garnish for this delicious vegetable dish. Sprouted, or activated, almonds add healthy crunch.

Use a mandoline to cut the vegetables into thin slices; they will turn tender when baked with chicken broth and a little cream.

Eat this cauliflower filet with a steak knife; it's surprisingly hefty.

"Honey is an incredible anti-everything," says Jovial King. "It's antibacterial, antiviral and great for combating allergies, as long as it's raw." Marcia Kiesel uses King's flower-infused honey in savory dishes, like these yogurt-stuffed peppers.

These pickled beets are perfect in a salad with parsley and fennel fronds.

Here, Hugh Acheson creates a salad based on butter-braised leeks, a French favorite.

In this riff on corn chowder, the Beekman boys toss corn, potatoes and bacon with cider vinegar. They grow at least five varieties of sweet corn each summer, and they're always coming up with new ways to use it. Because the corn for this salad is barely cooked, it's best to use the juiciest kernels available.

Lemon juice and garlic balance sweet sautéed carrots flavored with fresh marjoram. A simple yet exceptional side dish, it goes equally well alongside meat, fish, or poultry.

"You see 7UP quite a bit in Korean recipes," says David Chang. "My mom cooked with it: She put it in a noodle dish, she added it to beef stock." When he wanted to prepare a quick "white" version of kimchi, Chang opted for 7UP; it adds lovely bubbliness to the cabbage. It can be served as a side dish like traditional red chile kimchi or with cold noodle soup.

Alain Ducasse uses six pots to cook each type of vegetable on its own, then layers them in a baking dish. For the simplified version of Ducasse's fruit-and-root-vegetable stew, everything cooks in one big pot.

Slivered almonds add a nice crunch to this quick and easy asparagus side dish.

Mushrooms are packed with minerals like selenium that have been shown to guard against some cancers. Here they're drizzled with lemon juice in a salad Joe Bastianich calls "soulful but still filling." He adds, "Raw mushrooms are a great conduit for good olive oil."

A generous portion of bay leaves in the steaming liquid here permeates the artichoke leaves and hearts with flavor and provides an enticing aroma as you serve the dish. The scallion vinaigrette balances the sweetness of the artichokes.

Sheila Neal, Matt Neal's wife, has always loved turnips. "They were my show-and-tell in kindergarten; I showed my class how to season them with salt and eat them," she says. These elegant baby turnips—roasted to bring out their sweetness—can be served warm or cold.

Called cipollini agrodólce in Italian for their sweet-and-sour vinegar glaze (agro means sour; dólce, sweet), these soft and tangy onions are a fantastic accompaniment to any rich roast meat.

When guests sit down to the dinner table, Moroccan hosts often set out small salads to eat with bread or on their own. Paula Wolfert found this salad in Essaouira, along the Atlantic coast. She says it's rare to see capers in Moroccan salads, even though the country is one of the world's leading suppliers.

"This recipe is a very traditional one, and this is a common ingredient combination," says chef, Ferit Sarper. He makes the dish especially appealing by serving the eggplant whole and then topping it with an incredibly light tomato vinaigrette.

Pickled onions and cucumber relish add a tangy kick to Emilee Gettle's blue-and-gold potato salad. Because she and Jere Gettle don't eat eggs, they opt for vegan mayonnaise.

Crunchy black nigella seeds have a nutty, peppery flavor.

"Grilling over an open flame is my favorite way of cooking," says Charlie Parker. "It gives food so much flavor without the need for butter." Here, he serves lightly charred broccoli and ciabatta cubes in a twist on an Italian bread-and-tomato salad.

Instead of just steaming or boiling green beans, Katie Workman first sautés them in butter and garlic, then simmers them in chicken broth. For adults, she adds fresh herbs and citrus—both zest and juice—giving the beans a fresh, vibrant flavor.

"It's hard to improve upon a perfect sugar snap pea," says Gjelina chef Travis Lett. "The question for the chef is, how do you not screw it up?" Lett's answer is to keep things simple, by cooking the sweet peas with fresh mint, crushed red pepper and soffrito (an aromatic Italian mix of sautéed minced vegetables, usually used to flavor soups and sauces).

Chef Eric Skokan grows hundreds of vegetables at his farm, analyzing each variety for its best use. He prefers the Zagross Persian cucumber for this tangy soup.

Grilling zucchini and summer squash ribbons on skewers is terrific because the edges become wonderfully charred and crisp, while the insides stay tender and juicy.

Jason Travi recommends using a peppery olive oil to sauté the blanched Broccolini with the garlic and crushed red pepper. The recipe is delicious with a variety of other vegetables as well, such as cauliflower, snap peas or green beans.

"My granny taught me that when corn is very fresh, the juices are naturally creamy," Kevin Gillespie says. "I took that as the gospel." He grates half of the corn here to make a luxurious puree that thickens without cream.

To punch up the flavor of braised cabbage, Frank Castronovo adds dried sour cherries, apples and a pinch of ground cloves.

Not only are macadamia nuts a good source of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, but when they're pureed, they also serve as an ingeniously creamy base for dairy-free salad dressings.

Eating quinoa is a great way for vegetarians to get protein. Jeremy Fox tosses nutty-tasting quinoa with crunchy shaved vegetables for a refreshing salad loaded with vitamins and minerals.

When roasted with a little olive oil, cauliflower florets turn lusciously sweet, crisp and caramel-brown. A squeeze of lemon brightens their flavor.