Denis Cotter and the 'greens' When vegetarian chef Denis Cotter tells you to 'eat your greens', it's a gift, not a punishment to be endured. BBC Food shares his enthusiasm and recipes for all things green and pleasant.

In this article

About Denis Cotter The green scene

Suffer the little children? Homegrown greens

Food ethics Denis Cotter recipes

Denis Cotter has been running his vegetarian restaurant Cafe Paradiso in Cork, Ireland, since 1993 and has recently written his third book: Wild Garlic, Gooseberries ...and Me. As much a pastoral meditation as a book of vegetarian and vegan recipes, 'Wild garlic...' extols the virtues of the varieties of glorious greens available to grow and buy seasonally in the UK and his native Ireland. Denis joined BBC Food to discuss the greatness of greens and share his secrets for securing their rightful place - centre stage on dinner plates.

In the temperate climates of Ireland and the UK, green vegetables are an enviable inevitability, and enjoy an embarrassment of seasonal riches, to be celebrated rather than hated. Yet so often there are faces pulled (by children and adults alike) at the thought of cabbages and kales - more often than not by archaic association with school dinners and brutally overcooked brassicas. But, times, culinary methods, and attitudes they are a-changing.

So how to do justice to such a vital selection of vegetables? Are there any rules to follow to make the best of greens? Are there lines that should never be crossed? Not according to Denis; the key for him is to understand the vegetable and an appreciation will follow.

"The first thing I do with any green, to consider its qualities, is pop it into a pan with a little olive oil and a splash of stock to keep it moist. This is an ideal way to cook it to establish its flavours and opportunities."

And after that? Are there any absolute no-nos? Guaranteed ways to ruin the vegetable experience? Denis doesn't believe in such absolutes: "You could say 'never overcook cabbage', but to be honest there's a time and a place for fully cooked cabbage. Some dishes need it well cooked. You really can do anything with greens."

Greens are the most essential food - the most life-affirming; that elusive quality of 'greenness' - it's a life-force thing.

But what about the eternal struggle - the notorious nemesis that greens are to a growing child? Almost everybody who has children will have likely faced the immovable object that is a child's refusal to partake of the seemingly all-too-resistable force of greens. And if those adults were being honest with themselves they probably recall raising similar stubborn rejections in their day. So are there tricks to tempt kids into trying and enjoying greens? Denis believes it's a question of attitude towards vegetables and the approach adults take in feeding them to children.

"I think it depends on the prioritising of things on the plate. My kids are vegetarian, so greens are often the meal, not just a nasty bit on the side. The greens are the focus in their meals, so they eat them - and enjoy them. In a meat-eating household, it might be that the kids soon spot that the meat is the priority on the plate and that they can get away with not eating the greens, or feel that the greens aren't as important."

All well and good, but if applied psychology and conditioning doesn't work? "A trick to use to get the greens involved is to mix up tomato sauce, cream and your choice of greens as a pasta sauce. That works well."

Another problem some greens face in the PR game is that getting them fresh is so important. Denis' latest book bulges with descriptions of locally sourced, fresh from the soil greens, but this isn't so easy for people without an address book full of friendly farmers to call upon for produce.

There's been a recent trend towards chefs encouraging people to grow their own: Sophie Grigson, Jamie Oliver, and the like. However, many of us only have small patches to grow plants on (if we have a patch at all) and the prospect of the effort - and risk of disappointment - can be very disuasive. So, if you're tempted to give it a go, it makes sense to grow the greens that really are unbeatable and best fresh from the ground.

Denis suggests: "Chard and asparagus are best when grown and picked fresh. Chard degrades very quickly - especially the stalks - which is maybe why it's less popular than it should be. Chard grown as a garden vegetable is incredible: it's low maintenence and tastes great.

"Asparagus is harder to grow, but worth it. Only an hour out of the ground makes a difference to the taste of asparagus - it sounds strange to say, but it's about the sugars you lose. Purple sprouting broccoli is easier to grow, and I'd also recommend trying black kale. Black kale is beautiful - not only will it feed you but it will also make your garden look wonderful."

Visit BBC Gardening for a wealth of information, tips and techniques for growing your own chard and growing your own cabbages and brassicas.

Of course, grow-your-own offers a clearer conscience about 'food miles' when you've barely mustered 'food yards' from garden to stove, but for those of us without the space or opportunity to get green-fingered, we are left with buying in from markets, super or otherwise. Denis gives the impression that 'food miles' and 'carbon footprints' are not his principal reason for buying local, but certainly his message is clearly one of removing the distance between producer and plate.

Aubergines would be my one exception to the local rule - I can't do without them

"[Food miles are] becoming the most important part of food. Ten years ago you'd have said it was all about organic produce as priority, but now it's less so. Now it's about being able to trust your source. Better your food is local and fresh than shipped-in from afar and organic. Aubergines would be my one exception to the local rule - I can't do without them."

In view of the recent high-profile media debates on chicken rearing, does Denis feel that the UK, as a culture and a cuisine, are too much obsessed with having meat on the dinner table whatever the cost of our consciences? What can be done to change the meat and two veg fixation?

"It's hard to say anything about this - I work in a small section of a large industry. Hopefully my book, and others like Peter Gordon's [Vegetables: the new food heroes] might help excite people about vegetables. In our restaurant 90 per cent of the customers probably aren't vegetarian, but they come for the food. People aren't necessarily addicted to meat - they're attracted to good food, and if it's good vegetarian food they'll enjoy it."

Try some recipes from Wild Garlic, Gooseberries ...and Me:

• Purple sprouting broccoli and oyster mushrooms in ginger broth with pumpkin and macadamia dumplings by Denis Cotter
• Fresh tagliolini with shredded brussels sprouts, sage and pine nuts by Denis Cotter
• Braised savoy cabbage with apricots, pecans and caraway by Denis Cotter
• Roasted asparagus with blood orange aioli by Denis Cotter
• Purple sprouting broccoli with leek and shallot farrotto by Denis Cotter
• Black kale and aubergine spring rolls with ginger and tamarind dipping sauce by Denis Cotter
• Spinach, aubergine and chickpea curry by Denis Cotter
• Chard, lentil and roast plum tomato gratin by Denis Cotter
• Chard with couscous, raisins, pine nuts and lemon oil by Denis Cotter
• Nettle and potato gnocchi with sage, walnuts and Cratloe Hills sheep cheese by Denis Cotter

Recipes from Wild Garlic, Gooseberries ...and Me by Denis Cotter, published by Collins, RRP £20, ISBN: 978-0-00-725197-1