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Published on Friday, October 9, 2009, by Lessley Anderson / Edit Post

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DEBORAH MADISON

Deborahmadison.com

Vegetarian food was once sullen, stodgy, and centered around brown grains. Then along came cookbook writer Deborah Madison, and lo! She giveth the people balsamic vinegar, black beans with chipotle chile, roasted beets, and arugula salads. The self-described “painfully shy” native Californian worked at Chez Panisse before opening Greens in San Francisco, serving, as she says, “bright, sophisticated, delicious, and pretty” vegetarian food. The Greens Cookbook and its sequel followed, showering class and frisée salads onto two-plus generations of home cooks. And the hits kept coming.

Some griped that Greens’ recipes were too complicated (many of the lasagne dishes, for instance, require that you make both a béchamel sauce and a tomato sauce). But Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone changed the game again. The 1996 James Beard–winning bestseller “probably opened more eyes than any other cookbook in the ’90s,” said the New York Times’ Mark Bittman, with scores of easy techniques for preparing nearly every vegetable you could possibly think of.

Madison, who now lives in rural New Mexico where she has a garden and does yoga, also helped drive interest in the eating-local phenomenon. She roamed the country sampling farmers’ markets for the gorgeous, delicious Local Flavors (2002). And she even threw in a chicken dish or two. Madison is no longer a strict vegetarian, as long as the meat’s sustainably raised. As she has taught us, one doesn’t eat vegetables just because one doesn’t eat meat. One eats them because they taste really damn good.

What was your big break?
“One was going to Chez Panisse for dinner, then actually being able to work there starting the next day. It really set my imagination on fire. I was eating the foods I had always dreamed of but didn’t know they actually existed. The other break came when an editor from Bantam Books thought that The Greens Cookbook was a good idea.”

Who inspires you in the food world?
“Farmers and producers who are on the ground, working hard and getting their hands dirty. It’s not glamorous, even though what gets produced might be showcased in a glamorous setting. It takes such heart and perseverance to produce food. At least I imagine it does! Even my little vegetable beds are a challenge.”

What was the last most satisfying meal you had?
“French fingerling potatoes. I roasted them in this amazing ghee I’ve been using from Ancient Organics in Berkeley. They came out all crusty and golden. I served them with some crunchy salt and a big mess of rapini and a gorgeous local goat cheese—a pyramid with a layer of ash. [My husband and I] opened a bottle of Ridge Zinfandel. Simple, and so, so good.”