cutting diamonds

This is ideal for plain, boiled green vegetables, such as leeks (shown
here) and runner beans. Cut snap peas at a sharper angle, almost top
to bottom, into two or three thin slices, to release the sweet, tiny peas.

Cut each half diagonally into diamonds. When you

1 Use a fine slicing knife to cut the leeks lengthwise,
with the white root ends still attached. Rinse under
running water, holding the green leaves downward.
2 become more practiced, you can pile several leeks
on top of each other, and slice them with a large chef’s
Cut each in half and place the flat side on the board. knife—it makes the job much quicker.

cutting ribbons
Use the mandolin to create
vegetable ribbons, e.g., of
zucchini (p50), of parsnip
(shown here), or daikon for
delicious deep-fried crisps.
With the peeler of your choice,
peel the parsnips lengthwise,
until smooth.

p a r s n i p s Set the aperture of

the blade to “fine.” For the first
ribbon, carefully grip with your
fingers. The 1/ 16 in-thick ribbon
should just hold its shape without
falling apart. Press the parsnip on
to the blade with your palm, and
run it across the cutter blade.

60 VEGETABLES