The Biggest Cooking Sin You Can Make, According To Padma Lakshmi

Padma Lakshmi spent 20 seasons as the host of "Top Chef" so she knows a thing or two about good food. As the ultimate foodie, she is proud of her ability to cook dishes just by watching someone else make them or tasting them a few times. Therefore, it's no surprise that Lakshmi is an adventurous eater who likes to try the cuisine in every location she visits. But there's one thing that she isn't a big fan of, and she spoke about it years ago when asked about the "biggest sin someone can make in cooking."

"The biggest sin a person can make in cooking to me is not using the bounty and diversity of vegetables we have, especially right now in summer and in fall and in spring," Lakshmi wrote during a Reddit Ask Me Anything session in 2013.

It's more than a cooking sin to ignore seasonal vegetables and not eat with the seasons. When harvested at peak ripeness, in-season produce can taste better, be more nutritious, and even cost less than buying those same vegetables in the off-season when they must be imported from other places. One prime example that proves she stands behind this is Lakshmi's grapefruit salad recipe, which she makes in the winter when grapefruit are in season and at peak ripeness. 

It makes sense that Lakshmi's biggest cooking sin is vegetable-centric because, while she is not strictly vegan or vegetarian, she ate a mainly plant-based diet when she wasn't filming during her time as the host of "Top Chef." 

Later in the Reddit AMA, she touched on that when responding to a question about how her Indian heritage helped shape her approach to food. Lakshmi responded, "I'm really thankful for my Indian heritage because I believe it gave me an extensive understanding of spices and how to make food tasty without necessarily adding a lot of fat. Because much of Indian cuisine is indeed vegetarian, it's also easier for me to eat in a more conscientious way without feeling deprived."

Vegetarian dishes are among Lakshmi's favorites, including her go-to comfort food, a lentil stew called Masoor Dal. The base recipe does not contain meat, but meat can be added easily. Another of Lakshmi's vegetarian go-to dishes is a chickpea salad that can be served all year round. This recipe uses canned chickpeas among its budget-friendly ingredients to create a quick and healthy fiber-rich vegetarian bean salad she's been serving for over 20 years.