Characteristic: gluten free

This a fragrant, simple and delicious soup. It's begging for adaptations: add chicken or use different vegetables  such as summer or winter squash, sweet peppers, snap or snow peas, green beans. Add lots of cilantro at the end instead of the basil. Spice it up with chilies or green curry paste. Serve it over rice for a complete meal.... Read more »

Earthy, sweet beets love acidity. There is practically no simpler preparation than this and if the beets are good, this will be delicious.... Read more »

This is simple and delicious and you can omit the potatoes and just use kohlrabi if you'd like. It's good to make with kohlrabi that are a little more fibrous as they get meltingly tender with this preparation. ... Read more »

  This is a perfect way to use half a batch of the wonderful Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Verde or store bought salsa verde. The spice level of the sauce varies considerably to taste it and if it's very mild you can add some hot pepper to the bean and sweet pepper component.   If you have already cooked or canned beans, this comes together quite quickly and is deeply flavorful. Substitute other beans, different kinds of peppers (or skip the peppers), etc. ... Read more »

No time for chowder but have the same ingredients on hand, more or less?  Make this, robust and bright salad with a buttermilk dressing.   Variations Substitute halved cherry tomatoes for the bacon Substitute cilantro or basil for the parsley Substitute smoked trout for the bacon (see comment below)  ... Read more »

This is a quick, savory side dish. I added a few onions to the roasting pan this time. You could add summer squash, peppers and even tomatoes if you'd like. The dressing is quite strong and you'll likely not need all of it so use it on any grilled meat or tofu or on cold noodles.... Read more »

Zhoug is an herb and green chile sauce/paste from Yemen but popular in Israel as well and other parts of the Middle East. ... Read more »

This smoky dish of roasted eggplant, pureed with tahini, garlic and lemon is one of my favorite dishes. It's good with/on most anything. And if you have a decent broiler you can have this on the table in about 30 minutes.  If your broiler is no good you can just roast them at high heat. You can alternatively cook the eggplants on the barbecue and get a nice smoky flavor.   You can also use summer squash in stead of or in combination with eggplant for a delicious variation, using the exact same process though you can of course skip the peeling part.  ... Read more »

This is a very quick, fragrant and delicious side dish.  You could dress it up with buttered bread crumbs, change the herbs, add thin slices of eggplant or adapt it in other ways to suit your taste/what you have on hand. ... Read more »

--Inspired by Seductions of Rice by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid   Indian pilafs are made by sauteing onions and some spices, then adding rice and more vegetables (in this case) and sauteing again before adding liquid, then covering and cooking and then finishing by steaming, off the heat. The result is a beautiful, deeply flavored, fluffy dish that can stand on its own or be a robust side dish. Feel free to experiment with different vegetables or just use a single vegetable.  ... Read more »

These versions of my standby Italian parsley sauce have more crunch and are almost salad-like but pretty intense. They're fabulous with fish, beef or lamb, stirred into cooked beans, any kind of boiled or roasted vegetable, on crusty bread with soft cheese. . .   The second one, above right, simply includes a bit of mayonnaise which gives it a resemblance to tartar sauce and turns into a superb creamy version for fish or potatoes or as a dressing for potato salad, etc. ... Read more »

This is bright and earthy at the same time and beautiful to boot. Switch up the herbs based on what you have/like. Dill would be good as would cilantro. ... Read more »

This dish is very similar to this one that uses a classic pesto. Here, however, you skip the nuts, you roughly chop the rest of the pesto ingredients and can make it even if you don't have enough basil for a proper pesto. You can also skip the potatoes and just use green beans. ... Read more »

This is a strikingly good combination of flavors.... Read more »

Only three ingredients in this simple dish. The crunch and depth of the deeply toasted nuts is critical. You could certainly try other nuts or seeds--I imagine walnuts and pine nuts would be good and probably also hazelnuts. ... Read more »

There's so much flavor in this broccoli. You can skip the lentils and just serve it as is or toss it with pasta or rice or whatever you might have. You can also skip the anchovies for a vegan dish. ... Read more »

This is richly flavored and quick to make. Enjoy it with a few salads for a light dinner or alongside any meat or fish or egg dish.... Read more »

Quick, delicious, adaptable. Use cauliflower or sweet potatoes or winter squash or even just potatoes and onions. Add what I call "cheesy" toast--any bread toasted, buttered and topped with cheese of choice and broiled until bubbly--and call it dinner. ... Read more »

  This takes 20 minutes (at the most) to make and is richly flavored. It's delicious just with rice or with Sautéed Chard with Ginger, Jalapeño and Sausages or with stewed meats or other vegetables or grains. It is superb the next day and freezes well so by all means double the recipe. You can also stir leafy greens such as spinach, turnip, beet or mustard greens into the lentils a few minutes before they're done.   [caption id="attachment_20344" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Here I've served it with sauteed leeks and bell peppers seasoned with mustard seeds.[/caption]... Read more »

This pairs very nicely with a very quick red lentil dal and a cooling dollop of yogurt. Substitute spinach, mustard or collard greens or any other leafy green you might have, for the chard. You can also omit the sausage and fry a couple of eggs in the pan instead or just serve as is with dal or rice. ... Read more »