Characteristic: vegan

I make these small and fry them until quite crisp. They are strong but delicious and nice as a part of a bowl or grains, pickles, vegetables, etc. Black radishes vary in their sharpness. For very strong ones, let them sit with the salt a little longer.  ... Read more »

Yukina savoy is so tender and delicious and needs nothing more than a quick sear in a hot pan to make the perfect side dish.... Read more »

The salsify tastes a bit like a cross between an artichoke and a celery root here and is nicely balanced by the bright parsley, garlic and lemon garnish.... Read more »

This is a lovely, fragrant dish. The meat is entirely optional. Serve it with another hearty salad and bread for a light supper or with a frittata or with roasted vegetables or meats.... Read more »

Grating and lightly salting Black Spanish radish softens and mellows it nicely. And the earthy sweetness of beets offers a nice counterpoint. This salad/garnish of sorts is good with bread, cheese, charcuterie or lentils and sausages or bean stews or any meats or eggs.... Read more »

This is a gorgeous, robust salad that holds up well and nicely pairs with richer wintry dishes, stews, roasts, curries, etc.   This is one of the few recipes in which winter squash is called for raw. I used a kabocha squash here, but others work great too!  ... Read more »

These are quick and savory and will disappear as quickly as you can fry them.... Read more »

This is a wonderful winter salad. It's robust, yet bright and crunchy thanks to the celery and yogurt dressing flavored with Dijon mustard and coriander. You can substitute barley, farro or spelt for the wheat berries. This recipe makes quite a bit but it keeps well and seems worth having on hand for lunch the next day but feel free to halve the recipe.... Read more »

This is delicious hot, warm or at room temperature. The crispy bread crumbs are key as is the splash of vinegar at the end. You want to use a squash that keeps its shape when cooked, like butternut, delicata, sweet meat or hubbard varieties.   This could almost stand in for stuffing at a Thanksgiving table. It's savory and comforting but not at all heavy.... Read more »

[caption id="attachment_12187" align="aligncenter" width="660"] The frosty red orbs above are frozen roasted tomatoes that are wonderful in this soup.[/caption] Simple bean and sometimes bean and grain (often farro) soups are a mainstay of much of central and northern Italy. This is a hearty one that is better the next day and freezes well. It takes a bit of time to fully develop the flavors and textures but is worth every minute. And I suggest soaking the farro and beans together overnight, so plan ahead. Alternatively you can use already cooked/canned beans and the farro will do fine without soaking but will take a little longer to get tender.   I'm not a stickler for authenticity and sometimes use pinto beans (and added some already cooked white beans later in the process in the above version) though borlotti beans would be traditional, and excellent. So use what you have and mix and match beans if you'd like. You can also substitute barley or wheat berries for the farro (which is a variety of wheat). You can also leave out the bacon and it will still be rich and delicious. ... Read more »

--adapted from Truly Mexican by Roberto Santibañaz   This is a fragrant, beautiful rice that is delicious served just with black beans and an egg for a simple supper. It would be delicious with any kind of braised or grilled meats as well. This makes quite a bit and I love having it on hand to add to soups or stews or even use for fried rice. I like a version with more peppers, egg and plenty of cilantro and scallions. You could add any leftover meat to this as well.... Read more »

This is a quick way to process a bunch of green tomatoes and the resulting fresh salsa verde-like sauce is versatile. Use it to make a simplified pork or chicken verde using it instead of the roasted chile and tomatillo sauce. Employ it fresh in tacos or fry it for a few minutes and scramble some eggs in it . . . Quantities and ratios are completely scalable and changeable. Make it spicier, heavier on the cilantro and garlic, etc. ... Read more »

Escarole often comes in gorgeous, huge heads so it's a good thing that it's also delicious briefly wilted or even stewed. Employing these techniques you can work through that kind of volume so don't be afraid of these sometimes super-sized heads.   There's nothing hard and fast about the quantities and ratios below. Scale up and down as needed.... Read more »

Another cook-with-what-you-have salad that came about one late fall day. I love the combination of cooked/roasted and raw vegetables and if you can serve this right away when the squash is still warm it's particularly good. Vary this with other seeds or nuts and different herbs to suit your needs/taste. And if your celery has leaves attached, by all means add a handful or two of those. ... Read more »

This a hearty but bright side dish/salad that is beautiful to boot. The tang of the green tomatoes offsets the sweetness of the squash.... Read more »

This is gorgeous, bright, tart and crunchy from the seeds. It's delicious as a salad as well as on toast with hummus or avocado or cheese or egg, in some form. It will enliven most anything, really. ... Read more »

This is the classic preparation for these Spanish peppers. Shishito peppers, their Japanese cousins (that tend to be a little milder) can be prepared the same way. It takes mere minutes to fry these and they're a delicious snack/appetizer.  You can fry a handful or many pounds of them so scale up or down as needed.... Read more »

This late summer dish is warmly spiced and can easily be made into a meal by adding a few cups of chickpeas, or some crumbled sausage or eggs cracked and cooked right into the vegetables. Or enjoy as is with the spiced yogurt and some good bread. And feel free to change the ratio of eggplant to tomato based on what you have and scale up or down as needed. And if you don't have harissa (a paste of peppers and spices) you can adapt--see below.... Read more »

This is simple comfort food that complements most anything and is delicious the next day. You can dress it up with different herbs and/or spices, toss in other vegetables or leftover, cooked meat or sausage, etc. If you don't have fresh tomatoes, canned will do just fine. I do love to make this in late summer when I have more tomatoes than I know what to do with.... Read more »

This salad came about on a hot evening when I didn't feel like neatly rolling salad rolls but had most of the ingredients I typically use to make salad rolls. Instead of dressing the salad in a peanut sauce (which I would normally make to accompany proper salad rolls) I just added roasted peanuts to the salad and made a lighter/brighter dressing.  Don't be put off by the handful of steps--it comes together fairly quickly. This salad is begging for variations: add snap peas, blanched green beans or edamame, cooked shrimp or chicken, diced cucumber, even halved cherry tomatoes or sliced red peppers. Have fun with it and use what you have on hand and use fewer herbs if you don't have the volume I suggest. Shiso would be a delicious addition here as well.... Read more »