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Summer Squash Gratin With Pickled Rye Bread Crumbs
This rustic casserole was first developed using a specialty pickled rye bread from Carissa’s The Bakery in East Hampton, N.Y. The same effect is achieved in this recipe by mixing fresh rye bread crumbs (or even white bread crumbs) with a splash of pickle juice. Summer squash and zucchini are layered with caramelized onions, Gruyère and a handful of the bread crumbs, which help absorb excess moisture. If you can find patty pan squash, it makes for a particularly beautiful presentation.
Roasted Mushroom and Halloumi Grain Bowl
Like chickpeas and tofu, halloumi cheese is a sturdy vegetarian protein that browns and crisps when roasted in the oven. Its salty, chewy character is just one of the exciting bits about this grain bowl. Other highlights include crisp mushrooms, which roast alongside the halloumi; dollops of olive-studded yogurt; and whatever bright and crunchy herbs and vegetables you like or need to use up. To easily enjoy the full range of textures in each bite, instead of simply piling each element on top of the grains, layer them as if you are building nachos. It’s a small tweak, but one that makes for an even more satisfying bowl of grains.
Feta-and-Herb Phyllo Tart
Kathy Tsaples, the author of the cookbook “Sweet Greek Life: My Shared Table,” inspired this savory tart. The quality of phyllo dough varies hugely from one brand to another. It’s particularly important here to get a good-quality phyllo as there is so much of it. This is a sort of quiche with a twist, with the phyllo both acting as a casing and adding the extra crispness you get from blind baking. It’s a meal in itself, served with a simple salad. If you don’t have a tart pan handy, use a 9-inch cake pan.
Fresh and Wild Mushroom Stew
Craving wild mushrooms? My compromise is to make a stew using mostly cultivated mushrooms. But I give them a boost of wild flavor in a couple of ways. The first is to make an intense, flavorful broth with a handful of dried porcini. The other is to actually buy some wild mushrooms. A scant half-pound of chanterelles, even if pricey, won’t break the bank. The rest of the rustic stew (call it a ragout if you wish) is made of shiitake, cremini and oyster mushrooms. As it simmers, this saucy, herbaceous mushroom stew gains depth and character. Spooned over pasta or nestled up to a soft mound of polenta, it evokes the comfort of home and the primal in each bite.
Spanish Tortilla With Tomato-Pepper Salad
A Spanish potato tortilla is an egg dish unlike any other. It doesn't resemble the French omelet, which is loose and wobbly. Nor is quite like an Italian frittata, which is puffy and custardy. Instead, a tortilla is a solid cake with just enough egg to bind the soft, sliced potatoes. The first step to making it is to gently cook sliced potatoes and onions in plenty of olive oil. And plenty means at least a cup, or maybe two. It sounds like a lot but most of it stays in the pan (and you can reuse it). Other than adding great flavor, the oil turns the potatoes velvety and luscious. Just make sure the heat is low enough so the potatoes and onions cook but don’t brown very much, though a few darkened spots are okay. In Spain, a tortilla is a tapas staple nibbled with drinks. But it’s also delightful for brunch, dinner or lunch, served either warm or at room temperature.
Carrot Soup With Ginger, Turmeric and Lime
Here is the antidote to cloying, overly sweet, one-dimensional, too-thick carrot soup: fresh carrots, bright spices and a squeeze of lime. The final sizzling of cumin and mustard seeds in coconut oil — the technique is known as tarka in Indian cuisine — adds an extra blast of flavor. Look for young carrots, long and slender, which are far fresher and tastier than the fat ones that come in jumbo bags. In warm weather, you can serve the soup chilled if you'd like.
Skillet Spanakopita
Buttery, bright and herbaceous, this recipe is a faster take on the Greek spinach and feta pie and far less effort than forming individual triangular spanakopita pastries. A combination of stovetop cooking and oven baking ensures that the filling stays moist while the crust gets crisp. First, the spinach is cooked down in a mixture of butter, garlic and leeks until it wilts enough to release any moisture. Then, the filling is prepared, and the spanakopita assembled in the skillet. Give the phyllo a head start on the stovetop, then transfer to the oven so the spinach filling cooks through at the same time the phyllo becomes flaky. The timing may be precise for the cooking, but you can eat it whenever you want: This spanakopita is just as good at room temperature as it is warm.
Suvir Saran’s Mushroom and Farro Burger
When I was introduced to these burgers, a creation of the chef Suvir Saran, I was struck by the brilliant idea of using sweet potatoes as a binder. I’ve struggled to find ways to hold my burgers together, and this solution was perfect. Try to find light-fleshed sweet potatoes; they are drier, and a little less sweet than orange yams. I also love all the textures in these hearty patties. I have made some changes to Suvir’s recipe, roasting the potatoes rather than boiling them, and I use less oil.
Sweet Potato, Quinoa, Spinach and Red Lentil Burger
You can use blond or black quinoa for these delicate burgers. Black will look striking against the sweet potato’s orange when you cut into the burgers. The red lentils pale to yellow when you cook them; they contribute texture and flavor. The burgers have a decidedly Mediterranean flavor, with feta and mint included in the mix. But I still like to serve them with raita or chutney; a more Mediterranean condiment would be yogurt seasoned with puréed garlic and mint.
Roasted Mushroom and Butternut Squash Tart
This is a substantial tart with a crunchy, whole-grain dough. Don’t be put off by the yeast in the dough. It makes it both airy and crisp, and isn’t at all hard to handle. You don’t even need a mixer; this dough comes together quickly and easily by hand. For the most complex flavors, use a variety of different types of mushrooms, though just one kind is fine if that's what you have. Oysters, maitake, shiitake, black trumpet and chanterelles are best, but even cremini mushrooms work nicely. Serve this warm or at room temperature, preferably within 6 hours of baking for the crispiest crust, though it will hold up for a day or two if you store it in the refrigerator and reheat it in a 300 degree oven before serving.
Grilled Eggplant and Tomatoes With Chermoula
Chermoula, the pungent Moroccan herb sauce that is traditionally used as a marinade for fish, is also great with grilled vegetables, like the last of the summer’s eggplant and tomatoes. You can use an outdoor or an indoor grill for these.
Lentil Soup With Chipotles
Chipotles in adobo add a wonderful smoky-spicy element to this lentil soup. Lentils combine well with smoky flavors — that’s why they’re so often cooked with sausage or bacon.
Chickpea Orzo Salad With Harissa-Roasted Eggplant
Where a typical potluck pasta salad is creamy and mayonnaise-rich, this one is vegetable-forward, crunchy and spicy. The heat comes from harissa, a North African paste typically made with red and hot peppers, and spices like coriander, caraway and cumin, which is used to marinate the vegetables and to dress the salad. Offset some of the intensity with mild mozzarella cheese, deeply toasted walnuts and salty bright-green olives, and no one will miss your great aunt’s bowties.
Roasted Fennel and Grape Salad
When fennel is kissed by an oven’s fiery heat, its strong anise flavor is toned down and replaced by a mellow char and sweetness. Similarly, roasting grapes intensifies the fruit’s juices, deepens its flavor and takes off the acidic edge, giving way to more of a dark, almost winelike character. Together, the roasted fennel and grapes make a lovely warm winter salad, enhanced by a zingy shallot-citrus vinaigrette. The whole lot gets topped off with crunchy, toasted walnuts and a generous shower of Manchego cheese, which lend texture and heft. (You can sub in any sharp and tangy sheep’s milk cheese.)
Any Vegetable Soup
When it comes to stocking the pantry with root vegetables, most people stop with potatoes (regular and sweet), carrots, onions and garlic. And those are excellent to have on hand. But there are loads of other, more neglected roots, like rutabagas, turnips, radishes and celery root, worth having on hand. All root vegetables will keep for months in a cool, dark place, and they come in very handy, whether you want to roast up a bunch with olive oil and spices, or you want to make them into soup. This soup may not be the most beautiful of dishes, but it's hearty and nourishing, and highly adaptable, easily made with just about any root vegetables you have on hand.
Feta-Stuffed Grilled Flatbread
Stuffing flatbread with feta and herbs adds great flavor and an herbal, creamy surprise if you don’t know what’s in them. Feel free to use this recipe as a jumping off point for your own stuffings. The honeyed, whole-wheat-flecked dough works especially well with strong flavors like olives, capers, anchovies and other cheeses. Or skip the stuffing and grill up this dough all by itself. The basil oil makes a great dipping sauce with both stuffed and unstuffed flatbreads.
Swiss Chard Slab Pie
This crowd-pleasing recipe by Justin Chapple comes from Kristin Donnelly's book "Modern Potluck" and makes the most of Swiss chard, using both leaves and stems to fill a vegetarian slab pie with a buttery, peppery crust. That filling, tangy with reduced white wine and bound with sour cream, tastes just as good warm as it does cold, and can feed a crowd any time of day. Note: Wash leaves and stems thoroughly to avoid any traces of grit in the finished pie.
Cheesy Pan Pizza
This recipe for a crisp, cheesy pan pizza was developed by Charlotte Rutledge, along with her team of test cooks at King Arthur Flour’s rigorous test kitchen in Vermont. It uses a number of simple techniques to achieve maximum texture and flavor. The dough is folded a few times before it goes in the fridge for a long rest, which develops its flavor and airiness. Cooking the pizza in cast iron gets the edges brown and crackling, and layering the cheese and sauce creates an extra cheesy top with no soggy layer. Make it once in its simplest form, then use the model to play around with the fermentation time and toppings.
Spiced Chickpea Stew With Coconut and Turmeric
Spiced chickpeas are crisped in olive oil, then simmered in a garlicky coconut milk for an insanely creamy, basically-good-for-you stew that evokes stews found in South India and parts of the Caribbean. While the chickpeas alone would be good as a side dish, they are further simmered with stock, bolstered with dark, leafy greens of your choosing and finished with a handful of fresh mint. When shopping, be sure to avoid low-fat coconut milk, coconut milk meant for drinking or cream of coconut: All are very different and would not be suitable here.
Grilled Watermelon and Feta Salad
I love watermelon and feta salad, whether the watermelon is grilled or not. The sweet, juicy watermelon against the salty, creamy feta and pungent onions is a winning combination. This version introduces heat — if you serve it right after grilling the melon (it isn’t a must) — and char. Throw the watermelon slices, with the rind, onto the grill after or before you’ve grilled your meat or fish or vegetables. Grill them on both sides until just charred, then cut away the rinds and dice up the melon for the salad.
Croque-Madame
This is a variation of Amanda Hesser’s croque-monsieur, a ham and Gruyere sandwich topped with béchamel. Here, we invite you to pop a fried egg on top. Voila! A croque-madame (reportedly named such because the egg resembles a lady's wide-brimmed hat).
Tofu With Hot Chipotle BBQ Sauce
Instead of throwing out the adobo sauce that canned chipotle peppers are packed in, use it for this sauce. You can marinate the tofu in it for an extra-hot dish, or just brush it on cooked or uncooked tofu. This makes enough for a pound of tofu.
White Bean and Avocado Salad With Garlic Oil
Buttery avocado and creamy cannellini beans are a natural combination in this easy salad, and a quick garlic oil provides punch. The ingredient list is fairly simple, but here are a couple of tips that take it from good to great: First, make sure to remove the sliced garlic from the oil just as it starts to turn golden, so it doesn’t burn. Second, when working with ripe avocados, bypass the standard way of scooping the flesh out of the skin. Instead, achieve immaculate edges by quartering the avocado lengthwise, then gently peeling back the skin to remove the flesh.
Spicy Corn and Coconut Soup
A good corn soup is creamy and naturally sweet; an even better corn soup is spicy, refreshing and addictive. In this recipe, it’s the combination of shallots, garlic, ginger, chiles and coconut milk, rather than heavy cream or butter, that makes the soup at once cooling and rich. It’s a dinner in a bowl (and a vegan one at that), but it would surely welcome a side of steamed rice or salad of leafy greens. To serve, add garnishes that are any combination of spicy (extra fresh chile or store-bought chile oil), crunchy (toasted coconut, chopped peanuts or cashews, fried shallots) or fresh (torn cilantro, chopped scallions), and it’ll be even more dynamic.