Carrots

This velvety carrot pudding thickened with sweetened condensed milk and paneer, an Indian cow's milk cheese similar to farmer cheese, is subtly spiced with cardamom and garnished with pistachios. It's wintertime comfort food in Punjab where frigid temperatures are no match for this warm dessert that is traditionally made from red Punjabi carrots, which are only available in the winter photo. In spite of its simplicity, this sweet feels celebratory and is often served at Indian temple festivals and during the winter holiday of Diwali, the festival of lights. Diyas, traditional clay oil lamps, light the homes of millions of Indian families during Diwali, and although it's a Hindu festival, it's enjoyed by people from all denominations

Carrots, celery, and onion are the base for any good comfort meal. Using rotisserie chicken puts this meal on the table in under thirty minutes!

The addition of balsamic vinegar comes straight from my friend Meg Fish’s table. She ladled up big bowls of soup topped with four or five drips of the tangy, sweet liquid, and I’ve never gone back.

Carrots, avocado, and sprouts may sound too standard to deserve your attention, but I assure you, this salad satisfies. It’s really the dukkah that does the trick— bright, spicy, salty, and a little sweet—it gives this salad a complex, savory depth.

This is a substantial, creamy peanut stew with plenty of spice from a good dollop of curry paste. Use your favorite brand of curry, a homemade paste, or even the ubiquitous Thai Kitchen brand. Canned crushed tomatoes are easy to find (and good here!), but this soup gains extra depth of flavor with canned fire-roasted tomatoes. I thought about making the miso optional, because, really, it is. But it’s a nice addition, lending extra body, flavor, and dimension.

You’ve likely seen dozens of roast chicken recipes that promise perfectly browned, crispy skin. I honestly don’t see what all the fuss over crispy skin is about: When your goal is crispy chicken skin, you usually sacrifice the moisture of the meat inside. Plus, once the bird is rested and carved, most of that crispy skin will get soggy with the steam and juices that are released. Instead, I use my favorite method for roasting a chicken, adapted from Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s, in which he bakes the bird in a roasting pan filled with chunks of potatoes (a recipe he calls Potatoes That Taste Better than the Chicken). Instead of a roasting pan, I use a Dutch oven, which helps keep the bird extra moist. As the chicken cooks, its juices and fat get absorbed by the vegetables, making some of the best roasted carrots and potatoes you’ve ever tasted.

Many people have little affection for cooked vegetables, possibly because they are often overcooked. This causes them to lose their inherent crisp texture and natural color and allows vitamins, minerals, and good taste substances to seep out into the cooking water. It is little wonder that many children are unenthusiastic about eating vegetables that have been prepared in such a way as to eliminate their interesting qualities. Some of the crisp texture of vegetables can be preserved by grilling or roasting them. As vegetables have a low protein content, no Maillard reactions take place, but the surfaces do caramelize.