Caramelized and concentrated into slightly crisp nuggets, roasting gives cauliflower a new personality. Granted, it loses its pearly white complexion, but the payback is in the flavor.
I spent some time in Knoxville and got to know firsthand how pleasant the people are and how proud they are to maintain the tradition of the apple stack cake. Everyone knows it, and the routine that they follow to make and serve it is serious business.
This is one of my favorite veggie burgers. It has everything I want: hearty chickpeas, fortifying spinach, a hint of nutty toasted cumin seeds, and final finish of fresh lemon. It's also very easy! As with most burgers in this book, be sure to reserve a portion of the beans and mash them by hand, rather than blitzing all of them in the food processor, as this gives the burger texture. I like to serve them accompanied by traditional burger fixings: lettuce, tomato, and mustard.
Variations on this simple relish/salad turn up throughout Southeast Asia. The purpose is to give you a bite of cool, crisp, crunch to counterpoint spicy hot meat.
Serve the borscht with dollops of the dill cream, garnished with more of the dill.
In speaking of this most celebrated of Irish potato dishes, the musician Mick Bolger—whose Denver-based contemporary Celtic band is called Colcannon—notes that it has a "wonderful affinity" for corned beef and cabbage. And he confesses that he has also eaten it "with fillet mignon and port sauce; with rashers [bacon], tomatoes, and kidneys-in-their-jackets at 4 a.m.; and—God forgive me—wrapped in a tortilla, microwaved, and eaten, over the sink, with salsa." It is, in other words, a versatile creation. It is also one that exists in numerous variations, depending on the season, the region of the country, and of course personal taste. It is often made with just butter, milk, and kale, but the scholar P. W. Joyce defines "caulcannon" as "potatoes mashed with butter and milk, with chopped up cabbage and pot-herbs." Mary Ward, when she makes colcannon at her house in Nenagh, County Tipperary, starts with a trip to the kitchen garden, armed with a basket and a pair of shears. This is her recipe.
Ingredients
There is nothing weak-kneed about this vegetable broth. It's big flavors hold their own in any dish where poultry or meat stocks are usually used.
So that people who avoid alcohol could still enjoy the extraordinarily moist yet soft texture of my Grand Marnier cake, I've adapted the recipe using ground almonds and lemon.
The potatoes and eggs could be cooked a day ahead and refrigerated. The sauce holds 3 days in the refrigerator.