This is a playful twist on a classic recipe that pulls you back to childhood. I like cooking and pairing spicy, hearty dishes with Torpedo Extra IPA because the punch of the spice and sharp cheddar stand up to the hop forward, bitter notes of the beer.
When I lived in Peterborough, N.H., in the early 1990s, I had two obsessions: One was the lettuce mix from organic farming pioneer Rosaly Bass, who charmed me so much I signed up for a subscription that let me and a handful of others pick what we wanted off her land all season long. (I tended to swing by at midnight after a long day as editor of the weekly Monadnock Ledger and shovel up carrots by moonlight.) The other was this addictively pungent salad dressing, made by chef Hiroshi Hayashi at his elegant, health-minded Japanese restaurant, Latacarta. While Rosaly's farm is still going strong (it’s the state’s oldest certified organic farm), Hayashi long ago closed the restaurant and started the Monadnock School of Natural Cooking and Philosophy, where he continued making this vegan dressing for many years. He died in 2012. I use the concoction to dress simple salads of butter lettuce with cherry tomatoes and carrots, taking care to slice them into perfect julienne the way I remember Hayashi did, and I have since learned that you can substitute in any herb you like, any vinegar, any oil, and have played around with many a combination. This also makes an excellent dip for crudites.
More than any other veggie dish in my repertoire, this is the one people request again and again. This recipe originally appeared in my mini-but-mighty Tahini cookbook in 2016, but once I moved to Israel, I made a few changes, like eliminating butter and swapping in olive oil, that reflect the way I cook here. If you can find multicolored carrots, great, and if you can find thinner farmers’ market– style ones, even better. If your carrots are on the larger side, cut them lengthwise so no piece is more than half an inch thick; this softens them up in preparation for their deliciously sweet, lemony tahini glaze. The recipe purposely makes a generous amount of dressing, because you’ll want to put it on everything, from cold noodles to fish and any roasted veggie under the sun. I recommend doubling or even tripling this recipe; the carrots shrink, but people’s appetite for them never does. If you do multiply, make sure to use more baking sheets so the carrots roast, not steam. The carrots are just as good, if not better, at room temperature, making them perfect sit-around buffet food.
For the best marinated olives recipe, we started with good brined olives that still contain their pits, which have a better flavor than pitted olives. For the marinade, we started with a base of olive oil and added garlic, herbs like thyme, and red pepper flakes. In addition to these basics, we liked thinly sliced shallots, which softened in the mixture and contributed their welcome allium bite, and grated orange zest for a lively citrus kick. The real surprise in our marinated olives recipe came when we added a splash of anise-flavored (or Pernod), which enhanced all the other flavors.
We wanted a cheese soufflé with bold cheese flavor, good stature, a light, but not-too-airy texture, without the fussiness of most recipes. To bump up the cheese flavor without weighing it down, we added light-but-potent Parmesan cheese to the Gruyère. To get the texture just right while keeping the preparation simple, we beat the egg whites to stiff peaks, and then—rather than carefully folding them into the cheese-bechamel—just add the sauce right to the mixer, and beat everything until uniform.
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.
My trip to Marrakech was intense and overwhelming. The sights, smells, and sounds were sensory overload. Crimson reds, burnt oranges, and cerulean blues filled our days. We wandered the bustling market, ate from stalls at the Jemaa el-Fnaa, and got lost many, many times; it was an exploration and test of wills like none other. This recipe brings back memories of the flavors we experienced and the time spent in this mysterious place.
This version of perfect cold weather food incorporates ground annatto seeds to perfume the soup with a musky aroma and splash the potatoes with a sunny disposition.
The rich tomato flavor in this recipe is thanks to two sweet and tangy ingredients: tomato paste and tamarind paste.