It is a good idea to keep some cornmeal, canned tomatoes, and Parmesan cheese on hand so you can put this polenta together on a moments notice. Puttanesca sauce is a robust, brazen tomato sauce (puttana means whore) and it balances the subtle flavor of the polenta…
It’s amusing to contemplate how much taste is inextricably linked to texture, and the best illustration of this is pasta. Although most pastas are made from the same ingredients, their various shapes will determine the character of the dish they’re in. The…
This quick summer dish is best prepared at the height of the season, when tomatoes are irresistibly plump and red and fresh basil is available in abundance. This is, to me, one of the best pasta dishes, potent yet simple. SERVES 4 6 ripe plum tomatoes (about 1 pound)…
Swiss chard is a delicious member of the beet family. It has a mild beet flavor and is an excellent source of vitamin A. Both the leaves and the ribs are used in this recipe, and if you are a gardener, you’ll find that it is one of the easiest vegetables to…
Broccoli rabe, also called rapini, is a leafy vegetable with small flower clusters resembling broccoli florets. I like to cook it with onions because their natural sweetness balances its slight bitterness. The bow-shaped pasta is worth going out of your way to get; it…
Traditional tabbouleh is more like a parsley and mint salad with a little bulgur thrown in. I prefer to let the bulgur dominate and have the herbs play a supporting role. This nutritious and substantial salad has just the right balance to me. SERVES 6 TO 8 1ВЅ cupsВ…
Vegetable Lasagne MAKES: 6 to 8 servings TIME: 1 hour, with prepared pasta sheets and sauce At its simplest lasagne is a baked layered dish of pasta, sauce, and cheese; adding some cooked vegetables, like spinach, zucchini, or mushrooms, is a no-brainer. Make your…
Tofu-Stuffed Wontons MAKES: 4 to 6 servings TIME: 30 minutes, with premade wrappers These are wonderful wontons, with crisp exteriors and soft insides. The best wrappers are super-thin, and some of the store-bought kinds may need a little more rolling. If you’re…
Stir-Fried Wide Rice Noodles with Pickled Vegetables MAKES: 4 servings TIME: 30 minutes Pickled or fermented cabbage is often combined with Asian noodles but requires some forethought. So here I mimic the flavor by pickling the vegetables with a little vinegar in the…
Steamed Dumplings, Asian Style MAKES: 4 to 6 24 dumplings; 4 to 6 servings TIME: 40 minutes This is a simplified, streamlined stuffing, but you can get as elaborate as you like; there are few limits to the vegetables you can use in dumplings. The only secret is to…
Spinach-Ricotta Ravioli MAKES: 30 to 60 ravioli TIME: About 1 hour, with prepared pasta sheets A standby stuffed pasta; this stuffing is great in cannelloni too (see the variation). Serve it with Fast Tomato Sauce, Traditional Pesto, or the sauce from Fettuccine…
Spaetzle MAKES: 4 servings TIME: 30 minutes Hailing from Alsace, spaetzle is a cross between a dumpling and pasta; it’s made from a pancakelike batter that’s dropped into boiling water and cooked. From this point it can be seasoned and served, sauted,…