Potato

This smooth soup will win you over with its elegant simplicity and intense celery flavor. Serve with Garlic Croutons (page 159).

Elegant and richly flavored, this soup features almond butter as its base. Fresh whole-grain bread and a salad of tomatoes and mixed greens make excellent companions.

This delicious stew looks and smells as enticing as it tastes. My sister-in-law, Toni Atlas, provided the inspiration for this recipe.

As everyone knows, greens are good for you, but with its high calcium content, kale is a standout. Unlike many greens, kale does not wilt on contact with heat, but needs a good bit of simmering to get done. Its deep green color and elaborately ruffled leaves, contrasted with the yellow of the squash and the orange of the sweet potato, make this an attractive and nourishing dish for the early autumn harvest.

Both nourishing and sublimely satisfying, this thick soup incorporates fall’s first sweet potatoes with seasonal greens. Red lentils, which cook to a warm golden color, are available in natural food stores and ethnic groceries. Serve with Chapatis (page 158) or a store-bought flatbread.

This warming soup tempts the eye with an appealing golden color, and pleases the palate with the delectable flavor of sweet potatoes.

Jerusalem artichokes (sometimes marketed as “sunchokes”) are a hardy fall root vegetable. Their appealingly offbeat flavor and texture, something of a cross between potatoes and water chestnuts, will appeal to adventurous soup-makers. Barley or Rice Triangles (page 152) complement this soup nicely.

Though beet borscht is generally eaten cold, the addition of potatoes creates a more robust version for fall or winter. Onion-Rye Scones (page 155) complement this soup well. Unless you are fond of hand grating, using a food processor makes the job much easier.

Onions, garlic, winter squash, and silken tofu are all enveloped in the familiar flavor of potatoes, making this a wonderful vehicle for getting a lot of nourishing ingredients into younger (or fussier) soup eaters.

Baked tofu is an excellent stand-in for clams in this classic American soup. I like to use mild-flavored Soy Boy Tofu Lin for this recipe, but you may use whatever brand or flavor you prefer.

Though this soup is low in fat, the buttery flavor of Yukon Gold potatoes makes it taste rich and luscious. Roasted garlic and red peppers add a deep, smoky flavor.

Here’s a great soup to make in the early fall, while fresh corn and tomatoes are still available.

A super-smooth, pale puree with a colorful garnish, this soup exudes both comfort and elegance. If you can, use the big, pure white onions that are abundant in the fall.

This is a basic stock that may be used in place of water in most any vegetable soup to give added depth of flavor. It’s also a good way to use up vegetables that are limp or less than perfectly fresh.

Although the edges will puff and brown appealingly, the center of this dish may remain moist because of the amount of green chile sauce used. Green chile sauce is not salsa (although salsa could easily be substituted here). I’ve been pleased to see more companies offering jarred or canned versions that seem to be making their way out of the Southwest and into the rest of the country The amount of green chile sauce you use determines the heat level of your meal. Add another spice dimension with fresh or roasted green chiles, seeded and chopped. Although this is a vegetarian recipe that calls for meat-substitute crumbles (find these in your grocer’s freezer), you could easily add sausage, ground beef, pork, or turkey without changing anything else—likely not even the cooking time. Add chopped Canadian bacon and call it “green eggs and ham”! Consider whisking in 1/4 cup milk with the eggs for a slightly more quichelike effect.

The eggs in this recipe emerge intact, similar to poached eggs. Hearty whole-grain bread or bread with sunflower or other seeds will add texture to this dish.

This Glorious One-Pot Meal is a take on a traditional Indian dish. Consider changing it up with chicken, sweet potatoes, and broccoli in place of chickpeas, white potato, and cauliflower. Turmeric has anti-inflammatory properties and may be helpful for people suffering from internal swelling of joints or nerves, as with fibromyalgia, arthritis, and multiple sclerosis.

Pomegranate molasses has a taste that is sweet but with a tartness reminiscent of cranberries that is satisfying for the kid in all of us. Great with boneless, skinless thighs, this chicken dish is glazed with flavor. Don’t forget to spoon the sauce at the bottom of the pot over each serving as you won’t want to miss a drop! (See page 139 for a discussion of pomegranate molasses.) Brussels sprouts that touch the side or lid of the pot may get some roasted leaves. If you prefer to avoid this, simply keep them away from the edges of the pot or cover with sauce.

With its basic mix of flavors, this recipe is great for kids and other picky eaters. This could easily work as a quick, last-minute dinner of frozen ingredients: a bottom layer of frozen hash browns, then boneless chicken pieces frozen individually, and half a bag of frozen peas and carrots. From the pantry, add dried mushrooms presoaked for about ten minutes in boiling water, then drained. No advance planning needed! For a bit more flavor, drop in a few halved garlic cloves underneath and around the chicken. Consider drizzling about two tablespoons of your favorite Italian vinaigrette over the chicken instead of salt and pepper for a totally different and inviting flavor combination.

I like to think of this recipe as comfort food without all the pots and pans. In the Western tradition, rosemary has traditionally been a symbol of friendship, love, and remembrance. In Chinese medicine, the evergreen herb is used as a warming remedy. Either way, this meal is guaranteed to bring a sense of warmth and security to all who partake. To prepare acorn squash, cut off the top and bottom ends and cut in half. Then scoop out the seeds and strings with a spoon. Cut into wedges and peel. Or cook with the peel on, as it will easily come off once cooked. The deep orange of this squash boosts your intake of vitamins A and C. If using very large potatoes, cut into one-inch cubes to be sure they cook through. The smaller the cubes, the more thoroughly they will cook.