Side

When prepared properly, Japanese-style deep-fried vegetables are light and crisp and not at all greasy. Baking powder in the batter helps it to puff up in the hot oil, while cornstarch keeps it from being too dense (as it can be when made with all flour). Ice-cold batter is the secret to successful tempura, so be sure to use ice water (drained of ice). You can use any type of vegetable in this recipe, as long as you slice the vegetables thinly and uniformly so they cook evenly. Root vegetables should be sliced a bit thinner since they take longer to cook.

The secret to perfect fries—crisp on the outside and soft within—is to “fry” them twice, first to cook through, then to crisp and color. The first step is called blanching rather than deep-frying, since the temperature of the oil (300°F) is sufficient to soften, but not brown. (If you tried to cook them at a high temperature the whole time, the outsides would burn before the insides were cooked through.) The second step involves true deep-frying: the oil is brought up to 350°F—hot enough to quickly brown the outside without needing to cook the interior further. As with the sautéed rosti (page 329), the potatoes are soaked in water before cooking to remove excess starch, then dried thoroughly. Whenever deep-frying, remember that the oil should be maintained at the proper temperature, so you will need to adjust the heat as necessary. Unless you have a deep-fryer, use a cast-iron pot; it holds its heat better and distributes heat more evenly than other types. Also, frying can leave oil marks on stainless steel and other surfaces that are difficult to clean. To keep the temperature from dropping too much, add potatoes in batches; this will also ensure that they fry evenly and quickly. If the temperature spikes at any time, cool down the oil by adding some room-temperature oil to the pot. Be sure to salt the fries immediately after removing from the oil, when they are still piping hot. Any other seasonings (such as the lemon zest and rosemary below) are purely optional. Homemade mayonnaise (page 95) is an indulgent option for dipping. Or drizzle with malt vinegar for a tangy taste.

Rosti is a favorite Swiss potato dish made with grated potatoes and, depending on the cooking technique (deep-frying, pan-frying or even baking), butter, oil, or a combination. It can be formed into one large cake, as in the recipe below, or shaped into smaller patties. The ideal rosti is crisp and light.

Fresh shell beans such as cranberry beans and black-eyed peas have a creamy yet dense texture; they are also easier and quicker to prepare than their dried counterparts, since no soaking is required and they cook in a fraction of the time. For this dish, everything is eventually sautéed in the same pan, although a few preliminary steps are required to make the most of the various components. The beans are simmered in an aromatic liquid until tender and infused with hints of cinnamon and herbs, and the kale is blanched to soften its sturdy leaves. If you want to skip this step, shred the kale finely so it will cook more quickly. Or substitute kale with more tender greens, such as escarole, dandelion, or chard, which can go straight into the sauté pan without being shredded or blanched.

This sauté makes good use of an abundance of summer vegetables, the small amount of cream adding a touch of richness without overwhelming the fresh flavor of the produce. A chopped ripe, small tomato would be a colorful addition.

This recipe uses a combination of steaming to soften the texture and brighten the color (especially helpful when cooking green vegetables), and sautéing in butter to increase flavor. The method is similar to blanching then sautéing, only in the same pan. This steam-sauté method can also be used to cook green beans, snow peas, green peas, asparagus, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts. In the recipe below, sautéed snap peas are combined with shaved raw baby turnips, which are slightly bitter and contrast nicely with the sweetness of the peas. Radishes would offer the same balance of taste and crunchy texture.

In Sicilian cooking, raisins and nuts—often pine nuts, but almonds and walnuts are also common—are frequently used to lend sweetness to bitter greens and vegetables, including chard, spinach, and kale, as well as broccoli and cauliflower. They also add textural contrast to a dish of sautéed greens, as in this chard recipe. You can make a simplified version by omitting the shallots, nuts, and raisins, and starting at the point where you cook the garlic and red-pepper flakes in oil.

Heavy cream is the most traditional liquid in gratins, but milk or stock, or a combination, can replace half the cream for a lighter result. In this recipe, the liquid is infused with thyme to help its flavor disseminate more effectively since the vegetables will soak up the liquid; this step can be omitted but it does make a difference.

A tian is a Provençal creation named for the traditional earthenware baking dish. Be sure to drizzle generously with oil to impart flavor and keep the vegetables from drying out (remember, there’s no other liquid in a tian); you can spoon off excess oil after cooking.

This is a good way to use tomatoes that are less than perfect, as the baking intensifies their flavor, and honey enhances their sweetness. They make lovely accompaniments to meat, chicken, or fish, or use them when steaming en papillote (see page 215). The tomatoes can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to three days.

When slow-roasted in the oven, tomatoes develop a concentrated flavor with a dense yet chewy texture that is similar to that of sun-dried tomatoes but fresher. They are excellent alone or in salads, sandwiches, and pasta dishes. The length of time it takes to slow-roast tomatoes depends their size and freshness, but little effort is involved once they are in the oven except to check their progress every now and then, especially toward the end. (If they are darkening too quickly, reduce the temperature to 225°F.) The tomatoes will keep for one week in the refrigerator in a covered container. This recipe calls for beefsteak tomatoes, but you can successfully slow-roast plum tomatoes as well.

Bell peppers are roasted largely to remove the skins, which makes the vegetables supple and almost silky and perfect for marinating in a fragrant mix of oil, garlic, and basil. (This works for orange and yellow peppers, too, but not for green, because the skin is too thin.) Many recipes call for cutting the peppers into pieces lengthwise and roasting under the broiler, but it can be difficult to make the pieces flat enough to blacken evenly. It’s easier to roast them right on the stove, over a gas burner, turning with tongs as each side blackens. Serve the marinated pieces as part of an antipasto with bread, cheese, olives, and cured meats, or toss them into pastas or over a pizza.

Steaming a pot of shellfish is actually quite simple—and quick. It requires just a small amount of aromatic liquid, such as the wine used in the recipe below, which imparts flavor to the shellfish while also mixing with the flavorful liquid released from the shellfish, resulting in a delicious broth. And the shells serve as a “steamer basket,” keeping the shellfish from being submerged in the liquid. A dry white wine is used as the steaming liquid; other good choices would be beer or water (you could even forgo adding liquid and steam the mussels in a covered pot until they open, as they have enough liquid in their shells, then sprinkle with salt and pepper). Here some aromatics are sautéed before the liquid is added to enhance its flavor before adding the mussels. In Belgium and France, mussels are traditionally accompanied by piping hot French Fries (page 333), but a crusty loaf of bread is always welcome.

Winter squash makes a very beautiful, fine-textured puree, and there is no need to strain it to finish.

To preserve their bright green color, the peas are shocked in an ice-water bath after boiling. You can skip this step if desired, but the puree will not have the same vibrancy. Frozen peas can be substituted for fresh; boil them for two minutes.

Because of their denser texture, root vegetables can be simmered in water instead of milk, then pureed with milk (or cream) and butter.

This recipe produces a puree that is smooth and creamy without adding any heavy cream. Instead, the vegetables are boiled in milk and then pureed with some of the reserved cooking liquid, resulting in a side dish with a pure vegetable taste. When pureeing in a blender, add only enough liquid to keep the blade spinning freely. The fennel puree is delicious with the seared scallops on page 260. It can also be thinned with some of the strained cooking liquid to form a soup.

Infusing liquid—cream, milk, or stock can all be used in this recipe—with herbs is a simple yet effective way to add depth of flavor to purees and other preparations (see the gratin on page 320). Garlic is a complementary flavor for potatoes; we boiled the cloves along with the potatoes to mellow their flavor, but you can use Oven-Poached Garlic instead (page 306). For a lighter-bodied puree, replace the cream with milk or stock, or use a combination. For a richer puree, reduce 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream by half, then infuse with herbs.

In this classic French first course, the vegetables are first poached, then marinated in vinaigrette. For deeper flavor, the vegetables can be braised in stock instead of poached. The leeks are especially delicious when garnished with sieved egg yolk (called “mimosa” for its resemblance to the golden flower and most often used with asparagus). The leeks can also be combined with other components to create an elegant composed salad, such as the one on page 312.