Name: Tía Rosa and Ruth Eichner's Sweet-and-Sour Carrots
Yield: Serves 8
Ingredients: 2 pounds carrots, peeled; 3 green bell peppers, cut into 1-inch squares; 3 yellow onions, cut into 1-inch wedges; 3/4 cup cider vinegar; 3/4 cup sugar; 1 cup tomato puree; 1 teaspoon mustard powder; 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce; Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Tía Rosa and Ruth Eichner's Sweet-and-Sour CarrotsLara Ferroni

The novelist Julia Alvarez grew up in the Dominican Republic; her husband, Bill Eichner, is the son of tenant farmers in Nebraska. Dinner at the couple's Vermont home is a study in how far-flung flavors have enriched the simple sturdy fare of America.

Dr. Eichner spent hours coaxing Alcarez's mother, her aunts, and her cousins (not to mention, Ana, the family cook) into giving him the broad outlines of their family's dishes—sweet-and-sour carrots, spicy Caribbean chicken, red beans and rice, and bread pudding. He tested the recipes on his parents, Ruth and John, who now live a couple of minutes away. Ruth, herself an accomplished cook, really liked the recipe for sweet-and-sour carrots.

Recipe notes

Charred Vegetable Ragù

This sauce is slightly magical. The texture cloaks pasta much like a traditional meat sauce does, and the flavors are deep and rich, but it’s actually vegan!

Okonomiyaki Tater Tots

Crispy tots topped with savory-sweet sauce, mayonnaise, furikake, scallion, and katsuobushi.

Mississippi Mud Cake

This cake was created from thrift and was supposedly named after its appearance, which reminded people of the muddy Mississippi River bottom.

Dulce de Leche

Make this versatile caramel at home with our slow-simmered method using milk and sugar—or take one of two sweetened condensed milk shortcuts.

Charred Cabbage With Shrimp Paste Butter

A little shrimp paste goes a long, long, long way in this delicious vegetable dish.

Gigante Beans With Seaweed Salmoriglio

Salmoriglio is a Mediterranean sauce with herbs, garlic, and olive oil. In this version, kelp is used as the base of the sauce.

Chicken Croquettes

Rather than breaded and fried as you might expect croquettes to be, these are something more akin to a seared chicken salad patty.

Wampanoaug Clam Fritters

The clams’ natural briny sweetness serves as a surprising foil for the tender fritter batter—just be sure to pull off the tough outer coating of the siphon.