Dairy Free

Dirty rice is a spicy Cajun dish typically made with sausage, chicken giblets, and vegetables—the meats color the rice and make it look “dirty.” There are as many versions of the dish as there are cooks. This one, contributed by Tanya Holland of Brown Sugar Kitchen, in Oakland, California, is spicy, light, and meatless.

This dish of Lidia’s is what I make for supper when I return home tired and hungry after traveling. I like it very plain, with lots of parsley, but you could spice it up by adding a pinch of dried chile flakes or chopped anchovy, and serving it with grated cheese.

When using smaller clams such as Manila and littleneck, make this pasta with the clams in their shells. When using larger clams, cook them first, remove from their shells, and chop, returning them to the pot with the tasty clam liquor.

Charlie makes this refreshing soup when tomatoes are at their peak of ripeness and flavor. The same method can be applied to extract flavor from other watery vegetables and fruits, such as cucumber and watermelon.

I like an uncomplicated tomato sauce that tastes of sweet, flavorful tomatoes, garlic, and chile. It makes a delicious pasta sauce by itself, or it can be garnished with fresh herbs and cheese, and it can be the base of many other sauces.

This is the soup I always make when I want something comforting and restorative. This method easily becomes second-nature and is good for all kinds of seasonal vegetable soups: Soften the vegetables in oil or butter, add stock, and simmer until the vegetables are tender. Flavor with herbs, and, for a more substantial soup, add cooked pasta, beans, or, as in this recipe, chicken. Brothy vegetable soups are even better with a plate of garlic croutons (see page 37) to dip in the soup.

Not only is homemade stock easy to make and economical, but it also tastes better than any you can buy. I always like to have a quart of fresh stock on hand—or in the freezer—because then I know I have the makings of many a meal, notably a soup of seasonal vegetables. A whole chicken makes the most flavorful stock; otherwise, the meatier the chicken parts you use, the better. Sometimes I cut off the breasts of a chicken to save for another meal, and make stock with the rest of the bird. Whenever you roast a chicken, freeze the carcass to save for making stock; add it along with the other chicken parts.

A crusty yeast-raised bread requires time and planning, but not necessarily more work, as Jim Lahey’s recipe proves. Long, slow rising (fermentation) is the secret to this flavorful loaf of country-style bread.

In the south of France, an aïoli is both the garlic and olive oil mayonnaise sauce itself and the dish for which it is the raison d’être, which can be either grand or petit. Le grand aïoli is a festive Provençal free-for-all meal in itself, typically consisting of the sauce in its mortar surrounded by platters of seasonal vegetables (cauliflower, carrots, beets, green beans, artichokes, potatoes) all freshly boiled; poached salt cod and stewed octopus; and tomatoes and hard-boiled eggs. Summer is the time for an aïoli extravaganza; with crisp cold rosé wine, it is the perfect dish on a hot evening. Garlic is juicy and firm and in season, and the summer vegetables that are so good with the garlic mayonnaise are plentiful. The ingredients listed below are suggestions; add whatever vegetables and fish you like.

Homemade mayonnaise is so superior to store-bought that it is well worth the effort. Some people are intimidated by the thought of making a mayonnaise, but it is a skill easily mastered. A mayonnaise made with garlic, or aïoli, is one of my favorite sauces for almost everything. In the fall and winter months, garlic cloves may have a green sprouting germ in the center. Cut each clove in half lengthwise before pounding, and remove the bitter germ.

In Mexico, salsas are typically made with ingredients roasted on a clay comal, or griddle. A cast-iron skillet is a good substitute. When whole chile peppers, unpeeled garlic cloves, tomatoes, and tomatillos are dry-roasted, they brown as they cook and develop the toasty overtones that create deep flavors in the salsa. Another traditional tool is the molcajete y tejolote, a rough stone mortar and pestle used to mash and blend the salsa.

The simplest guacamole is made with avocado, onions, jalapeño, lime, salt, and cilantro. The amounts of the ingredients can vary; guacamole is very forgiving. The important things are to taste for a balance of salt, heat, and acid and to make the guacamole taste the way you like it.

A simple uncooked sauce of fresh herbs brings aliveness to the table. Salsa verde (green sauce) is a versatile sauce of parsley and olive oil flavored with shallots, capers, and lemon zest. The basic recipe can be enhanced with additional ingredients to make it more pungent and complex. It will brighten and complement many dishes, especially grilled vegetables, meat, and fish.

Garlic vinaigrette is the dressing I make most often. The quantities that follow are only an approximate guide because garlics, vinegars, and oils vary so much in strength and intensity. The first step in making a vinaigrette is to macerate garlic in vinegar and salt. The vinegar softens the raw taste of the garlic, and the salt tames the sharp edge of the vinegar. Sometimes I like to mix different kinds of vinegar; a few drops of balsamic vinegar can temper a wine vinegar that’s too strong. Taste for balance and adjust by adding more salt or vinegar; it should be neither too salty nor too acidic. The mixture should taste delicious by itself.

This is a salad that David Chang (page 80) made in the Green Kitchen. David’s cooking often applies traditional Asian flavorings and methods to the foods of this continent. This salad is similar to a tomato and mozzarella salad, but it is quite different and surprising in its combination of flavors.

Parsnips look like large ivory-colored carrots. They are indeed related to carrots, but biting into a raw parsnip is not a good idea: they are almost inedible. When cooked, however, the flavor of parsnips is nutty and sweet. They are wonderful roasted or mashed, by themselves or with other vegetables, and they add a deep, complex note to broths and soups. At the market look for medium-size, firm, smooth-skinned parsnips; when you peel small ones, there’s not much parsnip left to eat, and very large ones have a woody core that needs to be removed. Prepare parsnips just like carrots, peeling away the skin and trimming off both ends.

The most common eggplant is the large, purple, oval-shaped globe eggplant, but there are plenty of other varieties to choose from. Globe eggplants range from small to large and from dark purple to the more uncommon white-and-purple striped Rosa Bianca. Smaller, thinner eggplants, usually called Asian eggplants, range in color from dark to light purple, and from short to quite long. There are many more obscure varieties, including eggplants as small as marbles and eggplants that are bright orange and red. Unless otherwise indicated, most recipes can be made with any variety. Eggplant is best when the skin is bright and shiny, the fruit is firm, and the cap and stem are fresh looking. A dull, matte skin is an indication that the eggplant is too mature or that it has been in storage too long, or both. Wash the eggplant and trim off and discard the cap and blossom end. It is not necessary to peel most eggplant because the skin is usually quite thin and tender. Many recipes ask you to salt eggplant to rid it of its bitterness, but I find that small eggplant don’t require this; nor do most large ones for that matter, as long as their seeds are small and tender. However, eggplant has a sponge-like ability to soak up a great deal of oil as it cooks. Salting eggplant before cooking will rid it of some of its internal moisture, which will help reduce the amount of oil it is able to absorb. To further lighten a dish, eggplant can be tossed with oil and baked instead of fried.

Sweet corn comes in an array of yellows and whites. There are ears that are full of white kernels, yellow kernels, or both yellow and white. The open-pollinated varieties begin to lose sweetness, converting sugar to starch from the moment they are picked. Modern hybrids have been bred to keep their sweetness for a few days, but some argue that these varieties are too sweet and lack “corn flavor.” What better way to decide than by experimenting with a few varieties to discover your own favorites? No matter the variety, corn is still best eaten fresh, the day it’s picked. Look at the cut end to gauge the freshness. Select ears that are plump, juicy, and bright in color, with a fresh cut. The brown silk may look a little sticky on a very fresh ear of corn. Don’t be put off if there is a worm at the tip—not that one wishes for a worm, but its presence is a healthy sign that the farmer is not using pesticides. If you can’t eat it immediately, store corn in the refrigerator, unhusked. Shuck corn right before you cook it, removing the husk and all the silk. If there has been a worm visitor, slice off the evidence; no harm has been done to the rest of the ear. To remove the kernels from the cob, hold onto the stem end, pointing the tip of the ear down, and run your knife down the cob, cutting off the kernels. The trick is to gauge the right depth at which to cut—not so deep as to take some of the cob with the kernel, but not so shallow that too much of the kernel is left behind. It is less messy if you tip your ear into a roasting pan to catch all the kernels as they are shaved off. If you wish, rub the cob with the back of the knife to remove all the corn milk from the kernel bits left behind.

I couldn’t cook without garlic. I use it raw and cooked in all manner of dishes. Many varieties of garlic are available, each with its own individual flavor, some with white skins and some with red skins. In the spring, you can also find immature or green garlic. It looks a lot like a leek and its flavor is a little milder and subtler than that of mature garlic. Green garlic tastes great and can be used in all its phases of development. As green garlic starts to mature, the bulb of cloves begins to form, but the skin will still be moist and tender. To prepare green garlic, trim off the root end and remove any damaged or dried outer layers. Use all the white parts of the plant and the tender, light green parts of the stalk. Mature garlic starts coming to market in summer. Look for firm, tight heads of garlic that are hard and heavy. Garlic has a definite season and eventually starts to sprout; the germ inside each clove starts to turn green and grow. When it has been in storage too long, it may become oxidized, turning yellow with an unpleasant odor. If the clove has started to sprout, cut it in half and remove the green germ from the center. Do not use cloves that have begun to turn yellow. I find the easiest way to peel garlic is to press down on the head with the heel of my palm to separate it into individual cloves. Use a sharp paring knife to cut off the tip and butt end of a clove and peel off the skin. I prefer not to smash garlic unless I am going to use it right away. Garlic begins to oxidize immediately and should not remain exposed to the air once it has been smashed or cut. Chopped or pounded garlic can be kept a short time under a bit of oil.