Root Vegetable

Puttanesca isn't just for pasta. Anchovies and olives punch up a sauce hearty enough to stand up to meat or fish.

A&M: Teresa wrote: "Seems to me beets and oranges are a classic winter salad combination that you see everywhere." But this is no run-of-the-mill beet and orange salad. Teresa explained, "My friend Sophie's dad, Jim Broderick, gave me the idea that really makes this salad great: fennel and orange rind in the dressing." She's right: this trick gives her winter salad lift and fragrance and makes you want to keep eating it.

A&M: When Amy N-B told her husband that she came up with this dish as an homage to a simple French peasant dinner, he teased her: "What peasants eat Bucheron cheese and drink Muscadet with their beets?" "Um, French ones?" Well, in our next life, we'd like to be French peasants, or at least eat like them. We have a soft spot for beet recipes that utilize both the sweet root and minerally tops. Here, Amy N-B has you caramelize slices of yellow and red beets (we used four large beets total; might do three next time) and then add a mix of beet tops and Swiss chard, cooking them just enough to wilt. You'll love the dish at this point, but you'll be riveted if you serve it with a soft Bucheron and good country bread.

We serve a lot of carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. People love the moist cake with the creamy frosting—and, from our informal polling, our customers prefer their carrot cake without raisins or nuts and with lots of cream cheese frosting!

This crisp, colorful salad is a refreshing accompaniment to any meal, whether you serve it after, before, or with the main course. The slightly sweet nature of fennel pairs well with radicchio's mild bitterness. The lemony olive vinaigrette and herbs keep the salad vibrant.

Who can resist mashed potatoes, particularly with steak? You'll love this twist on the classic, with just enough horseradish added to give these creamy spuds a fun kick.

This is part of the recipe Chicken Wings Five Ways.

This hearty salad is a near-constant in our deli case and a favorite among guests and staff . Although the beets are the star of the show, the pickled onions play an important supporting role, adding textural interest and a vinegary punch. At the store, we cook the beets by baking them whole, in a deep roasting pan with 1 inch of water. For a small, at-home quantity I suggest steaming. It’s faster because steam gets hotter than boiling water (which maxes out at 212°F) and uses less energy than turning on the oven. However, if you prefer to roast or boil your beets, feel free—the results will be just as tasty.

This take on coq au vin has it all: tender, moist chicken, flavorful root veggies, and an incredibly rich sauce; to top it off, it’s a one-pot meal. Serve with a simple garlicky green salad and lots of steamed white rice to soak up all the chicken broth goodness. Duck legs are a great substitute for the chicken legs, too. You’ll get the best results if you salt the legs the day before you cook, but it’s not essential. If you are short on time, skip the salting and jump right in—just season the legs well with salt and pepper before you brown them.

My translation of one of Mom’s great recipes, this dish quickly became a favorite among the regulars at my restaurant Rendezvous du Monde. Sumac is a spice used in marinades and salads throughout the Middle East. It has a tangy, citrusy flavor and adds a beautiful pinkish hue to the chicken. It’s worth seeking out sumac, but if you can’t find it, the recipe will still be delicious. Serve with buttered couscous or grilled country bread drizzled with the pan juices.

So many sweet potato recipes call for lots of additional sugar, which can produce cloyingly sweet results. Wow your guests with this version, which uses mild curry powder, a tiny bit of cayenne, and coconut milk to complement the natural sweetness of the potatoes.

In the Market’s kitchen, we make this in mass quantities and use it for all kinds of things. The gentle cooking method produces garlic cloves that are meltingly soft and delicate in flavor, making them easy to blend into mashed potatoes, mayonnaise, salad dressings, or even spread onto sandwiches. The poaching oil becomes infused with garlic flavor; use it in place of olive oil in any savory recipe. (Brushed onto baguette slices, it makes incredible crostini, too.)

Our chef Eddy developed this recipe based on the salsa he grew up with in Mexico City. It’s a favorite among our customers, especially at the height of summer when the tomatoes and peppers come from our own mini-farm. I love to spoon it over fried eggs after a late night of drinking, but it’s also perfect for picnicking or just snacking. For a milder salsa, remove the seeds from the jalapeño before roasting it.

This is a great basic recipe that allows for interchangeable veggies. You can use any combination of root veggies, including rutabagas, turnips, or different potatoes. The cream adds a nice richness and velvety texture, but you can get a similar effect without the cream if you use a rich, creamy potato like a yellow finn or German butterball. And when it’s available, spring green garlic is a great substitute for the regular garlic for an added burst of flavor.

Heirloom carrots, with their deep varied hues of orange, yellow, and purple, are ideal for this salad, but you can use regular carrots and it will be just as delicious. Just make sure they’re organic and smaller in size to ensure the same tender, sweet results. You can use a vegetable peeler or a mandoline to make the ribbons. The vegetable peeler takes a little longer, but produces beautifully thin, delicate strips. A mandoline, on the other hand, is faster but makes thicker ribbons if you are not careful. If you go this route, let the ribbons sit for a few minutes after tossing with the dressing so they soften somewhat.

Every time I make this gratin I get the same response: “This is so good!” Honestly, though, when you combine potatoes and squash with cream, sage, and cheese, how could it not be amazing? This gratin is especially well suited for dinner parties or any other time you need a hearty, make-ahead side dish. It scales up easily (just increase the ingredients and baking dishes accordingly), and it reheats wonderfully.

This autumnal salad is a kaleidoscope of shapes and colors, thanks to the scalloped half-moons of squash, wispy leaves of baby arugula, and shiny red jewels of pomegranate seeds. It’s as visually pleasing as it is delicious. Boasting both tender greens and roasted potatoes, this dish is sort of a half salad, half starchy side dish. As such, you can serve it alone as an entrée or in smaller portions as an accompaniment. You can roast the potatoes and squash and make the dressing well ahead of time, then assemble at the last minute.

Letting the broccolini brown slightly in the pan gives it a boost of flavor. To accomplish this, the broccolini must be absolutely dry when it goes into the pan; otherwise, it’ll steam and won’t take on any color. A large cast-iron skillet is the ideal cooking vessel for this dish.

This salad demonstrates how fresh winter can taste. The raw fennel is clean, aromatic, and crisp, the citrus sweet and a touch bitter, and the avocado rich and smooth. You can substitute other citrus with similar success or even use several types. To really take this salad over the top, I love to top it with fresh plucked Dungeness crab meat (another winter wonder); about 8 ounces is perfect for four servings.

Our customers are an incredibly diverse group of people, but there’s one thing that unites them: their love for our latkes. We used to make them only for Jewish holidays, but now they’re a staple in our deli for Jews and non-Jews alike. Our version includes butternut squash and fresh herbs, which give the latkes a freshness that most other kinds lack. This recipe employs a trick that we use extensively in our commercial kitchen: we brown the latkes on the stove top and finish the cooking in the oven. It not only minimizes the time you spend standing over a hot pan but also reduces the amount of oil needed and frees up the stove top for whatever else you might want to make. I love these as a first course or a light supper, especially when paired with smoked salmon or trout. Applesauce and sour cream are great, too.