Root Vegetable

I make these sweet and savory tarts all year round as a first course or served with a salad as a light lunch. The onions take on a lovely blushing red color when they caramelize. Shake it up with a SAZERAC (see page 28)

My initial exposure to French cuisine was during my first trip to Europe. It was long before I would eat in any three-star restaurants, and that exposure—the best I could have asked for—came from sitting in cafés. I was a wide-eyed twenty-three-year-old (and I was told by a waiter not to practice my high school French on him). I remember beautiful, colorful plates of vegetables going past me. I soon learned it was the classic French presentation of crudités, an assortment of three or four salads served together. It was fresh, affordable, and very appetizing, and it was served all over the city. Once in a while I’ll run this as a special in my restaurant; then I’ll forget about it until I crave it again. Any one of these salads can stand on its own, but if you put them all together they make for an extraordinary meal. Marinated Lentil Salad with Creamy Goat Cheese and Ripe Tomatoes (p. 113) would be a welcome addition to the mix.

This recipe was adapted from one I found in the Jackson, Mississippi, Junior League cookbook, Come on In! We have served them at Bayona forever, and they go fast. The sweet potato gives these rolls a beautiful color and rich, moist texture.

The first time I passed through London—long before I started cooking—I figured out that some of the best food was to be found in the ubiquitous Indian restaurants. Fortunately for my traveler’s budget, it was also the cheapest! One of my favorite discoveries was an onion bhaji, a cluster of fried onion slices bound with a spicy, aromatic batter. The flavors stayed in my memory for a long time, and after much research, I came up with this recipe. The batter is made from high-protein chickpea flour (also called besan or gram flour at Indian markets), which gives it a rich flavor. At Bayona we serve bhajis with seared scallops and carrot-cardamom sauce, but they are awfully good by themselves for snacking, with a drizzle of cilantro-spiked yogurt or your favorite chutney.

We first developed this recipe as a side for a vegetarian dish we were serving at Bayona. We wanted to create the traditional smoky pork flavor of southern greens without using pork. That’s when we thought about smoking the onions. The smokiness imparts a tremendously satisfying and “meaty” flavor, but if you want to prepare this dish in the real southern way, don’t hesitate to throw some bacon, ham, or salt pork in the pot. Also, we tend to cook ours a little drier (mainly for presentation, so it plates up neater), so if you want more pot liquor, add more water early on.

Sweet, sticky, and full of flavor, glazed carrots and turnips are the perfect complement to roast meat of any kind, although lamb comes to my mind first. This dish is also a good way to show off a favorite fancy honey, but even the plainest squeezie-bear type works well.

Though we have a cabinet-style smoker at the restaurant, you can do the same thing at home with a domed barbecue grill or smoker. Get your chips going, then fill the drip pan with ice. Lay the veggies out on the grill, close the cover, and let it smoke. The smaller vegetables like mushrooms need less time. Check them periodically and take them off when they look and smell ready.

Like of lot of folks these days, I have gotten away from eating beef very often, but when I do, give me the real deal—a thick, juicy, medium-rare steak sprinkled with good salt. Given a choice between a well-marbled rib eye and a lean center-cut filet, I’ll take the rib eye every time, for the chewy texture and the deep flavor it delivers. Hanger steak, or the “butcher’s tender,” is another cut that lots of restaurants are serving these days as a less expensive but delicious alternative to tenderloin. You probably won’t find it at your average supermarket, but you might find it at an upscale market or a good butcher. It may not look like much, but it cooks up tender and tasty (as long as you don’t cook it past medium). These steaks don’t need any sauce, just something savory to serve alongside—my choices being a pungent salad (with the indulgence of some rich blue cheese) or some broccoli rabe with garlic and olive oil. Hold the baked potato.

Think there’s no way to improve upon perfectly roasted chicken? Think again. At Herbsaint we would have to appoint someone to guard the pans while these birds cooled, or they would all end up wingless! In this recipe, the addition of rosemary, garlic, lemon, and olives perfumes the meat and suggests a world of accompaniments: steamed artichokes, just-cooked angel hair pasta, fluffy couscous, a salad of pungent greens with crusty bread for sopping up the juices. When it comes to wine, consider serving a rosé or a white from the Rhone valley.

This is what I call a “close your eyes and sigh” dish—one of those fragrant and comforting meals that remind us what makes eating such a soul-satisfying experience. It can be served as a vegetarian entrée or as a side dish with chicken, veal, or lamb. Polenta provides the creamy base that melds alternating layers of cheese and vegetables. During baking, the flavors intermingle, and the fontina and roasted garlic provide a pleasing gooey texture. A simple tomato basil sauce brightens up the mellow flavor of the polenta. The result: a perfect confluence of luscious Italian flavors. If you have never had real Val d’Aosta fontina cheese, this is an excellent time to try it. The difference is noticeable: Val d’Aosta is firm and has a savory, slightly grassy flavor. If you are short on time, forgo the sauce; this polenta is delicious without it.

I’m not sure what the connection is between this old New Orleans favorite and the French politician—perhaps it was created when he visited the city—but whatever the reason, it is an enduring part of the Creole repertoire. The potatoes are most often deep-fried to a light golden brown (a preparation known as “brabant potatoes”) before joining the other ingredients in the pan, but it works just as well to blanch them in water, then crisp them. This makes a tasty complete meal when paired with a ripe tomato salad or a platter of crudités.

What a great way to use up some of those veggies that are beginning to look a little tired in the fridge. Start with a few fresh ingredients and be creative with your trimmings. Use this stock for a bit more flavor when making soups, moistening bread stuffing, deglazing a roasting or sauté pan, or stirring up a risotto.

These sweet, sour, and slightly spicy onion slices add zest and color to just about any salad or sandwich. They are also a great accompaniment to a roasted meat, paté, or terrine, and they’re delicious piled atop quesadillas!

I call this recipe “confit” because, like the French method for preserving meat, it involves slow-cooking the garlic cloves in oil and other liquids. Poaching garlic on the stovetop is an alternative to roasting garlic in the oven. I actually prefer poaching because there is less waste—when the cooking process is complete, you are left with the whole cloves as opposed to squeezing sticky partial cloves out of a softened bulb. As with roasting, this method replaces the sharp heat of raw garlic with a flavor that’s deep and sweet. I usually poach at least two bulbs so I have plenty on hand for antipasto platters, White Bean Hummus (p. 172), pastas, vinaigrettes, or even for slathering on a piece of toast for a snack.

Green and pungent, this is my favorite version of the famed Argentinean sauce. For a more traditional version, substitute fresh oregano for the cilantro, and red wine vinegar for the lime juice. Serve it with fat, juicy rib eyes, grilled chicken breasts, or tuna steaks.

There are many different versions and interpretations of this exotic mixture, which can be used as a marinade, a sauce, or, with a little more olive oil, a vinaigrette. Use a portion of it to marinate fish or chicken, then grill, and toss the remaining mixture with thinly sliced Vidalia onions and sweet red peppers for a quick summer supper.