Root Vegetable

A whole side of salmon makes for a light, delicious—and impressive—main course.

This is the perfect dish for those who love strong flavors, as the Goan red spice paste (which takes just a few minutes to make) is spicy and vinegary. The onions and tomatoes soften the paste and the curry leaves give it a fantastic flavour. I have written this recipe to serve one person as I always find there are never enough recipes for one, and the whole point of making pastes is to have quick and easy meals for small numbers. You can easily double or triple the quantities as necessary. In addition, you can make the stuffing mixture earlier in the day or even the night before, bringing it back to room temperature before baking. Mackerel is a good fish to use in this dish as it has a strong flavor that can hold its own with the masala.

Valley Center, California
In 1998, Ellen Sullivan purchased land in Northern San Diego County, California, named it The Lavender Fields, and planted, grew, and harvested fields of lavender. She also searched for culinary uses for the plant, which is still considered more of an aromatic flower than a herb. "The first modern culinary use I saw was a chef's recipe for lavender crème brûlée, and that got me thinking. Lavender's flavor is both tangy and floral, so it works as well in savory dishes as it does in sweet ones—I love what it does to beef tenderloin." This recipe remains one of Ms. Sullivan's favorite company meals.

This is a spicy, vinegary paste from the beautiful region of Goa. It is great with meat, chicken and fish; I have used it in a few recipes to get you started. Just remember when you cook with it, it is all raw so it does need to be well cooked before you use it.

In this luxurious risotto, leeks take the place of the chopped onions that are traditionally used in the beloved Italian rice dish.

For this colorful and festive starter, be sure to grate the peel from the tangerines before cutting off the rind and slicing them into rounds.

If canned chipotles are not available, simply use the same amount of chipotle hot sauce. Tilapia, branzino, or petrale sole are other fish that would work in this complete meal.

One mention of a food that interests us, and we're off. Our friend Luisa, who writes a food blog called The Wednesday Chef, spent a good part of her summer in Italy, with her family there. Clearly feeling nostalgic for her time there, Luisa spent weeks trying to replicate her grandmother's focaccia bread. The photographs of her last, successful attempt left us both a little dazed. We wanted some. Of course, we had to change it quite a bit, since hers contained gluten. I was shocked to find that most authentic Italian focaccia breads contain a potato. But it makes sense. Boil the potato and then put it through the ricer and you have a light-as-air starch. Focaccia breads are lighter than other breads. The egg white, beaten to stiff peaks, adds lightness here too, like a soufflé. Try this bread with rosemary or oregano. It's a little taste of Italy, right in your kitchen.

Don't be afraid of oxtail. Just knowing that it comes from the tail of a cow (it used to be the ox, but most oxtail sold in butcher's shops is from cow now) puts some people off. Have a sense of adventure and try it. Don't just stick with the same old foods. This recipe may sound intimidating, but this is really just great peasant food. There's not a lot of meat on oxtail bones, so you might think it's not worth your time to make it. However, oxtail has a lot of muscle on it, which gets broken down when you braise it. The meat that is there falls apart and becomes gelatinous. That makes this oxtail so damned good. You only need a small amount to feel satisfied, so it's a dish rich in taste for not much price. Plus, when you braise the oxtail, you can braise it in water or chicken stock and have a flavorful stock left over for other dishes. At Papillon, our wild mushroom raviolis bobbed in oxtail broth. Making this recipe will take time, but that's where flavor is born. It's worth your time.

In many sweet-potato pies, the ginger and spices overwhelm the flavor of the potatoes. This version plays to the flavor of the tubers; a little spicy nuttiness from the gingersnap pecan crust just emphasizes the pie's luscious creaminess. It is perfectly normal for the surface of a custardy pie, like this one, to crack in the course of baking and cooling—the pie will taste no less delicious.

Not only is our mash low-cal, but it also provides more than a quarter of your daily requirement for cell-building vitamin B6.

They're flakier and lighter than your usual biscuits because we've replaced some of the butter with the carotenoid-filled root vegetable. Stash any extras for a hearty Black Friday breakfast.

The technique: Eggs change everything: The yolks add richness and texture, and folding in beaten egg whites elevates the sweet potato casserole to new heights.
The payoff: A sophisticated take on the classic marshmallow-topped sweet potato casserole.

The technique: In this recipe, we started with purchased rosemary-olive bread, a single ingredient that's packed with flavor. Fennel, Speck, and raisins round out this super stuffing.
The payoff: There's lots of cooking to be done on Thanksgiving, so why not save yourself some work? Speck—lightly smoked, cured pork—adds a rich flavor to the stuffing.

The technique: Any dish that's topped with breadcrumbs or cheese and then browned is considered a gratin.
The payoff: Layers of flavor and texture and a way to transform almost any vegetable into something special.

The technique: When cooked at a high heat, some vegetables take on a deep, nutty flavor and golden brown color. In this recipe, the sugars in the pomegranate molasses enhance the caramelization process.
The payoff: Caramelized vegetables have that addictive sweet-savory taste and a lovely sheen.

The technique: Roasting is as basic as baking something uncovered, but this simple process does something magical to vegetables.
The payoff: Roasting caramelizes the sugars and creates veggies that are browned on the outside and tender on the inside.