Cookbooks

Cauliflower is a bunched mass of flower stems. The mass of flowers is referred to as the curd. Cauliflower is typically white, but there are green and purple varieties as well. The leaves are the best indicator of a cauliflower’s freshness. Look for bright fresh leaves, and heads with tight, brightly colored curd. There should be no brown spots; these are signs of age, as is a coarse-textured curd. Wash the cauliflower well. Trim away any damaged leaves, but leave the nice ones, as they are actually quite tasty.

Artichokes are the flower buds of a domesticated thistle plant. There are large green globe artichokes, small violet ones, and purple ones. Some are smooth, without a single thorn, and some have leaves tipped with sharp, treacherous spikes. Each variety has its own unique flavor. Artichokes are best when young and freshly harvested. A more mature artichoke will have a larger choke (the hairy interior) and tougher flesh. Look for brightly colored, tightly closed artichokes with stems that look freshly cut, not shriveled. Artichokes can be cooked whole or pared down to their pale-colored hearts. To pare large artichokes, pull off all of the small leaves (petals, really) along the stem. Then with a heavy sharp knife, cut away the top of the artichoke to about 1 inch above the base. With a small sharp knife, pare away all the dark green from the stem, base, and outer leaves. Scoop out the choke with a small spoon. If you’re not cooking the artichoke heart right away, rub it with a cut lemon or submerge it in water acidulated with lemon juice or vinegar to prevent the cut surfaces from oxidizing and turning dark brown. Small young artichokes are prepared similarly; break off the outer leaves until you reach the light green interior leaves with darker green tips. Cut the tops of the leaves off at the point where the two colors meet. Pare away the dark green parts of the stem and base. Don’t be timid about trimming away all of the dark green leaves and parts of the artichoke, as they are fibrous and will not soften, no matter how long they are cooked. Once again, if the artichokes are to be cooked fairly soon they don’t need to be treated, but otherwise rub them with a cut lemon or put them in a bowl of acidulated water.

Asparagus comes in three colors: green, purple, and white. The green and purple varieties taste very much the same and the purple, when cooked, turns dark green. White asparagus, which doesn’t turn green because it is grown protected from the sun, is much more rare and expensive, and it has a milder flavor. Asparagus is best when the tips (the blossom ends) are tightly closed, and its flavor is sweetest when freshly harvested. Look for smooth-skinned, brightly colored spears with fresh (not dried-out looking) cut ends and compact tips. To prepare asparagus, grasp each spear and bend it until it snaps. The spear will break at the natural point where it becomes tender. I prefer fat asparagus stalks to thin ones because once they are peeled they are sweeter and less grassy-tasting than the skinny ones. The trick is to use a peeler that removes paper-thin layers of skin, exposing pale green flesh, not white. This is unnecessary if the spears are quite thin, or if they are going to be cut into small pieces. Start about 1 inch below the blossom tip and peel down along the spear towards the cut end.

The part of the broccoli plant that we eat is the unopened budding sprout, meaning that broccoli is, more or less, a big unopened flower. The most typical variety of broccoli is green and fairly large. Other types include sprouting broccoli, which produces small, dark green sprouts that are harvested individually. Romanesco broccoli looks a little otherworldly; it is chartreuse-green with a conical head made of pointy spiraling florets. There is also purple broccoli, some of which has such compact heads that it looks more like cauliflower than broccoli. Select broccoli that is brightly colored and firm, with compact heads that are not wilted, yellow, or blooming. Remove the florets from the main stem and cut or break them up as desired. Trim the end of the stems, and when they are large, peel them with a paring knife or peeler. Cut the peeled stems into sticks or slices.

A boiled dinner, which to be more precise might be called a simmered dinner, is an assortment of meats and vegetables simmered slowly and gently until tender. The resulting broth is clear and full of flavor and the meat is fork-tender and moist, comfort food at its best, restorative to body and soul. A variety of meats can be put into the pot; among them is usually a gelatinous cut to add a bit of body to the broth and a bony one to enrich the flavor. Some favorites are short ribs, brisket, beef cheeks, shanks, oxtail, chuck, beef tongue, chicken (either legs or a whole chicken), and sausage, or sausage-stuffed cabbage leaves. A boiled dinner is often served with the broth as a first course followed by the meats and vegetables, but I prefer to serve it all at once, with the meat and vegetables arranged in deep soup plates, moistened with a generous ladle of broth. Typical accompaniments for the meat are coarse sea salt, pickles, and a piquant sauce such as salsa verde, Dijon mustard, horseradish cream (grated horseradish, heavy cream, a pinch of salt, and a splash of white wine vinegar), or a tomato sauce spiked with capers. It is worthwhile to get the meat a couple of days ahead and to season it generously with salt and pepper. This will make it even more succulent and tasty. When a beef tongue is included (and I am quite partial to tongue in a boiled dinner), it should be soaked in salted water for at least eight hours to purge and season it. When deciding how much meat to buy, plan for ample leftovers. The broth makes fabulous soups and risottos and the meat is great sliced and served hot or cold with salsa verde, or in sandwiches, or chopped for hash. Classically, a boiled dinner is made with water. For a richer, sweeter broth, I like to use chicken broth instead, or half chicken broth and half water. This dish is easy to make, but it does take a while to cook, so plan for a few hours of simmering. Keep the pot at a bare simmer, with bubbles breaking the surface only now and then. Cooking meat at a boil will make it dry and stringy. Because their flavors can dominate the broth’s, beef tongue, sausage, and cabbage should be cooked separately from the beef and chicken. As an option to cabbage and sausage, or as a lovely further addition, consider preparing stuffed cabbage leaves. Add vegetables to be served with the meats towards the end of the cooking so that they leave a fresh, sweet taste in the broth. Here is a recipe for a complete boiled dinner—a classic Italian bollito misto—that includes different cuts of beef, a beef tongue, chicken legs, sausage, and stuffed cabbage. This is a bountiful dish that can easily be pared back all the way to the simplicity of boiled beef with carrots alone. Although this is a long recipe, some parts can be prepared in advance. The meats and tongue can be cooked ahead and stored in their broth. The sausage, stuffed cabbage, and vegetables are best prepared and cooked close to serving time. Timing is not critical; once everything is cooked and ready to eat, all the meats and vegetables can be reheated together in the broth and served.