Nut Free

This recipe make 1 1/2 times Martha’s Perfect Pâte Brisée (recipe page 647).

See page 625 for recommended marinating times. If you marinate meat overnight in this marinade, omit the lemon juice and add it 2 hours before cooking.

Relishes—those small, zesty foods meant to be nibbled—make delicious accompaniments to almost any meal. Often, a selection of pickled vegetables offsets the richness of meats and sauces and awakens the taste buds with each tangy, crunchy, salty bite. Relishes and pickled vegetables are common denominators across cultures too: Pickled cabbage and cucumbers are the standard in Korean and Japanese cuisine; turnips, peppers, and onions accompany spicy meals in the Middle East; and pickled mushrooms are classic fare in Russia. In fact, practically any vegetable can be pickled, and several types can be combined on a tray for a creative selection that stimulates the eye as well as the palate. When deciding which to choose, remember that relishes work best when the vegetables complement one another in flavor as well as appearance. The mellow flavor of raw creamer potato, for instance, neutralizes the tartness of crisp bread-and-butter pickles. Here is a basic recipe to get you started. This recipe is sufficient to pickle 3 cantaloupes, 2 medium pumpkins, or 2 pounds pearl onions. Before pickling, peel the items, and cut them into chunks slightly larger than 1 inch; pearl onions can be left whole. To peel pearl onions, drop them in boiling water for 1 minute, and then drain in a colander. When cool enough to handle, slip off the papery skins.

Serve these beets as part of a picnic platter or relish tray, or use them in sandwiches or salads. Golden beets work as nicely as red ones. Leaving beet tails and an inch or so of the stems intact helps minimize the loss of color (as well as flavor and nutrients) during cooking. Trim and peel the beets after they’ve been boiled; the skins will come off easily.

Though available prepackaged, homemade five-spice powder is far more pungent and flavorful than store-bought. Rub it on fowl, fish, and meat.

These make a wonderful addition to any summer salad or antipasto. They can also be served as a side dish with roasted or grilled lamb.

For the best poultry gravy, do not roast the turkey or chicken in a nonstick roasting pan: It keeps the flavorful bits of meat and skin from cooking onto the pan.

The relish can be made up to 1 day ahead and refrigerated; add the salt just before serving.

You can substitute 3 tablespoons powdered pectin for the liquid pectin. Dissolve it in 1/2 cup warm water before adding it to the mint mixture.

Known as nuoc cham, this Vietnamese table sauce is used to season dumplings, soups, and noodle dishes.

This dish calls for purple globe eggplants. Instead of cooking them over an open flame, you can use the oven: Place the eggplants on a shallow baking pan, and place under the broiler. Broil, turning the eggplants every 5 minutes, until the skin is blackened all over and the flesh is falling-apart tender, 20 to 30 minutes.