Mark Bittman's Quick and Easy Recipes from the New York Times (32 page)

1.
Put the cauliflower in a steamer above an inch or two of salted water. Cover and cook until it is just tender, about 10 minutes, then plunge into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking.

2.
Combine the oil, anchovies, garlic, and hot pepper if you’re using it in a large, deep skillet and turn the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the anchovies begin to break up and the garlic begins to color, about 5 minutes.

3.
Add the cauliflower and raise the heat to medium-high. Continue to cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes more, until the cauliflower is coated with oil and heated through. Garnish and serve hot or at room temperature.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 20 MINUTES

DURING THE SUMMER
, rushing home with a bag of farmstand corn—which you can get in almost any part of the country—and cooking it out on the grill is a real treat. But if you can’t find locally grown, just-picked corn, you shouldn’t count yourself out of the fun—new breeds of corn retain their sweetness very well. Even if you are buying your corn from the supermarket, just remember that it declines in sweetness as it ages, so it will be best to cook it as soon as possible after you bring it home. If your fire is raging hot, remove the inner silks from the corn and grill them in their husks. But if it’s in the normal range, grill the shucked corn directly over the fire. Ideally, some of the kernels will brown and even char.

1.
Start a grill. Shuck the corn.

2.
Grill or roast the corn, turning occasionally. When some of the kernels char a bit and others are lightly browned—5 to 15 minutes, depending on the heat of the grill—the corn is done. Brush with melted butter if you like and serve with salt and pepper.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: ABOUT 1 HOUR

GRILLING IS AN
important part of this dish, as it gives the eggplant a smoky flavor that’s hard to come by otherwise. Serve this dip with grilled flatbreads or slices of baguette, or pitas.

1.
Start a grill; pierce the eggplant in several places with a thin-bladed knife or skewer. Grill, turning occasionally, until the eggplant collapses and the skin blackens, 15 to 30 minutes, depending on size. Remove and cool.

2.
When the eggplant is cool enough to handle, part the skin (if it hasn’t split on its own), scoop out the flesh, and finely mince it. Mix it with the lemon juice, oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Taste and adjust the seasonings, then garnish and serve.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 40 MINUTES

GROWN INDOORS IN
the dark, endives are among the perfect winter vegetables, usually used in salads but also lovely when cooked. This simple gratin benefits from good, dark stock, but the addition of Parmigiano-Reggiano will cover you if you resort to canned stock.

1.
Remove just a couple of the outer leaves from each of the endives; rinse them and put them in a skillet in one layer. Add the stock and
sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and cook over medium heat until tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Preheat the broiler.

2.
Cover the endives with the cheese and run under the broiler, just long enough to slightly brown the cheese. Serve with a slotted spoon.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 15 MINUTES

FENNEL REMAINS EXOTIC
enough to be a treat for many people, and this simple preparation simply elevates its stature a bit. Trim and discard the hard, hollow stalks that jut out from the top of the bulb; if you get your hands on a bulb with its fronds still attached, roughly chop them and add them to the hot oil with the garlic.

1.
Combine half the olive oil with the garlic in a small saucepan and turn the heat to medium-low. Cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until the garlic begins to sizzle. Remove the garlic from the oil and the pan from the heat.

2.
Add the cold oil to the hot, along with salt, pepper, and lemon zest. Serve the fennel with the dipping sauce.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 20 MINUTES

THIS IS AN
almost universal technique for vegetables, an honest, simple gratin with a topping of just a couple of ingredients. Since one of them is rich, flavorful blue cheese, butter isn’t even included. My vegetable of choice here is fennel—an underappreciated and almost always available bulb—but you could put this topping on almost any vegetable. For the cheese, you can use Gorgonzola, the soft Italian cheese; bleu d’Auvergne, a mild cheese from France; Maytag blue, the premier domestic variety; Stilton, the classic English blue; or Roquefort, which is made from sheep’s milk. All are good, but my preferences are for the stronger cheeses, such as Roquefort and Maytag.

1.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Bring a pot of water to a boil.

2.
Trim the fennel, then cut it into about ¼-inch-thick slices and cook in the boiling water until just tender, less than 5 minutes. Drain and layer in the shallow baking dish. (You can also drain the vegetables, then stop their cooking by plunging them into ice water, then drain again. In this manner you can finish the cooking up to a day or two later; increase the baking time to 20 minutes.)

3.
Top the fennel with the bread crumbs, then with the cheese; season all with pepper to taste (hold off on salt, because the cheese is salty). Put in the oven until the cheese melts, about 10 minutes.

4.
Run the baking dish under the broiler until the top browns, checking every 30 seconds. Serve hot or at room temperature.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 15 MINUTES

FALL IS THE
time for fresh figs, which people who live in Mediterranean climates (including many Californians) take for granted but which are a real treat for the rest of us. Fresh figs may be green or dark purple; color does not affect flavor (ripeness and variety do), but most people perceive purple figs as more attractive. This is obviously a fruit dish, but the fruit functions like a vegetable in this preparation.

1.
Use your fingers to roll the goat cheese into 24 small balls, each ½ inch or less in diameter. Put them on a plate and drizzle with the vinegar. Shake the plate gently to coat the cheese balls evenly.

2.
Cut the figs in half and press a cheese ball into the center of each. As the figs are stuffed, return them, stuffed side up, to the plate where the cheese was marinating. Serve within an hour.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 20 MINUTES

A CLASSIC PREPARATION
, useful year-round, and especially convenient when you want to cook the greens in advance.

1.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Trim the greens of any stems thicker than ¼ inch; discard them. Wash the greens well.

2.
Simmer the greens until tender, just a minute or two for spinach, up to 10 minutes or even longer for older, tougher greens. Drain them well and cool them quickly by running them under cold water.

3.
Squeeze the greens dry and chop them. (You may prepare the salad in advance up to this point; cover and refrigerate for up to a day, then bring to room temperature before proceeding.) Sprinkle with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and serve with lemon halves.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 30 MINUTES

A BIG DEAL
is often made of washing leeks—they can be very sandy—but since you’re going to be chopping these, it’s easy.

1.
Cut off the last couple of inches of dark green leaves, those without any pale green core, from the leeks. Then stand each leek up on its tail and use a sharp knife to “shave” the remaining bits of tough, dark green leaves off the stalk. When only white and pale green leaves remain, cut off the root, slice the leeks in half (or, if they’re large, into quarters), and chop them roughly. Then wash in a salad spinner (or a colander inserted into a large bowl) until no traces of sand remain.

2.
Put the oil in a large skillet, preferably nonstick, and turn the heat to high. When a bit of smoke appears, add the leeks, all at once. Let
sit for a couple of minutes, then cook, stirring only occasionally, for about 10 minutes.

3.
When the leeks dry out and begin to brown, sprinkle with the ginger. Cook, stirring for 2 or 3 minutes, then add some salt (just a little) and pepper, along with the soy sauce. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then serve.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 30 MINUTES

HOW TO GET
great flavor out of ordinary white mushrooms? Add a handful of dried porcini. You will not believe the difference.

1.
Pour boiling water over the porcini to reconstitute; let them sit for about 10 minutes, or until tender, then drain and trim off any hard spots.

2.
Put the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat; a minute later, add the porcini and button mushrooms, along with a big pinch of salt and some pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms give off most of their liquid and begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Turn the heat to medium-low and add the garlic. Continue to cook for a few more minutes, until the mixture is tender and glossy. Taste and adjust the seasoning, stir in the parsley, and serve hot or warm.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: ABOUT 20 MINUTES

I KNOW PORTOBELLO
mushrooms are all the rage, but shiitakes are the closest thing you can find to wild mushrooms without going to a specialist. To me, they are invaluable, and prepared this simple, traditional way, they are spectacular. If you do happen to have some chanterelle, morel, or other wild mushrooms on hand, this is an excellent way to cook them.