Vegetarian

There are as many varieties of dal (the nourishing lentil soup) as there are towns and villages in India. Our recipe is inspired by the one served at Kasa Indian Eatery, just down the street from the Market. It gets a dose of butter, which makes the soup incredibly rich in flavor, and pureeing half gives it extra creaminess. This recipe can easily be doubled.

Farro is an ancient grain that, despite its popularity in central Italy, was once impossible to find in the United States. With rising demand for it, more and more domestic growers are starting to cultivate it, including Eatwell Farm in Northern California and Bluebird Grain Farms in Oregon. This hearty fall salad works well as a vegan entrée or a side dish, or even warmed and served as a Thanksgiving stuffing. I like to add diced or pulled roasted turkey to turn this into an entrée salad. Small cubes of good-quality Pecorino Romano are also a nice addition and give the dish added richness and umami.

This flexible salad relies on pantry staples and long-lasting veggies, so it’s easy to keep the ingredients around for making on the fly. It’s also the perfect place to use infused olive oils, especially herby ones like tarragon oil.

Even if you think you hate tofu, or if you’ve never cooked quinoa, do try this salad. Together, the quinoa and tofu offer a variety of chewy textures, which get a refreshing lift of flavor from ginger, rice vinegar, and daikon radish. It’s also a favorite among the staff at the Market; the wallop of protein offers steady fuel for working a hectic shift!

This incredible sauce is particularly versatile and serves as the backbone for the Romesco Chicken Salad on page 187. It’s important to avoid overprocessing the sauce; not only does heat cause the mixture to become gelatinous, but the sauce simply tastes better when left a little chunky. If you can’t find piquillo peppers, roasted red bell peppers would work, too. Roasting and peeling them yourself is the ideal, because it gives you more of that nice smoky flavor.

If you’ve been looking for an excuse to stop buying bottled salad dressing, this is it. Delicate and well balanced, this dressing complements just about any veggie or grain you choose—in fact, it is the backbone of some of our most popular deli salads. One batch is enough for many salads, so make this, keep it in the fridge, and don’t look back. You can use different vinegars with equally successful results, but you might need to adjust the quantity of vinegar depending on its acidity. Use good-quality extra-virgin olive oil—the flavor will be well worth it on your beautiful greens.

You can make this dough entirely with all-purpose flour, but using part durum flour produces a more satisfyingly chewy crust. Look for durum flour at natural foods stores and online (opposite page). Although many yeast-dough recipes call for proofing the yeast first, Brian doesn’t bother, and the dough never fails to rise.

Belgian endive, toasted walnuts, and Gorgonzola make a satisfying winter salad—and a successful pizza topping. Brian first covers the pizza dough with a layer of caramelized onions, then sprinkles on the braised endive, crunchy nuts, and clumps of creamy Gorgonzola dolce, a young, mild version of the familiar Italian blue cheese. Cut the hot pie into thin wedges for an appetizer, or serve larger wedges with a salad for dinner.

A staple of the Moroccan kitchen, preserved lemons have a tangy, fermented taste. For most recipes, the pulpy flesh is cut away and only the thick peel is used. Brian uses preserved lemons in a flavored butter for Grilled Mahimahi with Preserved Lemon Butter (page 113) and in Manila Clams, Arugula, and White Beans with Preserved Lemon Vinaigrette (page 54).

The olive oil is a nontraditional addition, but Brian believes that it keeps the stock from darkening. He salts it very lightly to avoid overseasoning the dish in which the stock is eventually used. Vegetable stock tastes best when freshly made, but you can freeze it.

Lighter than a custard-based ice cream, Chef Rob Wilson’s sorbet makes a refreshing accompaniment to summer berries, grilled peaches, or baked fruit desserts. Or scoop the sorbet into compote dishes and accompany with his Chocolate Sea Salt Cookies (page 185).

Napa spice merchant Shuli Madmone has introduced many fascinating seasonings to our kitchen, including the dried rose petals we use in this sorbet. His shop, Whole Spice (see page 126), is a playground for adventuresome cooks, and in recent years, he has brought a collection of exotic seasonings to the Workshop. We grind the dried rose petals fine with sugar, then use that fragrant mixture to sweeten a sparkling wine sorbet.

If you have never dreamed of putting vinegar in ice cream and can’t imagine what it would taste like, don’t summarily dismiss the idea. Balsamic vinegar, reduced to a syrup, gives ice cream a pale plum color and a caramel note. If you can’t get fresh cherries, serve the ice cream with sugared strawberries or baked figs. Accompany with biscotti or another crisp cookie.

No one, no matter how calorie conscious, can pass up this luscious gratin. Winery chef Tom Sixsmith has perfected it, finding just the right proportion of potato to celery root and the ideal ratio of milk to cream. Serve with a grilled steak or a pork roast, or with a standing rib roast for a special occasion.

Like most of the chefs we take to visit Forni-Brown Gardens (see page 164) in Calistoga, Rocco di Spirito was overwhelmed by the bounty. This farm grows impeccable lettuces, tomatoes, herbs, and other produce for some of the most discriminating restaurants in Napa Valley. For his astonishing first course at the 2000 Workshop, Rocco used Forni-Brown beets, baby carrots, tiny tomatoes, and three kinds of basil. This aromatic stovetop braise is an adaptation of the more elaborate dish he made.

Most people steam or boil cauliflower, but roasting really brings out its sweetness. Brian tosses the sizzling cauliflower with gremolata, a mixture of parsley, garlic, and lemon zest—aromatic ingredients that release their aromas when they hit the hot vegetable. Toasted bread crumbs provide a pleasing crunch. Serve as an accompaniment to tuna or swordfish, or toss with spaghetti.

A spicy vegetable side dish from Chef Jon Mortimer, a 2007 Workshop participant, inspired this more substantial stew. By adding more summer vegetables, such as chayote and corn, Brian elevated Chef Mortimer’s dish to entrée status. Prepared with vegetable stock, it is suitable for vegetarians.

Adapted from a recipe from chef Gary Danko, who participated in the 1994 Workshop, this gratin relies on bread crumbs sprinkled between the vegetable layers to absorb the savory juices. After the gratin cools and settles, you can slice it like a cake and the layers will hold together. All the flavors that suggest a Provençal summer are gathered here—garlic and basil, tomato, fennel, and thyme. Serve the gratin with roast or grilled lamb or a store-bought spit-roasted chicken. Because it tastes best warm or at room temperature, you can bake it before dinner guests arrive.

This five-minute side dish would complement any fish or meat from the grill, from swordfish to pork chops. Save the recipe for summer, when the cherry tomatoes have thin skins and you can find them in a rainbow of colors—red, gold, yellow, and green—at a farmers’ market.

Many people never think to cook radishes, but they are delicious when braised gently in butter. Brian likes to pair them with sugar snap peas, which mature in Dolores’s garden at about the same time. You could add other spring vegetables, such as turnips, baby carrots, or English peas. Blanch them separately (as for the sugar snap peas here) so they don’t pick up any radish color, then combine them all just long enough to reheat. Serve with Slow-Roasted King Salmon with Garden Herbs (page 110) or spring lamb.