Gluten Free

The most common type of cabbage is round, smooth-leafed green cabbage, but there are many other varieties to choose from. Smooth-leafed cabbage can be green or red, round, conical, or even flat. Each has a different flavor and texture. I find red cabbage to be a bit more pungent in flavor and to have thicker, tougher leaves. Savoy cabbage is round with thin, light yellow-green, crinkled leaves; it is my favorite for braising. Napa cabbage is an elongated light green cabbage with very tender leaves that have broad, light-colored ribs. This cabbage cooks quickly and makes a great coleslaw. Other cabbages include Asian varieties, bok choy, tat-soi, and mizuna to name a few. These are loose-leaved and dark green in color and are best suited for cooking (except young mizuna, which is an excellent salad green). When choosing cabbages, select brightly colored, compact heads. They should be firm and feel heavy. Loose-leafed cabbages should not be yellowing or wilted. Remove and discard any damaged or wilting outer leaves. Remove the core from headed cabbage. This is unnecessary for the loose-leafed varieties. Braised savoy cabbage is a versatile and stellar winter dish, served either by itself or as an accompaniment to braised duck or chicken or fried sausage.

Long-cooked broccoli is cooked until it resembles a coarse purée. It’s delicious on croutons, tossed with pasta, or as a side dish.

A mixture of fresh green beans (haricots verts, yellow wax beans, romano beans, or Blue Lake beans) makes this dish both beautiful and tasty. Each variety cooks in a different amount of time, so cook them separately. The same water can be used. Cook yellow wax beans first, to preserve their color. A variety of shell beans can be used as well, but once again, be sure to cook different beans separately.

For an overview and more detailed instructions for making risotto, see page 103.

The combination of artichokes, green garlic, colorful spring onions, and flowering thyme makes a delectable braise.

Green beans are beans harvested while the pods are still tender and edible and the seeds within are immature. There are many, many delicious varieties: Blue Lake and Kentucky Wonder beans, wide romano beans (both yellow and green), yellow wax beans, purple and cream-colored Dragon’s Tongue beans, and the tender little French beans called haricots verts, to name only a few. Choose fresh, bright, crisp beans. They should snap quickly when bent and should have only the tiniest of seeds inside. Use the beans quickly to enjoy their best flavor. To prepare them, give them a rinse, and then snap or cut off Large flat romano beans are one of the summer vegetables I most look forward to for their irresistible beany flavor. Don’t hold back on the marjoram; the fresh pungent flavor of the herb is a wonderful complement to the beans.

I love a dinner of make-it-yourself sushi. I put a large bowl of sushi rice on the table with squares of toasted nori, thinly sliced fish and vegetables, and some pickled ginger and wasabi. Everyone rolls his own and eats them out of hand.

Bucatini is the classic pasta for this sauce.

This is the sauce you need to make pasta alla puttanesca, a specialty of Naples.

This is a soup for the height of summer, when tomatoes are abundant and perfectly ripe.

Yellow bell peppers also work very well in this soup, but green peppers are not sweet enough. You can even make two batches of soup, one red, one yellow, and ladle them into bowls for a yin-and-yang effect.

This is a no-fail soup as long as you have fresh sweet corn. I make it all summer and vary it with different garnishes through the season.

This is one of the soups that I think are best made with water rather than broth, so nothing interferes with the sweet, delicate flavor of the peas.

This is an unusually spicy and full-flavored soup; if necessary, adjust the pungent spices to your comfort level.

This is a good soup to make the day after Thanksgiving.