Simple Cooking

The addition of cucumber to the traditional recipe results in a dressing with a decidedly lighter, fresher flavor.

This dressing is flavored with the fresh taste of herbs. It would be lovely as a sauce for poached fish and chicken or boiled shrimp.

If you like salad with nearly every meal, get in the habit of keeping your own salad mix, washed and dried, in the refrigerator. (You should also have the ingredients and recipe for homemade vinaigrette on hand for quick and effortless salads.) There are no exact proportions for the best salad blend, but a few general guidelines can help you create your own. Start by recognizing that salads are not just made from lettuces; supplementing them with other greens introduces contrasting flavor and texture components. Fresh herbs add bright notes, and shaved vegetables lend pleasant crunch. Consider all the different lettuces available, some tender (Boston), some crisp (romaine or Bibb), still others in between (red and green leaf). For contrasting taste (and texture, since some are sturdier than others), include a few greens, some with a peppery bite, such as arugula, watercress, or radish sprouts, and some that are pleasantly bitter, including dandelion, frisée, and chicory. When choosing herbs, steer clear of the sturdy, woody variety (rosemary, thyme, and bay leaf); choose tender, less robust herbs like basil, parsley, chervil, and tarragon, or frilly ones like dill or even fennel fronds. Watch out, too, for any strong-flavored herbs, like cilantro or marjoram, which can upset the balance. Consider adding fennel, radish (any kind), beets, and carrots to your basic mix. All of these vegetables lend themselves to being shaved paper-thin on a mandoline or grated. Because they will lose some of their crispness over time, wait to add these until just before serving [you can preserve their taste and texture for a few hours by keeping them in a bowl of ice water (acidulated, for fennel); rinse and drain well before using]. If you wish, toss them instead in a little of the dressing that will go into the salad; this will cause them to soften slightly, so dress them sparingly to retain their crunch. Once you’ve customized your blend, handle each selected ingredient with care. Except for sturdy lettuces like iceberg and romaine, gently tear lettuces and any large-leaf greens and herbs into bite-size pieces with your fingers instead of cutting (which can easily bruise them). Herbs should be gently blotted dry with paper towels (or a clean kitchen cloth). Once they’ve all been washed and dried thoroughly, allow them to crisp in the refrigerator before serving. Plan on 1 1/2 to 2 cups of salad mix per serving, and start with 1 to 2 teaspoons of vinaigrette for every cup of salad. Remember, you can always add more dressing as necessary, but it’s impossible to take any away. Here’s but one suggested combination; use the guidelines above to create your own, and any of the dressings on the following pages to finish.

When creaming butter for frostings, incorporating air and creating cells is not as important as simply creating a seamless texture. Many traditional buttercream frostings, such as the Swiss Meringue Buttercream on Page 455, incorporate softened butter into a meringue base, but this version is far simpler and quicker. You need only to beat the butter until creamy and then mix in confectioners’ sugar and cocoa powder until smooth. This frosting will be grainier than a shiny, glossy meringue-based buttercream, but it is perfectly acceptable for a birthday cake or batch of cupcakes.

As à la meunière means “in the manner of the miller’s wife” in French, it’s no surprise that this preparation often calls for the fish to be coated with flour before being sautéed, to promote browning.

Pesto is one of those once-exotic foodstuffs that has become ubiquitous on the American table. It hails from the Italian city of Genoa, in Liguria. Don’t limit yourself to pairing it with pasta—it’s sensational on sandwiches, pizza, and even as a topping for vegetables such as tomatoes and corn. A mortar and pestle (preferably large) is the best tool to use for crushing the basil, since it produces a sweeter-tasting sauce (a food processor also works, as long as you don’t overmix). It’s the traditional equipment, after all, that gives the sauce its name. In this recipe the garlic is blanched first to mellow its flavor; if you prefer the pungent taste of raw garlic, omit this step and use only one or two cloves. For variety, add a little fresh parsley, spinach, or arugula, or substitute pine nuts with walnuts or almonds (chopped after toasting). Store pesto in an airtight container, covered with 1/4 inch of olive oil (to preserve color) in the refrigerator.

Marinara is the most basic tomato sauce for pasta and pizza, consisting only of tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, and minimal seasonings. With so few ingredients, the quality of the tomatoes and olive oil is critical. The recipe below calls for fresh tomatoes. A combination of very ripe plum and beefsteak is best; plum tomatoes are fleshier with fewer seeds, while beefsteaks have a balanced, delicious flavor. If fresh tomatoes are not in season, by all means substitute canned whole tomatoes, preferably the imported variety from Italy (or other high-quality tomatoes). It is imperative that the garlic doesn’t color at all in the beginning, as this will give the sauce an unpleasant bitterness. That’s why the garlic and the oil are heated together briefly over moderate heat. Then the tomatoes are quickly added (after only 30 to 45 seconds), which will help keep the garlic from browning. This sauce is used in the lasagne on page 386, but it’s also perfect over ricotta-filled ravioli (page 369) or tossed with spaghetti and sprinkled with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Romano cheese.

With its light taste and texture, this sauce is best paired with slender strands, such as cappellini, spaghetti, or linguine; to serve, toss sauce with freshly boiled and drained pasta, adding a generous handful of fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces. And keep in mind that although the sauce is extremely easy, it does need an hour or two to allow the flavors to meld, so plan accordingly.

This recipe is for borlotti beans flavored with pancetta and sage, but you can apply the technique to most of the beans on page 397, except for lentils and split peas, neither of which need to be presoaked. (See opposite for a basic lentil recipe, and page 401 for split pea soup.) The cooking time depends on the variety and age of bean, so check the consistency often as they cook. The sage and pancetta used below would also work well for white beans, but omit them if making other types of beans, or substitute with other fresh herbs or meats (such as ham hocks or slab bacon). To serve, finish the beans with extra-virgin olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice, coarse salt, and freshly ground pepper. Or simply leave them as is to use in a salad or as part of another recipe.

When poaching delicate fruit, such as apricots and peaches, use a large shallow pan so the fruit can be in a single layer, rather than piled on top of each other. Also, keep the fruit submerged in poaching liquid with a round of parchment paper to prevent it from turning brown. After you serve the fruit, mix the poaching liquid with seltzer water to make a refreshing apricot fizz.

Beans are wonderful for making dishes that are hearty enough to serve as the main part of a meal or, in smaller portions, as an accompaniment to meat, fish, or chicken. Besides protein, they lend chewy texture that holds up well when tossed with vinaigrette. This dressing is made by deglazing the pan that was used to sauté the mushrooms and aromatics with vinegar, then whisking in oil. You may find that you have some left over; if you like, toss it with frisée or other salad greens, then serve the lentils over the greens. The lentils are also delicious with sausages, pan-seared tuna or roasted salmon, and duck confit.

This colorful dough should be made in a food processor, which ensures that the vegetable puree is distributed evenly throughout.