Dairy

After Hugh and I got married, just before I started writing this book, I started experimenting with vegetable dishes that could qualify as "man food." I came up with this dish featuring the fabulous combination of barely sweet squash and savory onions. At this point I count on one hand how many times I had made a tart, so I was pleasantly surprised when this went over as well as it did. I will not lie; this tart has a fair number of steps and will leave you with a sink full of dishes, but it's well worth it. If you like, you can make the tart shell, roast the squash, and sauté the chard a day in advance, then bring everything to room temperature before assembling it. Make sure that there are no holes in the tart crust and that it is completely cooked before adding the filling. I've had the egg mixture leak through the crust before, so hopefully I'm sparing you the same frustration.

When I make a vegetarian entrée, it is always in the back of my mind that a minority of people eat this way, so I try to come up with things that are interesting and balanced for a vegetarian but that someone who does eat meat would find filling, or at least a satisfying side dish to their protein of choice. I try to use kale often, as its nutritional profile is quite impressive. In this dish, its short time in the oven helps it to retain most of its structure, but make sure that the oil really coats the kale, since if you use too little you will get something more like kale chips. If you use curly kale, which is less tender than lacinato kale, or you prefer your greens more wilted, you could sauté it quickly instead. I use lots of liquid in the millet, so the result is nice and soft but bound together by the sharply flavored cheese. The bits of millet are still detectable, but it has a comfort food texture. Whether you serve it as an entrée or a side is up to you.

Greek yogurt lends an unexpected tanginess to this light no-bake cheesecake. Use pomegranate juice that has been flash-pasteurized (such as Pom); fresh juice can turn brown when cooked.

Oval Masa Turnovers Throughout Mexico City and the surrounding states, people in all walks of life—bankers in suits and ties, college kids in T-shirts and jeans, women cradling babies—cluster around the tlacoyo vendor who makes their favorite version of this miniature football-shaped masa snack. Most are made with ordinary white or yellow corn, but a few vendors still serve tlacoyos made from the scarce blue-black corn. One day on the way from Mexico City to the popular getaway of Tepoztlán, Ricardo took me on a back road that was virtually enveloped on both sides by fields of nopal cactus. In this area, known as Milpa Alta, the tlacoyos are typically topped with a green salsa and nopales, and not surprisingly, we stopped for a quick, tasty snack. For a more colorful variation, add a contrasting tomato red salsa on half of each tlacoyo.

Well-Fried Beans To make the traditional Mexican well-fried beans, or frijoles refritos, you carry frijoles chinos one step further and fry them again in oil until they are even thicker. This is often done as the last part of a continuous process, or the beans are set aside for a day or two and then finished just before serving. In central Mexico, they are cooked until they are quite dry, but in the states bordering the Gulf of Mexico, they are cooked even more—to the point that they can be flipped over and shaped into a roll. These beans, perhaps with a topping of queso fresco, are a perfect partner for Enchiladas San Luis Potosí and similar enchiladas, soft tacos, or innumerable other dishes. The bean roll is often served as a botana for a casual gathering. Serve the beans as a side on the main plate. If they are shaped into a roll, transfer the roll to a warmed platter, sprinkle with queso fresco, and garnish with chopped white onion. Push some totopos in the top as a decoration and for scooping up the beans and then cluster more around the sides.

Fried Beans When Ricardo first came to Mexico City, he ordered beans in a small fonda and the cook asked, "Fritos o refrito?" (Fried or refried?) That was when Ricardo began to understand the various stages of bean cookery. The first stage, frijoles chinos, is a common way of cooking beans in and around Mexico City. The name confusingly refers to the way the bean texture resembles the tightly curled hair of African slaves brought to Mexico in the middle of the sixteenth century. This same preparation is typically called frijoles fritos by cooks in central Mexico, though it differs somewhat as the beans are served before they have absorbed all of the broth and are still somewhat runny. You can make fried beans from almost any type of dried bean. The diminutive black bean is commonly used in southern Mexico and red or brown beans are popular in the rest of the country. If you are in a hurry, an equal amount of canned beans may be substituted with additional water added to the can liquid if needed. These tasty beans are served in homes and in small market fondas almost any time of the day. They partner perfectly with grilled meat and egg dishes, such as Huevos al Albanil. Serve them in a separate small, flat dish or as a side on the main plate. A light sprinkle of fresh cheese will provide a color and taste contrast.

Frascatelli, a semolina dumpling, is the one homemade pasta suited for weeknight dinners. Just sprinkle water over a tray of semolina flour; the dumplings cook up in about a minute.

Mix up the fillings by substituting your favorite cheeses, thinly sliced meats, and herbs.

The best leftover dish is the first sandwich you make from what's left of the turkey, standing barefoot in a quiet kitchen lighted only by the dim bulb above the stove: thick toast with mayo and cranberry sauce and dressing and slices of just-carved meat.
No, scratch that (though it's delicious and you should make two or three). The best leftover recipe is risotto with turkey and wild mushrooms, the grains of rice plump with turkey broth and made nutty with cheese. The soft richness of the meal recalls Thanksgiving, then amplifies the memory, giving it a rakish flair.

Serve at brunch, or for dessert with a scoop of lemon gelato.

Serve these little spinach pies with a main course as your vegetable side and dinner roll in one, or eat a couple for a vegetarian dinner—they're that good.

This recipe is part of the Epicurious Online Cooking School, in partnership with the Culinary Institute of America. To watch it being made, and to learn how to make other Mediterranean classics, check out the video classes.

This recipe is part of the Epicurious Online Cooking School, in partnership with the Culinary Institute of America. To watch it being made, and to learn how to make other Mediterranean classics, check out the video classes.

This recipe is part of the Epicurious Online Cooking School, in partnership with the Culinary Institute of America. To watch it being made, and to learn how to make other Mediterranean classics, check out the video classes.

This recipe is part of the Epicurious Online Cooking School, in partnership with the Culinary Institute of America. To watch it being made, and to learn how to make other Mediterranean classics, check out the video classes.

Arab salad, chopped salad, Israeli salad—whatever you choose to call it, there is no escaping it. Wherever you go, a Jerusalemite is most likely to have a plate of freshly chopped vegetables—tomato, cucumber, and onion, dressed with olive oil and lemon juice—served next to whatever else they are having. It's a local affliction, quite seriously. Friends visiting us in London always complain of feeling they ate "unhealthily" because there wasn't a fresh salad served with every meal. There are plenty of unique variations on the chopped salad but one of the most popular is fattoush, an Arab salad that uses grilled or fried leftover pita. Other possible additions include peppers, radishes, lettuce, chile, mint, parsley, cilantro, allspice, cinnamon, and sumac. Each cook, each fmily, each community has their own variation. A small bone of contention is the size of the dice. Some advocate the tiniest of pieces, only 1/8 inch / 3 mm wide, others like them coarser, up to 3/4 inch / 2 cm wide. The one thing that there is no arguing over is that the key lies in the quality of the vegetables. They must be fresh, ripe, and flavorsome, with many hours in the sun behind them. This fabulous salad is probably Sami's mother's creation; Sami can't recall anyone else in the neighborhood making it. She called it fattoush, which is only true to the extent that it includes chopped vegetables and bread. She added a kind of homemade buttermilk and didn't fry her bread, which makes it terribly comforting. Try to get small cucumbers for this as for any other fresh salad. They are worlds apart from the large ones we normally get in most supermarkets. You can skip the fermentation stage and use only buttermilk instead of the combination of milk and yogurt.

Figs are abundant in Jerusalem and many trees, bearing the most delectable fruit, actually belong to no one, so anybody can help themselves. Summer months are always tinted with the smell of wild herbs and ripe figs. The mother of Sami's childhood neighbor and friend, Jabbar, used her roof to dry the glut of figs (and tomatoes) in the hot summer sun, spending hours cleaning and sorting them meticulously. Poor Um Jabbar Sami and her son never wasted time and used to sneak up to her roof regularly, stealing her figs at their peak and causing havoc. This wasn't enough for Jabbar, though. The boy had such a sweet tooth that he always carried around with him an old match box full of sugar cubes, just in case. Unfortunately, this habit had clear ramifications, evident in his "charming" smile. This unusual combination of fresh fruit and roasted vegetables is one of the most popular at Ottolenghi. It wholly depends, though, on the figs being sweet, moist, and perfectly ripe. Go for plump fruit with an irregular shape and a slighty split bottom. Pressing against the skin should result in some resistance but not much. Try to smell the sweetness. The balsamic reduction is very effective here, both for the look and for rounding up the flavors. To save you from making it, you can look for products such as balsamic cream or glaze.

Can't find Treviso, the long, thin variety of radicchio? Substitute endive or any other member of the bitter chicory family to play off the sweet citrus dressing.

Add Sherry vinegar right to the baking dish to turn the juices from the roasted vegetables into a simple, vibrant vinaigrette.