Rosemary

Roasting the birds over rosemary sprigs imparts a surprising amount of flavor.

Fig trees love warmer climates. However, for the adventurous northern gardener, the best way to grow figs is in a container that can be placed outdoors in warm weather and then brought indoors to winter. The best variety of fig tree for a container is the Petite Negri fig. It's a small- to medium-sized black fruit with sweet, red flesh. If you have great weather, Mission figs are superb. The natural sweetness of figs goes well with pork tenderloin in this dish. If you like, use sturdy fresh rosemary branches (as from the Tuscan variety) for the skewers.

Red wine and pancetta add richness to the dish, but good beef broth really takes it to the next level.

Steaks this thick need a two-step cooking process. Give them a good sear on the stove-top, then transfer them to the oven to allow the inside to finish cooking without burning the outside. Ask your butcher to french the bones by removing excess fat and muscle, if desired.

A great alternative to hummus (and a fixture with crudités or on sandwiches in the BA Test Kitchen), it seems there's nothing this spread can't do. French green lentils work best here, but the most important ingredient, notes chef Antonio Prontelli, is top-quality extra-virgin olive oil.

Alain Ducasse— In the squash family, you have plenty of choice between pumpkin, butternut squash, and several other varieties. It all depends what you can find in the market. But if you do spot a Muscade de Provence, pounce on it, as it is particularly tasty.
Paule Neyrat— All hard squashes are rich in antioxidant carotenoids: The more orange the flesh, the more they contain. They are best enjoyed in winter, when they are in season.

Tuna and 'shrooms contain two different umami compounds that work synergistically to enhance the savory flavor. This dish is the lightest of this noodly bunch, with only 350 calories per bowl.

Roasting vegetables is just one of the things a sheet pan is good for.

In this surprising main course, Redzepi pot-roasts whole celery roots. Be sure to use small celery roots; larger ones will not cook evenly. The chef also cooks small heads of cauliflower in this way.

Pork and beans never had it so good. This Spanish riff on French cassoulet pairs large, meaty beans with fresh sausages under a breadcrumb crust. Save time by quick-soaking the beans.

Basically, this is what you'd offer your future in-laws to ensure their undying affection. This is a taste-great, feel-good classic Jewish brisket, but while the recipe has been in the family for years, Joan is not averse to a new tweak or twist: Add a jar of sun-dried tomatoes, dry or packed in oil, for a more intense flavor. Or add a 2-inch knob of ginger and a few large strips of lemon zest to the pot—remove them before serving. Note: "Not Too Gedempte Fleysch" means "Not too well stewed." I didn't know either.

In this recipe, a creamy parsnip purée stands in for a traditional béchamel.

The flavorful ginger dressing that coats the parsnips calls for tamari, a sauce made from soybeans that’s darker and richer than conventional soy sauce (it’s also gluten free). Serve the fish with a wedge of orange along with peppery greens, such as watercress or arugula.

Eating fresh produce in a variety of colors is key to good health, and this autumn medley of carrots, butternut squash, rutabaga, parsnips, and shallots provides an abundance of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients.

This goes remarkably well with steak.

The name belies the simplicity of this flavor enhancer, readily made by blending herbs and other aromatics with softened butter. It is most classically affiliated with steaks and chops, but compound butter can be used almost any time in place of plain butter. Try some on poached, steamed, or grilled fish or vegetables; feel free to experiment with different herbs and other flavorings. Compound butters will keep for up to 1 week in the refrigerator or up to 2 months in the freezer (thaw in the refrigerator before using); slip the parchment-wrapped cylinders into resealable plastic bags before storing. Or, chill the logs until firm, then slice off rounds and freeze individual portions. If you plan to serve the butter soon after it’s made, simply scrape it into ramekins or other small serving dishes instead of forming it into a log (cover with plastic and refrigerate until needed).

The summer before we opened Mozza, Matt came to stay with me at my house in Italy. We went to a luncheon at the Tuscan winery Arnaldo Caprai, where we were served rosemary-scented potatoes that inspired these. Smashing the potatoes gives them more surface area, which means more crispy bits—my favorite part.

Tagliata, which means “cut” and refers to a dish of sliced meat, is probably the most popular secondo at the Osteria. The tagliata I’ve been served in Italy has been dressed in different ways, ranging from chopped arugula to sautéed fresh porcini, to black pepper and Parmigiano, or just a drizzle of aged balsamico condimento. I am a salad nut, so the version we serve at the Osteria consists of thinly sliced steak and a pile of dressed arugula layered with thin slices of Parmigiano. When I make it for a crowd at home, I serve the meat on the cutting board and offer the arugula and Parmigiano in a big, wide salad bowl. This recipe calls for two types of balsamic vinegar: an inexpensive cooking-quality balsamic to marinate the steaks, and an aged condimento-grade balsamico, to drizzle on the steak. If you don’t have an aged balsamico the other is no substitute

I love a fish in meat’s clothing, and that’s what this is: a mild-flavored fish cooked in a rich veal jus. I got the idea for it at a restaurant called Ribollita, in Chiusi, the nearest large town to my house in Italy. There, they wrap a pork filet in lardo and then smother it with green peppercorn sauce. Eventually the lardo found its way onto fish instead of pork. We use veal stock that we have left over from making the Veal Breast Stracotto (page 235), but if you haven’t made that dish recently, you can substitute any quality veal or beef stock.

One of the things I like about Italian food in general is that it is not a wimpy cuisine; the flavors are bold and decisive, as you will see in this preparation of bacalà, or salt cod. I first tried this classic preparation at Ristorante Da Delfina, at the same lunch where I also discovered Ribollita “Da Delfina” (page 115). I loved how hearty the dish was and how pronounced the flavors were. In keeping with the Florentine tradition of eating bacalà on Fridays, we serve this as the Friday piatto special in the Pizzeria, and in keeping with our tradition of cooking Pizzeria dishes in the pizza oven, this, too, is cooked in that oven. We start with fresh cod and salt-cure it in the style of old days, where the fish was cured as a way of preserving it. Ideally you will start with a center cut of cod, which will yield more even-size pieces, which will salinate evenly. The cod takes three days to cure, so plan accordingly.