Vegetables

Our perfect grilled vegetable recipe would have to produce charred-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside veggies with great smoky flavor and a lively dressing. Matching the vegetables in pairs doubled up our recipe’s flavor, while cooking them over moderate heat for 20 minutes gave us a great result, both inside and out. To finish our grilled vegetables recipe, we drizzled them with a quick vinaigrette while they were still warm, which boosted their flavor without overpowering them.  

Roasting asparagus brings out the vegetable's inherent sweetness.

Overcooking the broccoli in our Broccoli-Cheese Soup recipe coaxed all the flavor out of it. Adding a bit of baking soda to the cooking water sped up the cooking process, and pureeing fresh baby spinach along with the other ingredients brightened the Broccoli-Cheese Soup’s bright green color and enhanced its vegetable flavor. Finally, cheddar and Parmesan gave our soup adequate cheesy flavor without making it heavy. To make a vegetarian version of this soup, substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth. 

Tea is for drinking to be sure, but what about tea for eating? Many of us know the marbleized tea eggs and tea-smoked duck of Chinese kitchens or the green tea ice cream found in many Asian restaurants, but how often have we encountered oolong-brined turkey, salmon lacquered in green tea or "smoky" black lentils cooked in lapsang sou- chong tea?

Combine the flavors of two popular Middle Eastern dips (baba ghanouj and hummus) in this tasty puree. Serve with raw veggies or spread on whole grain crackers.

Lentils were once hippie food, then chefs decided they were elegant enough to serve as a bed under rosy lamb or roast salmon, as an accompaniment to poultry, or in hearty bowls flavored with bacon. These little legumes, which are packed with protein and sophisticated flavor, can also be a vegetarian entree. The best ones are the small, dark green French lentils (sometimes labeled le Puy), which have a cleaner flavor and a more toothsome texture than their larger, light green counterparts.

I first had Swiss chard pesto two years ago while volunteering on an organic farm in Italy. It was a revelation. Pesto, usually made with basil, is also fantastic with any leafy greens — radish greens, turnip tops, kale. Swiss chard is the easiest to work with because of its enormous, easy-to-tear leaves. For vegans, omit the cheese in the pesto, as I do here. Then boil a pot of pasta and grate a good bit of Parmesan onto the servings for people who want it. Use fresh whole-wheat spaghetti or a dried shape with a little curve, such as fusilli.

My housemate Jason is from Phoenix, where a particularly prolific grapefruit tree grows in his yard. His mother sent us several plump, pungent fruits, which I decided to pair with thin slices of fresh fennel. The chickpeas are tossed with pimenton de la vera, a Spanish smoked paprika (available at Christina’s Spice & Specialty Foods, 1255 Cambridge St., Cambridge, 617-576-2090). Of the three classifications, the “dulce’’ variety is best for this recipe. Pimenton de la vera literally makes everything it touches infinitely better.

At the beginning of the semester, this was one of the things I made when my housemates and I sat down for dinner together. The Brussels sprouts at the market looked particularly appealing that day, and we had some bread sitting around. Panzanella is a traditional Italian dish made with stale bread, tomatoes, and olive oil. This version, made with Aleppo pepper (a fruity, not-too-too-spicy chili from Syria) can work as a vegetarian main course.

The richness of smoky grilled vegetables is well complemented by the creaminess of Humboldt Fog.