Here is a remarkable dish that comes together in minutes yet still looks and tastes so elegant it's appropriate for serving at the fanciest dinner party you can imagine.
Ingredients
The simplicity of this Calabrian dish is stunning, and for that reason there is no point in even thinking about it until that time in late summer when utterly ripe, red, and flavorful garden tomatoes are in season—preferably from your own or a neighbor's garden. That's where the flavor lies—there and in the use of fine extra-virgin olive oil, good crunchy sea salt, a zesty dash of hot red chili, and, of course, the charcoal fire on which the tomatoes are set to roast. Toast the bread over the charcoal embers after you finish the tomatoes, so it will be crisp but not tough and hard.
Making fromage fort is the ultimate way of using your leftover cheese.
Ingredients
On a glorious trip to Venice over a decade ago, I discovered the extraordinary affinity spring vegetables like baby artichokes, feathery wild asparagus, peas, leeks, and tiny onions have for each other, how their flavors can link and complement. Home again, this Venetian lesson in spring led me to devise a simple approach—half sauté, half stew—that would accommodate whatever combination of vegetables I happened to find in the farmers' market or my own inclination of the moment. Sometimes I replace the artichokes with new potatoes, or use sliced sugar snap peas if I can't find regular peas. If I am feeling lazy, I pare it down to just asparagus, leeks, and pea shoots, the tender leafy tendrils of the pea plant. Once the vegetables are prepared, the stew takes very little time to cook.
This soup can also be served cold, with a few fresh chervil leaves rather than the Parmesan cream. And it makes a nice small appetizer if presented in espresso cups, in which case it will serve at least 12.
For Vietnamese living abroad, a trip to Saigon would be incomplete without a visit to Ben Thanh Market, a huge maze of fresh food and sundries. Near the center is a food court where vendors hawk popular Viet treats. As you sample their wares, you are apt to strike up conversations with other gluttonous Viet kieu (Vietnamese expats). On one occasion, a man from Texas visiting his family for Tet told me part of his daily routine while in Vietnam included eating mien gá, which was so deliciously light that it allowed him to order more dishes from other vendors.
Excellent hot, at room temperature, or cold, these will keep 5 days in the refrigerator and reheat nicely.
This basic approach will accommodate just about any combination of root vegetables and/or potatoes, including parsnips, carrots, parsley root, and celery root. More strongly flavored vegetables such as rutabagas or turnips are best in combination with sweeter ones like parsnips.