November 2019

Roasting tomatoes, onions, and garlic is a common technique in the Mexican kitchen. The slight charring intensifies flavor and heightens the sweetness of the vegetables, yielding a soup with a deep, rich taste. Pureed chickpeas give the broth body, and chipotle chiles warm it up. Pass tortilla crisps for diners to add as they like; softened in the broth, the crisps seem almost like noodles. Substitute packaged tortilla chips if you prefer. For a wine pairing, try a California Albariño or rosé. — Janet Fletcher

This base butternut squash soup recipe can be tweaked any number of ways, such as using ginger and tamari instead of rosemary and garlic. You can store leftover soup in jars in the fridge for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. — Addie Broyles

I was well into my twenties before I learned to appreciate cauliflower — and I am so glad that I did. This bland and oddly textured food is totally transformed when it is roasted, and it becomes a rich, buttery and nutty meal. High in fiber, as well as B-complex and C vitamins, the humble cauliflower is antioxidant and anti-inflammatory — both qualities that contribute to general good health and a radiant complexion. Cauliflower is an abundant source of sulfur, which is thought to help reduce breakouts.

This sweet and savory comfort food fiesta always hits the spot; is packed with fiber, potassium and disease-fighting antioxidants; and requires zero tortilla stuffing or rolling. I beg you to try this vegetarian wonder as is, but if you or a loved one is prone to “where’s the meat?!” meltdowns, go ahead and add some shredded chicken or browned chicken sausage to your pot. — Serena Wolf

I developed this recipe to show off some of my favorite local Baltic ingredients in a modern way. Historically, smoking was a key preservation technique of the region, hence the inclusion of the smoked cheese.

For a creamy, rich green gratin with a crisp, flavorful bread-crumb topping, we started with a mixture of kale and Swiss chard. Sturdy kale kept the gratin fluffy and tall; Swiss chard collapsed when cooked, but its plentiful tender stems added bulk. Steaming the greens in a Dutch oven cooked them quickly and eliminated the need for blanching or sautéing in multiple batches. To keep the gratin from being liquid-y or sogging out the crumb topping, we kept the amount of cream to 1 cup, just enough to give the dish a silky richness.