Side Dishes

In Provence, the garlic-infused mayonnaise called aioli is typically served with a platter of raw and boiled vegetables and sometimes fish. With its intense creamy texture and deep garlic flavor, it turns a humble meal into a spectacular one. In this recipe, an assortment of colorful roasted vegetables stand in for the raw and boiled ones. It makes a very elegant side dish to an entrée of roasted fish or meat, or can be the main event of a vegetable-focused meal. The aioli can be made up to three days ahead and stored in the refrigerator.

Cumin, lemon and parsley add fresh, bright flavor to this lighter take on Thanksgiving sweet potatoes.

For those of you who love lasagna's edges, where sticky tomato meets crisp cheese, this whole dish is for you — even the middle. A tube of tomato paste here mimics the deep flavors of sun-dried tomato. Frying a few generous squeezes caramelizes the tomato's sugars and saturates the olive oil, making a mixture that's ready to glom onto anything you stir through it. Here, it’s white beans, though you could add in kale, noodles, even roasted vegetables. Then, all that’s left to do is dot it with cheese and bake until it’s as molten or singed as you like.

We roasted relatively thick asparagus spears on a preheated baking sheet in a 500-degree oven, which ensured that they browned deeply and quickly. Not moving the spears during cooking allowed them to get a rich sear on one side and remain vibrant green on the other, which helped them retain their freshness and tender snap. We trimmed the base of the spears with a knife and peeled away their tough skin to reduce waste.

For this holiday-worthy recipe, roasting the butternut with several bay leaves slipped between the slices results in a subtle aromatic backdrop for the chile glaze.

This dish has become a signature of Domenica chef Alon Shaya. Precooking the cauliflower in seasoned poaching liquid infuses it with flavor; roasting makes it crisp.

To achieve maximum charring without drying out the corn, we grilled husked corn directly on the grates over a very hot fire. Coating the corn with oil and chili powder gave it spice and prevented it from sticking to the grill. A mixture of sour cream and mayonnaise proved a good substitute for hard-to-find crema in the sauce used to coat the cooked corn in this authentic-tasting grilled corn recipe.

We set out to create a simple and versatile carrot side that would work with a wide range of dishes. Roasting carrots draws out their natural sugars and intensifies their flavor­—but the high heat can cause them to become dry, shriveled, and jerky-like. Using a spiralizer to cut the carrots into uniform 1/8-inch noodles ensured that the carrots cooked evenly, and cooking them covered for half the roasting time steamed them slightly and prevented them from drying out.

To achieve stir-fried asparagus with a flavorful browned exterior and a crisp-tender texture, we had to start with a hot pan and only stir the asparagus occasionally. This allowed the vegetables to char and caramelize. To ensure that the vegetables cooked evenly, we diluted the sauce with water. This diluted sauce created a small amount of steam, cooking the spears through, before evaporating and leaving behind a flavorful glaze.

We first toast the spheres in oil to bring out their nuttiness. We then cook the couscous in a measured amount of water that is soaked up during cooking. This absorption method produces more evenly cooked results than boiling the couscous.

The warm couscous can be tossed with butter or extra-virgin olive oil and salt and pepper for a side dish or cooled and used in a salad. If you’re making a salad, transfer the couscous to a rimmed baking sheet and let it cool completely, about 15 minutes. Our favorite brand of Israeli couscous is Roland.