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By Root 167 0

Since I don’t love lemon and bacon together, I opt for orange juice and zest; the brightness they add works perfectly here.

Serves 4

¼ pound pancetta, diced (1 cup)

1 shallot, sliced

1 teaspoon minced garlic

Grated zest and juice of 1 orange

1 cup shelled fresh peas

¼ cup sliced fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Kosher salt

Cook the pancetta in a large sauté pan over medium-low heat until the fat is rendered and the pancetta is crispy, about 5 minutes. Add the shallot and garlic, sweat for 1 minute, and then add the orange juice.

Increase the heat to medium, add the peas, and cook until they’re tender, about 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and fold in the orange zest, parsley, and butter. Taste for seasoning and add salt if necessary, though you shouldn’t need much if any because the pancetta adds a natural saltiness to the dish.

CRISPY CAULIFLOWER WITH ANCHOVY AIOLI

Cauliflower is an underrated, underused vegetable. Roasted, sautéed, fried, it’s delicious and satisfying and it can almost always replace potatoes if you’re looking to reduce your starchy carbs. But you shouldn’t need any justification; just start using it more. I love preparing it tempura style—it’s got an almost creamy consistency here—and serving it with an anchovy aioli. To ratchet up the flavor even more, I blanch the cauliflower first in a spicy court bouillon, though the cauliflower can also be battered and fried raw.

Serves 4

1 red onion, quartered

1 head of garlic, split through its equator

1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon coriander seeds, toasted

Kosher salt

2 lemons

1 head of cauliflower, cut into large florets

Canola oil, for deep-frying

Aioli

4 salt-packed anchovies, rinsed, filleted, and minced

1 tablespoon sliced fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

Tempura Batter (recipe follows)

Combine the onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, coriander, a large pinch of salt, and 1 quart water in a 4-quart pot. Quarter one of the lemons and add it to the pot. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain the liquid, return it to the pot, and bring it back to a boil.

Fill a medium bowl halfway with ice water.

Blanch the cauliflower florets for 1 minute in the boiling liquid. Drain and transfer to the ice water until chilled. Drain the cauliflower thoroughly and set aside on paper towels.

Pour enough oil into a medium pot so that the oil comes 3 inches up the sides. Heat the oil to 350°F.

While the oil is heating, make the sauce. Grate the zest from the remaining lemon and squeeze its juice. In a small bowl, stir together the zest, juice, aioli, anchovies, and parsley.

Lightly coat the cauliflower in the tempura batter and fry, turning once, until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

Serve the crispy cauliflower with the sauce for dipping.

TEMPURA BATTER

I love fried food, and this tempura batter is great to use on anything that you want to fry, including vegetables or shrimp or other seafood. Traditionally tempura batter includes egg, but I like a very light and crisp batter made from nothing more than rice flour (available in Middle Eastern and Indian markets), seltzer water, and seasoning. This batter gets very crisp and will give whatever you are frying a terrific crunch.

Makes 1½ cups

⅔ cup cake flour, plus ½ cup for dusting

⅓ cup cornstarch

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1½ teaspoons coriander seeds, toasted (see Symon Says) and ground

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

About 1 cup sparkling water

Combine the flour, cornstarch, salt, coriander, paprika, and cayenne in a mixing bowl. When you’re ready to fry, stir in enough sparkling water to make a light batter that has the consistency of heavy cream.

Important But Under-Recognized Tools

What do I need in the kitchen? One knife—a chef’s knife, that’s it; a cutting board; a big rondeau (a wide flat round pot with shallow