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2 Steam the carrots over boiling water until tender, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer the carrots to the baking dish.

3 Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the fennel and shallot and sauté until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the flour to form a smooth paste. Add the milk and wine and bring just to a boil. The sauce will thicken. Remove from the heat, add the tarragon, and season with salt and pepper.

4 Pour the sauce over the carrots. Bake, uncovered, for about 10 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and golden around the edges. Serve hot.

Variation: Baked Root Vegetables and Fennel in Béchamel

This recipe works well with other types of root vegetables. Just substitute 1 pound of any root vegetable for the carrots.

Sautéed Greens with Apple Cider Vinegar

Serves 4

There is a classic preparation of greens in Italy made with sweet-sour flavors (agrodolce), usually raisins or currants for the sweet and red wine vinegar for the sour. It occurred to me that a New England–based version of the same dish would use apples for the sweet and apple cider vinegar for the sour. It’s a fantastic dish — but it is essential that you use an artisanal unpasteurized apple cider vinegar. Supermarket apple cider vinegar is sharp and without nuance, while the artisanal version is perfumed by apples and so flavorful that you can almost drink it from the bottle. Sunflower oil, which is increasingly available in the Northeast, makes it a totally “locavore” recipe for New Englanders.

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or sunflower oil

1 large shallot, diced

1½ pounds greens (cabbage, collard greens, or kale; about 18 cups lightly packed; remove and discard any tough stems)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 large apple, with peel, cored and shredded

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, or to taste

1 Heat the oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the shallot and sauté until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the greens, toss to coat in the oil, and season with salt and pepper. Cover and let steam until wilted, 3 to 5 minutes.

2 Add the apple, toss again, cover, and cook until the greens are tender, 2 to 10 minutes longer, depending on the green. Drizzle with the vinegar, adjust the seasoning, and serve hot.

Kitchen Notes: Cabbage should be chopped or sliced; other greens can be left whole or chopped, though tough stems should be discarded. Collard greens take longer to cook than other greens.

Braised Celery Root Gratin

Serves 4–6

Slowly cooking celery root coaxes extra flavor from this humble root. This is a fine dish to serve alongside any roast.

3 tablespoons butter, cut into bits

1 shallot, minced

2 large celery roots, peeled and cut into ¼-inch slices

1½ tablespoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons sugar

¾ cup chicken broth or vegetable broth (pages 126–27)

2/3 cup dried breadcrumbs

1/3 cup lightly packed grated Gruyère cheese (about 1½ ounces)

1 Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallot and sauté until limp, about 3 minutes. Add the celery root, lemon juice, sugar, and broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, turning the celery root slices occasionally, until the vegetables are very tender, 40 to 45 minutes.

2 Preheat the broiler. Stir together the breadcrumbs and Gruyère. Butter a large gratin dish.

3 Transfer the vegetables and their cooking liquid to the prepared dish. Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture evenly over the vegetables. Broil about 4 inches from the heat until the cheese is melted and the crumbs are browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve hot.

Garlic-Crumbed Greens

Serves 4

It’s interesting how little it takes to dress up a mess o’ greens.

8 cups chopped kale, collards, or mustard greens (remove and discard tough stems)

3 tablespoons butter or extra-virgin olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

1 cup fresh breadcrumbs

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 Bring a large pot of salted