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2 Mix the soy sauce, sesame oil, and vinegar in a small bowl.

3 Arrange the greens on a platter and top with the tofu. Drizzle with the soy sauce mixture and garnish with the sesame seeds. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Kitchen Note: If you don’t have Chinese black vinegar on hand, you can come reasonably close to it with a mixture of 1 part soy sauce, 1 part Worcestershire sauce, and 1 part rice vinegar. Otherwise, omit the vinegar.

Pasta Inverno

Serves 6

The dish pasta primavera (“springtime pasta”) has come to mean pasta in a cream sauce with vegetables — any vegetables, and often an unseasonal mixture. Inverno means “winter,” so this is pasta for winter, with a mixture of winter vegetables in a delicious cream sauce. In the mix of root vegetables, turnips, celery root, parsnips, and salsify will disappear in the white sauce, which may or may not be a good thing, depending on your point of view. Choose those vegetables to carry the wintry white theme; choose carrots, golden beets, rutabagas, and/or winter squash to make the dish more colorful.

4 tablespoons butter

4 cups peeled and shredded or very finely julienned mixed root vegetables (carrots, celery root, golden beets, parsnips, rutabagas, salsify, and/or turnips) or winter squashes

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 shallot, minced

½ cup dry white wine

2 cups light cream or half-and-half

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 pound angel hair pasta

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more to serve

1 Begin heating a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta.

2 Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the root vegetables, garlic, and shallot, and sauté until the vegetables are limp, about 8 minutes. Add the wine and cream. Simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to keep warm and season with salt and pepper.

3 Cook the pasta in the boiling water until al dente. Reserve about 1 cup of the cooking water, and then drain.

4 Toss the pasta with the sauce until well coated, and then transfer to a serving dish. Add the Parmesan and toss, adding some of the reserved cooking water if the mixture appears dry. Serve at once, passing additional Parmesan at the table.

Mushroom Lo Mein

Serves 4–6

Eggs provide the protein in this vegetarian lo mein, while the mushrooms contribute a hearty focus.

3 eggs

1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil

¼ teaspoon salt

8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, sliced (remove and discard the stems)

3–4 garlic cloves, minced

1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced

2 tablespoons soy sauce, plus more as needed

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry

1 pound Chinese wheat noodles or thin spaghetti

¼ cup peanut or other vegetable oil, plus more as needed

2 carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks

¼ head green or savoy cabbage, or ½ head napa or Chinese cabbage, very thinly sliced

1 (4-inch) piece daikon radish or 1 small turnip, peeled and cut into matchsticks

¼ cup Chinese mock oyster sauce or stir-fry sauce

1 Begin heating a large pot of salted water to a boil for the noodles.

2 Beat together the eggs, sesame oil, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

3 Combine the mushrooms, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sugar, and rice wine in a small bowl. Mix well and set aside.

4 Cook the noodles in the boiling water until al dente. Drain well.

5 Heat a large wok or frying pan over high heat. When the pan is hot, add 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil and heat for 30 seconds. Pour in the egg mixture. As the bottom sets, push the edges in toward the middle to allow the liquid egg to run to the outside to cook. Continue pushing in the edges until the top has almost no more liquid egg. Flip the egg and cook just until dry, about 30 seconds. Remove the egg cake to a cutting board. Slice into matchsticks.

6 Add 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil to the wok. When the oil is very hot, add the mushrooms and marinade and stir-fry