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7 Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons peanut oil in the wok. Add the carrots and stir-fry until just barely tender, 3 minutes. Add the cabbage and daikon to the wok and stir-fry until wilted, about 3 minutes. At any point, add a little soy sauce to encourage the vegetables to steam if they don’t seem to be cooking.

8 Return the mushroom mixture and eggs to the wok and add the noodles. Add the mock oyster sauce and toss until the noodles are well coated and the mushrooms and vegetables are all mixed into the noodles.

9 Taste and add additional soy sauce, if needed. Serve hot.

Kitchen Note: Pickled ginger can be substituted for fresh ginger in most stir-fries. Figure that 1 tablespoon minced pickled ginger is equivalent to a 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced.

Pasta with Tomato-Braised Root Vegetables

Serves 4–6

It’s very important to finely chop the vegetables — using a food processor makes it easy. The root vegetables add a richness and heartiness to the sauce that is quite surprising.

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 carrot or parsnip, peeled and finely chopped

1 celery root, peeled and finely chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

1 rutabaga, peeled and finely chopped

1½ cups vegetable broth (page 126) or water

1 cup medium-bodied red wine

1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste

1½ cups diced tomatoes with juice, or 1 (15-ounce) can

1 whole garlic head, cloves separated and peeled

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon mixed dried Italian herbs

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 pound rigatoni or other short pasta

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

1 Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the carrot, celery root, onion, and rutabaga, and sauté until the vegetables are a little softened, about 5 minutes.

2 Add the broth, stirring to loosen any browned bits. Stir in the wine, tomato paste, tomatoes, garlic, bay leaves, and Italian herbs. Season with salt and pepper.

3 Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is cooked down and the vegetables are completely soft, about 2 hours. Mash the garlic cloves into the sauce (if they don’t mash easily, the sauce should cook longer).

4 Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and boil until al dente. Drain well.

5 Combine the pasta with the sauce and mix well. Stir in the Parmesan. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Serve hot, passing the extra cheese at the table.

Variation: Polenta with Tomato-Braised Root Vegetables

Polenta is a wonderful alternative to pasta. Prepare the sauce, through step 3, as above. About an hour before you are ready to serve, bring 5 cups salted water to a boil in a large saucepan. Stir 1 cup stone-ground cornmeal into 1½ cups cold water to make a smooth paste. Pour into the boiling water, reduce the heat, and cook at a low boil, stirring frequently, for about 30 minutes, until the polenta begins to pull away from the sides of the pan. Reduce the heat to low and add 4 tablespoons butter and 1 cup Parmesan cheese, stirring until melted. Add ½ to 1 cup milk, a little at a time, until the polenta is a creamy, pleasing consistency. To serve, mound the polenta in each pasta bowl and spoon the sauce on top. Serve hot, passing the extra cheese at the table.

Cheesy Mac with Root Vegetables

Serves 6

I have always regarded macaroni and cheese as an opportunity to sneak vegetables into a one-dish favorite. It turns out that any vegetable that works well under a blanket of cheese, as in a gratin (think cauliflower gratin, rutabaga gratin, et cetera), complements macaroni and cheese. In this dish, any of the root vegetables you happen to have in the house will work well, though turnips and rutabagas are my personal favorites. If you have a pasta pot with a colander insert, you can easily cook the vegetables in the same boiling water as the macaroni.

1 pound elbow macaroni

4 cups peeled and diced mixed root vegetables (carrots, celery root, golden beets, parsnips,