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½ teaspoon dried rosemary

Several pinches of freshly ground black pepper

½ cup dry white wine

½ teaspoon salt

1½ cups Arborio rice

1½ cups fresh or frozen peas

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

½ cup loosely packed chopped fresh parsley, (plus extra for garnish)

Prepare the peppers:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Slice the stems off the peppers and pull out the seeds. Quarter the peppers lengthwise. Line a rimmed baking sheet with baking parchment and place the peppers, cut side down, on the sheet. Lightly spray the peppers with olive oil and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until the peppers have “collapsed” and are moist, juicy, and slightly blackened in some places.

Prepare the risotto:

Warm the vegetable broth in a saucepan. Keep it warm on the lowest setting possible as you prepare the risotto.

Preheat a heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium heat. Sauté the shallots in the oil for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme, rosemary, and black pepper, and sauté for 2 more minutes.

Add the white wine and salt, and raise the heat so that the wine boils and reduces for about 2 minutes. Lower the heat back to medium.

Add the rice and stir for about 3 minutes. The rice should soak up the liquid from the pot and have turned light brown. Add the broth by the cupful, stirring the risotto after each addition, until the broth is mostly absorbed (6 to 8 minutes). If the broth isn’t absorbing, raise the heat a bit. It absorbs faster as the rice gets more and more tender.

With your last addition of broth, add the peas and stir. When the peas are warm and tender and most of the broth is absorbed, add the lemon zest, juice, and chopped parsley.

Cook, stirring, until all the broth is completely absorbed and the parsley has wilted. Spoon the risotto into a wide bowl or plate and overlap the red peppers on one side of the dish. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve.

CURRIED UDON NOODLE STIR-FRY

SERVES 4

TIME: 35 MINUTES

This saucy noodle dish is inspired by the slightly sweet, mellow curries that are hugely popular in Japan for lunch and dinner, or so we hear. A simple roux-based curry sauce is prepared first, then stirred into udon, bits of sautéed seitan, and crisp veggies. Experiment—change the vegetables, use tofu in place of seitan, try different brands of curry powder—the variations are endless.

½ pound fresh udon noodles or dried udon noodles

Curry roux sauce: 2 tablespoons peanut oil

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1½ teaspoons curry powder

½ teaspoon garam masala

½ cup vegetable broth

2 teaspoons sugar

Udon stir-fry: 2 tablespoons peanut oil

1 large yellow onion, sliced into thin strips

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into thin strips

1 hot red chile pepper, sliced very thinly (optional)

2 Seitan Cutlets (page 132), panfried and sliced into thin strips

½ pound broccoli florets, sliced into bite-size chunks

¼ cup vegetable broth

2-3 tablespoons soy sauce, preferably shoyu (Japanese soy sauce)

➣ Use any curry powder you like, depending on your tolerance for heat. Even generic, grocery-store Indian or Jamaican curry powder works very nicely in this recipe.

➣ You can use either dried or fresh udon noodles for any recipe calling for them. Dried noodles are sold packaged like spaghetti and can be prepared the same way. Cook the noodles according to the package directions till just tender and rinse in cold water. Keep them handy in a colander until ready to use. Give them a brief rinsing in cold water before adding to a soup or stir-fry. Fresh udon noodles are sold twisted in cute bundles. They require only a brief cooking time in boiling water (follow package directions), usually about 3 to 4 minutes. Use a pair of chopsticks to separate the bundles while they are cooking. Drain, rinse with cold water and store in that colander. Rinse in warm water to unstuck any noodles just before using.

PREPARE THE udon first: Cook the udon according to the package directions, about 5 minutes.