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Oven temperature: 400°F

Prep: Slice head of cauliflower in half and remove leaves. Slice into bite-size chunks, drizzle and rub with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and fresh black pepper. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet.

Roast: Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, using tongs to turn them halfway through cooking.

Complements: After cooking, add fresh chopped parsley and drizzle with fresh lemon juice, if you wish.

Fancy it up: Make a yummy Indian side dish by adding a teaspoon each of crushed cumin and coriander seeds before cooking.

Eggplant

Oven-roasted eggplant is so versatile and dare we say “meaty” that you’ll find a way to work it into pastas, sandwiches, curries, salads, and more. Especially nice when you’re feeding a mixed crowd of meat- and plant-eaters. Simply slice the eggplant any way that you please (but keep the skin on). Cutting crosswise into ½ -inch-thick rounds creates a good, all-purpose shape; ¼ -inch-thick lengthwise slices rule for hero-style sandwiches and layering in casseroles. We recommend salting eggplant before cooking it (See sidebar “To Salt or Not to Salt?” on page 27).

Oven temperature: 350°F

Prep: Remove the stems. Slice as described above, or cut into ½ -inch cubes for use in a soup or salad. If you want to go with salting the eggplant, rub each slice with kosher salt and place in a colander; put the colander in the sink. Let sit for 20 to 30 minutes, allowing any excess liquid to sweat out. Rinse each slice and pat dry with a kitchen towel. Whether or not you salted the eggplant, rub the slices with olive oil and sprinkle them with fresh black pepper (if you salted them, there is no need for salt here; if not, sprinkle with salt now.) Place on a baking sheet.

Roast: 15 to 20 minutes. You may want to spray with a little oil intermittently to prevent the eggplant from drying out. The slices should be lightly browned.

Complements: Tarragon, thyme, crushed fennel seeds, rosemary, oregano, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, or fresh lemon juice. Or go in a Middle Eastern direction and sprinkle on ground cumin and paprika.

Fancy it up: Top roasted eggplant with lightly sautéed chopped garlic, sliced black olives, fresh parsley or dill, and drizzles of high-quality olive oil.

Whole Eggplant

ROAST a whole eggplant in its skin? Are you mad? Mad about tender, melt-in-your-mouth eggplant, maybe. Take a small to medium-size eggplant, prick little holes all over it with a fork, place it in a “cradle” of foil on a baking sheet, and bake it at 400°F for 25 to 35 minutes, until it’s collapsed and easily pierced with a fork. The resulting interior (don’t eat the charred skin) is creamy, delicate, and delicious scooped away from the exterior and mashed with a little olive oil, lemon, salt, and a touch of cumin. Use as a dip with toasted pita triangles, cucumbers, and carrot spears.

Green Beans

If roasting a green bean sounds weird to you, then get ready to question everything you thought you knew and bite into a crisp ’n’ chewy, yet tender ’n’ roasty green bean. These are especially lovely tossed into a pasta or potato salad.

Oven temperature: 400°F

Prep: Trim the tops. Drizzle and coat with olive oil, salt, and fresh black pepper. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. If you like, add minced garlic 5 minutes before the beans are done, and mix it in with tongs.

Roast: 12 to 15 minutes

Complements: We prefer these plain and unadulterated.

Roasting Garlic

SOME articles from the ’80s, such as stirrup pants and banana hair clips, are best left to lame theme parties and annoying “You know you’re a child of . . .” e-mail spam. However, the wonderful roasted garlic was everywhere during that decade is here to stay, if we have anything to say about it. It’s so mellow, sweet, and simple to make. There’s no excuse not to work roasted garlic into everything from salad dressings to hummus.

If you can tease up some “mall hair,” then you can make roasted garlic. Take one or more whole, unpeeled, and unseparated bulbs of garlic. With a heavy,