What We Eat When We Eat Alone - Deborah Madison [59]
2 OR 3 CARROTS, PEELED AND CUT INTO LARGE CHUNKS, THEN HALVED LENGTHWISE (OR LEFT WHOLE, IF SMALL)
1 RUSSET POTATO OR SEVERAL FINGERLINGS, SCRUBBED AND CHUNKED
1 ONION, CUT INTO THICK WEDGES (KEEP THE ROOT END INTACT)
1 HEAD GARLIC, PEELED AND CLOVES SEPARATED
1 TURNIP, PEELED ONLY IF GNARLY, AND CUT INTO WEDGES
6 JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES, SCRUBBED AND HALVED
1 LARGE PARSNIP, PEELED, CUT INTO 2-INCH ROUNDS AND HALVED, CORE REMOVED
A HANDFUL OF CHERRY TOMATOES, IF AVAILABLE
2 TABLESPOONS OLIVE OIL
SALT AND PEPPER
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Choose a large baking dish or sheet pan so that the vegetables can bake in a single layer. Cut the vegetables, then toss them with the oil, and season with a scant teaspoon salt and freshly ground pepper. Tip them into the baking dish. Roast until the vegetables are caramelized in places and tender when pierced with a knife. Give them a shake or a turn every 15 minutes or so, roasting about 45 minutes in all. These are delicious just as they are when they come out of the oven. In fact, it’s hard to stop eating them. But they’re also delicious served with a garlic mayonnaise.
Roasted Vegetable Chowder
With 2 to 3 cups of leftover vegetables, you can make a quart of roasted vegetable chowder. Here’s how. Put the vegetables, except for 6 or so reserved carrot pieces, in a saucepan, add 3-1⁄2 cups water or stock and 1⁄2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. Purée. The chowder will be very beige and thick, not very pretty looking, but don’t worry. Return the purée to the soup pan and thin with extra water or stock. To make the soup sing, stir in a quarter cup of cream or half-and-half, leaving it streaky. Taste for salt and add more if needed. Dice the reserved carrots and mince a little parsley. Ladle the soup into bowls, add the carrots, sprinkle with parsley, and finish with freshly ground pepper.
Salmon Chowder
This makes enough for just one large or two modest portions since fish soup isn’t something people generally want to eat three or four days running. Smoked paprika gives it not only a wood-fire flavor but also a rosy background hue. With the pink fish, yellow potatoes, and green parsley flecks, this is a pretty, spring-like chowder.
1 TABLESPOON BUTTER
1⁄2 CUP DICED ONION
1 CELERY STALK, PEELED AND CHOPPED
1 SPRIG THYME OR A PINCH DRIED THYME
1 BAY LEAF
8 OUNCES YUKON GOLD OR RUSSET POTATOES, PEELED AND CUT INTO 1-INCH CHUNKS
2 TEASPOONS EACH CHOPPED PARSLEY AND CELERY LEAVES
1⁄2 TEASPOON SMOKED OR REGULAR PAPRIKA
SALT AND PEPPER
2 CUPS MILK, FISH STOCK, OR WATER
HALF-AND-HALF TO FINISH
1 CHUNK SALMON, CUT INTO LARGE BITE-SIZE PIECES, 4 TO 6 OUNCES
1. Melt the butter in a small soup pot or saucepan and add the onion, celery, thyme, and bay leaf. Give it a stir, leave for a minute or two, and then add the potatoes and half the parsley mixture. Season with the paprika and 1⁄2 teaspoon of salt. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or so, occasionally stirring.
2. Add the milk, stock, or water. Bring to a boil, then cover the pot and simmer until the potatoes are tender. Mash a few of them against the sides of the pan to give the soup body. At this point, enrich the soup with a little half-and-half or more milk, if desired. Taste for salt and also paprika, adding more if you want it to be smokier. Season with freshly ground pepper.
3. Lay the salmon in the soup, cover, and cook 5 minutes longer. Serve yourself a bowl and sprinkle with the remaining parsley mixture and an extra shot of pepper.
Blue Cheese Sauce
This is a universal sauce, pure comfort food and anything but bland. Toss it with pasta, spoon it over a baked potato or polenta, use it generously with steamed broccoli or cauliflower, or more modestly with a steak. You don’t need measurements to make this sauce, but it