By David Tanis, The New York Times
It’s always a bit of a thrill delving into cold-weather ingredients, as easy to love as warm-weather ones, and in some ways even more satisfying.
Radicchio and other chicories like ruby Treviso, speckled Castelfranco and pale green curly endive are best grown at cool temperatures. Their slight bitterness pairs and plays well with winter fruit, like pears, apples, persimmons and pomegranates, in a luxurious winter salad.
Walnuts, hazelnuts and pecans are welcome in a dish like this. Nut oils contribute a particular aroma and deep flavor that other oils can’t. I recommend keeping a small bottle of walnut oil in the refrigerator, at the ready for winter vinaigrettes. Sweeter vinegars, such as sherry vinegar, balsamic vinegar or Banyuls vinegar can join, too. A bit of honey stirred in can be a nice counterpoint, or sometimes just a thin drizzle of honey over the dressed salad is appropriate.
As for sliced fruit in the salad, firm pears are most satisfying here if they aren’t too ripe. Otherwise, crisp tart apples are always a good choice. Sweet-sour pomegranate arils are wonderful sprinkled over a salad like this. To learn more about how to open a pomegranate, and for great entertainment, consult online how-to videos made in Morocco or the Middle East, where pomegranates are used in great quantities. They are enlightening.
Finally, a salty element complements both the bitter and the sweet. Consider adding sharp cheeses for garnish, like blue-veined cheeses, hard sheep’s milk cheese like pecorino or crumbled feta.
This is the quintessential salad for autumn and winter, haunting and colorful.
For a main course, meatballs are a satisfying and hearty option. Italian polpette are large meatballs, about golf ball size or slightly larger (make them smaller and they are polpettine). These are tender, oven-baked and highly seasoned, and can be made with any kind of ground not-too-lean meat. They are especially nice with lamb, but also delicious with beef, pork or the dark meat of poultry; you can also use a mixture of meats.
Smoked paprika, cumin and garlic flavor these meatballs, along with a good pinch of hot red pepper. For the best-tasting result, season the ground meat and let it rest overnight in the refrigerator to let all the spices infuse. Loosely pack the mixture, forming spheres that just hold together, so they will be tender. Then roast them till nicely browned, with juices oozing, cooked through in 15 minutes or so. (They are equally good cooked a day in advance of serving and reheated.)
To accompany the meatballs, rather than a sauce, I suggest a savory combination of lentils and chard, bolstered with leeks and garlic. The lentils and greens can be cooked separately and then stirred together, but I like the presentation better with the lentils below and the beautiful chard on top. (This lentil-greens combo also makes a fine simple meal on its own or tossed with pasta.) If you’d like one more vegetable alongside, I’d suggest roasted parsnips or carrots. Consider steamed rice to accompany, as well.
For dessert, I propose a very doable, though somewhat complicated, lemon curd roulade. It’s a bit of a project, best prepared well in advance of dinner, but it’s a stunner — a spongecake rolled up like a carpet, with a tart lemon custard filling. It may be served unadorned, with a little shower of powdered sugar. But it would be a shame not to give it a coat of softly whipped cream. It is a festive cake, suitable for a fancy tea party, a birthday celebration or a Champagne toast. Each slice is a lemon-yellow spiral.
A roulade can adapt to any season. In spring and summer, it can sport colorful fruit or rose petals. Now, during the winter holidays, it begs to be dressed as a Yule log, surrounded by an evergreen garland and an artfully placed pine cone or two.
Pear and Radicchio Salad With Blue Cheese
This is the quintessential salad for autumn and winter, stunningly colorful. For the best-tasting result, look for pears that are ripe but still firm. But if soft pears are all you have on hand — or can find, substitute crisp apples. The crunch here is key.
By David Tanis
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Total time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 shallot, finely diced
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- Salt and pepper
- 3 tablespoons walnut oil or extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small head radicchio, leaves separated and torn into wide strips if desired
- 3 or 4 pears, such as red Bartlet or Comice, ripe but firm, peeled if desired
- 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds (from about 1/2 pomegranate)
- 4 ounces blue cheese, such as Roquefort, Gorgonzola or Stilton
- 1 teaspoon mild honey, for drizzling (optional)
Preparation
1. Make the vinaigrette: Put shallot and vinegar in a small bowl and let soften for about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Whisk in oil. Taste and adjust.
2. Put radicchio leaves in a low-sided salad bowl and the pear slices in a small bowl.
3. Sprinkle radicchio very lightly with salt. Add about 2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette and toss. Use remaining vinaigrette to dress pears. Arrange pear slices over the radicchio, and scatter the pomegranate seeds on top.
4. Thinly slice the cheese, and arrange on top. If desired, drizzle with honey.
Meatballs With Lentils and Greens
Italian polpette are large meatballs, and they partly inspired these tender, oven-baked and highly seasoned recipe. For the best flavor make the meat part, without the bread, and let it rest overnight in the refrigerator. To accompany the polpette, rather than a sauce, these are paired with lentils and greens, which also make a fine simple meal on their own or tossed with pasta. If you’d like one more vegetable alongside, consider roasted parsnips or carrots.
By David Tanis
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Total time: 1 hour 30 minutes, plus chilling
Ingredients
For the Meatballs:
- 4 slices firm white bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 4 cups cubes)
- 1 cup milk
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef, lamb or dark meat turkey
- 1/4 cup grated onion (from 1 small onion)
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons pimentòn de la Vera or smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 3 to 4 garlic cloves, smashed to a paste
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
For the Lentils and Greens:
- 1 cup small green lentils
- 1/2 small onion
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cloves
- 1 parsley sprig, plus 3 tablespoons roughly chopped parsley leaves
- Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
- 2 medium leeks, trimmed, both pale and dark green parts
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for finishing
- 2 teaspoons grated garlic
- 1 (12-ounce) bunch green chard, stems removed, leaves sliced into 1-inch ribbons (4 to 6 cups packed)
- Pinch of crushed red pepper
- 2 tablespoons roughly chopped pale celery leaves
- Lemon wedges, for serving (optional)
Preparation
1. Prepare the meatballs: Put bread cubes in 1 cup milk to soak for about 15 minutes, turning occasionally. In a mixing bowl, combine the ground meat, onion, olive oil, pimentón, crushed red pepper, cumin, garlic, salt, pepper and, when it’s soft, the soaked bread and any remaining milk. Mix very well with hands, kneading to incorporate ingredients evenly. Cover and refrigerate, at least 1 hour and up to overnight. (Longer yields better flavor.)
2. Prepare the lentils and greens: Rinse lentils and put them in a saucepan. Cover with water by 1 inch. Pin the bay leaf to the onion with the cloves and add to the pot along with the parsley sprig. Add 1 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook until tender, adding water as needed, about 30 minutes. Taste and correct for salt.
3. Meanwhile, cut leeks lengthwise, then crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces. Place in a bowl, cover with cold water and swish to dislodge any sand or dirt. Lift leeks from bowl and drain.
4. Heat olive oil in a large wide skillet over medium-high. Add leeks, season with salt to taste, and cook, stirring, until leeks are softened and lightly browned, 5 to 6 minutes, lowering heat as necessary.
5. When leeks are soft, add garlic and cook for 1 minute without browning, then add about 1/2-inch water to the pan. Add chard, sprinkle lightly with salt, raise heat to high and cover the pan. When chard has wilted, about 2 minutes, stir together with leeks. Add crushed red pepper and cook for another 2 minutes, or until most of the water has evaporated. Taste, adjust seasoning and turn off heat. You may cook leeks and chard in advance and reheat.
6. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Divide mixture into 12 loosely packed balls and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
7. Roast until nicely browned, about 15 minutes.
8. To serve, use a slotted spoon to scoop out the lentils, straining them, and transfer to the center of a platter. Spoon the greens over the lentils and drizzle with a little more olive oil. Surround with roasted polpette and sprinkle with chopped parsley and celery leaves.
Lemon Curd Roulade
This festive cake could be decorated as a lemony Yule log, or, in warmer seasons with colorful fruit and edible flowers. It’s a bit of a project but manageable if one is organized. Make the lemon curd up to a week ahead.
By David Tanis
Yield: 8 servings
Total time: 1 hour 10 minutes, plus 3 hours’ cooling and chilling
Ingredients
For the Lemon Curd:
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 3/4 cup/150 grams sugar
- 3/4 cup/170 grams unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup/180 milliliters lemon juice (from 5 or 6 large lemons)
- 1/4 cup/60 milliliters orange juice (from 2 large oranges)
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
For the Spongecake:
- Softened butter, for greasing the pan
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup/130 grams sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup/130 grams all-purpose flour or cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Pinch of salt
For Frosting:
- 1 cup/240 milliliters heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preparation
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare the lemon curd: Put lemon zest, orange zest, sugar, butter, lemon juice and orange juice in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until mixture steams, 5 to 6 minutes. Turn heat to low.
2. Beat eggs in a small mixing bowl. Slowly whisk in 1 cup of the lemon mixture into eggs to temper them, then add everything to the saucepan, whisking.
3. Cook over low heat, whisking constantly, until mixture begins to thicken and resembles a milkshake consistency, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl.
4. Cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until completely cold. The mixture will thicken more when cold.
5. Prepare the cake: Butter a 10-by-15-inch jelly roll pan. Lay a piece of parchment paper cut to size on the buttered pan and butter the parchment.
6. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk (or using hand-held electric beaters and a mixing bowl), combine eggs and sugar. Beat mixture at medium-high speed until thick and doubled in volume, about 5 minutes. Add the vanilla extract.
7. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. At low speed, gradually incorporate into egg mixture. Setting bowl aside, use a rubber spatula to fold batter to ensure everything is well mixed.
8. Pour batter into the prepared pan and spread to the edges. (Batter should be about 1/2-inch thick.)
9. Bake until firm and barely browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Do not overbake or cake will be dry and difficult to roll.
10. Let cake cool until just warm to the touch, about 15 minutes. (If necessary, run a small knife around the edge of the pan to separate the cake from the edges.) Beginning at the short end of the pan, roll cake and parchment into a tube shape, and let sit. Unroll when completely cool. This helps the cake achieve the correct shape.
11. With a spatula, spread lemon curd over the surface of the cake, leaving a 1-inch border at the edges, and roll it all without the parchment back into a tube shape. Carefully transfer to a platter, seam-side-down, wiping away any extra curd. Refrigerate for about 2 hours before frosting, then trim off about 1 inch at both ends of cake for a neat presentation.
12. Prepare the frosting: Beat together cream, sugar and vanilla in a chilled mixing bowl. Whip just until cream is fluffy and soft, not stiff, about 5 minutes.
13. Dollop cream along top of cake, then use a metal spatula or soup spoon to spread over sides and ends of cake. The frosting should look like a fluffy cloud, not like a plastered wall. Return cake to the refrigerator for 2 hours and up to overnight. To serve, cut crosswise into 1-inch slices.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.