Fresh Tart

I've had my eye on this recipe ever since I acquired the lovely cookbook Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi. If you're looking for mouth-watering ways to add vegetables to your life, this is your book. Not only are the recipes clever and inspired, the photography is simply stunning. Earlier this summer I took a cup of coffee out on the deck, into the morning sun, and decided to affix post-it notes to the dishes I wanted to try. My husband watched me from the kitchen window for a bit, then popped his head out to say that perhaps I should mark the recipes I wasn't interested in.

Truly, I was tagging the entire book.

This rustic dish is basically a ready-to-eat spread: Melting eggplant, creamy yogurt, zippy za'atar spices, and tangy-crunchy pomegranate seeds. Nothing less than a flavor-texture explosion, it's also is a breeze to make and eat, just simply roasted eggplant drizzled with a little of this and that.

Serve with a pile of grilled bread and attack right off the baking sheet. Recipe for Eggplant with Yogurt Sauce at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

Naturally gluten-free, bánh xèo are simple, savory crepes made from rice flour and coconut milk. Served warm and filled with cool, crisp vegetables, herbs, and drizzled with a spicy-salty sauce, they will blow your mind with flavor and texture achieved with very little effort.

Recipe for bánh xèo, adapted from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi, at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine.