Perfect Roasted Broccoli

Sure, you can improve almost any vegetable by slicking it with oil and roasting it at high heat. But I think broccoli fares best of all, with its flowering tips turning crisp and brown while the stems soften and become especially sweet.

Lidey Heuck’s new recipe for roasted broccoli is simplicity itself, with just a little minced garlic tossed in during the last two minutes of cooking so it doesn’t burn, and a squeeze of lemon juice when it’s out of the oven. On a frazzled day, I could be perfectly content with just this for dinner, maybe with some toast on the side or a fried egg on top. (Bonus: It leaves plenty of room for dessert.)

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Roasted Broccoli

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Then again, roasted broccoli would be a perfect partner to a bowl of Sue Li’s creamy turmeric pasta, which you can make on the stovetop while the oven is otherwise occupied. Sue’s recipe uses a genius, Parmesan-rich sauce of butter, garlic, shallots and cream tinted yellow with turmeric, which gives everything depth and spice. If you’re unsure about exactly how long ago you bought that turmeric in your pantry, treat yourself to a fresh jar to give this the most intensity possible.

Or you can go the one-pan meal route with a heady pot of gingery chicken and rice from Yasmin Fahr. Based on a meal of fried rice and garlicky greens served at Uncle Lou, a Cantonese restaurant in New York, this dish walks the line between mild and bold, with a subtle ginger bite rounded out with soy sauce and lime. If you want to try this in your Instant Pot, there’s a helpful note with instructions from Julie, a reader (thanks Julie!).

Another, crunchier option is Rick Martínez’s taquitos. The word literally means “little tacos,” which can refer to several things in Mexico: small tacos, breakfast tacos or the stuffed, rolled and fried tacos of Rick’s recipe. He has a great tip for choosing the right tortillas: Look for pliable tortillas that are flexible when you bend them; these will be the easiest to roll around the shredded chicken breast filling. Shallow-fried in a skillet, the taquitos turn out crisp and golden. A quickly made salsa with two kinds of dried chiles, cumin, coriander and black peppercorns gives the taquitos some zip.

The apples are starting to roll in from my fruit C.S.A., and while some are perfect for eating out of hand, others are a little bruised and ideal for baking. So for dessert, we’ve got loads of suggestions for using them up. I’m eyeing Genevieve Ko’s classic apple crisp with its nutty, spicy brown sugar topping speckled with oats. Served warm with ice cream, it’s the coziest fall dessert, and leftovers are lovely cold for breakfast, dolloped generously with plain yogurt.

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Roasted Vegetable Magic

The magic number when it comes to roasted vegetables is 425. It’s the perfect oven temperature for broccoli, asparagus, butternut squash, carrots, mushrooms, radishes, potatoes … you get the idea. Just cube your veggies — smaller pieces will take longer to chop but will cook faster — coat them lightly with oil and sprinkle them with salt. Then spread them out on a sheet pan (parchment-lined for easy cleanup) and roast, tossing once or twice until they are browned at the edges and tender within. The timing will depend on the density of the vegetable (root veggies take longer than greens), so keep checking.