Tender

I love cooking lazy.  Having studied briefly at a small culinary school, I appreciate a grand, eight-course, gastronomic affair, but on a cold day like this I leave my Escoffier on the shelf and reach for something simpler. 

My first go-to cookbooks are two gorgeous volumes by British food colonist Nigel Slater: Tender: A cook and his vegetable patch, and Ripe: A cook in the orchard.  Instead of being organized by course, Slater dedicates each chapter to a star vegetable (in Tender) or fruit (in Ripe).  Each section is introduced by no less than a love letter to the produce with tips on selecting and growing and his favorite varieties.  The recipe are beautifully composed (often in prose) and dedicated solely to flavor, not flash. 

A Soup the Color of Marigolds (from Tender)

“It was a simple soup, ten minutes' hands-on work and barely half an hour on the stove. An onion, coarsely chopped, softened in a little olive oil in a deep and heavy pan. An equal amount of carrots and yellow tomatoes (I used 1 pound [450g] of each to make enough for four), chopped and stirred into the soft, translucent onion. About 4 cups (a liter) of water (I could have used stock), and some salt, pepper, and a couple of bay leaves. It simmered for half an hour, then I pureed it to a thick, pulpy broth in the blender. We ended up with four big bowls of coarse-textured soup, as bright and cheerful as a pitcher of June flowers, a few chives stirred in at the table. As we licked our spoons, someone mentioned it would have been good to have it chilled. But by that time it was too late to try.”