• Four 1 1/2-pound lobsters, claws separated
• 1/2 cup clarified unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced garlic
• One 4-inch piece fresh ginger, julienned
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1 cup chopped fresh Thai basil leaves
• 8 cups pea shoots and leaves
• 4 lemon wedges for serving

Photograph by Sang An

1. Fill a large bowl with water and ice and set aside. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and salt it.


2. Add the lobster claws to the boiling water and cook for 5 minutes, then transfer to the ice water bath. When cool, remove the meat completely from the shells and set aside. Add the remaining lobster parts to the boiling water and cook for 1 minute. Transfer to the ice water bath. When cool, remove the heads from the bodies. Split the tails lengthwise in half, keeping the shells on. (You can remove the vein from the tail if you like.)


3. Prepare the sauce. Put the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and simmer, shaking the skillet occasionally, until golden brown, 3 minutes. Add the ginger, red pepper flakes, and salt and cook, shaking the skillet occasionally, until fragrant. Add the basil and cook briefly, just until wilted. Remove from the heat.


4. Meanwhile, put the claws and tails in a large steamer. Top with the pea shoots and a sprinkling of salt, and cook just until the lobster is heated through and the pea shoots are wilted, about 3 minutes.


5. Mound the pea shoots in the middle of each serving plate and top with the lobster claw meat and tails. Spoon the sauce over the lobster and serve immediately, with the lemon wedges.

• 3 ounces Gorgonzola dolce
• 1 1/2 ounces cream cheese
• 1 1/2 ounces slab bacon or 3 strips thick-cut bacon
• 12 Medjool dates
• 4 springs fresh rosemary
• 1/2 cup finely chopped toasted walnuts
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil


Note: Gorgonzola dolce is a sweeter, milder Gorgonzola, aged for only a few months so that its flavor is not as pronounced as cheeses aged for longer periods. Look for it at a good cheese or gourmet shop.

Photograph by Tim Turner

1. Put the Gorgonzola and cream cheese in a bowl and set aside at room temperature to soften. When soft, mix the cheeses until well blended.


2. Preheat the oven to 350°F.


3. In a heavy-bottomed pan set over medium-low heat, slowly cook the bacon until the fat is rendered and the bacon is crispy. Drain the bacon on paper towels. When cool, cut into 1/4-inch dice. Reserve 1 tablespoon of bacon fat and discard the rest.


4. Add the bacon to the cheese and mix gently. Stir the reserved bacon fat into the cheese mixture.


5. Make a slit in the top of each date and remove the pit. Gently open up the date, taking care to leave it attached at the base. Fill each date with about 1 teaspoon of the cheese mixture. As each one is filled, transfer it to a baking sheet. Scatter rosemary sprigs over the dates.


6. Bake for 2 to 4 minutes, just until the dates are heated through.


7. Arrange 3 dates on each of 4 serving plates. Sprinkle each one with chopped walnuts and a drizzle of olive oil. Garnish each with a rosemary sprig.

• 3/4 cup fresh tangerine juice or a mixture of tangerine and orange juice
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 6 large kumquats, sliced into rounds
• 2 tablespoons zest removed from any of the citrus below
• 1 teaspoon orange flower water
• 3 small pink grapefruit
• 3 navel oranges or tangelos
• 3 blood oranges
• 3 tangelos, Honeybells, or other citrus
• Sprigs of mint leaves

Bring the juice and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the kumquats and zest, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the orange flower water and set aside.

Peel the grapefruit, oranges, and tangelos. If the grapefruits are small ones, slice them into rounds; otherwise section them. Slice the remaining fruits into rounds about 1/3 inch wide. Place the fruit and juices in a serving bowl or deep platter. Pour the syrup with the kumquats and zest over the fruit and chill until ready to serve.

Variations: Other fruits happily complement citrus and add to the luster of this dish. Add thinly sliced small star fruits or kiwifruit, or drizzle the contents, seeds and all, of one or two passion fruits over the compote.

The Rice
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3 bunches of scallions, including a few inches of the greens, thinly sliced
• 2 cups risotto rice, such as Arborio
• sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• finely grated zest of 2 lemons
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
• 1 ball (1/4) pound fresh mozzarella cheese, diced
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 eggs
• 3 cups bread crumbs
• olive oil for frying

The Spring Vegetables
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 fat leeks, white parts only, halved, cut into 2-inch pieces, and finely slivered
• 1 pound asparagus, tough ends snapped off, peeled if thick, then slivered, including the tips
• 2 big handfuls of snow peas, thinly slivered
• 2 handfuls of edible-pod peas, slivered
• sea salt
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons minced parsley, basil, or chervil

Photograph by Laurie Smith

1. Bring 1 quart water to a simmer in a 3-quart pan with a tight-fitting lid. Melt the butter in a 10-inch skillet or sauté pan over medium high heat. When sizzling, add the scallions. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 1 minute, then add the rice, turn to coat it with the butter, and cook for a minute or two. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add the rice to the simmering water. Cover and cook over low heat for 16 minutes. Remove the lid, and if there's still water present, cook it off. Otherwise, stir in the lemon zest, parsley, pepper, and cheeses, then allow the rice to cool in the pan. Stir in one of the eggs.


2. Using a 1/3-cup measure, scoop out the rice and shape it to make an oval croquette.


3. Whisk the remaining eggs in a pie pan. Put the bread crumbs on another pie pan or plate. Using your left hand, dip each croquette into the egg mixture, then using your right hand, gently roll it in the crumbs to coat. Set it aside on a tray covered with wax paper until all are made. (These can be refrigerated hours ahead of time, then brought back to room temperature before frying.)


4. When ready to eat, preheat the oven to 300°F. Generously coat 2 wide skillets with olive oil. When hot, add the croquettes and cook over medium heat, gently turning them to brown them all over, 5 to 7 minutes total. Transfer them to a plate and set in the oven while you sauté the vegetables.


5. Heat half the butter until foaming in a wide sauté pan. Add all the slivered vegetables, sprinkle them with sea salt, and sauté over high heat for about 1 1/2 minutes. Add the lemon juice and remaining butter, shuffling the pan over the heat so that they combine into a sauce. Add the herbs.


6. To serve, divide the vegetables among warm plates, then arrange the fritters attractively on top, allowing 3 per serving.

Lentil-Merguez Stew

"...Teddy smiled a secret smile and took a bite of her lentil soup. Limited access to the best ingredients, she thought, was a real test of any cook's mettle. This soup was rich and complex and full of umami, the meatiness and soul that undergirded all the other flavors, sweetness, sourness, bitterness, saltiness..." — Chapter 3

This quick and easy but absolutely wonderful recipe calls for a pound of red lentils, 3/4 pound of artichoke hearts (I use commercially-prepared ones that have been grilled and marinated in olive oil), and 10 ounces of raw merguez sausage. It's even easier to make if you don't grind your own spices, but if you have a mortar and pestle, it only takes five minutes or so to pulverize a teaspoon each of cardamom, coriander, cumin and fenugreek. Grate a thumb-sized piece of ginger, mince 4 big garlic cloves and chop a good-sized shallot or two. Sauté it all slowly over low heat with 1/3 cup of olive oil with cayenne and black pepper to taste and a couple pinches of saffron.

When it's all nice and foamy, add the lentils, 32 oz. of chicken broth, and a can of whole tomatoes (or several fresh ripe tomatoes if you prefer) whizzed in the blender to make a puree. Add the chopped artichoke hearts. Bring the stew to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cover. Slice the merguez into bite-sized pieces and grill it first in a little olive oil, then add it. Stir, cover again, and 45 minutes later it's done.

Couscous or basmati rice are the best things to put it over.