Notes about Recipes in this book

• Daikon radish braised with miso and soy

  • MarciK on January 05, 2026

    Excellent. I’ll definitely make this again.

• Chioggia beet and carrot salad

  • mjes on August 15, 2021

    This is my kind of recipe - instructions to convert to an antipasto, hors d'oeuvre, or salad - choose your own seasonings with many suggestions - warning/adjustments if you stray too far from the recommended varieties. I made it using lime juice for the acid with cilantro and chili as the seasoning. A great improvement over the carrot only version I grew up with.

  • djnielsen64 on April 01, 2023

    I used the zest and juice of one lime, along with ground ginger, dill, and parsley. It was pretty good—coming from someone who isn’t a huge fan of beets.

• Rutabaga and parsnip gratin

  • catie_s6ovwo on April 11, 2026

    P. 84-85

• Hummus with preserved lemons

  • mpo on May 23, 2021

    I combined this recipe with the lemony hummus from The Yellow Table. I like the addition of preserved lemon, I've never done that before.

  • athayer on July 11, 2021

    I didn't think it was possible to love another recipe more than my regular hummus recipe that I've been making for years upon years...until this version. The preserved lemon makes a big impact. Totally great hummus!

• Cucumber agua fresca

  • fprincess on April 20, 2026

    Made was written, scaled down 4x (used 2 small Persian cucumbers). Would skip the simple syrup next time.

• Whole-wheat tortillas

  • Krisage on May 30, 2022

    Loving this recipe. So easy!

• Stuffed and fried squash blossoms

  • Kjohns101 on July 29, 2020

    When squash blossoms are at the farmer’s market, I make a variation of these. Takes me back to Rome. I filled some with goat cheese, herbs, and a touch of cream. The others I filled with fresh mozzarella, anchovy, sprinkle of chile flakes and chopped garlic (similar to this recipe minus the bread crumbs) The batter and instructions are good.

• Red kuri squash soup

  • Kattancock on October 25, 2025

    So simple yet incredibly delicious. I made the version with half and half. Doubled the recipe to use an entire squash. It got extremely smooth even with just the immersion blender.

• Yogurt-spiced chicken skewers

  • heatherknape on July 13, 2015

    My kids love these!

• Calabrese broccoli and green garlic frittata

  • Kattancock on May 12, 2026

    Used half a pound of rapini and it was still too much, turned into a scramble as it wouldn’t hold together. I felt like everything else overpowered the green garlic.

• Kohlrabi, carrot and apple slaw

  • GloriaG on June 13, 2026

    Took some time prepping the carrots, kohlrabi & apples. Freshest ingredients from my local farmers market & yet it felt like something was missing. Needed something more substantial to hold it together even after I doubled the cider vinegar & olive oil. It was crunchy & refreshing but not worth the effort that went into it. *Update - the recipe didn’t specifically say to refrigerate for a few hours before serving. The leftovers this morning are more juicy & tasty as the ingredients had time to meld.

• Galette dough

  • TonyInSeattle on August 03, 2019

    I much prefer the galette dough recipe in the Chez Panisse Cafe Cookbook.

• Sweet tart dough

  • TonyInSeattle on July 31, 2019

    Easy to make, easy to work with, and super tender and delicious.

• Fig almond-custard tart

  • TonyInSeattle on July 31, 2019

    This tart was phenomenal. And the sweet tart dough recipe used for it was super tender, easy to work with, and delicious. There are several fruit variations listed with the recipe. This could easily be the starting recipe for so many fruit variations when they are in season. The almond flavor from the almond flour is light. You could up it a little with a splash of almond extract. I wouldn’t put much, though. Make sure the custard is not poured higher than the tart edge. The batter is a little thick (like sour cream maybe) and it’s easy to think you can pile it on. But it’ll “melt” and run off the edges if you do.

• Santa Rosa plum cake

  • TonyInSeattle on August 11, 2019

    I so wanted this recipe to work ... juicy plums and an orange-y, yeasty batter. But there were a few problems with this recipe. I followed the recipe to a T when I could, even finding the Santa Rosa plums. First, the baking time of 20 minutes sent up a red flag for me... what 9-inch cake cooks in 20 minutes? Sure enough, the cake needed at least 45 minutes in the oven and it was still a bit underdone in the middle. Of course, I opened the oven several times checking for done-ness starting around 20 minutes, so if I were to cook this again, I’d probably leave the oven door closed for 40 minutes before checking. Second, this makes way too much batter for a 9-inch “pie plate” or “cake pan” as the recipe states. Luckily I poured the batter into a 9-inch springform pan with high (3-inch?) sides and the cake rose to the very top. Lastly, the flavor was a little ho-hum. It’s definitely not a sweet cake, but even with my sweet-tart plums, the cake was almost too tart.

• Roasted Italian prune plums and rosemary

  • Linda04101 on September 04, 2022

    I love this recipe! Simple, flexible and not overly sweet.

• Walnut and date galette (Middle Eastern-flavored variation)

  • TonyInSeattle on August 03, 2019

    We made this for a Middle Eastern-themed Thanksgiving one year and it was excellent... like an adult fig newton!

• Farro tagliatelle

  • KevinSeattle on February 07, 2022

    This pasta was really delicious, but hard to work with. I learned that Emmer is flour made from Farro (or at least the label on the Emmer Flour package from Bluebird Grains tells me) —who knew? The pasta needs more hydration and kneading than I planned on (that could be on me; I cut the recipe in half and because I was in a hurry I did not convert from volume to grams and I should have), but it worked eventually, and was nutty and delicious. The color of the pasta was odd (beige bordering on almost pink I thought) so plan a sauce accordingly. I’ll definitely do this again.

• Yuzu marmalade thumbprint cookies

  • Kinhawaii on August 14, 2025

    I haven’t made the yuzu marmalade but used some nice gifted pineapple jam. These were tiny yet nice & tender.

• Pickled carrots

  • swegener on January 12, 2015

    These were quick and easy--will make again!

• Yuzu marmalade

  • laurenlangston on January 25, 2026

    This recipe was a little complicated to write out, I think, in the format used, but I read it a few times ahead and read each step a couple of times as I was working on it. I had a couple of stumbling blocks worth noting: (1) after I squeezed out all the pectin from the cheesecloth and poured it into the pot, it tried to clump up. I had to go back with a slotted spoon and take a little whisk to it to temper it in; (2) cooking it to 220F makes it set much too firmly. My instinct told me to stop at 215/216, and I should have listened to it. Maybe I squeezed out too much pectin? But Waters emphasized the importance of getting out as much as you could. It's not the end of the world, I'll thin it down a bit as I open each jar, but I'll also probably reach for a different recipe next winter.

• Strawberry ice cream

  • fprincess on May 15, 2026

    Beautiful ice cream that highlight the fruit. The combination of raw and cooked cream is a smart technique.

• Food52 by Evan Hansen

  The 2014 Piglet Tournament of Cookbooks vs. Roberta's Cookbook by Carlo Mirarchi, Brandon Hoy, Chris Parachini, & Katherine Wheelock

  Full review

• Kitchn

  Who would enjoy this book? ...gardeners and people hoping to be inspired by gardens, new cooks, experienced cooks, and people who appreciate how delicious simple, straightforward food can be.

  Full review