Alison Roman

Imagine, for a moment, a tomato soup that needs no blender to produce an impossibly creamy result, all without a drop of dairy; a lentil soup vibrant and gorgeous enough to grace the cover of a cookbook yet humble enough to eat alone at your kitchen counter for a Tuesday lunch. Seasonally agnostic (canned tomatoes here!), this soup thrives in winter with the best of your pantry staples. Once this soup comes together, you may forget there are lentils in here at all. They magically melt into the pot, nearly disappearing (that’s the idea), giving you creamy texture and luscious body: tomato (and lentil) soup utopia.

I am shocked by the number of people who feel comfortable letting me know they don’t like celery. It’s (proudly) one of my top five favorite vegetables (have you not had a celery stick with peanut butter?), unrivaled in refreshing crunchiness and mild yet present “green” flavor. I keep it around for snacking, for adding to soup or stock, and most importantly, for very quick and extremely gratifying salads like this one. While the bulk here is, of course, celery, this perfect little salad also has anchovies, garlic, pickled peppers, and vinegar. It’s a little (but not too) spicy and—as the name indicates—salty. Eat it on its own with poached chicken breast for lunch, or with an open can of tuna and a pile of saltine crackers. Point being: Celery salads are marvelous little chameleons, welcomed on every table for nearly any occasion, not to be underestimated.

This recipe is wonderful for many reasons: A whole head of cauliflower caramelizes in a skillet before being simmered with heavy cream, black pepper, pecorino cheese, and a bit of lemon zest, breaking down into a special (and yes, decadent) sauce to coat the pasta shape of your choosing...it’s all very dreamy. But really, it’s the pecorino breadcrumbs we’re here for, and that’s okay—they’re magnificent. A crunchy, oily, salty vehicle for more cheese and much-needed texture, they’re the ideal finish to a saucy pasta such as this, but please don’t stop there. Use them as tiny croutons to finish a Caesar salad or scatter them over the top of a pot of saucy beans. Once they’re in your life, you’ll never want to be without them.

This easy focaccia bread, excerpted from Alison Roman's Nothing Fancy, can be made in a few hours—as opposed to overnight.

"Season it aggressively, love it passionately, and cook it perfectly," says Alison Roman about this decadent roast recipe, excerpted from her second cookbook, Nothing Fancy.

"This is the salad of my dreams," says Alison Roman. "Garlicky, bracingly acidic, clean and crunchy as hell."

This "romesco-esque dip" excerpted from Alison Roman's Nothing Fancy features beets in lieu of roasted red peppers.