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Dumplings, saucy fish and a New York salad: 3 recipes from the best fall cookbooks of 2022

The most transporting new titles feature flavors from around the world.

Great news for anyone thinking about holiday gifts for cooks: We’re in the midst of the best crop of cookbooks publishers have rolled out in a long time. Part 1 of this series focused on three terrific titles; here are three more.

Three cookbooks for fall 2022: Via Carota, by Jody Williams and Rita Sodi with Anna Kovel;...
Three cookbooks for fall 2022: Via Carota, by Jody Williams and Rita Sodi with Anna Kovel; The Mediterranean Dish, by Suzy Karadsheh with Susan Puckett; and The Woks of Life, by Bill, Judy, Sarah & Kaitlin Leung(Leslie Brenner)

Via Carota: A Celebration of Seasonal Cooking from the Beloved Greenwich Village Restaurant

By Jody Williams and Rita Sodi with Anna Kovel, photographs by Gently & Hyers (Alfred A. Knopf, $40)

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Four years ago, the New Yorker magazine called Via Carota “New York’s most perfect restaurant.” Overstated? Maybe not: There’s something so magically appealing about Jody Williams and Rita Sodi’s West Village Italian spot that I wouldn’t think of visiting the city and not stopping in. It’s one of those places where you could close your eyes, put your finger on the menu, order whatever you land on, and bask in delight.

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Now, if you can’t make it to New York, there’s something equally wonderful: a cookbook that delivers the Via Carota vibe on every page. Open it at random, and you’ll want to make that (fresh, floppy pasta squares in fava pesto). Or that (braised lentils and lacinato kale enriched with pancetta). Via Carota’s Brussels sprouts salad with toasted walnuts, julienned apples and pomegranate seeds is my new favorite winter salad. (Find the recipe below.) Pici all’Anatra — rustic, hand-rolled spaghetti in duck ragù — is super fun to make, and ridiculously delicious. Torta al Cioccolato may be the best flourless chocolate cake I’ve ever made. If you love Italian, or even if you love being carried away by photos of food you’re dying to make and eat, you want this book.

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The Woks of Life: Recipes to Know and Love from a Chinese American Family

By Bill, Judy, Sarah & Kaitlin Leung (Clarkson Potter, $35)

The Leung family behind the outstanding Chinese cooking website The Woks of Life has published its long-awaited debut cookbook, and it’s every bit as fun, exuberant, user-friendly and welcoming as the site. Organized by type of dish (dim sum; starters; noodles; rice; poultry & eggs; pork, beef & lamb; etc.), it’s an enticing mix of Chinese-American restaurant dishes (including a terrific Shrimp in Lobster Sauce), regional Chinese specialties, and Chinese home cooking. Part of the fun is getting to know the family: Judy, a native of Shanghai; Bill, a Chinese-American whose parents owned a Chinese restaurant in New Jersey; and daughters Sarah and Kaitlin, who bring contemporary sensibility, curiosity and enthusiasm to the family’s life-project.

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There’s plenty of helpful hand-holding, with QR codes leading to pages on the site. One of them, “4 Ways to Fold a Dumpling,” is extremely useful if you want to make the delicious Pork, Mushroom & Cabbage Dumplings (recipe below).

The Mediterranean Dish

By Suzy Karadsheh with Susan Puckett, photographs by Caitlin Bensel (Clarkson Potter, $32.50)

There’s a reason for the popularity of The Mediterranean Dish, Suzy Karadsheh’s cooking and lifestyle website: The recipes, drawn from all around the Mediterranean (from the Middle East to North Africa and Southern Europe), are appealing and approachable, and Karadsheh is a warm and reassuring guide. Born and raised in the Egyptian city of Port Said, Karadsheh began to learn to cook from her mom, who loved to entertain, and after she was married and living in the United States, from her Jordanian mother-in-law. In the pages of her debut book, the stories behind its dishes come deliciously to life. I love reading about how her mom would prepare for an Egyptian azooma (feast), or about making mahshi — stuffed vegetables — which Karadsheh describes as “a sport among Egyptian women, who compete to throw the best mahshi dinner in the neighborhood.” Better to wait for the next tomato season to make her recipe for stuffed bell peppers and tomatoes. In the meantime, her Sicily-inspired saucy baked cod, which uses Roma tomatoes, is delicious any time of year.

Former Dallas Morning News restaurant critic Leslie Brenner, now a restaurant consultant, writes about cooking at her award-winning website Cooks Without Borders. There you can find full-length reviews of some of the books in this series, along with additional recipes from them.

Insalata di Cavotelli (Brussels Sprouts Salad) from Via Carota: A Celebration of Seasonal...
Insalata di Cavotelli (Brussels Sprouts Salad) from Via Carota: A Celebration of Seasonal Cooking from the Beloved Greenwich Village Restaurant, by Jody Williams and Rita Sodi with Anna Kovel(Leslie Brenner)

Insalata di Cavotelli (Brussels Sprouts Salad)

Note: Via Carota cookbook calls for aged cheese “such as Castelmango.” Aged Manchego or Parmigiana Reggiano work well, too. To toast walnut pieces, place on a sheet pan and bake them for 5 minutes at 350 degrees, or until just fragrant.

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¾ pound Brussels sprouts

Salt

½ cup Via Carota Vinaigrette (recipe follows)

3 ounces aged cheese, such as Manchego or Parmigiana Reggiano

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¾ cup toasted walnut pieces

1 1/2 sweet red apples, such as Galas

1 orange

3 tablespoons pomegranate seeds (from about a quarter of a pomegranate)

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Rinse the Brussels sprouts and discard any wilted outer leaves. Use a paring knife to trim the base of each sprout. Gather any nice leaves that fall while trimming and pull off as many more as you can, trimming a little more off the bottom as you go. When you get to the hard center of each sprout, slice it thinly with a sharp knife.

Put all the leaves and slices in a large bowl with a large pinch of salt and 5 tablespoons of vinaigrette, tossing and working the vinaigrette into the Brussels sprouts with your fingers.

Use the tip of the paring knife or the tines of a fork to crumble the cheese into small pieces, and add them to the salad, along with the walnuts. Peel and core the apples, slice them, then cut them into thick matchsticks and add half of them to the salad. Finely zest the orange directly over the bowl, then toss everything together. Let the salad settle for about 10 minutes. Add more vinaigrette and salt to taste and pile the remaining apple sticks and the pomegranate seeds on top.

Makes 4 servings.

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Via Carota Vinaigrette

Note: This makes about twice what you’ll need for four salads, but it keeps refrigerated for up to 3 days — a quick way to make any salad special.

¼ cup very finely chopped shallot (about 4 medium shallots)

1 garlic clove, finely grated (about ½ teaspoon)

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¾ teaspoon sugar

½ teaspoon salt

6 stems fresh thyme

¼ cup aged sherry vinegar

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2 teaspoons warm water

¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Place the shallots in a fine-mesh strainer and rinse with cold water. Drain them and transfer to a small bowl with the garlic, sugar and salt. Strip the thyme leaves off the stems and finely chop the leaves (for about 1 teaspoon thyme); stir into the bowl. Stir in the vinegar and water. Pour the olive oil into the bowl in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified.

SOURCE: Adapted from Via Carota

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Pork, Mushroom and Cabbage Dumplings from The Woks of Life: Recipes to Know and Love from a...
Pork, Mushroom and Cabbage Dumplings from The Woks of Life: Recipes to Know and Love from a Chinese American Family, by Bill, Judy, Sarah & Kaitlin Leung(Leslie Brenner)

Steamed Pork, Mushroom & Cabbage Dumplings

The Woks of Life cookbook also includes instructions on how to boil or pan-fry the dumplings, as well as how to make Ultimate Chili Oil (homemade chile crisp) and homemade dumpling wrappers. Dumplings may be frozen before steaming, or this recipe may be cut in half to make fewer dumplings. Find more visual aids (including video) about how to fold a dumpling at thewoksoflife.com/how-to-fold-a-chinese-dumpling.

Note: You can find the Shaoxing wine, dumpling wrappers, chile crisp and other ingredients at supermarkets specializing in Chinese ingredients such as 99 Ranch Market, Jusgo or Good Fortune.

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For the filling

10 medium dried shiitake mushrooms

1 pound napa cabbage

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

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1 tablespoon canola or other neutral oil

1 pound ground pork

¼ cup Shaoxing wine

1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce

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1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

½ teaspoon white pepper powder

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For assembly and serving

2 (14-ounce) packages round Shanghai-style dumpling wrappers (about 40 wrappers depending on brand)

Ultimate Dipping Sauce (recipe below) and/or chile crisp, for serving

Make the filling: Place the mushrooms in a medium bowl and cover with two cups of hot water. Soak for 2 hours (or overnight), until fully rehydrated. Reserve ½ cup of the soaking liquid (leaving behind any sediment at the bottom of the bowl.) Trim and discard tough stems from the mushrooms, then finely chop them.

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Slice the cabbage leaves lengthwise into thin strips, then finely chop them crosswise. Place in a large bowl and stir in the salt. Set aside for 30 minutes (no more) to allow the salt to draw the water out of the cabbage.

Heat the neutral oil in a wok or medium skiillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, until they are softened and just beginning to crisp around the edges. Let the mushrooms cool.

To a large bowl, add the pork, Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, ginger, sugar, sesame oil and white pepper. Add the ½ cup mushroom soaking water and stir vigorously with a pair of chopsticks or a wooden spoon for 10 to 15 minutes, until it forms a cohesive paste.

Squeeze the napa cabbage dry, then add to the bowl with the pork, along with the mushrooms. Stir for another 2 to 3 minutes, until the cabbage and mushrooms are incorporated into the filling.

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Assemble the dumplings: Line two sheet pans with parchment. Have a small bowl of water handy nearby. Holding a dumpling wrapper in your hand, dampen the edges with some water. Put 1 scant tablespoon of filling in the middle of the wrapper and fold the circle in half, then pinch the wrapper together at one end. Make pleats on one side of the wrapper, sealing the dumpling as you go, until you reach the other end. Press the pleats together at the top and use a little more water, if necessary, behind the pleats to make sure the dumpling is completely sealed.

Place the dumpling on a sheet pan, then repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling, ensuring the dumplings are not touching each other on the sheet pan. After assembly, they must be immediately cooked or frozen. To freeze, place on a smaller parchment-line sheet pan or plate (don’t let dumplings touch) until frozen, then transfer to a sealed zipper bag for storage.

To steam the dumplings: Line a bamboo steamer with perforated parchment, damp cheesecloth or thin cabbage leaves. Place the dumplings in the steamer basket ½ to 1 inch apart. Fill the wok with enough water to come ½ inch up the sides of the steamer. Bring the water to a simmer over medium-high heat. Place the covered steamer in the wok and steam the dumplings for 8 minutes (or 10 minutes for frozen dumplings).

Makes about 72 (6 dozen) dumplings.

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Ultimate Dipping Sauce

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon minced ginger

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1 teaspoon rice vinegar

½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1 scallion, white part only, finely chopped

Chile crisp or chile oil (optional)

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In a small bowl, dissolve the sugar in 1 tablespoon hot water. Add the soy sauce, garlic, rice vinegar, sesame oil and scallion. Mix in a little chile crisp or chile oil (if using) to taste.

Makes about ¼ cup.

SOURCE: Adapted from The Woks of Life

Saucy Tomato Baked Cod with Garlic, Capers and Raisins from The Mediterranean Dish, by Suzy...
Saucy Tomato Baked Cod with Garlic, Capers and Raisins from The Mediterranean Dish, by Suzy Karadsheh with Susan Puckett(Leslie Brenner)
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Saucy Tomato Baked Cod with Garlic, Capers and Raisins

1/3 cup olive oil

1 small red onion, finely chopped

5 or 6 Roma (plum) tomatoes, diced (about 3 cups)

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10 large garlic cloves, chopped

1/3 cup golden raisins

2 tablespoons drained capers

1 ½ teaspoons ground coriander

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1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

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1 ½ pounds cod fillets (thawed, if frozen), cut into 4-ounce pieces

2 large lemons, 1 zested and juiced (about ¼ cup juice), 1 thinly sliced crosswise

¼ cup roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add the red onion and cook, stirring regularly, until it begins to turn deep golden but not brown, 5 to 7 minutes.

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Add the tomatoes, garlic, raisins, capers, coriander, cumin, paprika, cayenne, ½ teaspoon of salt and 10 or 15 grinds of black pepper. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to medium low and let the sauce simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat it to 400 F.

Pat the fish dry and season generously with salt (about ½ to ¾ teaspoon total) and black pepper. Pour half the tomato sauce into the bottom of a 9- by 13-inch baking dish, and arrange the fish on top. Sprinkle with the lemon zest and drizzle with the lemon juice, then top with the remaining tomato sauce. Arrange the lemon slices over the top. Bake until the fish is cooked through and flakes easily, about 20 minutes. Garnish with the parsley and serve immediately.

Serves 4 to 6.

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SOURCE: The Mediterranean Dish