Thanksgiving Vegetables

Thanksgiving Make-Ahead Tip: The cooked collards and fennel can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 2 days; reheat before serving.

Roasting carrots until they are golden brown brings out their sweetness and provides a perfect foil for tart lemon juice and musky cumin.

Store-bought red curry paste and coconut milk put a Thai spin on this green-bean-and-mushroom holiday classic. For a vegetarian main dish, simply stir in cubes of tofu.

This luscious squash-studded bread pudding is the ideal accompaniment to roasted meats and birds, or cut it into large squares and serve as a main course with a green salad on the side.

Tangy ricotta salata, a rich and tart lemon butter and toasted pine nuts embellish pleasantly bitter broccoli rabe.

The secret to this sweet, slightly tangy dish: the touch of sherry vinegar in the glaze.

John Besh’s decadent cauliflower puree is silky and luscious because it’s made with both cream and butter. Adjust the level of cayenne pepper to make the cauliflower puree more or less spicy.

With patches of man-size pumpkins and green gourds hanging from trellises at Hudson Ranch and Vineyards, some kind of squash dish is a requirement at Thanksgiving dinner. This simple gratin features cubes of melt-in-your-mouth winter squash flavored with thyme and sage.

The leek, like its relatives onion and garlic, is generally used to flavor other foods. José Andrés feels this is a mistake. “Listen to me: Leek is a vegetable,” he says. “It can be the center of a dish.” Here, he cooks leeks until tender, then pairs them with trumpet mushrooms for a sensational side dish.

Just a little red wine vinegar transforms this otherwise familiar bowl of garlicky greens.

Look for small, young, tender organic fennel bulbs.

When roasting winter vegetables, Melissa Rubel Jacobson says be sure to chop them about the same size, so they cook at the same rate. And toss them at least once while they’re in the oven, so they brown evenly.

Barbara Lynch adds fresh chestnuts to give the dish a meaty fall flavor. Finely chopped dates in the cider vinegar dressing lend a lovely, subtle sweetness.