Simple, whole-ingredient cooking from Alexis deBoschnek

Many cookbooks preach the virtue of using every last bit of an ingredient but rarely do they stick to it to the degree that Alexis deBoschnek does in her new book “To the Last Bite” (Simon & Schuster, 2022). The formerly Los Angeles-based recipe developer and video personality moved back to her mother’s home and farm in the rustic hills of upstate New York during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, and once there, honed her astute cooking, out of necessity, into a true farm-to-table practice.

The recipes in “To the Last Bite” reflect that ethos brilliantly. A salad made with shaved carrots is dressed with a trio of tartness — lemon, pomegranate molasses and sumac — before being showered with mint and cilantro from deBoschnek’s garden. It’s a fantastic spin on the classic Moroccan carrot salad.

And in a simple pasta preparation, cherry tomatoes are roasted at their peak in summertime, then stored in olive oil — ready to add warm brightness to a meal in colder weather — until they’re spooned over boiled pasta and topped with big dollops of ricotta. It’s the simplest dish to throw together and encapsulates everything you want in virtuous cooking. Nothing is wasted, and your dinners will be all the better for it.

Get the recipes:

Carrot Ribbon Salad

Time 30 minutes

Yields Serves 4

Pasta with Tomato Confit and Ricotta

Time 20 minutes, plus 2 hours, largely unattended, for tomatoes

Yields Serves 4 to 6