Tuscan and Mediterranean plates with a caper halibut, a Gruyere gratin and Asian baked tofu

A gratin is a classic that people overbuild. Potato, zucchini and Gruyere layered thin, 400°F until the top blisters, then twenty minutes of sitting before anyone cuts it, which is the step everybody skips. Cut it hot and the whole thing slumps onto the plate. The mushroom spinach gnocchi beside it runs on the same instinct, few ingredients and one hot pan.

Peaches are still worth buying, so the arugula salad takes them cut thick with mozzarella and cucumber, balsamic packed apart so the leaves stay dry. The cherry tomatoes on the halibut came off the same market run. Both of those are best the day they are made, and both are the first things I would open out of this delivery.

There is a vegetarian spine through this menu on purpose: the asian baked tofu and broccoli, the cauliflower and chickpeas on their hummus, the gnocchi. A meat-free plate here is a plate, not a pile of sides. Reheating, the french gratin wants 15 minutes at 375°F uncovered, the tuscan turkey meatballs 10 minutes covered at 350°F, and the mediterranean halibut 6 minutes at 325°F and not a second more.