Every family has its own version of comfort food. For us -- an Italian American clan that immigrated 100 years ago from Naples and Sicily -- vegetable pasta dishes have supplied not only nourishment for each generation, but a sense of well being. The continuity of eating something your great-grandparents, grandparents and parents ate is both reassuring and calming. The premise for these dishes all starts with the same idea: take whatever vegetables are in season and fresh, sauté with olive oil, garlic or onions, and maybe throw in some tomatoes for good measure. Mix with pasta and you have a meal.

Pasta Piselli is one of those dishes. A dish made with peas, tomatoes, herbs and onions, it is simple and forthright. There is nothing showy about this dish. Yet the mix of fresh spring onions and just-shelled English peas makes it not only the perfect family meal, but also elegant enough to serve to guests.

Now I need to confess that my use of fresh peas is unique in my family. Somewhere along the way -- I'm guessing during the Depression -- canned peas were employed as the main ingredient. My grandmother made the dish with canned peas, as did my mother. Yet although I adored this dish as a child, I have always made it a little differently, using fresh or frozen peas instead. This is probably because I really don't like canned vegetables. Plus fresh peas are only available for a short while in the spring, which means I need to take advantage of their wonderful verdant sweet flavor while they last. Prepared with small spring onions, and, if you're lucky, some nice early tomatoes, and you have a dish that celebrates the end of winter.

I made this pasta dish earlier this week after finding some crispy English peas and spring onions at the market. I wasn't lucky enough to stumble upon heirloom tomatoes, so used my standard can of San Marzano plums that I rely on so much throughout the year. And, because the day was rainy and cold, I added in some pasta water to make the dish soupy. If it had been warm out, I most likely would have left it out. But that's the great thing about a dish like this; its innate simplicity allows you to easily transform it for whatever mood you're in. Like all good simple foods, it is malleable, which, I suspect, is why it's been around for so long.

Brussels Sprouts have a bad rap. This verdant and sweet vegetable is known far and wide as being smelly, mushy, and slimy, when really the only thing wrong with it is that some people just don’t know how to cook it correctly. Children seem naturally disinclined to like this unpopular vegetable; but then again, so do adults. Once, when visiting Scotland, an innkeeper jokingly told me he liked to start boiling his Brussels sprouts three days before Christmas so they would be ready for the Yuletide feast. He then twisted up his face in a mock illustration of disgust for the poor unloved sprout. Now I realize he was kidding, but obviously this lovely man who made a wonderful breakfast at his inn in Oban had bought into some universal idea that the only way to cook sprouts was to boil the life out of them, and that they were therefore ghastly. Well this horrible rumor needs to end now.

Contrary to popular belief, Brussels sprouts are best when cooked al dente. Sautéed until slightly crisp, they have a lush taste that is both sweet and savory on the plate. If you sat in a hot bath you'd get all pruney, right? Well overcooking Brussels sprouts does the same thing, while also bringing out a sulfuric smell. But all this can be easily avoided if you keep your eye on them and DON'T OVERCOOK.

Brussels sprouts belong to the cruciferous family, which includes cabbage, kale, broccoli, and cauliflower. As I mentioned last year in my Scary Vegetables post, these foods are super vegetables. Full of antioxidants and vitamins, and thought to have cancer-preventing and fighting agents, Brussels sprouts and its cousins are ridiculously healthy for you.

But if you haven't cooked this unloved veggie before (of if you overcooked it) here are a few tips for the novice cook:

• Don't boil them! Experts in sprout cooking can feel free to cook them however they'd like, but newbies should stick to sautéing or broiling as it's just too easy to overcook your sprouts in a pot of hot water.

• Try cutting your sprouts into quarters before cooking. Brussels sprouts are naturally bulbous and therefore difficult to evenly cook when whole.

• Start cooking your sprouts on a high flame to sear and then lower the flame and cover to cook through. This really brings out the sweetness in the leaves.

• Consider slicing the sprouts thinly so the leaves are slivered.

• Try roasting them in a hot oven (halved with olive oil, sea salt and pancetta).

• If you eat meat, try adding in some pancetta or bacon, which pairs beautifully with sprouts.

Following is my recipe for Pasta with Slivered Brussels Sprouts, Pancetta, Walnuts and Mascarpone Cheese. As I mentioned last week, my daughters powered through this dish, eating each bite without complaint. For two girls who claimed they detested Brussels sprouts, this was a little win for Mom.

Pasta with Slivered Brussels Sprouts, Pancetta, Walnuts and Mascarpone Cheese

Makes: Enough for 6 people

Ingredients:
1 lb Brussels sprouts cleaned with the outer leaves removed and slivered* (see note)
1/2 cup cubed pancetta
2 large shallots minced
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 heaping tablespoons mascarpone cheese (can substitute cream cheese if needed)
Parmesan cheese (enough to sprinkle on each dish before serving)
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2/3 of a pound of dried pasta cooked al dente

*Note: you can either sliver your Brussels sprouts with a sharp knife or using a food processor. To sliver, clean sprouts, remove outer leaves and then cut each in half. Thinly slice each sprout. To use a food processor, use your mandolin attachment and then feed halved sprouts into the machine.

Preparation:
1. Heat a large sauté pan on medium heat. Add 1 Tbsp of the olive oil and the pancetta. Cook for 2 minutes. Add in the shallots and sauté another 2-3 minutes or until everything is golden brown. Remove pancetta and shallots from the pan.

2. Heat pan on high and add another 1 Tbsp olive oil. Add the Brussels sprouts to the pan and let sit for about 1 minute, letting the sprouts sear. If the pan starts smoking, then lower the heat a bit.

3. Reduce the heat to medium again and then add the pancetta and shallots back in, mixing all the ingredients together and then moving to the far side of the pan in a bunch.

4. Add the walnuts to the pan, browning in the area that is now free for about 1 minute and then incorporate everything together. Add in the remainder of the olive oil at this time as well as a small ladle of pasta water. Salt and pepper to taste.

5. Cook for another minute or two and then turn the heat off. Mix in the mascarpone cheese until everything is covered in its creaminess and then mix in the pasta.

6. Serve with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese on top.

Roasted Beet Inspiration from Pasta Sfoglia

When I saw this gorgeous dish of Farro Spaghetti, Beets, Brown Butter, and Poppy Seeds featured on Grub Street New York a few weeks ago, it was so beautiful it hurt my heart a little.

A recipe from Pasta Sfoglia, a new cookbook by Ron Suhanosky and Colleen Marnell-Suhanosky (owners of the acclaimed Italian restaurant Sfoglia, with locations in NY and Nantucket), this dish is striking with its ruby red stain and specks of poppy seeds.

The book explains that beets, together with poppy seeds, are typical in dishes of the northern Italian regions of Friuli and Alto Adige. While the combination sounds wonderful -- really, I can't wait to try the recipe word for word -- I didn't have poppy seeds on hand and I wasn't ready to commit to all that butter for a simple weeknight meal. Oh yes, and then there was that pesky aversion to goat cheese I have. (I know, first the butter, now this? Please hold the hate mail, I do love flavor, I promise you.)

And so, the bastardization of Pasta Sfoglia's recipe began.

Instead of covering the beets in olive oil and water to roast in a baking dish like they suggest, I went with my tried and true, easy method of wrapping the beets in foil and roasting them on a baking sheet. A little less mess and 1/4 cup less olive oil.

I couldn't find farro spaghetti, but I did have some whole wheat spaghetti in the pantry. A tip for anyone who has ever tried whole wheat spaghetti and hated it, try Barilla's Plus Multigrain Pasta. Unlike many other brands of whole grain pasta, it doesn't taste like cardboard. The texture and flavor are surprisingly similar to regular pasta. Especially in this dish where the color and accompanying ingredients are so spectacular, you won’t even notice the difference.

Barilla Plus Multigrain Spaghetti

For the brown butter sauce, I cut down the 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter to only 3 tablespoons, and made up for the missing half by adding 3 tablespoons of olive oil.

Instead of poppy seeds, I used walnuts chopped finely.

Instead of goat cheese, I used Boursin. Its creamy texture was a good match, as was its tangy, rich flavor. The perfect substitute I thought, with an extra boost of garlic and herb flavoring, and not a trace of the gaminess I find so deterring in goat's milk products.

In the end, despite my changes and substitutions, I think the essence of the dish remained intact to Sfoglia's original recipe. The flavor of the roasted beets is front and center. And what an elusive flavor to describe that is. What does a beet taste like? (Besides red).

It is clean and earthy. Mellow. Wholesome. Paired with the herby tang of the cheese, the toasted walnuts, and brown butter, the dish exudes a woodsy warmth to it. Strong oak trees, sun speckled leaves, and rich dirt crumbling through my fingertips.

Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Beets, Brown Butter, Walnuts

Adapted from Ron Suhanosky and Colleen Marnell-Suhanosky's recipe for "Farro Spaghetti, Beets, Brown Butter, Poppy Seeds" (Pasta Sfoglia).

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:
1 pound red beets, cleaned with leaves and stalks removed
1 package Barilla Plus Multigrain Spaghetti (14.5 oz)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup walnuts, finely chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup pasta water
4 tablespoons Boursin cheese

Preparation:
1. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Wrap the beets in foil and place on a baking sheet. Roast for an hour until the beets are tender through. Let cool until you can handle them.

2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

3. Peel the beets and cut into chunks. Tip: wear gloves or place a plastic baggie over your hand to protect your fingers from getting stained. Using a paring knife, peel the skin off the beets. It should come off easily.

4. Add the beets to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and process to a rough puree. Add the spaghetti to the boiling water and cook according to the package directions.

5. Add the butter to a 10-inch skillet. Turn on the heat to high. Brown the butter, about 2 minutes. Add the olive oil. Add the chopped walnuts and toast for 1-2 minutes (be careful not to burn). Add the pureed beets, salt, and the ½ cup pasta water to the skillet. Stir to fully incorporate.

6. Use tongs to remove the spaghetti from the pot and place them directly into the skillet with the sauce. Stir to combine.

7. Divide the spaghetti into equal portions and place on warm plates. Use two large soup spoons to form little oval mounds (called quenelles in culinary speak) of the Boursin. Place a quenelle of Boursin on top of each serving.

8. Serve immediately.