By Leslie Brenner

Famously, the holiday season is a time of rich foods: prime rib, turkey, all manner of sweets. With one more big night ahead of us, this can be a nice week to eat lighter and more aromatically. Ginger sounds alluring; so do spicy, pickly things and anything green. Garlicky braised greens. Anything with herbs. Or deep orange. Sweet sweet potatoes roasted till they’re oozing caramel. Pulses — dried beans and other legumes; a big brothy pot of mayocoba beans.

Here’s some inspiration — and yes, these treats can all make January deliciously restorative as well.

Braised Lettuce with Ginger Sauce

This beautiful dish from Hannah Che’s The Vegan Chinese Kitchen marries lots of ginger with sesame oil and Shaoxing wine. You could serve it with brown rice (if you’re feeling virtuous) or Yangzhou Fried Rice if you’re not.

RECIPE: Braised Lettuce with Ginger Sauce

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Frijoles de Olla

Simmer up a pot of vegan mayocoba or bayo beans. It’s comfort food that’s also healthy, and you can enjoy it for days.

RECIPE: Vegan Frijoles de Olla

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Taquería Carrots

Want something pickly to go with that? Try these quick pickles — also known as zanahorias escabeche.

RECIPE: Taquería Carrots

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Hooni Kim’s Marinated Spicy Cucumbers (Oee Muchim)

Muchim are Korean quick-pickles; this one comes from New York-based chef Hooni Kim. This one is known as a summer pickle, but it sounds really good right now — and unlike long-fermenting kimchi, you can eat it the day you make it.

RECIPE: Hooni Kim’s Marinated Spicy Cucumbers (Oee Muchim)

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Hooni Kim’s Japchae

Speaking of Korean flavors — and Hooni Kim, whose cookbook we love — his japchae also sounds fantastic this week. Its stretchy sweet-potato noodles (dangmyeon) are gluten-free (use gluten-free tamari instead of soy sauce, and the whole dish is as well). It’s laced through with spinach, fresh shiitakes, garlic and peppers; toasted sesame seeds add earthy dazzle.

RECIPE: Hooni Kim’s Japchae

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Chickpea and Kale Curry with Fresh Turmeric and Ginger

This dish is made for the moment — literally. Turmeric is super restorative, and it’s so nice with ginger. I’ll be making this many times this winter.

RECIPE: Chickpea and Kale Curry with Fresh Turmeric and Ginger

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Quick Pickles with Turmeric & Fenugreek

Turmeric marries fenugreek in this delightful quick pickle from Reem Kassis.

RECIPE: Quick Pickles with Turmeric & Fenugreek
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Spinach with Dill (Dakhini Saag)

How does an easy, beautifully spiced saag (Indian braised greens) sound? This one is from Madhur Jaffrey’s wonderful Vegetarian India.

RECIPE: Spinach with Dill (Dakhini Saag)

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