So many things in recipes are optional. But if you lack that bay leaf for a soup, stew or roast, it's almost criminal to cook without it.

For dishes that are boiled or braised, the astringency imparted by the bay leaf becomes the spine of the flavor structure. For roasts, you can use many more leaves, and in this case, it's the aromatics that come into play.

Go for Mediterranean

Their leaves can be used for cooking and are found in tribal recipes and herbals, and even used in a crossover capacity in European dishes. Yet in flavor, aroma and even in behavior in the cook pot, California bay is more like a native sage, to my taste better suited for the perfume counter than the kitchen. So the remainder of this article is strictly about the much more commonly planted Mediterranean bay.

This is the international culinary standard for bay, the bay laurel tree, also called sweet bay, Turkish bay, or to the botanically correct, Laurus nobilis.

For the historically minded, the most fascinating things about the bay laurel tree are its roots in Greek mythology and romance languages from Apollo onward. Southern Californian garden designers like how well these sturdy green trees tolerate wanton irrigation and take hard pruning into thick, tall privacy hedges. Here and now, however, it makes sense to cut straight to the stem, where you'll be plucking one leaf for stews and as many as two dozen for a roasting tray full of potatoes and onions.

Like the California bay, the leaves of Laurus nobilis have essential oils that give them pungency and aroma. But these elliptical, olive-green leaves are far more reluctant to give up their goods.

The leaves are so tough that when you see a bay sapling in a nursery, its tag will probably carry the sales pitch "deer resistant." It would be a hungry ruminant that would happily browse on leaves with so much cellulose, or, as my friend, plant chemist John Fellman, puts it, "dry weight per unit surface."

The leaves are so rugged that during drought, they stubbornly brown at the tips instead of wilting. Even after cooking, the leaves refuse to disintegrate, a quality that gives them a reputation as a choking hazard and inspired the 1993 New Yorker cartoon "Bay-leaf Watch." In this, a lifeguard stationed in a fancy dining room shouts through a megaphone, "You, in the dark-green three-piece suit, eating the bouillabaisse! You've got one on your spoon! Repeat -- you've got one on your spoon!"

Releasing the magic

As bay laurel leaves cook, the shape holds, but the volatile chemicals are released. These, says Fellman, also evolved to deter predators. But what deer don't like, we do -- in moderation.

Four years ago, Turkish researchers from Zonguldak Karaelmas University took the time to tweak apart these chemicals and classify their aromas. They found odors redolent of sweet apple, eucalyptus, flowers, olive oil, cloves, pepper and, less appetizingly, of wet paper and plastic.

Though the highest concentration of oils was found in young leaves in July, pluckers please note: The best flavor was detected in October.

The art in cooking with the leaves is to capture the flavors you want and escape the ones you don't. San Francisco chef Judy Rodgers recalls as a young cook thinking, "If one bay leaf is good, more are better." She doesn't remember how many she put in a duck braise, just that "When I pulled that puppy out of the oven at quarter to 6, it was terrible. You could not eat it. It was like biting into an Excedrin."

So for a bouquet garni for a braise or stew, as a rule, Rodgers warns, one bay leaf will do.

But rules change for roasting. Mozza chef Nancy Silverton has been known to hand friends a basket and send them down the road from her house with instructions to pick a dozen or more. Then Silverton likes to stud a roasting pan filled with potatoes, sweet onions, fennel or combinations of the three, with 10 or even 20 bay leaves.

Silverton would never do this in a stew, but in the roasting pan, she's capturing the aromatics so closely guarded by those tough leaves without unleashing too much astringency.

The roasted leaves look so beautiful in the finished dish that, bay-leaf lifeguards aside, it's impossible not to eat one.

It disintegrates like paper on the tongue.

It's good!

That begs a second.

By the third, your tongue will be going a bit numb and you appreciate why deer steer clear of bay leaves. Instinct will tell you to stick to the potatoes, whose caramelized edges, roasting juices and rising steam will be impregnated by the arresting aromatics of summer, captured and released by bay leaves.

Deborah Madison's lentil salad

Total time: 40 minutes
Servings: 6

Note: From "The Greens Cookbook." Puy lentils are at Whole Foods markets. Brown lentils are at Trader Joe's. Make a day ahead; the flavors improve overnight.

Lemon vinaigrette

3 Tbsps. lemon juice, or more to taste
1/2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp. paprika
Pinch cayenne pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. sea salt
6 Tbsps. olive oil , or more to taste

1. In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice and zest, the paprika, cayenne, garlic and salt. Whisk in the olive oil. The dressing should be tart. Taste and adjust seasoning, oil and lemon juice.

Ingredients

Assembly

1 1/2 cups small French lentils (Puy or brown), rinsed
1 medium carrot, peeled and diced into 1/8 inch cubes
1/2 small onion, finely diced
1 bay leaf
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
2 medium red bell peppers
2 tsps. chopped mint
1 Tbsp. chopped parsley
1 Tbsp. chopped marjoram
1 Tbsp. chopped thyme
8 ounces feta cheese, divided
Freshly ground pepper
Red wine vinegar
Good quality olive oil

1. In a medium saucepan combine the lentils, carrot, onion, bay leaf, garlic and salt. Add enough water to cover and simmer until tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

2. While the lentils are cooking, roast the peppers until charred on all sides. Cool and peel the charred skins. Core, seed and dice the peppers into quarter-inch squares.

3. Drain the lentils into a bowl, reserving the liquid if you wish.

4. Fold the vinaigrette into the warm lentils, followed by most of the red peppers, the parsley, marjoram and thyme. Crumble half the feta and stir it into the salad.

5. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding pepper and red wine vinegar to taste. Garnish with the remaining red pepper, crumbled feta and a drizzle of olive oil.

Each serving: 402 calories; 19 grams protein; 35 grams carbohydrates; 12 grams fiber; 22 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 34 mg. cholesterol; 724 mg. sodium.

Kebabs with bay leaves

Total time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4

Note: Increase or decrease the meat as you have it or want it, or forgo it for vegetarians. You can also double or triple the tomato content. You will need 4 large skewers. Bring the meat to room temperature before cooking.

Ingredients

1 pound lamb or beef cut into 1-inch cubes
20 small bay leaves, or 1 for each cube of meat
1 large bell pepper, trimmed, seeded and cut into roughly 1-inch pieces
8 cherry tomatoes
2 medium onions, trimmed, peeled and cut into 8 lengthwise wedges
Good quality olive oil
Coarse sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon, cut into wedges

1. If using disposable wooden skewers, soak the skewers in water for about 10 minutes before using.

2. To prepare the skewers, alternate paired meat cubes and bay leaves with the pieces of pepper, tomatoes and onion wedges. (You can put a couple of sacrificial lamb chunks at one of the ends so the cook can easily taste-test for doneness.) Lightly brush the prepared skewers with olive oil, and season each large skewer with one-half teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper.

3. Grill each skewer over a medium-hot grill or broil for 5 minutes, then turn over and cook the other side an additional 5 minutes, or to desired doneness. Remove and allow the meat to rest for a few minutes. Serve with more sea salt, pepper and generous wedges of fresh lemon.

Each serving: 255 calories; 22 grams protein; 10 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams fiber; 14 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 67 mg. cholesterol; 1,217 mg. sodium.

White-bean base for salads, soups and side dishes

Total time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Servings: 8

Note: Adapted from Judy Rodgers' "The Zuni Cafe Cookbook." This is a building block recipe; use the delicate, nutty beans in a salad, side dish (alone or with pasta) or soup. It can and should be customized in as many ways as your garden takes you, for example by substituting garlic for the onion and/or adding rosemary and sage. The cooking time for the beans will vary depending on the age, size and variety of bean. Rodgers recommends serving the beans immediately if you're after delicate flavors and a clear cooking liquid. Allow the cooked beans to rest in the refrigerator for four to five days for silkier beans and rich, cloudy liquid.

Ingredients

1 cup dried small to medium white beans, such as cannellini, rinsed but not soaked
1 fresh bay leaf
1 small yellow onion, peeled and halved lengthwise
1 medium carrot, trimmed, peeled and halved lengthwise
Sea salt
1 Tbsps. good quality olive oil

1. Place the beans, onion, carrot and bay leaf in a medium, heavy-bottom saucepan. Add water to cover the beans by no more than 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer. Stir and cover.

2. Have a tea kettle or pan of boiling water available. Cook the beans for half an hour, checking occasionally that the water remains at a simmer (too much agitation will break the beans). Add hot water as needed, but avoid making the contents soupy, and stir gently so as not to tear the skins from the beans.

3. Continue to cook the beans until tender, adding water as needed to keep the beans just covered and testing the beans frequently as they start to soften and lose their starchiness. When done, the beans will be tender but the skins will be relatively intact.

5. Remove the pot from heat and season with three-fourths tsp. salt, or to taste. Add the olive oil and allow the beans to cool slightly. Serve the beans warm, or refrigerate them in their liquor for up to one week. Makes 4 cups.

Each serving: 111 calories; 6 grams protein; 18 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams fiber; 2 grams fat; 0 saturated fat; 0 cholesterol; 225 mg. sodium.