To create a vegetarian version of a savory, unctuous tomato-meat sauce, we started with cremini mushrooms and tomato paste—both rich sources of savory flavor. Extra-virgin olive oil did double duty, enriching the sauce and helping toast the classic Italian aromatics: garlic, dried oregano, and red pepper flakes. We bulked up the sauce with chopped chickpeas that had been rinsed of their excess starch. To thin the sauce without watering down its flavor, we added vegetable broth.
Giouvetsi (sometimes spelled youvetsi) is a meaty, tomato-rich stew flavored with alliums, spices and herbs. The meat for this traditional Greek dish—that often is paired with orzo—is commonly lamb, but Alexandra Manousakis and Afshin Molavi of Manousakis Winery in Crete use beef. This is our adaptation of their recipe. Often the orzo is simmered right into the braise, but we prefer to cook it separately, spoon it into bowls, then ladle on the stew. This way, the flavors and textures are more distinct. Anthotyros is the type of cheese Manousakis and Molavi use for finishing their giouvetsi, but we’ve opted for easier to find feta or Italian ricotta salata. The salty, tangy shreds are a perfect complement to the savory-sweetness of the stew.
Rotolo di ricotta e spinaci—or ricotta and spinach roll—is a rolled lasagna-like dish that resembles slices of jelly roll. We learned to make it in Rome from Annamaria Moretti, owner of the shop Pasta all’Uovo. The dish typically is prepared with homemade sheets of pasta, but after a bit of trial and error we found we could layer strips of store-bought “oven-ready” lasagna noodles (look for 7-by-3½-inch noodles; we like those made by Barilla and Ronzoni) to create sheets. Though intended to be used dry, we cook them briefly so they soften enough to roll around the cheese and spinach filling. For make-ahead convenience, the rolls can be frozen overnight, then thawed for 10 minutes until soft enough to slice and bake. (If freezing overnight, be sure to also refrigerate the reserved pasta water that’s added to the tomatoes for making the sauce.)
As plantains ripen, their color changes from green to yellow to yellow mottled with brown-black spots to almost completely brown-black. Their flavor changes, too, from starchy to sweet, and they become softer in texture. For this recipe, the fruits should at least be well-mottled, so try to purchase ones that are already yellow, not green, and if needed, give them a few days to ripen. To peel plantains, trim off the ends with a paring knife, then use the tip of the knife to score the skin along its length. Pull off the peel with your hands; it will come away in sections, like a banana peel.
In Penang, Malaysia, at Cawangan Boundary food stall, we tasted the noodle stir-fry called mee goreng. To make the dish, proprietors Sarina Binti Hussin and Abdul Hamid Bin Mohamad Husin wok-cook noodles, seasoning them with two different sauces that involve lentils, sweet potatoes, peanuts, tamarind, alliums and multiple types of chilies. The flavor was richly complex, with charred, salty-sweet notes and noodles with an almost meaty character. This is our much-simplified version of it. Mee goreng typically is made with precooked yellow-hued wheat noodles that resemble spaghetti with a bouncy, resilient texture. These noodles can be difficult to source, so here we approximate them by boiling dried lo mein in water alkalized with baking soda, a process often called “ramenizing.” The higher pH of the cooking liquid turns the lo mein slightly golden in color while also making them chewier and springier.
Czech in origin, a kolache (pronounced koh-LAH-chee) is a rich, tender yeasted bun with a center hollow that traditionally is filled with sweet cheese and fruit before baking. We fill the buns with spoonfuls of lemon-scented sweetened cream cheese plus jam, then finish them with a dusting of crumb topping (you can skip the topping; the buns still will be delicious). Use one or multiple varieties of jam (blueberry and apricot were our favorites). So the kolaches can be served freshly baked for breakfast or brunch, we developed this recipe to be made over the course of a couple days, so plan accordingly. First, make the dough, let it rise until almost doubled, then refrigerate it (for up to 24 hours) to slow down the yeast’s activity. The next morning, shape the chilled dough, let it rise for 1 to 1½ hours, then fill and bake the buns. The kolaches are best the day of baking but will keep overnight, covered and stored at room temperature.
Sonoko Sakai, a Los Angeles-based cooking instructor and author of “Japanese Home Cooking,” blends her own curry powder, which she uses to create all-natural, additive-free homemade curry bricks. This recipe simplifies her curry powder and skipped the brick-making process in favor of using a roux for thickening.
Frozen broccoli, simmered until tender and pureed until smooth with blanched garlic and miso—yes, miso—becomes a creamy, elegant sauce for al dente pasta. Parmesan (or pecorino) cheese and toasted walnuts bring additional umami to the dish, for rich, full, complex flavor, while fresh, bright lemon zest and juice brighten up the flavors. Frozen broccoli is sold as either florets or “cuts” (a mix of florets and stalks); either works in this recipe.
Award-winning cookbook author, chef, restaurateur and TV personality Vivian Howard has a knack for making elevated comfort food—dishes that are homey and familiar, but also new and innovative. These flavor-packed “sloppy Joes” are one such example. Howard says any type of ground meat works, but we especially like pork because it remains tender and has a silky richness. Be sure to use bread with a sturdy crumb and cut the slices about ½ inch thick—no thinner—so the interiors remain soft after toasting.
Marcella Hazan’s famous tomato sauce with onion and butter, from her book “The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking,” transforms three simple ingredients into a luscious sauce. Our pantry-focused version replaces the fresh tomatoes with a can of tomato paste to create a dish that can be on the table in minutes. To enhance the sweetness and umami, we finish the sauce with a splash of balsamic vinegar and nutty Parmesan cheese. If you don’t have spaghetti, use another type of pasta, such as fettuccine or linguine. Fresh basil, though an optional garnish, is a great addition; if you have it on hand, toss some into the pasta just before serving.
Traditional risotto is made with starchy medium-grain Italian rice. This “risotto” uses pearl couscous (which actually is a pasta) and a cooking technique similar to the classic risotto method to produce “grains” with a rich, creamy consistency. We pair chopped broccoli rabe with the wheaty couscous; its pleasantly bitter flavor is tempered by the sweetness of the onion, white wine and rich Parmesan cheese. If the assertiveness of rabe isn’t for you, milder, sweeter broccolini works well in its place. This makes a satisfying vegetarian main dish but also could be served as a side to roasted chicken or pork.
The rice noodle dish called khua mee is to Laos what pad Thai is to Thailand. There are similarities between the two stir-fries, but khua mee gets a distinctive flavor and aroma from a decent measure of sugar that is cooked until it caramelizes to an amber hue and takes on smoky, bittersweet notes. We use a trio of umami-rich sauces—fish, soy and oyster—to bring intensity and complexity to mild-tasting rice noodles. Look for flat rice sticks that are about ¼ inch wide, the same type used for pad Thai or Vietnamese pho. Crisp, savory-sweet fried shallots are a fantastic garnish for khua mee; we’ve included a recipe below that also yields shallot-infused oil for use in place of the neutral oil when making the stir-fry. However, if you’re not up for frying shallots, not to worry—the noodles are delicious even without. Don’t be intimidated by the recipe’s lengthy ingredient list. The knifework and prep are minimal, and the cooking takes only minutes—and the results are delicious.
You can replace the duck with a small rack of pork baby back ribs, if you’re so inclined. The broth requires at least 1½ hours of simmering, so that’s a good time to prep the ingredients—the aromatics, potato, cabbage—for the borsch. But wait to chop the dill garnish until later, while the finished soup stands off heat for 5 minutes, so the herbal flavor and fragrance remain fresh and strong. Serve with rye bread.
Halving the squash crosswise instead of lengthwise will yield the longest, most spaghetti-like strands because the fibers grow in a spiral around the seedy core of the squash. We think pumpkin seeds and sage leaves toasted in butter are perfect flavor and textural accents for this autumnal dish. If you wish to add a little heat to balance the richness of the dish, sprinkle red pepper flakes on as a garnish along with the parsley and sage-pumpkin seed mixture.
In China, the most common blend is five-spice, a mildly sweet, warm mixture of familiar spices often used as a rub for fatty meats such as duck, but also in aromatic soups, meaty spring rolls and dumplings.
A satisfying, flavor-filled noodle dinner doesn’t come together more easily and quickly than this. Hoisin provides salty-sweet umami in the no-cook sauce, ginger provides fresh, peppery punch, and chili-garlic sauce (or Sriracha) adds balancing heat along with allium notes. We use linguine here because its shape resembles udon, a type of thick, chewy Japanese wheat noodle; if you happen to have udon in the pantry, by all means, use it. Dried lo mein works well, too.
Tarkhun is an effervescent herbal cooler from Georgia. In the nation of Georgia, people sip fruity sodas in flavors like pear, orange cream, apple, raspberry and—most traditional of all—tarragon. Sweet-tart, with a mild licorice aroma, on a stomach-settling elixir called tarkhun. It was invented by a Georgian pharmacist in the 1880s and spread throughout the former Soviet republics. We first tasted tarkhun at a café specializing in kachapuri, Georgia’s boat-shaped, egg-topped cheese bread bowl; the sugary soda was the perfect complement.
This recipe uses the gentle, controlled heat of the oven to replicate the “reverse sear” technique Argentinians use when grilling beef. Rather than start the steak over high heat to brown, then finish over low heat, the steaks start in a cool oven, then finish with a quick sear in either a blistering-hot cast-iron skillet or on a grill. The result is steak with a deep, flavorful crust that's evenly cooked from throughout, not overdone at the surface and just-right at only the core. We call for strip steaks (also called strip loin or New York strip), but bone-in or boneless ribeyes work well, too, as long they're 1½ to 2 inches thick. We learned to season cuts of beef with nutmeg at La Carbrera in Buenos Aires; the spice doesn't leave a distinct flavor of its own but rather enhances the steaks' meatiness and smoky notes.
Muhammara is a spicy-tart dip for flatbread made from walnuts and roasted red peppers. The name comes from the Arabic word for reddened, and the dish originated in Syria, where it often is served alongside hummus and baba ganoush. Aleppo pepper is made from ground dried Halaby chilies; it tastes subtly of cumin and fruit, with only mild heat. Look for it in well-stocked markets and spice shops, but if you cannot find it, simply leave it out—the muhammara will still be delicious. Serve with flatbread or vegetables for dipping or use as a sandwich spread.
These quick pickles, called đồ chua, probably are best known as a component in bánh mì, or Vietnamese sandwiches. They add bright color and flavor as well as crunch. They’re also a one-stroke solution for adding a refreshingly tart crunch to rice bowls and stir-fries.
Gamja jorim, or salty-sweet soy-simmered potatoes, is a common banchan (small plate) on the Korean table. For our version, we added gochujang (Korean fermented chili paste) for a little heat and extra umami. Yukon Gold potatoes 1½ to 2 inches in diameter worked best, but creamier potatoes were good, too. If your potatoes are very small (about 1 inch in diameter), cut them in half; if larger than 2 inches, cut them into eighths. Depending on the sugar content of your potatoes, they may or may not brown lightly as they cook before the soy mixture is added. This is a great side dish to grilled meats and seafood.