Herbs & Spices

This exotic dish is cooked on the grill (in a disposable pan), so there's very little cleanup.

A chunky pistou with full pistachio flavor adds depth to this fresh salmon dish. Want even more vegetables? Slice lemon cucumbers (a wonderful farmers' market variety that looks somewhat like a yellow tomato) and add a squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of dill to make the perfect starter.

Fiber-rich jicama is crunchy and refreshing; its texture is similar to an apple's. Sub chef Shaw's salad for classic Waldorf at your next picnic. No mayo means less fat, while chile powder and cheese add major flavor.

Tinseltown's finest flock here for classic Italian meals from chefs Mario Batali and Nancy Silverton. This dish delivers molto flavor for few calories, plus a third of your daily iron needs.

Chef and owner Akasha Richmond creates local, seasonal, organic dishs for green-chic celebs. This high-protein favorite fuels stars in need of mega energy on-set.

10-Minute Penne with Caponata Sauce

Inspired by Brazil's national drink, these boozy popsicles are made with cachaça, lime juice, and mint.

In July, the abundance of ripe tomatoes means making your own tomato juice is a breeze, and fresh juice, in turn, means a truly superb Bloody Mary. With a range in the amounts of horseradish, Tabasco, and lemon juice, you can customize the drinks to your liking. The final flourish, rimming the glasses with sea salt and black pepper, adds a slight tingle to each sip.

By this point in the summer, the mint in most gardens has grown knee-high and is threatening to take over. Don't panic—harvest a few armloads and turn the bounty into a refreshing drink. Plan on making a couple of batches, both with and without alcohol: Adults will swoon over the smooth, bourbon-laced juleps; kids will enjoy the lightly sweetened herbal tea all on its own.

In the Greek soup known as avgolemono ("ahv-go-LEH-mo-no"), humble ingredients—chicken broth, lemon juice, eggs, a small amount of rice—morph into a light soup with the consistency of liquid velvet. Although avgolemono is traditionally served hot, it's an especially summery starter when chilled and seasoned with lots of dill.

This riff on classic potato salad will surprise you with its zing. Lemon, both juice and zest, helps lighten the mayonnaise dressing, and plenty of celery adds crunch.

The timeless combination of steak and potatoes gets extra pep from jarred roasted peppers and aromatic charmoula, an herb and spice blend typically used in North Africa as an instant flavor booster for grilled meats and fish.

Beets are in season in July, but if you don't want to turn on your oven to roast them, try a stovetop braise with butter. It's faster and takes them to a wonderfully tender place. A flurry of fresh mint adds panache.

I love using this as a frosting or a filling because it is light and creamy, and less sweet than the Classic Americana Icing. It tastes just like whipped cream. Editor's note: This recipe is used as the filling for Sarah Magid's Goldies , an organic take on Twinkies.

A perfect summertime cocktail. Because it's a combination of iced tea, lemonade, and booze, we've dubbed it the Tipsy Arnold Palmer.

Korean chefs work with an array of distinct greens for fresh salads, including common red leaf lettuce, but also wild sesame leaves, young radish leaves, garlic chives, and chrysanthemums.

This recipe originally accompanied <ep1:recipelink id="353782">Beer-Marinated Flank Steak with Aji and Guacamole.</ep1:recipelink>

Shawarma is the Middle Eastern version of a large vertical shish kebab known as doner kebab in Turkey and gyro in Greece. It's made by impaling layers of meat on an oversize spit with a flat base and roasting the meat in an upright rotisserie. There are at least three advantages to this singular method of cooking. The dripping fat bastes the meat below it; the meat is sliced to order (at least it should be) from the outside, which gives every customer a crusty end cut; and because the crusty meat slices are piled on pita bread with fresh vegetables, pickles, and tahini sauce, you get a whole meal—and a healthful one—in a single sandwich. Traditionally, shawarma was made with lamb, but more and more Israeli grill masters use thinly sliced chicken or turkey. Shawarma is easy to prepare if you have a vertical rotisserie, and somewhat more challenging to adapt to the home grill. But direct-grilling the turkey slices does give you a close approximation of the taste and texture of classic shawarma.

Colombia may be the best kept barbecue secret in South America. Sure, Argentina gets the attention for its cowboy-style asado. And Brazil has enjoyed spectacular success exporting its rodizio-style restaurants—the kind where the waiters parade spits of grilled meats through the dining room. But Colombia? I doubt that most North Americans could name a single Colombian grilled dish. Well, it's time to shine the spotlight on the only country in South America to have coasts on both the Atlantic and the Pacific, whose cool-weather ranching district produces well-marbled, full-flavored beef, whose grill masters make extensive use of marinades (unlike the simplicity prized by their Argentine counterparts), and whose mastery of the art of grilling on charcoal extends to some unique techniques. Here's a not-so simple flank steak redolent of cumin, green onions, and beer.

The sweet and savory jam is terrific served on grilled baguette slices that are brushed with olive oil and topped with aged goat cheese.