Herbs & Spices

When sitting down to dine in Argentina, a small jar or vessel of oily, deep-green chimichurri is often the first thing to greet you at your table. A traditional condiment made of parsley and other herbs, sometimes speckled with dried red peppers, green onions, or garlic, chimichurri is the iconic sauce of the parrilla culture, delivering a welcome bolt of bright, sharp, herbaceous saltiness and acidity that takes fire-cooked foods to new heights.

This fresh salad was inspired by the elements of a Passover Seder plate.

Since the weather is still a bit chilly, this recipe for a hearty green soup might just the thing to energize you while keeping you warm!

This isn’t a super-saucy curry; the aromatics will brown and fry in the pan, yielding lots of yummy crisp bits. Serve with steamed rice.

Straining the ricotta will tighten the filling, making it easier to roll. Let it hang out in a sieve while you’re measuring everything else out.

Pickled eggs, vibrantly colored and flavored with assorted vegetables and spices, are an upgrade to standard hard-boiled Easter eggs and make for a delicious holiday appetizer.

Enchiladas stuffed with richly spiced slow-cooked beef are the ultimate weekend cooking project.

These flavor-packed meatballs are delicious whether poached, grilled, or baked.

Roast salmon in a low oven for about 30 minutes while you whip together a quick tarragon potato salad and yogurt sauce to serve alongside.

This is such a sweet little dessert. As you know, I’m not one for sweet treats but this is a little pop of yumminess—perfect for dinner parties, and it won’t leave your guests rolling around on the floor with indigestion.

This dish is one of my favorites for the grill. If a fish comes whole from the store, leave the head and tail on when you cook it, to help retain moisture. The fish is done when the inside of the stomach is dry.

This is probably the most famous lentil dish coming out of India—yellow lentils tempered with spices and the usual holy trinity of garlic, ginger and chile. It has always been a favorite of mine and it would grace our family dinner table at least once a week when I was growing up. There are lots of different recipes for flavoring the oil (tadka), so play around with your spice pantry and see what you come up with. If you don’t have half of these spices, then don’t worry; just add a tablespoon of your favorite spice paste and it will taste just as delicious.

This elegant little dinner of lamb, miso butter–basted potatoes, and honey-glazed carrots is the perfect size for two.

This potent mix of scotch, grapefruit juice, and honey-ginger syrup is a winter-friendly twist on the classic cocktail.

We like the combo of spicy and sweet Italian sausage, but use any uncooked sausage you like—merguez or chorizo would work.

This is like pouring a cooked mojito over stewed chicken, with the rum, lime, and herbs mingling beautifully with the chicken juices. Serve it with rice and a cold, crispy Alsatian white like a Pinot Blanc.

Frozen peas are a gift to the breakaway cook: their creamy, earthy goodness bursts with flavor, and they couldn’t be easier to store and prepare. The pesto-like tarragon emulsion, made even creamier by the addition of Greek yogurt, really brings out the best in them, and the sprinkling of pistachios on top lends a lovely toasted, nutty texture. Try them with a broiled fish fillet and a glass of grassy Sauvignon Blanc.

When you have good, fresh strawberries, you don't really need to do too much to them. Try this simple preparation for dessert tonight.