Vegetable

A spoonful of this sweet, earthy condiment perks up eggs, grain dishes, and simply prepared proteins.

This elegant salmon dish is perfect for a winter dinner party—just slide it into a low oven for 40 minutes and it’s ready to serve.

This salad's secret? Combining raw and roasted beets delivers two textures from one ingredient.

The mushrooms are not salted as they cook—this is intentional. The teriyaki sauce they're tossed in adds plenty.

Harissa is a great shortcut ingredient to flavor, but no two jars (or tubes) are the same. Taste first—if it seems very spicy, use a bit less. You can always stir more into the chickpeas when the dish is finished.

Preserved lemons add a wonderful salty-sweet hit to these simple potatoes, but if you don't have them on hand, you can use regular lemons instead. Thinly slice the peel of one lemon, then toss with the potatoes before roasting.

With slices of celery root and chefs' new favorite cheese, scamorza, pizza night just got a lot more fun.

The salty-sweet-sour umeboshi complement the earthy notes in the beets.

Editor's note: Use this recipe to make Chef David Chang's Bo Ssäm. This is the kimchi we use most often in our cooking and in our restaurants.

Oh lentils, what can't you do? Here they join forces with miso to create a flavorful, silky gravy that you'll want to pour over everything. You have my permission to do so, but let's start here: with quinoa, sautéed seitan, and broccoli that's steamed perfectly, still crispy and bright. For a more organic feel, tear the seitan into bite-size pieces with your hands instead of slicing it with a knife. You'll have more gravy than you need, but reserve the rest for sopping up with toast or biscuits for breakfast.

Gravy is pure comfort for me, and if I can make a gravy into a meal, so much the better. This is one of my favorite ways to have a rich, comforting, and filling dinner in less than half an hour. It also contains one of my favorite methods to get a toasty gravy base with lots of depth—toasting bread crumbs. After caramelizing the onions, you sprinkle in the bread crumbs and toss them around a bit until golden brown. Then, when you add the liquid ingredients, the bread crumbs thicken and flavor the gravy. It's wonderful served with grilled or sautéed kale, and over mashed potatoes.

If you have a fetish for dark chocolate, this will fuel your flame. It will also energize your body with antioxidants that boost blood flow to the brain (and a few other vital organs). Cocoa, kale, and cherries, three beloved and sexy superfoods, contain flavonoids and antioxidants that fight heart disease and diabetes and even promote brain growth.

There is so much folate in this pesto, you'll make a pound of serotonin before bedtime, which means a night of great sleep and a smile in the morning. Both kale and walnuts feed your lover's brain with the omega-3 ALA , which is converted into molecules that protect your brain cells and are linked to a lower risk of depression. The pesto is equally delicious on pasta or brushed on grilled chicken.

This pasta is tasty made with kale, collards, or any greens you have growing in the garden. I will go and cut whatever is ready or use what I brought home from the farmers' market. I like to include something that has a bit of spice, such as broccoli rabe, red mustards, or mature rocket. Many times I will cook more greens than I need and put them in the refrigerator to make a quick pasta another time. (Add the garlic and goat cheese at the time you are going to toss them with the pasta.) This is perfect for those days when dinnertime shows up before you know it.