Andy Baraghani

This vegetarian Thai curry comes together in about 30 minutes—and you don't need store-bought curry paste to make it. Our streamlined version is fresh-tasting and easy to throw together—just blitz cilantro stems (the most flavorful part of the herb!), ginger, garlic, shallots, and green chiles in a food processor or blender.

Don’t be afraid to take the leeks to the point where they almost look burnt. A well-charred exterior means the interiors will be creamy, soft, silky, and delightfully sweet.

While butter is the usual choice for galette or pie dough, a combination of olive oil and yogurt gives this crust a flaky texture and a golden brown color when baked. If the dough is a little crumbly when rolling it out, don’t worry: Just patch it back up.

We tend to favor pickles that are bright with acid and low on sugar; anything labeled “half-sour” usually fits the bill. If using sweeter pickles, add a bit more vinegar and salt.

The herbed sauce in this grain dish gets a double hit of punchy dairy: Not as sharp as other acidic ingredients, buttermilk lends a unique tang and yogurt brings body and richness.

Using a sliced whole lemon gives you unbeatable fresh aroma from the skin, bitter complexity from the pith, and tart, puckery juice from the flesh. Thin slices soften evenly and ensure that the lemon plays nicely with the pasta, butter, and Parmesan.

Dried barberries are incredibly tart, more so than any other dried fruit you’ll encounter. Look for them at Middle Eastern markets or specialty foods stores, or order them online.

This sweet-and-sour glaze will work on other proteins like chicken, steaks, or ribs.

With its crinkly texture, savoy cabbage is our go-to for stuffed cabbage, but the regular ol’ green variety also works. Both will become meltingly tender.

The name says it all. Shrimp with a garlicky, pungent, buttery sauce.

The goal here was to achieve a tonkotsu-like broth without using any meat. Tomato paste, dried shiitake mushrooms, kombu, and a little bit of butter help to get you that rich umami-like effect.

This soup coaxes big flavors from a short ingredient list. Patiently browning the onions and garlic is essential to adding flavor and depth to the finished dish.

No, you don’t have to be a vegetarian to love what’s going on here. Cauliflower and mushrooms provide richness and toothiness that do justice to the meaty original.

Coconut crisp, laced with chile and garlic, brings texture and heat to this easy salmon dish. Make a double or triple batch of the garnish and use it as a topping for savory oatmeal, hearty soups, or roasted winter vegetables.

This stick-to-your-ribs stew gets heft from creamy white beans and winter squash; we opted for acorn, but kabocha or delicata squash would work great too.

A fragrant, sweet-and-sour, perfectly acidic roast chicken.

This is one of the easiest, most delicious ways to cook down a whole head of cabbage until it’s falling-apart tender.

Even when roasted at a high temperature, cauliflower takes time to get properly charred and crispy around the edges. Don’t worry if it shrinks a lot—the flavor will be that much more concentrated.

This soup coaxes big flavors from a short ingredient list.

Choose your mushrooms carefully: Crimini and white button will never get as crispy as oyster or maitakes.