Chile

Purslane has long been considered a weed, but it is increasingly showing up for sale in bunches at farmers markets. Meanwhile, Mexicans have known about its healthful properties for hundreds of years and they eat it both raw and cooked. In Mexico it's called verdolagas. Cooking mellows its tang and shrinks it, which means you can eat more of it! Paired with avocado and a tomato relish, this is a super-healthy vegetarian snack or main dish.

Hit the reset button on your potato salad: These spuds are roasted, not boiled, and tossed with a mustardy vinaigrette and jalapeños while warm.

There's no substitute for minty sweet perilla (a.k.a. sesame leaf); seek it out at Asian markets.

Miso and hot pepper paste are at the root of every ssam sauce, but no two household's are the same. Tweak it to your liking.

All the flavors of a Mexican grilled corn on the cob, now in a convenient, tossed-together form.

The turnips will taste great after just one week in the pickling liquid, but for that full-on saturated pink hue, let them sit for two full weeks.

This sauce goes with pretty much any grilled meat; stir leftovers into yogurt to make a dip.

This mixture of spices makes cod- the whitest of fish-taste almost exotic.

An homage to the breaded and baked fish at Luby's cafeteria in Texas, this tilapia goes Tex-Mex with a salty corn-chip crust.

Radishes make a crunchy salsa for these–or any other taco you're serving this summer.

Savory, slow-cooked turkey and crispy skin are enhanced by a smoky pasilla purée and a sweet and tangy peach salsa in these Southern-inspired tacos.

Says Chef Yu: "I really love a slightly softer taco filling with lots of toppings for crunch. This is based off a chili verde recipe that my chef used to do for staff meal, with a Mexican/Southeast Asian tinge. The two cultures share so many of the same flavors, it's easy to blend them without making it feel out of place."

This is a spicy yet balanced salsa for green sauce lovers.

Take care with these little shrimp: They'll cook through quickly.

Cans of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce are available in the Mexican food section of most grocery stores. You'll need to puree some for this recipe.

Editor's Note: Use this oil to make Neven Maguire's Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup .