Rice & Grains

For seven centuries, Moors and Christians fought one another in Spain, but in the guise of black beans and rice they surrendered to each other's charms within the all-embracing New World pot. Like the hybrid culture that flourished in medieval Spain, the rice dish known as moros y cristianos is an exemplar of exchange between civilizations. It is feast food in Cuba, where you'll find it in the western provinces. Considering that there is a Veracruzan version of this dish and that Cuba always imported black beans from Mexico, we are left in doubt as to which version came first. Regardless of its place of birth, it is one of the most felicitous rice and bean combinations I have ever tasted. The flavors of all the other ingredients are absorbed seamlessly by the rice, the vinegar providing point and counterpoint to the mealy beans, the aroma of cumin and oregano a subtle backdrop for the meaty smoked bacon, which in turn joins forces with the olive oil to add aroma and sheen to the rice. And then the color, a dark brown or hybrid of white and black.

Forget the British way of serving rice pudding with a dollop of jam and go for the French way of topping it with a drizzle of caramel sauce.

Until about a year ago, it never occurred to me that oatmeal could be a savory dish, but once I stumbled upon it (thanks, Penny de los Santos!), it quickly became one of my favorite breakfast (or breakfast-for-dinner) treats. The egg on top mixes up the textures, which could get a little blah by the end of the bowl without it.

Copious amounts of kale were sacrificed in my pursuit of a kale energy bar. On my umpteenth attempt at puréeing the leaves into gooey-green glue, inspiration struck: why not incorporate the kale in crispy kale-chip form? It only took one batch to know I had a winner. The trick to getting great bars is to make sure that the kale is super-crisp, which is a cinch so long as you dry the leaves thoroughly– I'm talking layers of clean dish towels or many turns in the salad spinner, a mere minute or two of effort, before baking. If water remains on the leaves, the kale will steam, not crisp. I don't know about you, but the prospect of steamed kale bars doesn’t do it for me. But crispy, toasted seed-enhanced bars? Yes and yes!

Toss cooked grains with sweet-tart tangerines for a side dish that only gets better with age—lunch tomorrow, anyone?

Vegan When it comes to sweet potatoes, American cuisine needs some imagination, and these irresistible burgers are here to help. Just throw a cooked sweet potato into your trusty food processor, along with chickpeas, scallions, and spices, and buzz it into orange tastiness. Two complementary iterations of quinoa (whole cooked grains and flour) step in to balance the sweetness—and also to hold the burgers together—while upping the protein and calcium content. Green pea polka dots round it out in every way, making this taste and color fest even more fun and interesting. • Be sure to use the moist, orange variety of sweet potato (not the drier, starchier white type). • Regarding the quinoa flour: Don't panic. Just get out the inexpensive electric coffee grinder that you dedicated to spice grinding, wipe it out thoroughly, and add 6 tablespoons of whole quinoa. Buzz for less than 5 seconds, and you've got your ingredient—probably slightly more than the amount you'll need for the recipe. • If you're using fresh peas, they'll need to be steamed or blanched for about 5 minutes. Frozen ones require only to be defrosted in a strainer— a brief encounter with room-temperature tap water, then a shake to dry. Either of these steps can be done ahead. • Begin cooking the sweet potato well ahead of time, so it can cool before you assemble the batter. This is also a good use for leftover plain mashed sweet potatoes. You'll need 2 cups. • Toasting cumin seeds is most easily done in a small, dry skillet over low heat. Shake the pan as you go and pay careful attention. It takes only a few minutes to toast them—and a blink of an eye beyond that to irreparably burn them. You can use the same pan (and same method) to toast the peanuts, if you wish. • If you're cooking the burgers in batches, keep the finished ones warm on a baking sheet or an ovenproof plate in a 250°F oven while you make the rest. • These freeze and reheat beautifully after they've been cooked.

I originally designed this recipe for wild snow geese, and because many of California's snow geese spend their summers on Wrangel Island, near Siberia, it seemed fitting to give the stew a Russian feel. But of course the legs of any goose or duck, wild or domesticated, will work here. It's important to remove the meat from the bones before you serve this stew, otherwise everyone will be picking through their bowls for small, sharp objects. It takes only a few minutes, and your family and friends will thank you for it. This stew keeps well in the fridge for a week, though the grain in it will continue to swell over time, absorbing moisture and making this more like a French potage. It also freezes well.

This sammie-side combo fulfills all your midday-meal needs.

Susan O'Brien (adapted by Lori Sobelson) With yams, black beans, and amaranth, these burritos are seriously hearty fare. For a gluten-free meal, use brown rice tortillas, and for a vegan one, use a vegan sour cream substitute.

Chelsea Lincoln This dressing makes a tasty side dish baked on its own. The variations given below dress it up for holidays and make it especially good for stuffing a turkey or other bird—not to mention pork chops and chicken breast.

Across the Middle East, cinnamon is used not only to highlight the flavor of sweets but also in savory dishes—as in this Moroccan-inspired carrot salad. I toss it here with slender Kamut berries, which contribute their distinct buttery chew. Vibrantly colorful and deliciously juicy, this salad steals the show on my holiday table. Try it also next to steak, grilled lamb, or a simple roast chicken.

When an abundance of fresh vine-ripened tomatoes piles high on my mother's kitchen counter in Thessa-loniki, she cooks up a simple pot of juicy bulgur with the fruit. This classic pairing is born out of necessity in the heat of summer in many parts of the Mediterranean. It nicely accompanies lamb chops, flank steak, chicken breast, or grilled shrimp. I like to add the fruity heat of Aleppo pepper, but you may replace it here with 1 teaspoon paprika and a good dose of black pepper. If you like a more textured side, use coarse bulgur. You may need up to an additional 3/4 cup broth (for a total of 2 1/4 cups liquid) and a total cooking time of 20 to 25 minutes. I often prepare double the amount, as this side reheats well and freezes nicely for up to 1 month (add a bit of water when reheating). I don't mind that the basil darkens a bit, as it also intensifies the flavor.

This is a heretical bastardization of salade niçoise and salade aux lardons, whole-grains style. I like the cracked green wheat called freekeh here because its faint grassy, oceanic aroma complements the tuna so well, but regular cracked wheat or, really, any other whole grain would work well too. Instead of bacon lardons (if I'm making a salad, it very often means I don't want to have to cook anything fresh), I use similar-size strips of sun-dried tomatoes, whose texture, when softened a bit in the dressing, at least vaguely recalls that of lardons.

If you grew up in Northern California in the 1990s, you lived through the trend that was sprouts. From alfalfa sprouts to bean sprouts, they seemed to find their way into every green salad, sandwich, and omelet. This savory whole-grain breakfast bowl is inspired by those California days, with chunks of ripe avocado, crumbled Cotija cheese, toasty almonds, and a citrus-sparked yogurt sauce. While alfalfa sprouts were prevalent when I was growing up, today I try to branch out, using a tangle of colorful bean sprouts or more delicate radish or sunflower sprouts. These morning bowls couldn't be easier to prepare, but the barley does take a while to cook; I put a pot on the stove first thing in the morning so it'll be ready by the time I've had my coffee and prepped the other ingredients. Feel free to experiment with other grains, too. I've tried this with both quinoa and farro, and it's as wonderful with delicate grains as it is with heartier ones. Morning Notes: Cotija cheese is popular in Mexican and Latin dishes. It's a firm, crumbly cheese made of cow's milk and is used so often because it's milder than feta or even goat cheese and softens with heat but doesn't fully melt. You can also use queso fresco if it's easier to find.

Make ahead: Store in a sealed, airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 months.

vegan, gluten free I often crave a spicy breakfast—chorizo and egg tacos, skillet crisped sweet potatoes with liberally applied Cajun spices, leftover kung pao chicken—and I also believe that nothing can beat a bowl of steel-cut oatmeal in the morning, so I make this meal to satisfy both cravings at once. You might think of hot cereal as a wintertime dish, a prelude to shoveling out the car or leaping over slush lakes in the crosswalks on your hike to work, but this savory version, with crisp scallions, bright cilantro, and vinegary heat from the chile paste, is invigorating all year round. If you'd like some (nonvegan) protein in your bowl, fry an egg (or shredded cooked chicken or firm tofu) in the oil leftover from frying the garlic and set it on top of the oatmeal.

This breakfast is wonderfully versatile and allows you to use up any leftover grains you have from previous meals, folding in leafy greens for a bit of color. In that sense, think of it more as a template rather than a hard-and-fast approach.

China meets the Southwest in this unusual fusion salad. Glistening Chinese black rice—usually sold under the label Forbidden Black Rice—set off against bright orange segments and avocado's pale green gives the mixture striking visual appeal.