Herbs & Spices

These crispy fritters are made with grated carrots, onions, and ginger, plus garam masala and chile. The dipping sauce has a hefty pour of bourbon, which adds warming depth.

This golden-hued turmeric hot toddy from Claire Sprouse of Brooklyn’s Hunky Dory is wonderfully savory from the combination of nutty Amontillado sherry and earthy turmeric.

Pakistani haleem is a warmly spiced, satisfyingly thick stew made from long-simmered lentils, barley, and bone-in chunks of lamb or goat.

The thought of making homemade caramel sauce is daunting for many cooks, but there’s no reason to be intimidated. It’s simple to prepare and, start to finish, takes only 15 to 20 minutes, after which you have a luscious, full-bodied sauce to drizzle on apple and peach pies, use in and on cream pies, and top off pie à la mode. No fancy equipment needed: just a 3-quart stainless steel saucepan and a candy thermometer.

My classic salted caramel, enriched with butter and a touch of cream for a thick, smooth sauce, is perfect as a pie topping, or served alongside à la mode slices.

It’s never a bad idea to serve pie with plenty of whipped cream. Think your pie is sweet enough? You can leave the sugar out—ain’t nothin’ wrong with plain ol’ whipped cream. For a luxurious twist, try the mascarpone variation below.

This one-skillet dinner gets deep oniony flavor from lots of leeks cooked down to jammy tenderness.

The combination of beets and ginger gives you a great spectrum of flavors, while crunchy toasted cashews and a mess of crispy sunchoke chips lend contrasting texture.

Hot pepper is notably absent from this mixture—unlike curry powder from Madras. Trinidadians like to add fresh hot pepper to dishes, according to taste.

Green seasoning is one of those herb mixtures that is unique to the Caribbean and differs slightly from island to island.

I love the flavor of orange zest and spices in a café de olla, so I created a concentrated syrup that is ready on demand to flavor any cold brew. Coconuts are grown all along the Pacific coast of Mexico; use coconut milk to add richness and even more tropical flavor.

This super-flavorful dish spins the flavors of shish barak—lamb and pine nut dumplings from the Levant—in a pasta direction.

Fresh salmon makes these ginger and scallion-laced burgers luscious and flavorful. Pile them high with peppery watercress, crunchy cucumber quick pickles, fragrant mint, and cilantro.

These crispy zucchini fritters take inspiration from the Bengali onion snack piyaju. Soaked and blended red lentils make up the batter, which is spiked with turmeric and chile powder.

In this recipe, sweet, juicy tomatoes get paired with two cheeses, fragrant herbs, and a flaky crust. We can’t think of a better way to enjoy the last tomatoes of the season.

This recipe is inspired by the grilled chicken served at Jeerapan, a 77-year-old restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand. Their version is baked in a tandoor-like oven, but I've adapted it for a grill or oven. The two-stage cooking method is essential: The initial roasting at moderate heat partially cooks the meat while dehydrating the skin, getting it ready to crisp up later on and allowing all the scattered bits of fresh aromatics and dried spices in the marinade to adhere. The final stage of cooking is hot and fast, using saffron-infused coconut oil as a basting liquid. The end result is a juicy, fragrant, and intensely flavorful bird, tinted canary gold—its skin smoky, charred, and crisp. The pineapple-chile dipping sauce lends its sweet tang and a mild kick of heat to round out the meal.

When tomatoes are at their best, we recommend making the salsa roja. During the rest of the year (even in winter), tomatillos still have plenty of flavor and can be your go-to salsa base.