Shellfish

This one-pot meal is herby, sweet, and garlicky all at once. To add more green, throw in a handful of arugula or spinach at the end; for more garlic, pair it with garlic toast.

Shrimp are quick to cook, but still manage to feel rather special. This recipe borrows spices from the southern shores of India; I tasted a dish similar to this when I was learning about the local cuisine. At first, you get pure heat from the chiles; when it subsides, you're left with delicate and delicious flavors. Here, I have toned down the chiles and added some background warmth by using fresh ginger instead. I’ve used tiger shrimp and removed most of the shell, apart from the tail. I prefer to leave the tail on, as it means that you have something to hold on to when biting into the shrimp, but you can take the entire shell off if you prefer. Just make sure the shrimp are raw and that they have been deveined.

This decadent Italian-American classic is a combination of sweet lobster meat, spicy tomato sauce, and toothsome spaghetti.

There is no better use for leftover rice than chahan. A brief trip in a pan resurrects the grains and a few pantry ingredients—little more than eggs, oil, and salt—transform tired rice into a super-satisfying meal. To give the humble dish a little flair, I whip up a saucy broth filled with vegetables and shrimp and pour it on at the last minute. Of course, you can add any ingredients you like—peas or asparagus, kimchi or Japanese pickles, pork, or even, as I do at Morimoto Napa, duck confit.

Seven ingredients and one skillet lead the way to home cooking that's as good as anything you'll eat in restaurants.

Rasam, as prepared in most homes in Southern India, uses either tamarind or tomatoes as the base. It is a piquant broth poured over steaming hot rice. In our home—both in Kerala and America—rasam was a staple part of everyday meals. One night when I was a teenager, I was out to dinner with my brother Tom in New York City’s Little Italy and ate mussels cooked in a light tomato broth very reminiscent of rasam. I couldn’t wait to get home, buy fresh mussels, and cook them in rasam. This dish has made its rounds in my kitchens for close to three decades now. Make sure to have some fresh crusty bread to soak up the tomato-mussel broth.

This recipe is a classic case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, especially when prepared and eaten outdoors, in warm weather, with bread and unconscionable quantities of Italian or Spanish rosé, ideally in Sardinia or at least with Sardinians. Female lobsters, with their delicious red roe, are a must. Ask your fishmonger, or look for animals with broad tails and soft, translucent feelers that cross at the tips.

Add ready-peeled shrimp to tomato sauce spiked with fennel and chiles for a fast and flavorful weeknight dinner.

Getting the consistency of the creamy mushroom sauce right is key for this pasta recipe—you want to reduce it just until it clings to the pasta.

A vinegary red bell pepper mixture cuts through the richness of this classic Italian-American appetizer for a bite that's salty, smoky, and sweet.