Spinach

This hearty soup gets rich flavor from linguiça, a delicious pork sausage from Portugal seasoned with garlic, paprika, and other spices. Spanish chorizo sausage is a great substitute.

This is a complete meal—with a main course and two sides. Also called "American bison," buffalo tastes slightly sweeter than beef. It also has significantly less fat and cholesterol. You can find buffalo at specialty foods stores (such as Whole Foods), some farmers' markets, and online at dartagnan.com. If you can't find buffalo, use lean grass-fed beef.

Just saying the words "Dungeness crab" creates a sense of place. Its juiciness and depth of flavor is the secret to this salad because it strikes a perfect balance with the sweet-tart dressing. Don't substitute Atlantic blue crab here; its delicacy won't work to the salad's advantage.

Spinach and strawberry salad had its moment in the '80s, but this version will surprise you with its refinement. The salad is not sweet, just aromatic — and coming across fresh berries every now and then provides bursts of fruitiness. The pecans are simply toasted, but once they're coated with vinaigrette, you'd swear they were candied. Raspberries would work well here, too.

To turn this starter into a main course, top it with skewers of grilled shrimp.

This recipe originally accompanied Monte Cristo Chicken.

We're all for those simple dishes in which every ingredient tastes radiantly of itself. Sometimes, though, we're reminded of how ingredients can become even more special from their interaction. This veal preparation is definitely one of those reminders — you don't taste cheese or anchovy or wine or butter, just gorgeous meat with a green freshness from the spinach. You'll want some good crusty bread to soak up every last drop of the incredibly flavorful sauce.

Bibimbop A glorious combination of fresh stir-fried vegetables, each cooked separately to allow its flavors to stay true, is liberally seasoned with garlic and sesame oil. To gild the lily, every serving is topped off with a rich fried egg that gets added just before eating.

Cutlets get an indulgent topping of rich ham and nutty melted Gruyère in a contemporary take on chicken Cordon Bleu.

In India, lentil-based dals are often served as a side dish, but adding a host of vibrant vegetables turns this into a main course. Brightened with turmeric and infused with garlic, ginger, and spices, the red lentils are cooked down into a creamy purée. Best of all, the flavor improves with time, so make it ahead for a night when you need a quick supper.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from A Year at Ballymaloe Cookery School, by Darina Allen. To read more about the book, Ballymaloe, and Allen, see the related Daily Dish. We can sometimes get lovely fat pink trout about 2 years old, which have a wonderful taste — much better than the smaller ones. This is a horrendously rich-sounding sauce, but it's delicious and the flavor is sublime.

This dish, from Golden Door executive chef Dean Rucker, only feels indulgent.

Treat your taste buds to meals that incorporate all six flavors, like this one from Teresa Long, in-house nutritionist at the Chopra Center for Wellbeing.

Paprika oil adds a hit of color — and flavor.

This recipe was created by Govind Armstrong, chef and co-owner of Table 8 restaurants in Los Angeles and Miami. It's part of a special menu he created for Epicurious's Wine.Dine.Donate program. If lamb is not brought to room temperature before being placed in oven, roasting may take up to 45 minutes.

This recipe uses dried chickpeas, which must be soaked at least 8 hours or overnight. Depending on their age, chickpeas can take more or less time to soften during cooking, so use the cooking time as a guideline, not a rule. Check the chickpeas occasionally — if they seem too dry, add additional water in 1/4 cup increments.

Named after the heart-shaped callaloo leaves from the taro plant, this traditional stew can be made with crab, lobster, and shrimp, or taro root and coconut milk. But all versions of the dish call for okra and, of course, callaloo leaves. Spinach makes a great substitute for the callaloo.