Starter

The best plant-based substitute for sour cream? Plant-based cream cheese. When blended, it best approximates the flavor and texture of sour cream. Top the bowl with crispy fried shallots for additional brightness and texture.

These pillowy tray biscuits are perfumed with blueberry jam, citrus, and candied ginger, but you can use any combination of preserves, dried fruit, or nuts that you have on hand.

These pillowy biscuits are stuffed with spinach and cheese, but they work equally well with any other vegetable you care to throw at them. Swap the spinach for up to a cup of roasted squash, charred poblanos, or other cooked vegetable, and sub the Gruyère with any other cheese you like (if you choose a more intense cheese like feta or blue cheese, use ¾ cup instead of the full cup). 

Meet your new go-to flavor booster: butter that’s fully equipped with blue cheese and garlic. Layer on charred winter squash (any variety will work), then top it off with nuts and fresh herbs.

This roll can be filled with whatever you like: beef, pork, or vegetables. The combination in this recipe is my favorite.

While pimento cheese is perfect as is as a spread, it also makes a pretty darn good queso-like dip. This particular version is smooth and velvety and has a kick of smoke and heat thanks to chipotle in adobo sauce—even pimento purists will find it delicious.

This coconutty soup from Ramin Ganeshram is ideal for fall, when squash and pumpkin are readily available. Serve it with crusty bread or a hearty green salad for the perfect autumn lunch.

If you’ve only ever had dry supermarket pita, this is a different animal entirely: puffed up like a pillow, savory on its own, and ready to scoop up anything you like.

This summer soup is deeply savory, with anchovies, bacon, and a brown butter–tomato sauce anchoring the whole thing. 

This reimagined chicken salad is lighter and leafier than your standard picnic lunch. Tender poached chicken, crisp greens, cukes, and scallions get tossed with a sesame dressing that takes its cues form gomae, a Japanese spinach salad.

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.

Whether mild, rich, creamy, grassy, or nutty, the secret to making the ultimate cheese board is, well, the cheese. Paired with gooey, sweet, salty, citric, and refreshing accompaniments, the variety of flavors offers a taste for everyone. Try this arrangement to make your next occasion magnifique.

Gochujang gives pork belly a nice kick and a deep, complex flavor in this sweet-and-spicy sandwich inspired by Korean jeyuk bokkeum.

If you haven’t tried eggplant with butter before, this will be a revelation. It is delicious and silky and makes for the best starter or sharing dish. Add some fresh herbs too, if you have them.

Keep the mushrooms whole or in large pieces (so they don’t fall through the grate), and you will be rewarded with burnished, concentrated mushroom goodness.

The formula for this cooling summer soup couldn’t be simpler: blended cucumbers, tomatoes, and sweet red peppers, plus garlic, herbs, and fresh citrus.