Dinner

You need a bigger bowl and more water than you might think to rehydrate wood ear mushrooms—they nearly triple in size.

This pickle brine–inspired dry rub turns potatoes and carrots crispy-creamy with pleasantly sharp vinegary tang. Toss them, still warm, with leftover shredded chicken and crunchy raw celery, onion, and yes, sliced pickles for a double-the-pickle, double-the-fun dinner salad.

Dried barberries are incredibly tart, more so than any other dried fruit you’ll encounter. Look for them at Middle Eastern markets or specialty foods stores, or order them online. 

The transformative power of our new favorite seedy, spicy, crunchy, garlicky oil is on full display in this dinner of simply seared scallops. A couple of drizzles adds a spice drawer’s worth of flavor in seconds.

Coconut milk and lots of aromatics bring life into this fish chowder. And just when you thought oyster crackers couldn’t get better, you’ll cook them in butter and smother them in paprika.

Slowly rendering the pancetta, gently toasting the garlic, and concentrating the tomatoes puts three pots’ worth of flavor in just one.

Juicy pork al pastor and oozy Oaxacan cheese make a brilliant combo. Thinly slicing the pork and cooking it in a hot skillet with plenty of marinade still clinging to the meat yields the charred edges and deep flavor of traditional spit-roasted pastor.

This sweet-and-sour glaze will work on other proteins like chicken, steaks, or ribs.

With its crinkly texture, savoy cabbage is our go-to for stuffed cabbage, but the regular ol’ green variety also works. Both will become meltingly tender.

Birria is usually served with a side of consomé, the rich pan juices from the roasted meat. This recipe takes things a step further by puréeing those juices with roasted vegetables and dried chiles.

The salad works best with strips of Persian flatbread, but plain tortillas work just as well. The addition of golpar, with its citrusy aroma, really lifts this dish, accentuating the sweetness of the pomegranates and adding a wonderful depth of flavor, so try and track some down if you can.

This Northern Iranian dish traditionally features wild greens. This version is made with braised spinach, herbs, and eggs—and gets a vibrant boost of flavor from lime juice.

This rich, flavorful Nigerian dish brings together bold chile heat, the pleasant funk of fermented locust beans and dried shrimp, and a good dose of Old Bay.