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Artichokes are a rite of spring and essential to Easter in Italy where you will see this member of the thistle family piled high on market tables. Trimming the artichokes does take time, but they can be braised ahead and reheated. Garlic and lemon are a no-brainer with artichokes, while the anchovy is the secret weapon that adds a deep savoriness to the vegetable without any hint of fish.

Spicy arugula, slightly bitter endive, and sweet fennel come together in a salad with the briny help of coarsely chopped olives in the lemony dressing.

Add color to any meal at any time of year with this mix of red, purple, and orange vegetables, all roasted together.

Dandelions are one of the first greens to appear in the spring and their slightly bitter flavor has long been welcomed as a counterpoint to the richness of the meat they're often served with. The dandelions used in this recipe are the long, dark green Italian style leaves that are increasingly available in supermarkets and farmers markets. If you can't find dandelion, use chicory or escarole. Cooking the greens in water first is a crucial step and will significantly lessen their bitter edge. The sweetness of the onion and the mild heat of the crushed red pepper the greens are later sauté with, balances them further.

Couscous Israélien au Citron et aux Pistaches Every year in Menton, a city near Nice that's on the border of Italy, there's a festival celebrating the famed Menton lemons. Plump and irregularly shaped, they're seasonally available in Paris markets, with their leaves still attached. They are prized by chefs and cooks for their intense lemony flavor (without the harshness of commercial lemons), and their not-too-bitter pith, which makes them perfect for preserving. This nutty, lemony salad makes good use of preserved lemons, which you can easily buy or make yourself (see my website for a recipe). I keep a jar on hand at all times. They take a few weeks to mellow and soften, so don't save making them for the last minute. Their flavor is incomparable, and a jar will last for months in your refrigerator. Chopped-up bits can be tossed with olives for a quick apéro, and they also add an assertive citrus flavor to this dish made with pistachios and Israeli couscous. Israeli couscous are little pearls of pasta, elsewhere called pastina, which means "little pasta," and when toasted it's known as fregola sarda. Since they have more substance, I think they hold up a little better to North African-style braised meats, like the lamb shank tagine, than traditional couscous. (Orzo is a good substitute for the Israeli couscous.) To change things around a bit, you can vary the dried fruit or swap in fresh mint or cilantro for the parsley. Another nut, such as toasted hazelnuts or almonds or even pine nuts, could be used in place of the pistachios.

The hardest part of this recipe is getting your hands on the octopus. Give your fishmonger a few days to order it for you.

You can leave out the salami for a vegetarian version of this winter panzanella.

Okay, so maybe you don't live across the street from a blooming locust tree—you can still make a killer butter sauce.

Brussels sprouts were not part of the Palestinian kitchen when I was growing up. I discovered them here in the States and very eagerly tried to push them on my children. To that end, I did what any good mother would do—I pumped up their flavor by adding a little tahini sauce and sweet pomegranate molasses. It worked! In fact these Brussels sprouts were so delicious that they made it onto the original Tanoreen menu and I've never taken them off.

One of the most popular items on the Tanoreen menu, this tower of crispy pesto-marinated eggplant slices spread with smoky baba ghanouj, just might be the dish that inspired me to write this cookbook. It draws on the flavors of the Middle East and the Mediterranean, but the truth is, I created it to encourage my son to eat eggplant. He always loved fried zucchini sticks, so I cut eggplant in the same shape and he was none the wiser (although here they're cut in rounds). This is a good example of how I have taken advantage of ingredients that are available to me in the States and married them with the classic preparations from my childhood.

The dressing for this salad is on the less acidic side: Once the tart pickled vegetables are in the mix, it will be perfectly balanced.

Editor's note: Use this recipe to make Rawia Bishara's Eggplant Napoleon . In most Middle Eastern countries (apart from Nazareth, where baba ghanouj is called mutabal), the ingredients in this dish are as simple as eggplant, garlic and lemon juice—a lightened up, tahini-free version of baba ghanouj. But when I arrived in America, I experimented with various ingredients and found myself adding tomatoes, chile pepper and a hint of cumin to my mutabal. I serve it with grilled meat and chicken. My children love this preparation, which is also great spread on toasted or fresh Arabic bread, crusty flatbread or crackers.

MAKING BREAKFAST SAUSAGE is an old family tradition for us. My grandpa's family used to raise their own hogs, and when it came time for butchering day, they made sure that nothing went to waste. All parts of the animal were used—for hams, bacon, lard, and sausage. My grandpa was in charge of making the breakfast sausage—a tradition he passed on to us. Breakfast sausage is a loose sausage that hasn't been cured, which makes it appropriate for a home cook. My grandpa's recipe was typically Texan in that it was seasoned with sage. While there is nothing finer than a basic breakfast sausage, I find it's an excellent base for other flavors, such as the smoky notes of bacon and smoked paprika and bittersweet tones of molasses. This isn't exactly my grandpa's breakfast sausage, but I'm sure he would have enjoyed it just fine.

An easy and fresh alternative to traditional green salads, this chilled North African-inspired dish combines potato, bell peppers, cucumbers, and olives with a light and tangy vinaigrette. Simple to prepare, it's great to double or triple for potlucks or group meals. Serve with the salad spread out on a large platter to let the colors and shapes of the ingredients shine. Make extra dressing to reinvigorate leftovers the next day. For a pretty variation, serve the salad garnished with sliced or diced cooked beets.

Brussels sprouts chips take a bit more work to prep than kale chips, but the result is crunchy and delicious and rivals potato chips any day of the week.

Kosher Status: Pareve I created these spuds. Okay, that's an overstatement. God created the potatoes and Hasselback potato recipes probably go back to ancient Bolivia or something. I call them accordion potatoes because they remind me of that instrument that, by the way, is only played today at Bar/Bat Mitzvahs. They really should serve these potatoes at Bar Mitzvahs, too. It's such an elegant way to present a common potato. I make 'em with sliced garlic stuffed into each and every crevice, and then I top them with more garlic for the Transylvanians in the house (that's me). Those Yankees just get a little garlic sprinkle.

Coconut milk is one of my favourite ingredients and it makes a fantastic creamy base for all the other robust flavours in this Asian-style soup. Choose firm sweet potatoes with orange flesh for their vibrant colour.

NOTHING TASTES BETTER with Brussels sprouts than cured pork, which is why I unapologetically offer you recipes that flavor sprouts with both pancetta and bacon. Here, the salty pancetta plays well with the sweetness from the fig jam, and you can finish the dish with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar to add a tangy note (see variations). I found fig jam near the grocery store's cheese counter (not in the jams and jellies aisle), but you could also try apricot or peach jam instead. You may want to add a touch more jam than I suggest, but strive for a subtle sweetness rather than a cloying, sticky mess.