Name: Tostones
Yield: Makes about 24 tostones
Ingredients: 3 green (unripe) plantains (available at Hispanic markets and some specialty produce markets); vegetable oil for deep-frying; sauce chien as an accompaniment; (Carribean Spicy Dipping Sauce); 1 small onion, minced; 3 scallions, minced; 1/3 cup minced red bell pepper; 2 garlic cloves, minced; 1 Scotch bonnet or habañero chili, seeded and minced (wear rubber gloves), or 1 teaspoons Scotch Bonnet Pepper Sauce*; 1 teaspoon salt; 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled; 7/8 cup water; 2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar; 1/4 cup fresh lime juice; 2 tablespoons vegetable oil; 2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander, or to or to taste, plus a coriander sprig for garnish if desired

Fried green plantains.

When making tostones look for unripe plantains that are a deep shade of green: The recipe will not work with ripe plantains. Ideally, the plantains should be fried the day they are purchased, but they can be kept, wrapped well in a plastic bag and chilled, for 2 to 3 days.

Recipe notes

Wampanoaug Clam Fritters

The clams’ natural briny sweetness serves as a surprising foil for the tender fritter batter—just be sure to pull off the tough outer coating of the siphon.

Ta’ameya (Fava Bean Fritters)

Serve these as you would falafel: in a pita, on top of a salad, or as a snack with a dip.

Beer-Battered Onion Rings

Easy to make, impossible to stop eating.

Dulce de Leche

Make this versatile caramel at home with our slow-simmered method using milk and sugar—or take one of two sweetened condensed milk shortcuts.

Grape Dumplings

Native American people made these with cornmeal dumplings, simmering them with wild grapes, which were harvested at their peak sweetness.

Kimchi Gim Bugak (Fried Seaweed Chips)

Bugak is the ideal light beer snack: It’s crunchy, salty, and the fresher it’s made, the better. Thin sheets of kimchi add an extra spicy savory layer.

Brussels Sprouts Latkes

Who says latkes have to be potato? Brussels bring a delicious cruciferousness.

XO Sauce

Developed in the 1980s by a chef in Hong Kong, this sauce is all about umami.