Gluten Free
Tomato Brown Butter
Tomato brown butter is the deeply savory—and slightly sweet—result of swirling fresh, raw tomato purée into fragrant brown butter. Drizzle it over roasted vegetables, grilled fish, or grain bowls.
Maple-Roasted Acorn Squash
When I was growing up, my mother served a lot of canned vegetables, but the one thing she always made from scratch was acorn squash, which she roasted with butter and maple syrup. When I revisited her old method, I found it was just as good as I remembered. The sweet squash filled with a big puddle of melted butter and sweet syrup is so irresistible!
Paneer With Burst Cherry Tomato Sauce
This dish of seared paneer channels flavors traditionally found in matar paneer—coriander, cumin, chile, and ginger—by incorporating them into a quick-cooking cherry tomato sauce.
Salt-and-Pepper Fish
This dish is inspired by a classic Cantonese preparation, which is traditionally battered and deep-fried. Here, the fish is pan-seared in hot oil, but still gets plenty of texture and flavor from ginger, caramelized scallions, and lots of freshly ground black pepper.
Fish Tacos al Pastor
Pork tacos al pastor may get the fame, but this fish al pastor deserves plenty of glory. A potent chile marinade adds lots of flavor before the fillets hit the grill, and a pineapple salsa is the perfect finishing touch.
Zucchini-Lentil Fritters With Lemony Yogurt
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.
Sour Cream and Onion Potato Salad
Some would call showering potato salad with potato chips “gilding the lily.” We would call it “extremely sensible and incredibly tasty.”
Tropi-Cobb Salad
Tender lettuces get topped with juicy spiced chicken, ripe mangos, soft avocado, and cherry tomatoes. There's so much flavor and texture going on that there's barely a need for a dressing: just a hit of lime juice, salt, and EVOO, and dinner is done.
Pork Meatballs and Cucumber Salad
The trick to keeping this salad crisp? Salt, drain, and squeeze excess liquid from the cucumbers before dressing them. Add a swoosh of yogurt and juicy oven-baked meatballs to make it a flavorful, filling meal.
Sweet Corn Frittata With Cherry Tomato Compote
In this frittata, corn adds the perfect texture while a jam-like tomato compote adds a wonderful sweetness.
Pork Chops and Padrón Chiles en Escabèche
Escabèche translates to “marinade,” which is exactly what you’re making here: a bright, tangy marinade full of pickled vegetables that also makes an ideal sauce for juicy, thick-cut pork chops.
Thai Muslim–Style Grilled Chicken
This recipe is inspired by the grilled chicken served at Jeerapan, a 77-year-old restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand. Their version is baked in a tandoor-like oven, but I've adapted it for a grill or oven. The two-stage cooking method is essential: The initial roasting at moderate heat partially cooks the meat while dehydrating the skin, getting it ready to crisp up later on and allowing all the scattered bits of fresh aromatics and dried spices in the marinade to adhere. The final stage of cooking is hot and fast, using saffron-infused coconut oil as a basting liquid. The end result is a juicy, fragrant, and intensely flavorful bird, tinted canary gold—its skin smoky, charred, and crisp. The pineapple-chile dipping sauce lends its sweet tang and a mild kick of heat to round out the meal.
Coconut Rice
This coconut rice recipe appears in Leela Punyaratabandhu's cookbook, Bangkok, as part of a meal that includes green papaya salad, sweet shredded beef, and chicken red curry.
Salsa Verde o Roja Cruda
When tomatoes are at their best, we recommend making the salsa roja. During the rest of the year (even in winter), tomatillos still have plenty of flavor and can be your go-to salsa base.
Saucy Spiced Cod With Corn
Nothing against pan-frying fish to get that crispy skin, but cod and other whitefish shine brightest when nestled into a rich bed of aromatics and steamed to tender flakiness.
Dashi
This versatile dashi has earthiness, depth, and is full of glutamates from shiitake mushrooms, dashima seaweed, and dried anchovies.
Ginger and Tamarind Refresher
While it is not uncommon to find ginger blended into limeades, lemonades, and fresh sugarcane juice in India, it also pairs nicely with tamarind. Serve cold and give it a good stir before drinking.
This recipe is made with tamarind pulp, which contains large seeds that you will need to remove. Avoid the temptation to use concentrates. They’re more convenient because they don’t have seeds, but they don’t taste nearly as fresh.
Tacos de Gobernador
There are many variations of Gobernadores, but they typically include shrimp, mild chiles, and cheese. Here, chef David Castro Hussong adds bacon, which gives the dish a surf-and-turf feeling.
Baked Banana With Crema and Cheese
This recipe shines for its simplicity. However, in order for it to be spectacular, the quality of the three ingredients really matters.
Tamale Pie With Fresh Tomato and Corn
Juicy ripe tomatoes and sweet summer corn perk up this fresh take on the old-school Southwestern casserole. Bonus: it just happens to be gluten-free.