Soup/Stew

Order the pig's feet from your butcher. Serve with a side of rich, creamy mashed potatoes.

The stew is perked up with an Italian-style salsa verde, a mixture of chopped fresh herbs and olive oil. Have the bass filleted at the fish counter. You'll need the bones, skin, and head to make the stock, so be sure to request that those parts be saved for you. You may want to consider toasting more bread to sop up all the flavorful broth.

The area in Harlem where I live is known as Little West Africa because of the huge concentration of immigrants from Senegal, Mali, and Nigeria who keep their heritage alive in the neighborhood's shops and restaurants. At the heart of this vibrant community is Les Embassades, our local bakery and café, where my neighbors gather to eat, visit, and hang out. The café is owned by my friend Abe and his wife, who came to America from Senegal in the 1980s. Abe is truly living the American dream: Not only does he own his own successful business, he helps newcomers find a place where they can feel at home in a strange new country. This Senegalese-style stew is inspired by the many meals I've had at Les Embassades and features the typical flavors of West Africa—yams, peanuts, coconut milk, and morning glory, a green vegetable also known as water spinach or swamp cabbage.

A restaurant kitchen can be a virtual United Nations, with a staff made up of people from around the world. A dishwasher at Aquavit who comes from Mali told me about the typical midday meal he had growing up: peanut stew made with onion, tomatoes, and spinach served over rice. His description was the starting point for this peanutty stew, an elegant interpretation of a dish eaten throughout West Africa every day.

Here's a recipe for green soup. It's the easiest thing ever.

Using beefsteak or other juicy tomatoes makes for a light, delicately nuanced soup that works in hot weather. Plum tomatoes will result in a more intensely flavored soup that's good for the chilly fall months. It's impossible to play favorites: They're both wonderful.

The inspiration for test kitchen director Ruth Cousineau’s velvety chilled bean soup comes from Mediterranean-cooking authority Claudia Roden's recipe for bissara, an Egyptian bean-and-herb purée. The beans here are lima and green, simmered in chicken broth (you can use vegetable broth if you want to go vegetarian) and then puréed until silky. The herbs—parsley, cilantro, dill, and mint—are blended with olive oil so that you can finish the soup with a verdant drizzle, but don’t think of the herb oil as merely a garnish: Its bright flavor brings everything together.

Ripe summer tomatoes are perfect just as they are. Simply chop them up, mix with jarred peppers and a few other ingredients, and you've got dinner. For a vegetarian supper, round out the meal with an assortment of cheeses and crackers. Craving something a little more substantial? A platter of smoked salmon, relishes, and breadsticks would be great with the soup. For dessert, offer figs drizzled with honey.

This velvety soup has no cream except for the little bit of sour cream that's spooned on top. It's perfect for summer entertaining: All of the components can be prepared a day ahead.

In the Greek soup known as avgolemono ("ahv-go-LEH-mo-no"), humble ingredients—chicken broth, lemon juice, eggs, a small amount of rice—morph into a light soup with the consistency of liquid velvet. Although avgolemono is traditionally served hot, it's an especially summery starter when chilled and seasoned with lots of dill.

When I take people out for Ethiopian food for the first time, this chicken stew, called doro wett (also spelled doro we't, doro wat, and doro wet), is a great introduction. It's the first Ethiopian dish I ever had, and I immediately liked the tender meat, the spicy eggs, and the flavorful sauce laced with berbere and ginger. It's a great dish to make for people who haven't eaten African food before, because it's easy to understand and like. Don't be alarmed when the sauce doesn't bind together and thicken like a traditional European-style sauce—it should in fact be liquidy and broken to soak into the injera it is served on.

This chowder is easy to make and requires only one pot. The salmon comes out tender and is a good match with the dill and potatoes. For a smokier flavor, roast the ears of corn directly over the fire before removing the kernels. If you don't have fresh salmon, frozen will work fine, or you can use smoked salmon. If using smoked salmon, cut back on the salt for seasoning.

I really love this soup. The flavors will remind you of corn chowder, but the texture is much lighter. The soup is bright and fresh and can be made year-round since it tastes just as good when using frozen corn as it does when using fresh.

Vichyssoise (pronounced vih-shee-swazh) is a cold potato and leek soup. This version adds the pure flavor of asparagus, along with a hint of mint.

Two of summer's tastiest offerings help you spoon up more of the skin-saving antioxidant lycopene.

Be anything but crabby after enjoying this sunny citrus bisque. You'll net half your daily folate needs per bowl.

Black-eyed peas can replace the chickpeas, if desired. For a lighter soup, the rice can be omitted.

Editor's note: This refreshing soup is part of a healthy and delicious spa menu developed exclusively for Epicurious by CuisinArt Resort & Spa on Rendezvous Bay in Anguilla. Cooling cucumber and melons—which are in the same botanical family—are good sources of a wide range of nutrients, including vitamins C and B6 and folate. Fresh herbs provide a burst of flavor as well as powerful antioxidants. Ginger, garlic, and hot sauce have potent anti-inflammatory properties. Starting your meal with a low-calorie, fiber-rich soup like this one can help fill you up and prevent overeating. Note: You can substitute cooked lobster or prawns for the shrimp, or make the recipe vegetarian by omitting the seafood altogether.

The mild heat and deep flavor of Maras and Urfa peppers are wonderful not just in kebabs but also in soups and stews.