Potato

The strong aromatics in this dish infuse the potatoes with a spirited Moroccan style.

Full of sweet corn, smoky bacon, and delightfully briny clams, this light summer chowder is like having a whole New England clambake in a bowl.

The basil oil would also be delicious drizzled over fish, vegetables, or chicken.

Why you'll make it: Because it's everything that's good at the market right now in one good-for-you salad.

The vegetables, along with the canned Italian tuna, in this colorful tossed salad create a positively satisfying meal. (Using an imported brand of tuna will make all the difference.)

Tossing the potatoes first with salt and vinegar and then with bacon fat while they're still warm allows the flavors to really penetrate. Chopped chives add a delicate oniony scent.

This recipe alone is reason enough to grab your tote bag and head to the farmers market. Blackberry Farm dresses up the dish with parmesan foam and a drizzle of aged balsamic vinegar, but the ingredients stand on their own beautifully. Slip a fried egg on top, and you have an easy summer supper.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Dinner After Dark: Sexy, Sumptuous Supper Soirées by Colin Cowie. A bredie is the typical slow-cooked stew of Cape Malay cuisine, which is best prepared in a heavy-bottom cast-iron pot or potjie. I've adapted it in a recipe that takes just over an hour to cook. Traditionally, this type of dish would probably have been made with just the lamb knuckles, but I've added the shoulder to provide some additional meat. The sweet and savory flavors are wholly authentic; the dish is like a curry with an extra measure of sweetness to balance the hot spice. You'll taste the delightful hint of cinnamon, which speaks unmistakably of the Orient. It's great with aromatic basmati rice, flavored with chicken stock, turmeric, garlic, and raisins.

Some of us prefer the taste of grilled lobster to boiled. The smokiness of the fire balances the richness of the meat while simultaneously intensifying its flavor.

Bacon and a little cream give this chowder lashings of decadence — but, because there are no thickeners, it's surprisingly light.

Mama Sugar says this dish was common at Juneteenth celebrations years ago but is now seldom seen. It's a homey dessert, substantial and rich with butter and cane syrup, and it deserves a comeback.

Since these potatoes are "hasslebacked," or sliced accordion-style, before baking, the scallions and bacon fat really penetrate; the sour cream and bacon are the icing on the cake. (The dish has been known to elicit marriage proposals from strangers and tears from bacon lovers.)

The mayo can also be made with dill.

Rösti In Zurich, a German-speaking city, practically every bar and beer hall Garnishes its big plates of meat with this kind of hash brown cake; it might be "cheese" or "onion" or "plain" Rösti, but you'll always be happy to see it. Refrigerating the whole baked potatoes overnight makes them much easier to grate.

Aligot gratin with horseradish cream Peasant ingenuity triumphs in this simple, soul-satisfying dish from France's mountainous Auvergne region. It's the perfect foil for grilled or roasted meat.