Quick

A vinaigrette that’s pleasingly sharp thanks to apple cider vinegar and grainy mustard tempers the lushness of the onion pie . Dress the greens just before serving.

While visiting Lima, Peru, food editor and stylist Paul Grimes, who developed this recipe, ate a dish called "hot ceviche."Inspired by the playful concept, he tried something similar in the test kitchen.

If you are looking for something a little different to accompany a stir-fry, try panfried Chinese noodles as crisp vehicles for umami-loaded Asian sauces.

When earthy greens are tossed with a walnut- and garlic-scented oil and lots of crunchy nuts, they taste delightfully new.

Here, the sunny warmth of mint escapes the sweet-jelly cliché to find new expression in the thick Argentinean herb sauce called chimichurri. Its bright acidity cuts the lush richness of lamb shoulder chops.

It's so straightforward to put everything under the broiler at once and remove each component as finished—when the bread is toasted, the romaine is wilted, the chicken is cooked, and the tomato is juicy.

This Italian take on shrimp and grits comes together in just 25 minutes for a creamy, comforting dinner.

Carrots, braised in chicken broth and combined with shallots and fresh herbs, make a beautiful addition to the table, especially when you take advantage of the different-colored varieties found at farmers markets. You will also appreciate how small amounts of seasonings turn a taken-for-granted vegetable into something splendid. Don't reserve the recipe just for Thanksgiving; it would also be delicious with pork chops or a roast chicken.

Thanks to a few humble additions—sun-dried tomatoes, sweet smoked paprika, and leafy spinach—these saucy beans have real pizzazz. Best of all, the dish requires little more than a quick sauté and simmer.

Fermented black beans should be in everyone's pantry—they complement just about any protein and they can be turned into a sauce in no time at all. They are actually small black soy beans preserved in salt. You have to soak them to eliminate some of that salt, but then they are good to go. This sauce would go great not only with salmon, but on top of chicken, shrimp, tofu, or stir-fried vegetables. Serve with Butter-steamed Broccoli with Soy and Simple Boiled Rice.

We had lots of apple trees of many varieties in our orchards, and the supply would last for the whole winter. Mostly I had them for a snack or in a dessert, but here's one use in a main course that's a winner. It's incredibly easy yet nutritionally complete. I rather love mixing the sweet carb with the fat and protein in delicious defiance of current diet ideology.

This mild wild fish replete with omega-3 fatty acids combines the tastes of trout and salmon; it is available in the winter when wild salmon is still a month away. Slow-roasting a fish high in fat keeps it moist and flavorful.

This is the standard salad-relish you find in every tavern and restaurant in Istanbul. It accompanies grilled meat and especially kebabs. Turkish food is often eaten with a spoon, and so is this salad—all its ingredients are finely chopped. Instead of a simple lemon vinaigrette, which is the most common dressing, I like to add a little balsamic vinegar and lemon zest. Add as much jalapeño as you like, but bear in mind that this Turkish salsa is meant to be refreshing and not overpoweringly hot.

If you've made another recipe that called for Garlic Mayonnaise and happen to have some left over in the refrigerator, a dollop of it on the plate makes a delicious addition to this hearty, rustic dish.

My editor, Peter Gethers, insisted on only one thing when he asked me to write this book: that I include the recipe for these pancakes. The ricotta causes them to burn more easily than other pancakes, so you need to cook them over medium-low to medium heat. If there are any pancakes that don't need maple syrup, these are them.

For a long time it seemed to me that there was more than a superficial resemblance between the white Indian cheese called paneer and tofu. When I finally made the classic Indian dish of spinach and paneer using tofu, it tasted amazingly at home in the cumin, ginger, and chile-laced sauce. There's a little going back and forth between the skillet and a food processor, but this is an easy dish to make. I serve it over rice with a sprinkling of toasted black sesame seeds.

Serve with pita toasts or crackers, or smear it on grilled chicken breast or tuna steaks for a main course.

This quick soup, an American classic, makes a fine pairing with a grilled cheese sandwich or crisp romaine salad. Here the grilled cheese sandwich takes a different form—a souffléed Cheddar topping on a good piece of toasted sandwich bread. Use an organic brand of tomatoes, one that's thick with puree as well as chunks of tomato.