Vegan

Editor's note: Serve this sauce with Michael Chiarello's Grilled Pasta with Grilled Meatballs . Grilling the tomatoes and roasting the red pepper gives this sauce an underlying flavor that I really like. I tend to double this recipe and freeze what I don't need. I'm always glad to have this sauce on hand. It's best to grill tomatoes over charcoal or a wood fire that's about 30 minutes past its hottest point. I like to use a plancha but you can use a cast-iron pan or grill the tomatoes directly on the grill rack.

1 slice per serving This recipe makes two loaves of a basic bread that gets its hearty, chewy texture from bulgur. The bread is great for both sandwiches and toast. If you don't want to bake both loaves at once, you can freeze half of the unbaked dough to use another time.

This is my version of the traditional Chilean squash and bean stew. It's wonderfully hearty and warming and, like so many such dishes, even better if you leave it for twenty-four hours and reheat it gently before serving.

These gorgeously sweet and tangy, juicy and sticky tomatoes are fantastic served on top of a simple, saffron-infused risotto. You can also serve them as a complement to almost any other grilled or roasted veg, but I particularly like them piled on toast with a sprinkling of flaky sea salt on top.

This beautifully simple, light curry is closely based on a wonderful recipe from chef Angela Hartnett. It's always preferable to use some carefully selected ground and whole spices in a recipe like this, but if you're in a hurry, use a ready-made curry powder instead of the dry spices.

Rainbow chard is especially pretty pickled, but any variety will work.

Jeremiah Bacon, The Macintosh, Charleston, SC: "Infused simple syrup rounds out the flavor of cantaloupe for this quick dessert."

Once you've charred them, you can drizzle these eggplants with your best extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with some coarse salt for a simple side. But they're even better paired with one of the three luscious sauces (Yogurt and Sumac Sauce , Smoky Tomato Sauce , or Lemon-Mint Sauce ) and some grilled flatbread or pita.

Rinsing the cooked couscous stops the cooking and prevents it from sticking together as it cools.

Ryan Lowder, The Copper Onion, Salt Lake City: "The cantaloupes we get here are really sweet, so we counter that with savory flavors."

This bright vinaigrette is good for a lot more than just grilled eggplant.

Lillet, a fruity, easy-drinking fortified wine, is a staple in Chef Ripert's summer pantry.

You can use this simple formula to wake up the Beer-Can Chicken , add another layer of flavor to the Barbecued Chicken , or sass up plenty of things that aren't poultry, like pork, steak, or vegetables.

Dates are revered, and much enjoyed, in Morocco. Of the more than two hundred varieties that the country produces, large mejhoul dates are the ones used for special occasions and special recipes like these stuffed dates. Typically, the almond paste is much sweeter than in this recipe, and the stuffed date is rolled in sugar. I prefer to let the dates' natural and intense sweetness shine. To make the dates festive, many Moroccan cooks work some food coloring—red, green, yellow, even blue—into the almond paste before stuffing it inside the dates.

In North Africa (and Marseille!) mint tea is generally drunk enormously sweet—the kind of sweetness that makes you a bit thirsty—which is exactly how I like it. Start with 1/4 cup of sugar and add more if you want it sweeter. To avoid any bitterness, do not let the tea boil once the mint has been added. For an earthy, Tunisian touch, dry roast a handful of pine nuts and drop them in the glass just before serving.