Vegan

Mild, crunchy green papaya is not the same as underripe papaya. Look for it at Asian or Mexican groceries.

"Paris chef Alain Passard, who is famous for unusual pairings, inspired this dish." —Chris Morocco, associate food editor

Yes, making this rice is a time commitment and a labor of love. But the ingredients aren't difficult to find, and the finished dish is stunning.

Trust us: Your first batch of this condiment will not be your last. Spoon it over the Ricotta Omelets , or see the Cooks' notes for other ways to enjoy it.

Oh, mama! This one's hot. Not in that obnoxious, burns you right off the bat kind of way, but in that slow, didn't see it coming, want to take two more bites to feel the burn just that much longer kind of way. That's a good kind of pain. This seasoning has got three different types of chiles to make it complex and give it some heat, plus white and black pepper to round it out. Use hot or smoked paprika instead of regular to alter the flavor, if you like. We don't call for any salt in our recipe, but you can use as little or as much as you like without making the food overly salty. However, do remember to salt your fish in addition to using the spice in a recipe. And if you're using the blend for blackening, get that exhaust fan going or be prepared to set off every smoke alarm you have. (Better yet, do your blackening outside on the grill in a cast-iron skillet!)

This is one of the most popular seasoning mixes we sell, and it's a winner sprinkled simply over fish or used as part of a more complex recipe. This blend has just the right amount of garlic and onion, with paprika for depth and a bit of dill for flavor. But we think it's the celery seed that really makes this one sing. See what you think.

This quick, easy, and delicious recipe features a seared whole piece of tuna loin that's seared on a grill and then cut into slices and slid into brioche buns. Okay, so these are also technically sandwiches. If you're wondering why these slides are here instead of in the sandwich chapter, there are two reasons. The first is that Anders thought there needed to be a tuna option in Tuesday-Night Tuna. But the other reason is less pedantic: these are easy to make on a weeknight and make a fantastic dinner for four. Anders serves these with Pike Place Fish Smoked Walla Walla Onion Tartar Sauce, but you can serve it with any tartar-style sauce.

Reminiscent of your favorite sundae sauce, but better! A sip of soda made from this deep, dark, intense brew is like chomping down on a chocolate bar.

Pea shoots are the young, tender tips and vines of the snow pea or the sugar snap pea plant. Once your plants are established and producing an abundance of pods, clip off leaf and tendril sections about 4 inches (10 cm) long. If you don't have your own plants, look for these tender shoots at farmers' markets or Asian grocery stores. Sambal oelek is an Indonesian chile paste, and tart, citrusy makrut lime leaves are used in Southeast Asian cooking.

Kale and radicchio both do quite well on the grill; the direct heat turns their edges charred and crispy while the inner leaves become tender and stay intact. Soaking the kale is important so that steam can build and cook through the tough stalks as the leaves grill. Because kale and radicchio are both slightly bitter greens, they take to a sauerkraut-style dressing just as well as cabbage does.

Thai red curry paste typically has more than eight different ingredients, including hot red pepper and lemongrass, so buying it ready- made is certainly easier than making your own. Look for it in the ethnic foods section of your supermarket or at Asian grocers. You can add 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined, to the curry during the last few minutes of cooking, if you wish.

Herbs in the dressing beg for herbs in the salad, too. We toss this vinaigrette with Bibb lettuce and lots of the tender green herbs— like mint, chervil, and parsley—that we grow in our window box.

Don't use your best Champagne for this dessert—any affordable bottle of cava or Prosecco will do. The key ingredient in this machine-free sorbet is the apricots: Choose the ripest, most fragrant ones you can find.

Here's a recipe that justifies the existence of that food processor grating disk (you didn't throw it out, we hope). If you don't have one, a box grater will do.

Trimming tender baby artichokes is simple. As you go, transfer them to lemon water to keep them from turning brown.

There are all kinds of radishes available at the markets in the spring—use any shape or color that looks good to you.

The pleasantly earthy flavor of black rice pairs well with the bright acidity of this vinaigrette. If you can't find it, use wild rice instead.

I use simple syrup for keeping cake layers extra moist. Plain simple syrup works perfectly well on its own, but when I have used vanilla bean pods on hand, I like to steep them into the syrup (feel free to keep them stored in the syrup indefinitely). It's an unnecessary step, for sure, but I always welcome a little extra pop of vanilla flavor in my cakes.