Dairy-Free

Say that three times fast! Watch closely toward the end of the cooking time and remove from oven when the eggs have plenty of wobble left in them for this shakshuka recipe.

Both types of tahini should be roughly the same consistency for this halvah recipe—ideally pretty loose and pourable—which makes it easy to marble them. Most black tahini will be great, but Roland and Whole Foods 365 Organic were the best of the white tahini we tested.

Left unadorned, these gummy candies look like precious gems, or they can be transformed into sparkly crunchy treats by tossing in coarse sugar before serving.

Instead of deep-frying the broccoli in this sesame noodles recipe, we used a high-heat roasting method and swapped the restaurant’s sesame brittle for toasted seeds. Similar flavors; easier to make at home.

Hard cider is really wonderful to cook with: It adds a bit of sweetness, acidity, and a hint of apple. And the leftovers are great in an autumnal cocktail. Check out step-by-step photos here.

The freshness of the blanched green beans and crisp apple cider vinegar help cut through a heavier meal.

If you’re not following our weekly meal plan and not making the Grilled Cheese (though you really should; it’s delightful), which you need wheat bread for, use country loaf or sourdough bread, crusts removed, for optimal breadcrumbs for this chicken stew recipe. Check out step-by-step photos here.

A half a cup of olive oil may seem like whoa, too much, but that's the key to crisping up the chicken.

If you don’t happen to have or particularly enjoy pastrami, bacon or pancetta would be a delicious substitute for this minestrone recipe. Check out step-by-step photos here.

It’ll take a couple of hours to make the homemade broth and cook a whole chicken (your house will smell amazing) for this soup recipe. If you’ve had a long day, use 2 quarts store-bought broth and shredded meat from a rotisserie chicken. Whatever method you choose, use the chicken breasts to make this amazing salad with crispy rice. Check out step-by-step photos here.

For a hearty vegetarian version of this pasta recipe, use squash, mushrooms, or eggplants in place of shrimp.

As you’re crisping the rice for this chicken salad recipe, the leeks and carrots may look very dark. Don’t be scared or angry at us; the veggies aren’t burnt, they’re just deeply caramelized and will add lots of flavor to the final dish. Check out step-by-step photos here.

This is going to seem like a lot of oil, but you really need it to a) crisp up the rice and b) make it seem like fried rice and not a rice pilaf. To that end, you can’t use freshly cooked (meaning, still warm and moist) rice for this recipe. If you do, it will get gummy in the pan and won’t crisp. Day-old rice is ideal, or you can quickly dry out a just-made batch. Spread rice on a sheet tray and put in a low oven 5–10 minutes. Let air-dry for about 1 hour and up to 5. Seems nitpicky, but worth .…

The ingredient list for a curry can be a little daunting with all those spices, but the technique isn’t very far from a pasta sauce: you just toast the whole spices and then move on to a sort of sofrito of onion, garlic, and ginger. From that flavor base, you add tomatoes and whatever veggies you desire. At the end, a quick chutney, really just a rough chopped blend of herbs and coconut, gives the stew a bright pop of flavor (the way a few torn basil leaves make that tomato sauce sing).

The smoky sauce and mix of spices in this meatball recipe complement lamb perfectly. It would be great with ground beef too, if that’s more your thing.

If using frozen cranberries, which are just as good for this recipe, don’t bother thawing them first.

This crackers recipe features a variety of seeds—the combination of colors and textures is certainly impressive.

This roasted carrots recipe makes extra dressing, which is good because you’ll want to use it on your next burger, over broiled salmon, or in a grain salad.

This recipe for raw vegetables is the only conscionable thing you can serve right before sitting down to a heavier meal.

This recipe uses mushrooms in place of the more classic Chinese ham for an XO sauce that is salty, spicy, and funky—and a cheeky reference to green bean casseroles.

Don’t skip on the fresh herb garnishes for this recipe; they will serve as a good contrast to the curry.

This figs recipe is sweet, salty, sticky, and acidic—everything you want in a one-bite appetizer.

Smoked almonds and black olives are our suggestions for this appetizer, but use any nut or olive that you like.

If you see other types of citrus at the market, feel free to combine them in this simple five-ingredient (cranberry-free) relish recipe.