Dairy-Free

Pekin ducks, also known as crescent or Long Island ducklings, have small breasts. If using magret, which are larger, cook a minute or two longer per side. This recipe is from N7, one of the Hot 10, America's Best New Restaurants 2016.

Granted, this is a bit of work for a salad, but that’s how to transform vegetables into brag-worthy ingredients. To simplify, you could char the beets and greens in a dry cast-iron skillet. This recipe is from Oberlin, one of the Hot 10, America's Best New Restaurants 2016.

If you like lox, bacon, or anchovies, you should thank salt—and time. That's all that it takes to turn supermarket limes into this pleasantly salt-tart-funky pantry staple, the sibling of preserved lemons.

Even so-so tomatoes will become sweet and deliciously concentrated after this treatment. 

A Filipino comfort food that’s traditionally made with chewy rice dumplings. The one served at Bad Saint, made with black rice, has an amazing color, addictively chewy texture, and earthy flavor to balances the sweetness.

This creamy almond dip would be a terrific and unexpected pairing with any vegetable crudité. This recipe is from Lord Stanley, one of the Hot 10, America's Best New Restaurants 2016.

If you don’t have a stand mixer, shred the cooked meat with two forks and then mix it vigorously with a wooden spoon to combine with the other ingredients. This recipe is from Wildair, one of the Hot 10, America's Best New Restaurants 2016.

Great chefs take great pride in turning humble vegetables into world-class dishes. Which is something you ought to remind yourself of while simmering sesame seeds for 2 hours to make a sauce for this cauliflower. This recipe is from Staplehouse, America's Best New Restaurant 2016.

An addictive slaw with sweetness from the fresh coconut and sneaky, creeping heat from the chiles. Be warned! This recipe is from Bad Saint, one of the Hot 10, America's Best New Restaurants 2016.

The finished stew should be decidedly sour, tamarind’s calling card, but you’re in control of how ­puckery things get. You can sub other vegetables or simplify the array, but be very careful not to overcook them. This recipe is from Bad Saint, one of the Hot 10, America's Best New Restaurants 2016.

Though widely accepted as the national dish of the Philippines, no two adobos are the same. This one calls for an unapologetic amount of turmeric, which has a somewhat bitter, definitely earthy flavor, and those deep, dark notes are backed up by charred coconut. This recipe is from Bad Saint, one of the Hot 10, America's Best New Restaurants 2016.

At Staplehouse, they use Anson Mills’ farro piccolo for this dish, and you can order that online. Unpearled farro, though, will be very similar, and if you see grains labeled einkorn, use that.

The pepper skins add smokiness to the salad, so don’t peel them. Bonus: That makes life a lot easier.

Make sure to rinse the rice in several changes of water before cooking so that it isn’t too gluey.

Sometimes all your body wants is a vacation from intense eating. That's where this feel-good (but fill-you-up) broth comes in.

Remember those pink salt blocks everyone was searing steaks on for a minute? A bit of kosher salt performs a similar function: transmitting heat.

There's a time for a 20-ingredient, four-hour curry, and it's not 5 p.m. on Tuesday. This shortcut version yields a hearty crowd-pleaser.

If serving at a party, set out the big pot of soup and the garnishes family-style and let guests doctor their own bowls.

Think of the heat in these chiles not as a dare but as another essential building block of flavor—right alongside salt, acid, and fat.

This colorful salad packs a bit of heat by adding the jalapeño; it balances out the cooler flavors, but feel free to omit it.

Freshness counts. Buy prime tomatoes when they’re in season. And, if possible, grind whole green cardamom pods rather than using powdered.

When you're working with chiles, you should be wearing rubber gloves. Sound funny? Well, it won't after you accidentally touch your eyes.

A great basic pickle brine that complements any pepper you like.

Watermelon and prosciutto may seem like an unlikely pair, but the salty-sweet mix will make this your new go-to fruit salad.