Chile

Charring the vegetables adds bittersweet depth; serve leftovers on scrambled eggs.

The butter (yep, a whole stick) mellows the tart lemon sauce and is key to the finished texture.

Three kinds of dried chiles add just the right amount of smoky heat when you cook this best beef chili recipe, and three cuts of beef deliver robust flavor. This is part of BA's Best, a collection of our essential recipes.

The smoky flavor of the fire-roasted tomatoes fits in here, but regular tomatoes would be good, too. This goes great with our beer-braised brisket.

This combo, served at Moon Juice in Los Angeles, is prized for its anti-inflammatory properties. Pineapple makes it palatable for green-juice newbies.

Braising octopus might sound advanced, but it’s as easy as simmering a pot of beans.

Maybe you’re coming down with a cold, or you hit one too many holiday parties. This comforting but complex-tasting soup is just what the doctor ordered.

You can substitute ancho chiles for the chilhuacle amarillo chiles and the chilcostle chiles in this mole, but for authentic color and flavor, order these hard to find chiles from spicetrekkers.com.

There are no dried chiles in this green mole; it boasts bright, fresh flavors instead.

Chilhuacle negro chiles give this mole its traditional flavor and should not be substituted. They’re difficult to find in the U.S., but you can find them—and the other chiles you’ll need—at spicetrekkers.com.

A warming beef chili gets serious depth from toasted chiles and a touch of sweetness from squash.

This recipe comes from the November 1989 issue and is part of our Thanksgiving Hall of Fame series. Pork and pumpkin plus spicy chorizo sausage, hominy and jalapeño make this stew a standout. Freshly toasted and ground cumin adds fragrance and flavor.

This savory mixture lands somewhere between dip and spread but it's dead on delicious. Like a holiday cheeseball...minus the cheese.

A briny, spicy salsa brightens up simple fish dishes, such as Broiled Salmon Steaks (click for recipe)

A low-fuss soup like this spicy, hearty number is great for a crowd.

When is it done? Try this test: When the liquid has reduced by two-thirds, drop a spoonful onto a chilled plate and drag your finger through; if the jelly holds a trail that doesn't fill back in, it's ready. Learn more in this video.

Choose a country-style sourdough, preferably not too tangy, and if you prefer hot Italian links, go for it. Learn how to make this stuffing in this video.

Just a little bit of spicy, salty chile bean paste is the reason this dish packs such an insane flavor punch.

Use this smoky bread powder as your new crouton: Put it on salads, roasted veggies, and oil-and-garlic pasta.

You will fight your own relatives for the bits of cheesy goodness stuck to the bottom of the pan. Learn how to make this recipe in this video.

Vietnamese pho is built on a long-simmered and aromatic stock infused with charred ginger and onion, spices, and fish sauce, ladled over rice noodles and most commonly served with thin slices of beef. This is not that. We borrowed the technique of charring the onion and toasting the spices to give a quick, weeknight-friendly boost to store-bought chicken stock for this pork and noodle soup.

When using preserved lemons, scoop out the insides and only use the peel.

Brining the nuts with herbs and some spice infuses them from the inside out, and the long roasting time gives them extra toasty flavor.