Condiments, Sauces & Pastes

“The fresh herbs and scallion might seem strange, but they work. And the hot sauce? Makes anything better.” —Carla Lalli Music, food and features editor

“With the peanut butter turned into a tahini-esque sauce, these wings hit all the perfect sweet, salty, and roasty notes.“ —Alison Roman, senior associate food editor

This dish calls for a fish with a fairly firm structure: Line-caught albacore, lingcod, and mahi-mahi are all good options. Or paint a wild salmon fillet with the marinade and proceed. If you have not made The Greenest Tahini Sauce, you could use a spoonful of straight tahini mixed with olive oil as a marinade; try incorporating a bit of lemon zest as well.

Harissa is a great shortcut ingredient to flavor, but no two jars (or tubes) are the same. Taste first—if it seems very spicy, use a bit less. You can always stir more into the chickpeas when the dish is finished. Learn how to make this recipe and more in our online cooking class with Sur la Table.

If you leave this on the thicker side, it’s a great crudités dip. Or, thin it and pour onto salad.

If the vibrancy of this dressing fades, perk it back up with more lime juice.

You'll see fibers running through the cooked steak; make sure to cut across them for tender slices.

This salad’s secret? Combining raw and roasted beets delivers two textures from one ingredient.

Tangy tamarind is a key ingredient in pad thai but works in lots of other applications

Step one: Buy tamarind concentrate. Step two: Make this spin on a classic whiskey sour.

Do you like peanut butter cups? Of course you do! Now it's time to super-size that love—into a PBC cake the size of a small pizza

Compound butter is a great way to get flavor into a roast chicken. Here's a North African-inspired version

This cake is perfect for beginners—it’s moist, forgiving, and easy. Jif creamy peanut butter is our favorite for the decadent frosting.

A roundup of umami-packed recipes using ingredients like miso, parmesan, kombu, dried shiitake mushrooms, and tomatoes.

Umami-loaded ingredients (tofu and miso) make this the most addictive ranch ever.

A clean, well-oiled grate makes grilling tomatoes a cinch.

Peanut butter has a place on the dinner table. This peanut sauce recipe makes enough for two or three different meals.

The cool flavors of basil and cilantro balance the spiciness of the harissa.

At home, chef Gregory Vernick (Vernick Food & Drink, Philadelphia) always keeps miso on hand for an umami blast in everything from braises and mayo to this Asian-leaning chicken soup. You won’t believe how much depth it adds to canned broth.

At Lafayette restaurant in New York City, the lamb is served with cooked quinoa that’s folded into couscous, but you could simply choose one or the other as a side dish.

Grill the tomatoes just before you place the eggplants in the coals.