Olive

There’s no stock in this wintry vegetarian stew recipe—it relies on the starchy bean cooking liquid for its flavor (which is a polite way of saying sorry, but you can’t use canned beans here and get the same results).

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

Use prosciutto if Serrano is unavailable, and make sure the relish is nice and acidic to stand up to the richness of the ham and eggs. This recipe is from Morcilla, one of the Hot 10, America's Best New Restaurants 2016.

If you've got a can of tomatoes, a jar of spicy peperoncini, and a hunk of Parm in your fridge, you're halfway to a satisfying pasta dinner.

There is no better beach or picnic sandwich than the muffuletta. Here's why.

There is no better beach, picnic, or party sandwich: It feeds a crowd, gets better as it sits, and is a hearty meal built inside a loaf of bread. 

If it looks good at the market, it will be good in this salad.

Cerignola and Castelvetrano olives are big, briny, meaty, and sweet. If unavailable, use other types, or simplify with just one.

Italian-food purists might balk at the combination of clams and Parm, but we swear it’s delicious.

Pre-dinner snacks serve two purposes: They should be salty enough to encourage cocktail drinking but have enough heft to temper the alcohol’s effects. These deliver on both fronts.

The chocolate cookie at Tilda All Day in Brooklyn gets its salt from an ingredient that seems like it'd be more at home in salad than dessert. It totally works.

Bomba rice is a short-grain, starchy type, and its ideal texture is tender but chewy in the center, like al dente pasta. Try not to overcook. Use the shrimp shells and chorizo ends to make the Back-Burner Stock.

If you’ve given up on stovetop rice methods, you’ll love this hands-off oven technique.

This squeaky textured cheese goes great with salty olives and herb-spiked olive oil. 

Three simple pasta sauces that come together in minutes, with zero stove time? Sign us up.

For greatest grilling results, ask your fishmonger for swordfish steaks that are at least 1" thick (yes, just like a porterhouse).

Bursting with the big brash flavors of green olives, anchovies, and capers, this herbaceous pasta sauce isn't afraid to bite back.

It might look like there’s not enough stuffing, but really—there is. The ingredients are all very intense, so a little goes a long way, and if you overstuff the leg, it will become impossible to roll up.

We love making this take on a niçoise salad with mâche instead of traditional frisée for a slightly more mellowed recipe.

If making ahead of time, set the basil to the side; it will oxidize in the acidic sauce. Stir it in right before serving.

All the olive recipes you could ever want.

Feel free to substitute other types of kale, such as curly or Red Russian, but make sure to pre-dress and massage the leaves as noted in the recipe.

Oil-cured olives are quite salty, and we love their chewy texture, but you can use brined black olives if you prefer.

Don’t be dismayed by this recipe’s length: Packed with make-ahead moments, the dish is a low-stress showstopper.