Dinner

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.

Sprouting and frying the sunflower seeds completely transforms their flavor. But just using salted, roasted sunflower seeds would also work fine. This recipe is from Staplehouse, America's Best New Restaurant 2016.

Don’t be tempted to disturb the gnocchi when browning—the hands-off approach is key to letting them develop a deep brown color on one side. 

Persimmons stand in for ripe tomato in this caprese-ish salad, and if you haven’t had them before, they’re worth trying. Before you buy, things to know: The squat fuyu persimmon lacks the tannins that define their pointy-bottomed counterpart, the hachiya variety. While fuyus can be eaten when slightly underripe (they’ll be crunchy), the hachiya needs to be dead ripe or else it will be insufferably bitter. This recipe is from Wildair, one of the Hot 10, America's Best New Restaurants 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.

You can finish this carbonara with other seasonal vegetables, such as shredded brussels sprouts or Napa cabbage. This recipe is from Oberlin, 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.

Thinly sliced raw cauliflower takes center stage in this salad, tossed in a bright, limey dressing and dusted with nutritional yeast.

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.

An unexpected side dish that can be made hours ahead of a party; wait until the last minute to toss together.

Make any modifications that suit you and the preferences of your eaters: Onions in place of shallots; carrots for fennel; add garlic; omit the cayenne; a splash of cream instead of butter, as you wish.

The combination of salty water and salty Parmesan puts this pasta at risk of becoming oversalted. If that happens, throw in a knob of unsalted butter at the end to mellow it and add a smooth finish.

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'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.

This irresistible matchup of crispy and creamy releases more dopamine than a bag of Cheetos.

You can omit the pancetta, but it gives the finished dish a meaty depth that’s worth the extra step.

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.

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

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