Bell Pepper

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less, but requires additional unattended time.

There will be a large amount of rendered goose fat left over from this gumbo. The French often use the fat to coat potatoes for roasting. Rendered goose fat keeps, covered and chilled, 3 months. Two 8-pound ducks can be substituted for goose if desired.

Suitable sides for the vegetables and pasta are grilled pita bread and assorted olives. End with baklava and fresh apricots.

Anne Rowland of Cohasset, Massachusetts, writes: "The Quincy Ships Brewing Company, south of Boston, is one of our favorite places. We especially love their citrus salsa, which they serve with chips." The restaurant has closed, but this spicy salsa is as good as ever.

These tiny tamales can be made a day or two ahead with no compromise. Corn is the essential flavor here, so be sure yours is sweet and fresh by tasting each ear. In the absence of fresh corn you can use frozen, but you should taste that, too.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This quick dish gets its flavor from fresh tangerine peel as well as the fruit's juice. To make easy work of grating the peel, choose tangerines with firm skin and store them in the refrigerator. Then use a hand grater or a Microplane grater-zester to grate the peel.

This is what I call a fridge-eater recipe. The key here is getting a nice sear on the sausage and cooking the tomato down until it coats the sausage and vegetables well.

This one-pot dinner cooks chicken thighs directly on top of a bed of flavorful cilantro rice studded with black beans for a complete dinner.

Letting just-grilled, still-warm peppers marinate in a bright and punchy vinaigrette allows the flavors to permeate even further.

This stunner of an appetizer comes together with boquerones and a few pantry staples.

Sweet-sour peppers meet crispy chickpeas, torn croutons, and a creamy swoosh.

We swapped hard-to-find parathas for flour tortillas in this riff on paneer kathi rolls. With a tangy yogurt sauce and filling veg, it’s the ideal to-go lunch.

A 20-minute dinner everyone will ask for again.

This Cajun shrimp fried rice is a quick and easy delight, packed with vibrant vegetables including a blend of bell pepper, onion, and garlic.

With a bag of frozen pearl onions (so cute, no peeling required!) and a bag of mini sweet peppers, you’re well on your way to dinner.