Garlic

If you really want to go all out, you can brown the lamb in a wood-burning oven (erm, if you've got one handy) where it could absorb smoky flavors. For the rest of us mere mortals, that step for this recipe can be done in a hot oven.

An extra chile for this harissa recipe will play up the heat, and if you’re feeling confident, you can customize the mix of spices as well.

Other tender herbs such as cilantro, dill, and/or tarragon can be used instead for this salsa verde recipe. Though the breadcrumbs don’t stay crisp, they give body and subtle crunch to the sauce.

This chermoula sauce recipe is even better if it sits for a while to let the flavors meld.

When working with a large quantity of greens, it’s much easier to sauté them if they’re blanched first. Their time in the olive oil is more for flavoring and reaching the ideal texture.

Remember those pink salt blocks everyone was searing steaks on for a minute? A bit of kosher salt performs a similar function: transmitting heat.

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.

Set this up on Sunday and have tapas at home when you get back from work, all week long. This recipe is from Morcilla, one of Bon Appétit's Hot 10, America's Best New Restaurants 2016.

From wild pigs fed on small nuts retrieved by ranch hands nimbly climbing royal palms to all day vigils around wooden roasting boxes, getting pork right is a serious Cuban affair. This Lechón Asado falls in between those extremes. The pork shoulder is marinated in mojo then oven-roasted over several hours, usually overnight. The heat is cranked up at the very end until the skin turns a deep golden brown. Traditionally made for Nochebuena, it’s a holiday dish that’s simple enough to make for any occasion. This recipe comes from Sofía Benítez Otero.

Use this flavorful Cuban condiment as a marinade or as a sandwich spread.

A spoonful of toum elevates any steamed or roasted vegetable, or pasta or grains—or use it as a dipping sauce for good bread.

Chop these Calabrian-style chiles into pasta sauce or sprinkle onto pizza.

There are a lot of aioli recipes out there. This one uses a coddled egg instead of raw, and the blender method ensures a successful emulsion.

Don’t rush to shake the pan and toss the green beans before they blister; they need a little time to char.

When late-season and bruised tomatoes show up at the market, stock up.