Leafy Greens

Okay, fine, you've never heard of baobab—but that's about to change. (Remember when no one knew how to pronounce quinoa?) You'll find the powder from the tangy superfruit stocked at the health food store.

Who says gremolata has to have parsley and lemon? No one who's tried this crunchy Thai influenced riff.

Boredom? Never. Try swapping in baby turnips for the radishes and kale or Swiss chard for the mustard greens in this effortless dish.

No need to buy preflavored vodka; we got great results making our own.

At Rioja, half of the bacon is replaced with ground fatback, a step that makes this excellent burger even better.

Bubbling cheeses and tender spinach elevate store-bought gnocchi (look for it in the dried-pasta section).

Once a way to make use of stale tortillas (by toasting and/or frying them), tostadas are so good that it wasn't long before people simply started using fresh tortillas. After biting into these layers of flavor—crunchy, creamy, luscious—you'll see why.

Simple syrup is an easy way to add unexpected flavors-like, well, vegetables-to your drinks. This Arugula Simple Syrup makes about 2/3 cup, which is enough for about 10 cocktails.

Spring is abundant with greens of all types, both wild and cultivated. You never know what might show up at your market in any given week. It just so happened that I was able to get pepper y watercress, wild stinging nettles, and sour sorrel at the same time. I love the idea of a watercress or nettles soup, but it always leaves me wanting acid, which inevitably turns the vibrant green soup to a drab olive. Naturally sour sorrel solves this by adding brightness without acid to balance the flavor. If you have trouble finding nettles, just use more watercress, or substitute arugula, mizuna, or dandelion.

Because beets are sweet and earthy, they need a good helping of acidity and salt to brighten them up. Immediately after cooking, dress beets in vinaigrette and salt to let them marinate.

Toasted walnuts add a rich nuttiness to earthy greens. If you are following our $68 Dinner Story, use the reserved beet and Swiss chard greens and remaining chard stems from the Roasted Beet Salad with Flash-Pickled Radishes and Chard .

This salad is the answer to people who think they don't like leafy greens. Good kale has a deep, almost meaty flavor. Searing it and mixing it with brown-butter-drenched pine nuts, sweet raisins, and salty Parmesan cheese is a no-fail treatment. Most other hearty greens like beet greens, dandelion greens, or radish tops would also be good in this dish.

The Zuni roast chicken depends on three things, beginning with the small size of the bird. Don't substitute a jumbo roaster—it will be too lean and won't tolerate high heat, which is the second requirement of the method. Small chickens, 2-3/4 to 3-1/2 pounds, flourish at high heat, roasting quickly and evenly, and, with lots of skin per ounce of meat, they are virtually designed to stay succulent. Your store may not promote this size for roasting, but let them know you'd like it. I used to ask for a whole fryer, but since many people don't want to cut up their own chickens for frying (or anything else), those smaller birds rarely make it to the display case intact; most are sacrificed to the "parts" market. But it is no secret that a whole fryer makes a great roaster—it's the size of bird favored for popular spit-roasted chickens to-go. It ought to return to retail cases. The third requirement is salting the bird at least 24 hours in advance. This improves flavor, keeps it moist, and makes it tender. We don't bother trussing the chicken—I want as much skin as possible to blister and color. And we don't rub the chicken with extra fat, trusting its own skin to provide enough. But if the chicken is about method, the bread salad is more about recipe. Sort of a scrappy extramural stuffing, it is a warm mix of crispy, tender, and chewy chunks of bread, a little slivered garlic and scallion, a scatter of currants and pine nuts, and a handful of greens, all moistened with vinaigrette and chicken drippings.

Packed with healthy superfoods and a little caffeine kick from matcha powder, this creamy green smoothie bowl makes a satisfying breakfast. Chia seeds and oats add density and fiber, while mango and fresh ginger add sweetness and spice.