Vegan

This recipe was inspired by the delicious lemon-oregano jam Mario Batali serves at Babbo, in New York City. Try a dollop of our version on poached or grilled fish or chicken, or use it as a dip for steamed asparagus or artichokes.

Davina uses this olive paste as a pizza topping, as a flavor pickup for purchased pasta sauces and as a spread for baguette slices.

Party alert: This spicy snack is perfect with chilled sparkling wine or ice-cold beer.

Fermented soybean paste-called miso-is the key ingredient here.

This recipe is an accompaniment for Turkey Meatloaf .

This eye-catching fruit mélange also includes kiwi, which isn't tropical but is very colorful and refreshing. Using store-bought sorbet makes this even easier to prepare.

The miso dressing — which has the body of an egg yolk dressing without all the fat — lends depth of flavor to sweet persimmon and creamy avocado.

This is a great summer salad, perfect with all kinds of barbecue and grilled foods. It's also a wonderful way to brighten up a winter dinner of broiled chicken or beef.

Mellowed by brief cooking and wine, this pickled garlic is very mild in flavor. Slice it to add to salads or use as a garnish. Or top off the jar with olive oil, and serve the whole cloves as an appetizer.

Rice is a staple of Latin cuisines, and growing up in a Cuban family, I probably took it for granted. It was only when I left home that I realized how important well-cooked rice can be, both for the soul and other foods on the plate! I always try to impress on people that it's a sin to use converted or instant rice. It's got to be "real" rice, and preferably long-grain. Avoid flavoring rice, for that will detract from the flavors of the foods you're serving the rice with.

Applesauce can begin as a soothing breakfast fruit and end as a dessert, tucked inside a buckwheat crêpe or made into the glorious dessert. The pressure cooker in tandem with the food mill eliminates the need to peel and core the apples. You can have applesauce in 15 minutes. Quinces give applesauce an elusive perfume and turn it rosy pink.

The salsa has a nice balance of sweet and spicy flvaors and is a perfect compliment to purchased frozen spring rolls or egg rolls.

Mincing the garlic and chopping the rosemary the night before (and storing them in a resealable plastic bag in the fridge) makes preparation the next morning a snap.

This recipe is an accompaniment for Stilton Tart with Cranberry Chutney .