Recipes with bay leaves

Caribbean-style rice and peas gets a vegan upgrade with cubed tempeh, coconut-toasted brown rice, black-eyed peas, and cinnamon. A hearty plant-based main with island flavor.

Classic British soused herrings slow-baked in a tangy bath of white wine vinegar, lemon juice, Marmite, and pickling spices. Served cold as a traditional pub-style appetizer.

Shepherd's pie made with seasoned ground beef in tomato sauce, mixed vegetables, herbs, and a firm mashed potato lid finished with paprika. Classic British comfort casserole.

Fragrant Spanish rice with sautéed mushrooms, fresh tomatoes, green pepper, garlic, cloves, cayenne, and a splash of sherry. A flavorful side dish ready in 30 minutes.

Louisiana red beans and rice simmered with a meaty ham bone, smoked sausage, the holy trinity, and hot sauce. Soaked overnight, slow-cooked, and served over fluffy rice with scallions.

Classic crockpot beef stew with potatoes, carrots, pearl onions, and celery. Flour-coated beef browns first, then slow cooks 8 to 10 hours until everything is melt-in-your-mouth tender.

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Master fish stock simmers whitefish bones with onions, leeks, shallots, and a thyme-bay aromatic base for a clear, gelatin-rich seafood broth. The base for soups, risottos, and sauces.

Classic veal fricassee with tender poached cubes in a buttery roux sauce, sautéed mushrooms, and white asparagus. A refined European comfort dish served over rice that's worth the slow simmer.

Two whole chickens simmered with leeks, carrots, celery, and fresh thyme yield a crystal-clear broth and tender diced meat. A from-scratch chicken soup that's worth every minute of the 2.5-hour simmer.

Country Captain is a storied Southern curried chicken stew with tomatoes, green peppers, garlic, and warm spices. A whole hen simmered tender and served over rice. Feeds 8.

Feijão preto is a Brazilian-style black bean stew slow-simmered with onion, garlic, orange, tomato and coriander, served over brown rice with toasted bread crumbs and orange slices.

Shrimp Creole omelets stuffed with a spicy tomato sauce built on the Cajun holy trinity of onion, bell pepper, and celery. Fold them soft, fill them hot, and serve with rice.

Potato leek soup with sweet corn, carrots, celery, and a hit of hot paprika. A rustic German-style soup with a partially blended texture and only a splash of cream for finishing.

Mushrooms and queen scallops in a silky cream sauce finished with tarragon vinegar and anchovy essence. A refined British appetizer served in scallop shells or a gratin dish.

Canned tuna simmered in homemade coconut milk with cinnamon, crushed red chili, garlic, and tart rhubarb for a sweet-spicy-tangy curry served over rice. This unexpected flavor combo is the real surprise here.

Slow cooker chicken cacciatore with two whole chickens braised in tomatoes, red wine, garlic, and Italian herbs. Set it, forget it, and feed a crowd of ten with zero effort.

Vegan Manhattan chowder with crushed tomatoes, potatoes, and wakame seaweed for a briny seafood flavor without the clams. Hearty, plant-based, and full of umami.

New Orleans-style red beans simmered with smoked ham hocks, kielbasa, the holy trinity, and a kick of Tabasco. Thick, smoky, and good enough to make on a Monday or any day.

Light summer vegetable soup with green beans, yellow squash, and spinach. Garden-fresh vegetables in a Worcestershire-seasoned broth ready in 50 minutes.

Chicken pieces browned in ghee and simmered in coconut milk with cinnamon, cardamom, mace, curry powder, tomatoes, apples, and cream. A richly spiced, aromatic Indian chicken curry that feeds six.

Beef cubes, carrots, and tomatoes slow-cook for 12 hours with quick-cooking tapioca that thickens the broth into a rich, spoon-coating gravy.

Homemade vegan vegetable broth simmered for 3 to 4 hours with white wine, carrots, celery, potatoes, mushrooms, leeks, and fresh herbs. A clean, flavorful base for soups and sauces.

Red lentil soup with caramelized onions, dried mint, and paprika simmered in beef stock. A pantry-friendly soup that purees silky or stays brothy with tender lentils throughout.

Classic pot roast rubbed with seasoned salt, onion powder, and garlic, then browned and braised low and slow with onion, green pepper, bay leaves, and thyme. Pan juices thicken into rich gravy.

Mild curry powder blend of toasted cloves, cinnamon, black pepper, mace, cardamom, cumin, and bay leaves, ground fresh and aged for a smooth, mellow finish. The homemade pantry blend that ages a year in the jar.

Vegetarian chunky tomato pasta sauce loaded with mushrooms, celery, and bell pepper, simmered with fresh tomatoes and herbs. Oil-free option available. Ready in under an hour.

Hearty venison stew with carrots, potatoes, and a warm blend of paprika and allspice. Brown the meat, simmer low and slow, and let the crockpot do the heavy lifting.

Homemade kosher garlic dill pickles with a spiced vinegar brine, bay leaf, mustard seed, and fresh dill. A classic canning recipe that yields 7 pints of crunchy pickles.

A smooth, from-scratch tomato sauce simmered with garlic, green pepper, thyme, and basil, pureed silky and ladled over spaghetti. Freezes beautifully for busy weeknights ahead.

Classic French court bouillon, an aromatic poaching liquid for fish and seafood. Onion, lemon, cloves, and bay leaf simmer with optional white wine for fragrant, delicate results.

An absolutely tasty dumpling stew is perfect in a cold winter day to warm up your entire family.

Classic French red wine sauce for salmon made with fish stock, mirepoix, shallots, and multiple reductions. This elegant sauce from a master chef requires precision and patience.

Baby salmon stuffed with caviar, a restaurant-style dish where a whole baby salmon is filled with salmon mousse and a line of caviar, baked in white wine, and plated with two sauces. An elegant seafood showpiece.

Homemade Creole chaurice sausage with fresh pork, onions, garlic, cayenne, allspice, and bay leaf ground and stuffed into natural casings. A spicy Louisiana classic for gumbo, jambalaya, or the grill.

Southern pot likker chili built on collard-green broth with smoked chuck, ground beef, pintos, chipotle, habanero, and a splash of beer. Long-simmered, deeply smoky, bowl-licking good.

Red wine sauce for salmon built from salmon bones, cognac, mirepoix, and shallot puree with a double-reduction technique. A restaurant-quality fish sauce with rich, concentrated flavor.

Polish hunters stew (bigos) with sauerkraut, kielbasa, bacon, dried mushrooms, apples, and tomatoes. Simmered low and slow, best reheated the next day.

Roux-thickened Creole onion soup loaded with golden onions, three cheeses, cayenne, and herbs, topped with seasoned bread cubes. French onion goes full Louisiana.

A hearty Dutch oven beef stew with seared chuck, red wine, tomatoes, new potatoes, green beans, peas, and carrots simmered low and slow for two hours. No shortcuts, just real stew.

This recipe blends together a whole bunch of different spices to give the chicken a surprising and unique flavor.

Orange venison stew with mushrooms, shallots, white wine, tomatoes, and potatoes baked in a casserole. A refined wild game stew with citrus and earthy depth.

Kakavia is the Greek fisherman's soup: tomato, fennel, and herb broth simmered with mixed fish, lobster, shrimp, and scallops, ladled over thick toast. Rustic Mediterranean seafood stew at its most generous.

Slow-braised pork belly and kidneys with orange zest, celery, garlic, and rosemary, made a day ahead so the surface fat lifts off cleanly. Old-school British casserole craft.

Chicken quarters poached with rosemary, then browned and sauced in a bold blend of anchovies, black olives, capers, jalapeños, pine nuts, and basil. Intensely savory and impossible to forget.

Vegetable lasagna packed with broccoli folded right into the ricotta layer, stacked with a chunky homemade tomato sauce of peppers, celery and basil. A hearty meatless lasagna under bubbly mozzarella.

Pressure cooker chicken cacciatora with stewed tomatoes, white wine, zucchini, red peppers, and garlic. A rustic Italian one-pot dinner served over pasta in about an hour.

A from-scratch turkey chowder simmered from the carcass with carrots, celery, potatoes, and diced turkey, served with a caramelized cranberry compote and sour cream. The most elegant way to use your Thanksgiving leftovers.