Pasta recipes

Fiery pork and bamboo shoots over crispy rice noodles: stir-fried slivered pork with winter bamboo, Thai chili paste, and ginger served over a cloud of deep-fried puffy rice stick noodles.

Keema mattar is an Indian ground lamb curry with green peas, cooked in ghee with cumin, coriander, turmeric, ginger, and whole cloves. Serve with naan or rice.

A North African-inspired vegetarian stew with chickpeas, butternut squash, turnips, and carrots simmered with harissa and served over fluffy couscous. Warm, spiced, and feeds 8.

Stuffed poblano chiles filled with ripe olives, ricotta and Monterey Jack, baked and finished with a quick olive mole sauce of tomato, cumin, chili powder and beef stock.

Hunter's chili with cubed venison chuck simmered three hours with tomatoes, green pepper, and oregano. A no-beans, no-fuss wild game chili for the freezer hunter.

Homemade hummus from scratch using dried chickpeas, a pound of tahini, fresh lemon, and a freeze-to-soften trick for ultra-creamy texture. Middle Eastern dip that puts store-bought tubs to shame.

Baked chicken drumsticks coated in a sticky honey-ketchup glaze with five spice powder, Worcestershire, and chili sauce. Finger-licking glazed drumsticks great hot or cold.

Santa Fe red pork chili with coarsely ground pork shoulder, beer, stewed tomatoes, and layers of cumin and chili powder. No beans, no shortcuts. A thick, meaty Tex-Mex red chili simmered low and slow.

Slow cooker Southwestern beef and pinto beans with salt pork, red chili, cumin seeds, and tomato paste. Set it and forget it for 9-10 hours of hands-off cooking.

Hungarian goulash soup with tender beef cubes, paprika, green peppers, and caraway seeds simmered in beef stock. A hearty one-pot soup that tastes even better the next day.

Curried deer (venison) stew with curry powder, tomato paste, raisins, grapes, and diced apple simmered for 90 minutes. A sweet-savory game curry that tames venison's wild flavor.

Baked falafel patties with chickpeas, tahini, parsley, cumin, and garlic. Oven-baked until golden and crusty, with a fry option for reheating. A lighter take on falafel.

Olive oil marinated mushrooms simmer button mushrooms in herbed wine vinegar with thyme, garlic, and brandy. A make-ahead antipasto that gets better after a night in the fridge.

Ethiopian-style mixed vegetable stew (atkilt alicha) built on berbere spice and ghee. Green beans, carrots and potatoes simmered in tomato broth, ready in 45 minutes. Vegetarian, deeply spiced.

Slow-simmered marinara sauce with roasted garlic, anchovies, Italian plum tomatoes, and a strip of lemon peel for depth. Rich, savory, and worth the wait.

Cozy winter turkey chili: a lean, hearty chili with cooked turkey, kidney beans, tomatoes, green pepper, and warming chili-cumin spices. The lighter alternative to beef chili that doesn't taste like a compromise.