Pasta recipes

Sweet red peppers simmered with paprika-stained onions, tomatoes, and a splash of red wine vinegar in this classic Russian lecho. Serve warm, cold, or at room temperature.

This is a fairly close approximation to what a parmigiana dish should be like.

Turkish-style sauteed eggplant with a garlicky tomato sauce finished with vinegar. Salted and drained for silky, golden slices. Served warm or at room temperature.

Garlic and chickpea dip with two whole heads of boiled garlic, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, and fresh parsley. Chilled in a mold and served with tomatoes.

Kae Atar Wot, an Ethiopian split green pea stew spiced with chow and tomato paste. Vegan, high-protein comfort food meant for scooping with injera.

Basic miso soup with wakame, onion, carrot, and a swirl of miso paste stirred in off-heat for an authentic Japanese starter ready in 20 minutes.

Sauteed pork chops with a rich pan sauce of shallots, white wine, Dijon mustard, and julienned sour pickles. A French-inspired weeknight dinner for two.

Monaco-style sweet-sour braised pearl onions with tomato, vinegar, sugar and herbs. Classic French Riviera vegetable side dish and cold antipasto topping.

No-cook peanut garlic sauce blended with fish sauce, red curry paste, and chicken broth. A quick Thai-inspired dipping sauce for satay, noodles, or grilled chicken.

In Japan, miso soup is a traditional breakfast food–sipped hot, directly from the bowl. It is incredibly simple to prepare and can be put together in roughly the same amount of time it takes to brew a cup of tea. You can transfer the soup to a wide-neck thermos and take it to work for a nourishing mid-morning break as well. Miso has numerous health benefits, but is especially renowned for its probiotics properties, which help balance intestinal flora. It also contains good amounts of vitamin B12.

Fat-free chili beans with brown rice, kidney beans, carrots, and tomato sauce. A vegan one-pot meal with zero added oil that's hearty, filling, and customizable.

Button mushrooms simmered in a spicy Creole sauce with red wine, garlic, jalapeno, tomatoes, and oregano. A bold, low-calorie side dish ready in 25 minutes.

Thin, tangy vinegar and peanut oil basting sauce with tomato paste, mustard, and hot sauce for grilled chicken. Whisk it together in 5 minutes and brush it on while the charcoal does the work.

Chewy almond paste macaroons with crackled tops and tender centers, baked from a homemade four-day-aged paste of blanched almonds and egg whites. The classic Italian-style cookie before the French sandwich version took over.

Phal base recipe: the blazing-hot curry paste foundation for Britain's spiciest Indian restaurant dish. Four ingredients blend into fiery heat for an authentic phal curry at home.

Teriyaki grilled corn basted with a homemade glaze of brown sugar, tomato paste, and sesame seeds. Six ingredients, 20 minutes, vegetarian.