74 pastel recipes

Red beans tossed in a bold balsamic-prune dressing with fenugreek, coriander, and chili-garlic paste. A chilled bean salad bursting with sweet, tangy, spicy layers.

Chili-bacon rub made with bacon drippings, chili powder, cayenne, garlic, and tomato paste. A smoky, spicy paste for chicken and barbecue. Five ingredients, five minutes.

Vegetarian kidney bean and corn chili thickened with mashed beans and tomato paste. A hearty, no-meat chili with cumin, oregano, and chili powder ready in one hour.

Traditional Passover haroset with grated apples, walnuts, hazelnuts, and sweet kosher wine blended into a thick, nutty paste. A 10-minute no-cook recipe for the Seder table.

Pork chops with apples in a sweet-and-sour sauce of red wine vinegar, honey, chicken broth, and tomato paste. A French-inspired skillet dinner in 40 minutes.

No-bake fig squares with crystallized ginger, nuts, lemon juice, and toasted coconut layered between thin fruit-and-nut paste. A naturally sweet confection with zero oven time.

Chicken in fermented black bean sauce made entirely in the microwave with garlic, ginger, sherry, sesame oil, and chili paste. A Chinese takeout favorite ready in 30 minutes.

South Indian vegetable kurma with eggplant, carrots, peas, beans, and potatoes in a fresh coconut-chili-poppy seed paste. A fragrant vegetarian curry finished with tomatoes and yogurt.

Red-wine-marinated beef stew oven-braised with blanched bacon, dark-roux broth, and tomato paste. A freezer-friendly French bourguignon-style stew built in a Dutch oven.

Fiery Thai chili fish sauce (nam pla prik) with serrano chiles, lime juice, cilantro, garlic, and roasted chili paste. A no-cook condiment that livens up everything it touches.

Homemade fish broth from fish heads and bones sauteed with onions, leek greens, celery, thyme, and tomato paste. A clean, Italian-style base for soups, stews, and seafood risotto.

Tahini and hazelnut dip with pan-roasted hazelnuts, garlic, lemon juice, and sesame paste. A nutty, creamy vegan dip with rich toasted flavor that deepens overnight in the fridge.

Massaman curry paste: a homemade Thai-Muslim spice blend of dried chiles, lemongrass, galangal, shallots, and warm Indian-influenced spices. The flavor base for the country's most aromatic curry.

Homemade Thai green curry paste blitzed from fresh jalapenos, Hawaiian chilies, lemongrass, cilantro, garlic, shallots, and shrimp paste. A fiery, fragrant base that runs circles around any jarred version.

Sichuan shredded pork in yu shon (fish-fragrant) sauce with wood ear mushrooms, water chestnuts, and hot bean paste. A spicy-sweet-sour stir-fry that hits every flavor note.

Pinto bean paste - a 3-ingredient homemade refried bean base ready in 15 minutes. Mash and saute cooked pinto beans in oil, thin with bean stock to your preferred consistency.