Andy Baraghani

Cooking lemon slices to almost-burnt adds a layer of complex flavor to this comforting stew.

Feel free to use whatever fresh chile you can find, but remember that this sauce is supposed to pack some heat.

This simple salad is all about the herbs, so put your best effort into finding the prettiest greens.

Our version of this dip (called borani esfanaaj in Iran) uses spinach, but it can be made with cooked beets or roasted eggplant, too.

You know the soup and salad deal? Well, this is our take on combining the two into one dish.

Sometimes with cooking, the best thing you can do is leave a thing alone. In this case, let the cabbage leaves sit and get charred around the edges before you even think about tossing them in the pan.

Make a double batch of the tahini-honey sauce at the beginning of the week to use on salads, as a dip for crunchy vegetables, or drizzled over seared salmon.

This recipe is inspired by Gado-gado, a colorful and crunchy Indonesian salad, made with a wide array of raw and cooked vegetables (and sometimes noodles). The dressing is usually peanut-based, but we used cashews. Feel free to try another tender nut such as pistachios or pecans instead.

You can keep the herbs, sauce, and noodles separate, or combine them all in a bowl like we did.

The beauty of this mix is that it can be deployed lots of ways. Eat it out of hand as an upgrade to the usual cocktail nut or pretzel offering, or spoon it over plain yogurt as a savory topping. It can also be tossed into a bowl of salad greens or as a stir-in for a puréed soup.

Yes, you can cook lentils and quinoa together. And now your life will become exponentially easier.

The assignment: A satisfying, creamy, crave-worthy baked pasta that would still be delicious without (most of) the cheese. Nailed it!

The squid only takes 3 minutes to sear for this simple salad.

This briny, bright sauce is just what you need to liven up almost any kind of fish.

A super simple red sauce lets the shellfish shine—say that 5 times fast.

If what you really want is a delicious clam dip that comes together in less than 15 minutes, this recipe is for you.

The chile butter is just that—mixing Calabrian chiles with butter—for this ridiculously easy appetizer.

The honey lends a sweet, caramelize-y twist to this quick curry, but if you want to up the heat, add a big pinch of cayenne pepper. Have some thick, crusty bread handy to scoop up all the extra sauce, or serve alongside a pile of rice for a low-maintenance comfort food dinner.

The Thanksgiving game-changing gravy. The secret? A fortified stock that you can make days in advance. No pan drippings needed!

Unpeeled potatoes absorb less moisture when boiled, and the ricer will catch the skins—great news for lazy cooks everywhere.