Basil

This Italian pesto recipe comes together quickly thanks to a food processor. Freeze extra for homemade pesto well beyond basil season.

Caprese salad thrives on simplicity and using the freshest ingredients possible: heirloom tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, and extra-virgin olive oil–that’s it!

The banana leaf preserves the freshness and juiciness of the mushrooms cooked inside, while perfuming the whole dish with its aroma.

Cashews make this creamy asparagus pasta sauce rich without any cream.

The secret to this flavorful soba noodle recipe is adding a paste made from chiles and garlic to a fresh and lively basil-cilantro pesto. The heat doesn’t overpower the palate, but it wakes up the other elements of salt, acid, fat, and freshness.

This Taiwanese classic gets its name from the generous amounts of soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice wine it calls for.

If any risotto could be a summer dish, it’s this one, topped with perfectly caramelized scallops and flavored with fresh basil and pineapple juice.

These shortcakes have a touch of fresh basil for an herbal dimension and some cornmeal to the shortcake for texture. Both additions keep the dessert from getting too sweet and pull the classic dish in an unexpected, modern direction.

The Thai-inspired dressing—tart and spicy and salty—plays up the sweetness of watermelon and berries while keeping the fruit salad firmly in savory territory.

No chopping required for this weeknight dinner. Just blend spinach, kale, basil, and garlic with feta, cream cheese, and olive oil to make a fresh, rich sauce that wraps itself around pasta.

A cornerstone of Ethiopian cooking, this clarified butter is infused with spices and herbs native the region, giving it unique flavor and aroma.

Since Chinese eggplant has fewer seeds, it is noticeably less bitter than its fellow nightshades. This makes it the perfect ensemble player in this cast of heat, ginger, and garlic.

In this recipe, sweet, juicy tomatoes get paired with two cheeses, fragrant herbs, and a flaky crust. We can’t think of a better way to enjoy the last tomatoes of the season.

Very loosely inspired by Lebanese fattoush, this is one of those dishes where you want to use only the ripest, most fragrant tomatoes in the bunch.

The key to these juicy steaks is to flip them often, so the fat renders evenly without overcooking the meat. And don’t sleep on that herb salad—it adds freshness to the sticky-salty-sweet pork.

We strongly endorse eating this dish with your hands, discarding shrimp tails and pepper stems as you go. Soy sauce, lime, and plenty of grated garlic create a marinade that adds tons of flavor in as little as five minutes while helping the shredded coconut adhere to the shrimp.