Spanish

At one time, musicians who entertained in Catalan countryside were paid with dried fruit and nuts. This came to be known as the "musician's dessert," which is still served to this day. Many places have updated the custom by turning the "pay" into a tart. Here's a rendition, with a rich caramel topping and sweet crust.

Churrasco is Spanish for grilled steak. This is Douglas Rodriguez's Argentine interpretation made with pork. He takes slices of tenderloin and pounds them to approximate the thickness of a skirt steak. Marinate the tenderloin strips for two to six hours before grilling.

After experiencing a dazzling meal and the gracious hospitality of Martín Berasategui, one of the top Basque chefs, at the restaurant that bears his name in Lasarte-Oria, he gave us a final taste of his talent in a wonderfully refreshing granizado de cava. The following concoction I devised is very nearly the same, and surprisingly simple.

This Basque dish is essentially a fish pâté or pudding, called budíns in Spain.

Porrusalda, or leek soup in Basque, is a very traditional dish. It includes pumpkins, an interesting component in a soup composed of both Old World (carrots, leeks) and New World (potatoes, pumpkin) ingredients.

This low-fat rendition of the classic dish comes from Gil Martínez Soto of Restaurante Virrey de Palafox in El Burgo de Osma, Spain.

This traditional, regional vegetable side dish is utterly simple and absolutely delicious. The addition of raisins and pine nuts is distinctively Catalan.

Ninety-nine percent of cava—Spanish sparkling wine—is made in Catalonia. So it's natural that the bubbly beverage has found its way into many elegant Catalan desserts. Here it is combined with the luscious flavors and bright colors of strawberries and oranges in a refreshing sorbet.

Serve this dish with French bread to get all the delicious sauce.

Peg Isherwood of Libertyville, Illinois, writes: "While in Christiansted, St. Croix, we dined at Kendrick's and had the most interesting gazpacho — it was spicy but not too hot, with lots of chopped vegetables. I met the owner, David Kendrick, the next morning and found him delightful. Would you ask him for the recipe?" This gazpacho has a chunkier texture than most (almost like a salsa). To chop the vegetables in a processor, cut them into quarters and process in batches, using on/off turns.

The Spanish sauce known as romesco is usually high in fat; this version contains less oil, but just as much flavor.

"Can you obtain the recipe for littleneck clams from Antonio's Restaurant in New Bedford?" writes Michelle Dooley of Hanover, Massachusetts. "I read about the restaurant in your magazine, and now that I've been there, I'd like to try my hand at preparing this dish." Serve these clams with crusty bread and a salad to round out the meal.

This is also terrific with yellow tomatoes. Garnish with thin cucumber slices and some chopped red onion, if desired.

Unlike most tamal recipes, which use dried corn (masa harina), this one is Cuban-style, made with fresh corn kernels. I've also added a different touch by replacing the traditional pork filling with conch. The flavor and texture proved very popular at Yuca, and it remained on the menu as a fixture. These tamales are very convenient for entertaining. They can be made ahead of time and frozen, or kept in the refrigerator and then popped in the microwave. In fact, it's not worth making a smaller batch, so you'll probably want to freeze some of them. Likewise, the pesto can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated.

"I go to Spain frequently, and I've tried many kinds of paella there," says Bruce Cummings of Baltimore, Maryland. "Recently, though, I discovered an outstanding one right here in Baltimore, at Tio Pepe Restaurante."