Chile

Ground, toasted rice adds crunch and a slight nuttiness to this salad. Thai basil, available at gourmet and farmers’ markets, has a licorice flavor, but you can use regular basil instead.

You can prepare the vegetables up to 2 hours before serving and keep them covered in the refrigerator. If desired, include some poblano or other chiles along with the peppers. You can substitute feta cheese for the ricotta salata.

Piquant jalapeño chiles complement the earthy flavor of black-eyed peas in this fiber-rich side salad; they also add crunch, along with the diced red onion.

Some varieties of noodles suggest soaking them in boiling water instead of cooking them; check your package instructions before preparing them.

This soup can be made up to 1 day ahead and stored, covered, in the refrigerator; stir it again before serving, as it may separate while it sits. Poblano chiles vary in heat from mild to hot; you may need more or less to taste. If you like, garnish each serving with more cooked corn.

You can control the heat of this chili by increasing or decreasing the number of chiles; be sure to have good ventilation over the stove when pan-roasting them. If you have two large cast-iron skillets, save time by using both at once. If you like, serve the chili with other traditional garnishes, such as shredded Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese, sour cream, and chopped cilantro.

The tamales can be made through step 4 up to a month in advance and frozen; steam directly from the freezer (cooking time will be longer—follow recipe directions to check for doneness).

You can serve this chunky salsa in seashells as an hors d’oeuvre with cocktails, but it would also be ideal as a dip for Fried Plantain Chips (recipe follows).

Vegetables get plenty of smoky flavor when you grill them, so there’s no need to reach for the salt shaker. Feel free to pop some other vegetables, such as yellow squash and mushrooms, onto the grill, too.

A mildly spicy, citrus-tinged sour cream sauce tops these baked salmon fillets. The ground chipotle adds just a hint of smokiness.

Pesto with both Italian and Mexican touches turns simple grilled or broiled fish into a delicious entrée.

Spice up lean grilled hamburgers, chicken breasts, or pork tenderloin with this wonderful salsa, which gets its smoky flavor from the chipotle chile. Regulate the heat from mild to spicy by the amount of chipotle you add.

A popular dish in the Lone Star State, where it is called Texas Caviar, this flavorful salad is sure to become a favorite in your household, too.

Add some zing to your food, but without the sodium usually found in bottled chili sauce. Drizzle this chili sauce on Spicy Baked Fish (page 103) or use it to make shrimp cocktail.