Chile

A colorful array of garnishes offer a fresh contrast to this bold, smoky chicken soup from Nashville's Mas Tacos Por Favor.

This tasty chili, which has just a hint of heat, is perfect for family get-togethers. Add a tossed green salad, sprinkled with shredded carrots, and whole-grain rolls.

Sardines are small and abundant and have a short life cycle, making them one of the most sustainable fish out there. They’re low in mercury and other toxins that build up in larger fish. Plus, the method used to fish them produces very little bycatch and has minimal environmental impact. Best of all, they are quick-cooking, versatile, and tasty! They can hold up to the bold flavors of the accompanying sauce. This is finger food at its best, perfect for outdoor cooking—and eating. If you have any seasoned fruit wood or grapevines, add to the coals or use to build the fire—the flavor will take you directly to the Mediterranean. If it’s not grilling season, you can make this indoors in a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet instead.

A spicy vegetable side dish from Chef Jon Mortimer, a 2007 Workshop participant, inspired this more substantial stew. By adding more summer vegetables, such as chayote and corn, Brian elevated Chef Mortimer’s dish to entrée status. Prepared with vegetable stock, it is suitable for vegetarians.

Brian mastered mole verde under the tutelage of Brenda Godinez, a Cakebread staffer who creates exquisite flower arrangements for the winery. Brenda taught Brian that a proper mole requires many steps: almost every ingredient needs to be fried or toasted first to deepen its flavor. The mole verde, or green mole, relies on fresh chiles, tomatillos, and cilantro for its emerald color. When well made, the mole is velvety smooth. This recipe features chicken, but we sometimes use duck legs or pork. Truly, the spotlight is on the sauce. Serve with rice and a salad. Note that this recipe makes twice as much mole (the sauce, not the chicken) as you need to serve six people. But why make mole in small amounts? It freezes well, giving you a running start on the next dinner.

When your menu calls for rice pilaf, consider this aromatic arroz verde instead. The flavor is more herbaceous than spicy, with a subtle sweetness from sautéed onion. You don’t have to limit the rice to occasions when you are serving Mexican food. Try it with grilled pork tenderloin, skirt steaks, or a pork stew.

Chef Scott Neuman is a Latin cooking enthusiast who transformed the zucchini and corn in Dolores’s garden into a lively chile-spiked soup during the 2009 Workshop. This recipe is an adaptation that goes well with Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay. The soup is light and bright, a distillation of early summer flavors and a delightful first course in warm weather.

A light, bright, citrusy hors d’oeuvre for a warm summer night, this tartare requires impeccably fresh tuna. Keep the fish on ice as you prepare it and serve it immediately for the most vivid flavor. To preserve the tuna’s plum-red color, don’t add the salt or soy sauce until the last moment. You can present the tartare in lettuce cups, if you prefer, instead of on fried wontons or crackers.

To simplify Mexican chiles rellenos—fried, stuffed mild chile peppers—these poblano peppers are filled with a black-bean mixture (without first being roasted and peeled) and then baked in a spicy tomato sauce.

Made famous in the port city of Veracruz, Mexico, this spicy dish combines jalapeños, olives, tomatoes, and oregano in a pan sauce that surrounds the firm-fleshed snapper as it cooks. Serve with lime wedges and white rice or a simple green salad.

This quick-cooking dish proves that you can make flavorful Indian curries entirely from scratch with just a handful of fresh (and easy to find) ingredients.

Turn leftover meat from Flank Steak with Parsley-Garlic Sauce (page 194) into one of these weeknight dinners. The steak for the salad can be served cold, while the steak in the fajitas will warm through as it gets cooked with the rest of the ingredients.

This quick version of a traditional Mexican stew gets its robust flavor from chipotle chiles—smoked jalapeños packed in adobo (spicy tomato sauce). Hominy (or posole) is also essential. Both can be found in the Latin American section of supermarkets.

For true Southwestern flavor, squeeze lime juice over each portion of soup just before serving and place tortilla chips alongside. Buy the cooked ham from the deli counter, or leave it out altogether for a vegetarian version.

Salsa simply means “sauce” in Spanish. These three versions are delicious served with tortilla chips, or as condiments along-side grilled fish, chicken, or pork.

Salsa simply means “sauce” in Spanish. These three versions are delicious served with tortilla chips, or as condiments along-side grilled fish, chicken, or pork.

This spicy mayonnaise adds a kick to any sandwich.

SLOPPY JOES, THE OLD CHILDHOOD FAVORITE, get a makeover in this weeknight dish. With turkey instead of beef and the addition of corn, cilantro, and jalapeño, this is no ordinary joe. Spoon this flavorful mixture into hamburger buns or warm tortillas for a kid-friendly main course, or try it over rice or in a lettuce cup.

THIS IS THE SAME GREAT BEECHER’S MAC AND CHEESE recipe taken to a new level, with the spice of chiles and the addition of vegetables. Feel free to experiment with leftover cheeses for new flavor combinations.

The secret ingredient of this tangy, spicy dressing is fish sauce, or “nam pla.” Made from small, dried fish, nam pla is a staple in Southeast Asian cooking; its strong, distinctive flavor is mellowed by the lime. Adjust the level of spiciness by adding jalapeños or leaving them out entirely.