Cilantro

This fresh and filling salad gets gently tossed with a creamy, garlicky tahini dressing and topped with fresh herbs and crunchy walnuts.

Eggplant is like a sponge. Salting it draws out moisture and firms up the flesh, and deep-frying ensures it cooks evenly until creamy throughout. Worth your time.

Radishes make a crunchy salsa for these–or any other taco you're serving this summer.

Not in a carnivorous mood? Just opt for large peeled shrimp instead of beef and cut the cooking time by a couple of minutes.

Savory, slow-cooked turkey and crispy skin are enhanced by a smoky pasilla purée and a sweet and tangy peach salsa in these Southern-inspired tacos.

Says Chef Yu: "I really love a slightly softer taco filling with lots of toppings for crunch. This is based off a chili verde recipe that my chef used to do for staff meal, with a Mexican/Southeast Asian tinge. The two cultures share so many of the same flavors, it's easy to blend them without making it feel out of place."

Selling skeptics on the idea of a vegetarian dinner is easy when it's in pie form. Maitake mushrooms add heft.

We like to serve this main with couscous, rice, or grilled bread to sop up all of the shrimp's intensely flavored cooking liquid.

A favorite, try this versatile crunchy peanut mixture with braised-chicken-thigh lettuce wraps.

Done well, this should be crunchy, fresh, spicy, sour, and a little bit funky. Taste as you go and adjust as needed.

Fresh celery lightens this guacamole and adds some serious crunch.

Tex-Mex ingredients like Monterey Jack, cilantro, corn and lime combine with rice to create an awesome salad. Wrap it in lettuce for a cool, crunchy and fun meal.

Cabeza—or beef cheek—tacos are some of the best things this planet has to offer as food. I ate so many of these and other tacos growing up in both L.A. and Orange County that it became part of me and, in a way, prepared me to cook my own tacos. Splash some salsa verde on there, and that's it: SoCal, and especially L.A., on a plate.

Make extra grains on Sunday and use them for this lightning-quick weeknight dinner.