Cilantro

Mild tilapia takes beautifully to a robust, smoky cilantro-chipotle sauce.

Who needs meat? The cumin-scented black bean filling is hearty, satisfying, and incredibly easy to prepare. Round out the meal—and get a complete protein—by adding Mexican rice.

Geung Chung Jing Hin Editor's note: This recipe is reprinted from My Grandmother's Chinese Kitchen: 100 Family Recipes and Life Lessons, by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo. Clams are the fruit of the sea that represent prosperity and are, to be sure, permissible to be eaten by observant Buddhists, including nuns.

This recipe originally accompanied Jalapeño Popper Fritters with Tomato Salsa .

Instead of the often-leaden, mayo-heavy supermarket slaw, why not try this wonderfully crisp version? The ginger and rice vinegar provide a fresh, clean flavor, and the serrano gives it just the right spark of heat.

Known as the Mexican green tomato, tomatillos supply vitamin A.

Texture and flavor contrasts make for an addictive side dish or starter.

Scallops are rich in iodine, essential to a healthy thyroid and metabolism.

Since emigrating from Vietnam in the 1970s, Kia Dickinson has been generously sharing her incredible recipes with everyone she meets, including food editor Ian Knauer. This colorful mix of moist poached chicken, cabbage, carrots, and fresh herbs tossed with a wild, tongue-searing dressing is the quintessential summer salad—cool, colorful, and very fresh. When preparing this recipe, Dickinson uses the leftover poaching liquid to make rice.

A slightly tart dressing and a perfectly crisp-sweet cucumber salad are wonderful foils for rich, meaty chunks of crab.

For a substantial vegetarian spin on köfte(a kind of Middle Eastern meatball), we beefed up grated zucchini with fresh herbs and mashed chickpeas. The accompanying pilaf, which uses both beets and their greens, is brilliantly colored and gets a joyous crunch from slivered almonds.

A cold-weather favorite, this all-beef, no-bean chili gets added appeal from a seasonal ingredient: butternut squash. For best results, make the chili at least one day ahead so that the flavors have time to meld.

The squid in this entrée is tender and picks up the flavors it's cooked with.

In this side dish, the vegetables are dressed in a classic red wine vinaigrette. Chiles add smoky heat.

This Mexican take on gazpacho has a little bit of crunch, thanks to pepitas (pumpkin seeds).

A satisfying first-course salad with beautifully balanced Asian flavors.

Cooking time may vary, depending on the thickness of the chicken. Check for doneness.

In Chalcatongo, Jiménez purchases pit-roasted lamb, then warms up the meat in a simple tomatillo sauce rich with the earthy zing of costeño rojo chiles. On this side of the border, you'll have to cook your meat first, but our adaptation (we slow-roast it) couldn't be easier.