Red Onion

This recipe originally accompanied Turkey Shawarma .

No bottled tomato sauce can equal a simple homemade one—especially when the robust flavor of the grill is added to the mix.

This recipe is a tribute to the chickpea salad they sell at the prepared-foods counter at Zabar's market in New York City, which my wife, Beverly, and I have always enjoyed. The key to this recipe is letting the beans soak after they've cooked. Rather than seasoning the beans while they're cooking, which keeps them from softening, you season them after they've cooked and then give them time to absorb the salt and garlic. Ideally, this recipe should be made a day or so ahead of time to let the flavors develop even further. Alot of people use parsley as a "default herb" to garnish a dish without really thinking about whether another herb might work better. But the flavor of parsley here truly matters; it completes the balance of the salad.

Possibly the most versatile of condiments, pickled vegetables meddle their way into most every culinary tradition, from giant kosher dills at the deli and ume plums in Japan to German sauerkraut and French cornichons. Because they keep indefinitely, a good batch of pickled red onions will wake up Chinese leftovers or act as a companion to a luscious grilled cheese sandwich with pulled short ribs . I first served this particular recipe to temper the richness of a refined duck pâté. Easy, cheap, fast: What better combination?

The peppery watercress and tangy onion are balanced by the sweet richness of the braised figs. It takes eight hours to pickle the onion, so be sure to plan ahead.

Anna Di Bene, Oltranti's grandmother, never let anything go to waste in her kitchen in Lucca, Italy. Whenever she cooked chicken, she saved the livers for this delicious antipasto. Spicy red-pepper flakes and salty capers cut through the richness of the topping.

This no-cook quickie dinner is less than 18 percent fat. Dig in!

Start making the dough one day in advance; it needs to be refrigerated overnight.

Here, chorizo replaces the usual steak or chicken.

In Turkish cookery there's a distinctive group of dishes known as güveç, which take their name from the earthenware pot in which they are cooked—in the same way that the tagine does in Morocco. In rural Anatolia the cooking pots may be sealed and buried in the ashes of a fire to cook slowly overnight—or, only slightly less romantically, in the local baker's oven. If you don't have a clay pot, a heavy-based cast-iron casserole dish will serve almost as well. Güveç dishes encompass all sorts of meat or poultry cooked with legumes, vegetables and fruits. My addition of star anise is not remotely Turkish, but it adds a wonderful layer of aniseed flavor. This güveç is spicy with a lingering sweetness, so serve it with a light salad or braised wild greens. A dollop of yogurt would also be delicious. Sucuk is a spicy Turkish sausage and can be found in Turkish or Middle Eastern butchers and some specialist delis.

Also great made with ground lamb.

In this redesigned French bistro classic, softened red onions join salty Manchego, and star anise gives the peppery broth a subtle undercurrent of sweetness.

To take the sandwiches on a picnic, use ciabatta rolls—they will stay firm despite the mayo.

Mix this relish into tuna or chicken salad, or serve with burgers or hot dogs.

This pasta is loaded with appealing flavors: sweet onions and tomatoes, tangy goat cheese, earthy spinach.