Rice

A classic Greek soup that's thickened with eggs and spiked with lemon. Add some shredded rotisserie chicken and call it a meal.

The color yellow symbolized joy for medieval Arabs, who were cultivating saffron in Spain by 960 c.e. Sephardic Jews were equally inspired by the coveted spice, and golden rice became a holiday and Sabbath tradition. This version, made with basmati rice, is punctuated by caramelized onion, currants, and fried almonds.

Sweet sausage will workin this springtime risotto, too; the final result just won't taste spicy.

Double this recipe if you want leftovers for rice bowls.

Rice has pride of place at the Korean table, but Koreans have also long embraced the healthful properties of other whole grains like millet, barley, and oats. This combination is fragrant and delicious.

Homemade stock will make any risotto fabulous. Here, the delicate, springlike combination of leeks and peas is given texture and heft with the addition of calamari, turning it into a main course.

This rich, creamy pudding is delicious served warm or cold. If you feel like dressing up the dessert a bit, add a cinnamon stick while the rice is cooking, or top the finished pudding with a sprinkling of raisins and a little freshly grated nutmeg just before serving.

Much of gumbo's complex richness comes from the very dark roux (a cooked mixture of flour and, in this case, oil) that thickens the soup. The longer the roux cooks, the darker and more flavorful it—and the finished dish—will become. This recipe calls for cooking the roux for about 15 minutes, but for an even stronger flavor, it can be cooked for up to 30 minutes over low heat, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Filé powder, an iconic ingredient in Cajun and Creole cooking, is made from ground sassafras leaves. It's available in the baking aisle of some supermarkets and at specialty foods stores. It should be added to each individual portion just before serving, or the gumbo will become stringy.

The sweet raisins and bits of smoky cheese studding this risotto make for an arresting contrast with the smooth, savory rice.

Riz au Lait et Rosace d'Oranges The great rice pudding revival taking hold of Paris is an oddly quiet phenomenon. In interviews for this book, individual bistro chefs like Gérard Fouché were genuinely surprised to learn that dozens of their colleagues had also added a riz au lait to their dessert menus during the last few years. Hankerings for home-style throwbacks are universal: You will be among many instantly enticed by Fouché's creamy rice pudding.

No need to open a bottle of white wine for the few tablespoons you'd require: Lemon brightens up this easy risotto.

Fan Editor's note: This recipe is reprinted from My Grandmother's Chinese Kitchen: 100 Family Recipes and Life Lessons, by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo.

Who needs lobster? Mussels bring a similar richness to this soup.

This one-pot dinner has lots of things kids love—chicken, peas, and rice—while saffron gives the medley adult appeal.

Chicken soup is an automatic crowd-pleaser, but this Mexican-inspired tortilla soup does the classic one better. Homemade broth is key here, providing a base for brown rice, black beans, and chunks of sweet potato. Cooling pieces of avocado play off of a warm, earthy undercurrent of chipotle chiles.

In order to be kosher when served with meat, the risotto in these cakes is dairy-free. It gets its creaminess exclusively from the starchy rice, so it's important to cook it slowly, stirring continuously, to release as much starch as possible. If you don't need to avoid dairy, you could replace half the vegetable oil with melted unsalted butter and stir in 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese with the mushrooms and thyme for extra flavor.