Shallot

Roasted red and green grapes add juicy flavor and refreshing tanginess to this satisfying pilaf-style dressing.

Gently pickling the shallots mellows them and also adds hints of sweetness and acidity. Tossing them with some earthy, quick-cooked kale makes for a pleasing contrast in flavors.

Order scallop baking shells from surfasonline.com or call 866-799-4770.

Catfish stays tender and moist when baked in a crunchy crust of bread crumbs and cornmeal. A take on traditional New Orleans rémoulade adds a piquant punch.

This halibut recipe is perfect for warm weather. While the grill is fired up, throw on some asparagus or another quick-cooking vegetable for an easy dinner.

For this lovely side dish, orzo pasta is cooked like risotto.

Present the shrimp atop the green beans.

Tarragon leaves and meaty morel caps shoot up all over the Jura mountains in the spring. Here, tossed with juicy green and white asparagus — Europeans are particularly mad for the latter — they're a genuine sampling of the season.

Char Kway Teow These slightly sweet, salty rice noodles, with lots of garlic and a hint of heat, are a popular street food in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. There's a bit of chopping involved, but the ingredients are remarkably easy to put together.

Bahmi goreng You'll be hard-pressed to refuse seconds of this irresistible stir-fry. Tender Chinese egg noodles, crisp green snow peas, and Chinese long beans mingle with plenty of rich, garlicky sauce. Cubes of tofu and shredded omelet add even more texture.

Here's a very simple salad that's loaded with Southeast Asian flavor.

Adding watercress to potato salad gives this old standby new life. We particularly like the contrast of the crisp, peppery green against the warm, vinegar- and mustard-spiced potatoes.

I like to think of tofu as a blank canvas just waiting for the application of texture and color. Here, I've panfried it to crisp the edges and draped it in a velvety Vietnamese-style caramel sauce. A shower of fresh herbs and browned shallots gives it an extra layer of flavor. If you prep the herbs and make the sauce ahead, you can put this on the table in under half an hour.

This pasta showcases spring produce.

This North African-inspired stew is good over couscous with a little lemon juice and chopped mint. Because it's made with beef tenderloin, it's ready in minutes instead of hours.

Cornish hens have a distinctive, delicate flavor that can be easily overpowered. Perhaps surprisingly, the extroverted combination of olives and capers doesn't drown out the meat, but gives it an unexpectedly earthy and savory quality.

Sambal Serai Editor's note: This recipe is adapted from James Oseland's book Cradle of Flavor: Home Cooking from the Spice Islands of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. It originally accompanied Javanese Chicken Curry and Beef Satay and was part of an article by Oseland on Indonesian cuisine. This gorgeous-tasting, easy-to-make raw sambal originated in Bali. Try to find the freshest, most flavorful lemongrass you can when making it—your best bet may be in deep summer at a farmers' market that serves a substantial Asian community, where you're likely to find impeccably fresh, organic lemongrass.