Sun-Dried Tomato

Serve with pasta, polenta, or rice. Accompany with steamed broccoli or braised escarole or kale.

This Italian marinade and glaze is truly all-purpose. It can be used over roasted sweet peppers, marinated mushrooms, olives, or even pizza. If the sun-dried tomatoes feel brittle, refresh them by placing them in a nonreactive bowl, add 1 cup boiling water, and let them set until plump. The parsley and basil are interchangeable, so feel free to double up based on availability and preferences.

Nearly everyone loves an egg salad sandwich, especially with a bowl of hot soup. This one is made more interesting with the addition of sun-dried tomatoes and olives. Plain white toast is traditional, but whole-wheat (wholemeal) or coarse country bread is a flavorful alternative.

This is a Greek version of hummus that captures the soul of the Mediterranean. For this recipe, be sure to use premium-quality imported sun-dried tomatoes; they should be plump and soft with red hue.

Thanks to a few humble additions—sun-dried tomatoes, sweet smoked paprika, and leafy spinach—these saucy beans have real pizzazz. Best of all, the dish requires little more than a quick sauté and simmer.

Bucatini is a long, hollow pasta, like very thick spaghetti with a hole running through it. Because it is so hearty, its sauce needs rich ingredients to stand up to it. The basil, sun-dried tomatoes, and black olive tapenade form a flavor-packed, thick sauce that begs to coat the thick, toothsome strands of bucatini. With only five ingredients in this entire recipe, you won't be surprised at how effortless and speedy it is. Cooking the pasta is the only thing that takes any time.

A whole head of roasted garlic lays the foundation for an eggplant spread that's silky and satisfying, while chopped sun-dried tomatoes, fresh parsley, basil, and lemon add a healthy dose of sunshine, brightening its flavor and color. Serve it with thin slices of toasted baguette for a great take on crostini.

Remember those sun-dried tomatoes lurking in the back of your refrigerator? Their punch gives pasta an instant boost.

Fennel pollen, a relatively new spice here in America, is very popular in Italy. It is more subtle and delicate than fennel seeds, and it marries particularly well with pork. If you can't find fennel pollen, substitute freshly ground fennel seeds.

"Ingredients are considered 'spices' in Algerian cooking," says Zadi, and this slaw illustrates his point, with olives contributing saltiness, carrots and sun-dried tomatoes adding sweetness, and fennel and parsley lending an incredible freshness. In the dead of winter, when vegetables are scarce, the clean flavors of this salad are as close as you're likely to get to a summertime farmers market.

Here, chicken thighs and drumsticks roast on one side of a sheet pan while, on the other, a trio of tomatoes (plum, grape, and sun-dried) intensifies in flavor along with crusty potato and briny olives.

Latin-food authority Maricel Presilla describes sofrito—the sautéed mix of aromatic vegetables that is the bedrock of this vegetarian soup—as the DNA of the Latin kitchen because it carries a basic flavor code. There's onion and garlic, to be sure, but also tomatoes and various herbs, spices, and chiles, depending on the region. For this red-bean soup, we were inspired specifically by Puerto Rico, as evidenced by recao (an herb similar to cilantro) and by chiles that are fruity rather than hot. Just for fun, we included a last-minute sprinkling of Italian gremolata for brightness.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from I Like Food, Food Tastes Good: In the Kitchen with Your Favorite Bands by Kara Zuaro. The Violent Femmes
from Brian Ritchie If adolescence had an official soundtrack, it would be provided by the Violent Femmes. They're not quite indie rock, but if you haven't got their self-titled debut CD in your neatly alphabetized record collection, nestled somewhere between the Velvet Teen and Weezer, then your roommate must have stolen it. Brian Ritchie's acoustic bass line has no doubt rocked your teenage dance parties, and now he's going to up the ante at your next dinner soirée. "My strategy is to eat food at a restaurant and then try to guess how they made it. Then I add my own ideas," Brian explains. "I used to live in Italy, and this is my version of something I had in Florence. This recipe is as good as what you'd get there." I picked up some wild boar from New York's Citarella Fine Foods, but I had to place an order a few days in advance, and the smallest amount they would sell me was a whopping five pounds of meat. Fortunately, this deeply flavorful stew is something I'll be happy to make again (half the boar is still in my freezer) — but if you don't have easy access to wild boar, try another type of meat, as Brian suggests below. "Ragù is a winter dish characterized by meat and tomatoes. It is traditional to cook it all day, adding more liquid if it starts to dry out. Italians use fresh tomatoes in the summer and canned in winter. "Making a ragù is like playing jazz. You have to be creative, tasteful, and able to adapt to the circumstances. The beauty of ragù is that everybody is free to develop their own. Aside from meat and tomatoes, you can basically add whichever other spices and ingredients appeal to you. If you don't want wild boar, substitute any other meat you like — lamb, pork, veal, beef, or venison. I have made this dish with all of those depending on availability and what looks good at the butcher. "Note: I do not use a recipe or exact quantities when I cook. These quantities are just to give you a rough idea. Adjust to your own taste." —Brian Ritchie

The white bean, sun-dried tomato, and Feta mixture can be prepared up to six hours in advance, but it's best to toast the bread at the last minute.

Tri-tip is flavorful and well-marbled, but because it’s really a roast rather than a steak, salt and seasonings don’t affect it the same way they do a thinner cut. That’s where this Mediterranean-inspired relish comes in. The combination of roasted red pepper, sun-dried tomatoes, and capers adds savor to every bite.

In this new take on the Caesar, fried eggs top the salad, and fish sauce replaces the usual anchovy fillets.

We found ourselves craving this sun-dried tomato butter, not just spreading it on lamb chops but also tossing it with orzo and smearing it onto slices of toast.

Brown sugar and molasses are balanced by fresh ginger and jalapeños.