Meal Prep

A refreshing homemade soda that can quench a thirst as well as feed a chocolate fix. Refrigerate the leftover chocolate syrup for another use.

This deceptively simple condiment is as addictive as pesto and as transformative as a squeeze of lemon. Spoon it onto fish, chicken, steak, roasted vegetables, or even pasta.

A spoonful of this sweet, earthy condiment perks up eggs, grain dishes, and simply prepared proteins.

The mushrooms are not salted as they cook—this is intentional. The teriyaki sauce they're tossed in adds plenty.

The salty-sweet-sour umeboshi complement the earthy notes in the beets.

Editor's note: Pair this with Maricel Presilla's Puerto Rican–Style Ají Dulce Sauce (Ajilimójili) . Boiled yuca is a small miracle. I can hardly think of another vegetable so transformed just by simple boiling. The impenetrable tuber, which starts out fibrous and as hard as the tusk of an elephant, becomes a creamy and supple vegetable. Boiled yuca is also the stuff with which many other preparations start, and you will come back to it time and again. There is no single rule that will help you figure out how much time it will take to cook fresh yuca until fork-tender. A general estimate is 30 minutes, but it might take less time or much longer, depending on the type of yuca. Start testing the vegetable with a fork 15 minutes after the water comes to a boil and continue to test until you reach the desired texture. Usually I prefer to remove the central spindle after rather than before cooking. It takes some force to whack through it when you're cutting the raw yuca into chunks, but it is much easier to detach the spindle from cooked yuca. Serve the yuca with a sauce of your choice or with just a sprinkling of olive oil and some salt.

This may be more of a rémoulade than a tartar sauce, but we've been making it this way since I came to the Oyster Bar. Has it changed at all since 1974? There's no way for me to know—but I doubt it. Be sure the hard-cooked egg and potato are cold when you make this.

This all-purpose, all-season stock recipe works perfectly in any Vedge recipe. This will store for up to five days in the refrigerator. You don't need to peel any of the vegetables; just wash them carefully.

Our dry brine is like a concentrated rub; massage citrus zest and peppercorns onto the skin and let it cure for a few hours before the bird hits the oven.

This is my standard duck or goose stock. It is the stock that I call for in the recipes in this book. In other words, you need to make lots. Every time you get a carcass, save it for stock. If you don’t have a lot of ducks around at one time, save them up for future rounds of stock making. You can chop up the carcasses before freezing, so they take up less space. Make this stock when you have a day off, as it takes all day. The good news is that you will be rewarded with 4 quarts or more of rich stock that is a perfect base for stews, soups, or wintertime risottos or polenta—or even eaten on its own as a clear soup.

Make ahead: Store in a sealed, airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 months.

This Old World mustard recipe is an authentic replica of the sweet-style mustard that is served at any Biergarten in Bavaria. Prepare it at least a few days, and preferably a week, before you plan to dip your pretzels.

The shape of the crystals varies quite a bit from brand to brand, so measuring kosher salts by weight is the most reliable method. Not ready to invest in a scale? See the box below for volume conversions.

Like curry, za'atar is a spice blend that varies from cook to cook in the Middle East, its birthplace. My father was Assyrian, so I've always enjoyed the flavors of the region (though the closest I've yet traveled is Turkey). This is my interpretation, and it reflects my priorities: my favorite part of za'atar is the tart sumac, so it's particularly heavy in my version. And while some cooks grind their spices together, I like to leave the sesame seeds whole. You can find sumac in Middle Eastern groceries and from online sources such as Penzeys and Kalustyan's. For a perfect, quick snack, combine with olive oil and brush on pita.

These crunchy, addictive chips will have your whole family begging for more kale. They are wonderful served alongside sandwiches, on their own as an afternoon snack, or crumbled atop salads.

Labneh is an Arab cheese made by draining yogurt so it loses most of its liquid. Use natural goat's milk yogurt, or, if unavailable, natural full-fat cow's milk yogurt, but not the Greek varieties. This recipe takes at least 48 hours to make. If this is all too much, you can buy labneh from Middle Eastern grocery stores. Store the labneh in the fridge to use as a spread, like any cream cheese. A more labor-intensive option is to roll it into balls and then preserve them in a jar of oil. The jar will look beautiful, the cheese keeps for weeks at room temperature, and the balls will create a special visual effect when used, as they are, in salads and legume dishes (Couscous and Mograbiah with Oven-Dried Tomatoes ).

Guava-Chile Butter At Chifa, my Peruvian-Asian restaurant, the pan de yuca with this delicious sweet-spicy-salty spread is a the hit among our customers. It would also be tasty on crusty bread, toast, or savory scones.

Baked tofu is crispy on the outside, creamy inside, and loaded with flavor. Removing as much water as possible from the tofu before cooking it, as in this recipe, helps the tofu absorb the flavors of the marinade and cook up crisp rather than mushy. It is delicious eaten as is or in sandwiches, salads, or stir-fries. Serve hot or cold.