Meal Prep

In Vietnam, yogurt is known by a couple of different names: sua chua (sour milk) and da ua, pronounced "ya-orh," which is actually a transliteration of yaourt, reflecting the dish's origins during French colonization. Semantics aside, this just may be the silkiest yogurt you’ll ever taste, with a delightful balance of sweetness—which comes from condensed milk, a staple of the Vietnamese pantry—and tanginess. At Street, Feniger and Alger make and culture their own yogurt, but this recipe produces similar results and is much quicker.

The vegetable stock is best fresh but it can be refrigerated for 2-3 days, or even frozen. It is prone to absorbing other flavors in the refrigerator so ensure the container is airtight.

f you're making the beans to use for the soup or the sausages, be sure to save the cooking liquid.

While the restaurant serves the ultra-spicy salsa alongside hummus, tsatsiki, and baba ghanouj, chef Eric Leyden suggests it as a lively accompaniment to meats and hearty lentil or tomato soups.

You yield to temptation at the farmers market and stagger home with pounds and pounds of tomatoes—and now they are all burstingly ripe at the same time. Don't panic, and don't put them in the refrigerator either. They'll turn flavorless and cottony. Instead, slow-roast them until they become smooth and almost meaty in texture. After six to eight hours in a low oven, they're ideal for bruschetta and for tossing with pasta.

When I tasted this sauce in Jerusalem a few years ago, I was reminded of how much I like the earthy taste of sesame tahini and the brightness of parsley—stems and all. Whip up a batch and toss it with grains and chopped carrots for a colorful salad, blend it with cooked chickpeas for a quick sandwich filling, or spoon it over microwaved kale or steamed broccoli florets set on a bed of brown rice for an entreé. The amount of garlic you'll need depends upon your taste. I like to start with two cloves and blend in more if needed—keeping in mind that the sauce's favor will be somewhat diluted when mixed with other ingredients. Refrigerate for up to one week. Thin as needed with additional fresh lemon juice—or water, if you're out of lemon.

This recipe originally accompanied <ep1:recipelink id="353782">Beer-Marinated Flank Steak with Aji and Guacamole.</ep1:recipelink>

his Colombian version of guacamole is smoother than most Mexican guacamoles, and it's used as a sauce for grilled meats, not just as a dip for tortilla chips.
This recipe originally accompanied Beer-Marinated Flank Steak with Aji and Guacamole .

This recipe originally accompanied Baja Fish Tacos .

This recipe originally accompanied Baja Fish Tacos .

This recipe originally accompanied Baja Fish Tacos .

Happiness is having a jar of sweet, tart, crunchy relish in the refrigerator. It's a project that easily fits into your culinary repertoire.

Mustard couldn’t be any simpler to make. Soaking the seeds before puréeing gives the finished product body and mellowness.

Good for Seasoning: Flank steak; pork; chicken; salmon This is the original three-ingredient rub, and it packs in a lot of flavor and texture. If I am feeling ambitious, I make a chimichurri sauce to drizzle on top, but the rub itself has so much flavor that all you need is a light coating of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. The recipe calls for the amount you need for one night's dinner, but because the rub doesn't have any salt or pepper in it, you can increase the amount by simply multiplying. For example, if you are making 10 flank steaks, multiply by 10.

Use one crust to make the pizza here. Chill the extra dough for up to four days or freeze for up to a month.

There's character to spare in this layered flatbread, called msemmen in Arabic. The dough is rubbed with spiced oil, rolled into a spiral, flattened, and then cooked on a griddle, for a flakiness that's surprisingly substantial. Zadi likes pairing the flatbread with an acidic dish, which is why we recommend it with the <epi:recipelink id="241504"" target="_new">shrimp charmoula</epi:recipelink>; but, as he points out, the bread actually goes well with the entire meal, so plan on leaving it on the table from Start to finish.

"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.

An easy marinade of garlic, lemon, thyme, and a dollop of the North African hot sauce harissa make these green olives memorable. If you can, prepare the olives ahead—they improve with age.

This salsa verde, which balances a meal full of spiced dishes, would also complement anything from grilled steak to steamed vegetables.