Fry

Use plátanos manzanos—a short, fat, and incredibly sweet plantain variety—if you can find them. When pan-fried, the outside caramelizes and forms a hard shell while the inside becomes soft and custardy (like crème brûlée!). Look for them in Latin and Caribbean supermarkets or in the tropical fruit section of large supermarkets.

These crispy zucchini fritters take inspiration from the Bengali onion snack piyaju. Soaked and blended red lentils make up the batter, which is spiked with turmeric and chile powder.

While this recipe features scallions, Korean pancakes can be filled with almost anything: garlic chives, ramps, chrysanthemum leaves. If you want something a little more substantial, add squid or shrimp cut into  bite-sized pieces.

These pancakes get their light texture from a batter made with club soda. Pressing hard on them when frying makes them crisp.

These crepes are a great solution for using up discarded sourdough starter. Tender and a little bit tangy, they make an ideal blank canvas for sweet or savory toppings like jam, crème fraîche, demerara sugar, or lox.

These Dominican mashed plantains are creamy, hearty, and full of flavor, while still tasting fresh and light. They have a mellow, tropical earthiness that becomes a canvas for colorful toppings like pickled red onions and avocados.

This highly riffable dinner salad features cubes of leftover polenta, tossed in Parmesan, and crisped in a skillet for croutons that are naturally gluten-free, delightfully crunchy on the outside, and warm and creamy on the inside.

Beets can stand up to a hard roast and plenty of spice. Their sweet earthiness and firm texture mean they’re ideal for making meatless chorizo. If beets aren’t your thing, any sweet root vegetable will work.

This chile oil combines tons of texture from toasted whole spices and seeds with a just-spicy-enough heat level. Drizzle it over any, literally any, savory food you can think of.

In this spicy salad, cubes of fried tofu act like tender-bellied croutons amid the leaves of baby kale, only with much more protein and spunk than the usual toasted bread.

This recipe from Bryant Terry highlights the earthy taste and the toothsome texture of collards, and offsets the greens with tofu that’s been soaked in a Jamaican-inspired marinade.

These turkey burgers are my nod to the Mediterranean, packed with fresh herbs, lemon, and red onion.

Our simple technique of draining before frying makes the tofu extra-crispy, and perfect for absorbing the salty-sweet flavors of maple syrup, soy sauce, and fresh ginger.

Shelled raw peanuts are easy to find at Asian markets, health food stores, and other specialty food stores.

Serve this dish of mashed beans wrapped in flatbread and pan-fried until crisp as a appetizer, or alongside a big green salad for lunch or dinner.

Set up all of your mise en place before you start cooking. You’ll go from raw ingredients to a glossy stir-fry in the time it takes to make a pot of rice.