Bean and Legume

If you can't find fresh chervil, use fresh parsley instead.

Add a glass of rosé and some crusty Italian bread to make a perfect summer lunch.

Vellarikkai Thakkali Vengaya Pachadi Pachadi is the southern version of North Indian raita. You can substitute plain low-fat yogurt for the whole-milk yogurt here, but drain it in a sieve overnight first.

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 40 min

Gin Thoke This salad is pungent, crunchy, intriguing, and addictive. Although served as a dessert in Myanmar, it is also a great accompaniment to grilled fish, chicken, or steak.

A simplified take on the traditional French veal stew. Serve with rice.

(Fagioli all'Olio e Salvia) This is just one of several regional specialties that feature white beans. In fact, beans are such an important historic ingredient in Tuscan cooking that people of the region are called mangiafagioli (bean eaters). Traditionally, the beans in this side dish were cooked in a wine bottle; in modern versions, they are simply baked in the oven or simmered on the stove, as they are in this recipe.

Marisol likes to serve the Candied Butternut Squash atop the couscous.

Gaeng Pah Muu Most curries from southern Thailand use coconut milk. This one, from the mountainous north, doesn't, because the climate is too temperate for coconut palms to survive. Don't be intimidated by the start-to-finish time; the curry paste and chicken stock can be made days ahead. Once you have those components at hand, the recipe only takes about 1 hour to put together. If you prefer your food less spicy, use the smaller amounts of curry paste and vegetable oil. Active time: 3 1/4 hr Start to finish: 7 1/4 hr (includes making curry paste and stock)

A little grated Parmesan sprinkled on top is a nice addition.

Packaged tabbouleh mixes, available at most supermarkets, are a good source of the fine bulgur recommended in this recipe, but don't use the accompanying seasoning pouch if one is included. Bulgur - wheat berries that have been steamed, dried, and then cracked - is also found in natural foods stores. Although this salad is wonderful with standard supermarket lentils and a coarser grind of bulgur, the French lentils and fine bulgur produce a delicate, more refined version.

This recipe offers a prime example of cooking à la minute because the entire dish can be prepared and executed very quickly. (It also uses few enough ingredients that you could purchase all of them in the express lane of your local supermarket on the way home from work.) After sautéeing the halibut, the fish is removed from the pan, which is then deglazed with white wine and fresh lemon juice. Butter is swirled in gradually to yield a rich, flavorful sauce — punctuated by scallions, capers, and diced tomato — that is simply poured over the fish; its pleasing citric acidity and buttery richness make it a perfect foil for the halibut.

This recipe is an accompaniment for Ginger Salad .