Vegetable

This is a winning-contestant recipe from Season Four of FOX's MasterChef.

This pasta salad is a clever take on a well-loved soup. Because it's served at room temperature, it makes a great side dish at a picnic or barbecue. It's colorful and extremely flavorful, with pesto, beans, and vegetables.

Throw a pouch filled with clams on the grill when the fire's hot, and enjoy them while you cook the rest of the meal. Timing can vary a bit, depending on the size and stubbornness of the clams and the heat of the fire. You can tell if the shells have opened by feeling the top of the package with tongs or a spatula. If you open the package and see that some clams have not opened, reseal and return to the fire for a few minutes. If there are a few duds that refuse to open after 15 minutes or so, discard them.

Roasting cauliflower with spices brings out the very best in this vegetable—the golden, crispy florets are irresistible. Like broccoli, cauliflower contains compounds that may help fight damaging toxins.

This is a great technique if you want to serve a mixture of vegetables, like a stir-fry, with your grilled meat or fish. Start the vegetables 10 to 15 minutes before you grill your main course, so that they can get a head start. Move them to a cooler part of the grill to keep warm once they’re done. Grill baskets of all shapes and sizes are available in grocery stores or cooking shops.

"I love the richness of the feta and the crunch of the sunflower seeds against the tender squash."—Dawn Perry, senior food editor

Raw broccoli is made for slaw. It's sweet and crunchy—and can be dressed hours in advance.

Feel free to use cooked bulgur, barley, or couscous instead of quinoa

Chef Richard Landau entices carnivores at his vegan spot by making a statement with dramatic, crispy mushrooms. Find maitakes at specialty and farmers' markets.

Two tips: To save time, you can buy 2 steamed whole lobsters or 2 cups of cooked lobster meat. And, when prepping the corn, save your cobs for corn stock.

Corn husks can be transformed into a surprisingly flavorful oil. At Seäsonal, this vinaigrette is tossed with Bibb lettuce, radishes, and crisp pumpernickel croutons.

Instead of using canned tuna, this recipe puts you in control of the quality of the tuna and how long to cook it. We like it on the medium-rare side.

Steal chef Sean Rembold's restaurant move: Use one ingredient—carrots—two ways.

Double the peppery butter and keep it refrigerated for the next time you're making steak—we guarantee you'll want it.

Grilling whole fish is not as tricky as it sounds. We tie ours with kitchen twine, which makes them easy to handle.

A spicy, tangy option for anyone who loves to put mayo on burgers.

If you can chop tomatoes, you can make tomato water. The rose-colored liquid that releases from the cut fruit tastes like a super-concentrated, drinkable version of ripe tomatoes.

This chicken feels light and summery. That's because there's no mayo, just lots of herbs and spiced pita chips.

Ripe peaches can be used in place of the nectarines; choose whatever looks (and smells) best.