Vegetarian

The ubiquity of pomegranates in Morocco inspired food editor Maggie Ruggiero to add one nontraditional ingredient — pomegranate juice — to this very traditional meze; its tartness turns up the volume on all the flavors, and its color lends a beautiful mahogany sheen.

Once a favorite breakfast of the Chinese, this dish might more accurately be called a daikon scramble. But the Chinese words for carrot and daikon are almost the same, and "cake" refers to the way the rice flour binds the ingredients.

Fresh radishes (plentiful at the market this time of year) add color and crunch to this slightly sweet vinaigrette-based slaw.

These bread-basket staples are as good with eggs as they are with the grilled "barbecue" beef and slaw.

Amber likes to serve these pancakes for brunch. Diced fresh pineapple would be a delicious alternative to the bananas.

This rice is delicious with Amber's Pineapple and Cardamom Chicken with Mint, but would also be great alongside curried shrimp or grilled lamb chops.

Halloumi, a firm mild Cypriot cheese popular in Greece, can be placed directly into a dry nonstick skillet or onto a grill and cooked. The outside will get brown and crisp; the inside will be soft and melted. Serve right away.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Jasper White's The Summer Shack Cookbook: The Complete Guide to Shore Food. To read Epicurious's review of the cookbook, go to Summer Cooking Guides. This is one of my favorite sauces for grilled seafood, especially swordfish. It is also terrific with salmon, striped bass, halibut, tautog, and other white-fleshed fish suitable for grilling. Think of this recipe as a formula. The ratio of cucumber to the other ingredients is important, but from there you can adapt this sauce to match with different fish or even side dishes. For example, with a Latino or Caribbean dish like Black Beans and Rice, you could substitute fresh lime juice for the lemon juice and add chiles and cilantro. This recipe uses half yogurt and half sour cream, but you could use any combination of the two. Or, for salmon, you might want to use all sour cream, with dill. You could also make a low-calorie sauce using all low-fat yogurt. The first time you make the sauce, if you follow my guidelines but omit the jalapeño and use parsley and chives for the herbs, you will have a basic sauce. After that, you are on your own. The list of possible variations is extensive. For equipment, you will need a stainless steel (or plastic) strainer.

An unusual combination of flavors — sweet, savory, and briny.

Serve alongside the seafood. Leftovers would be great with chicken or lamb.

This appetizer gets spiced up with a sprinkle of za'atar, a North African spice mix made from sesame seeds, thyme, marjoram, and ground sumac. No time to make the flatbreads? Use purchased pita instead and grill just to heat through. You can also serve the breads with the main course.

This recipe was created by chef Michael Kornick of MK Restaurant in Chicago. It's part of a special menu he created for Epicurious's Wine.Dine.Donate program.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Fonda San Miguel: Thirty Years of Food and Art, by Tom Gilliland, Miguel Ravago, and Virginia B. Wood. Chef Miguel Ravago also shared some helpful tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. This delicate soufflélike dish, the Mexican counterpart to the spoon bread of the American South, is invariably the most popular dish on the Hacienda Sunday Brunch Buffet. It is especially good served with grilled meats, ham, or turkey in mole.

Ensalada de jícama con melón Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Fonda San Miguel: Thirty Years of Food and Art, by Tom Gilliland, Miguel Ravago, and Virginia B. Wood. For more on Cinco de Mayo, click here. Chef Miguel Ravago also shared some helpful tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. Although many fresh condiments in Mexican cuisine are called pico de gallo ("rooster's beak"), this refreshing salad from the Mexican state of Jalisco is known as Pico de Gallo. Depending on the seasonal availability of fresh fruit, Miguel has found that the salad is equally good made with Rio Star grapefruit, pineapple, blood oranges, cantaloupe, watermelon, and honeydew melon. The contrast of sweet fruit, crunchy jícama, tangy lime juice, and a little dash of chili powder makes for a delightful palate cleanser.

Using adobo sauce in this lively egg dish adds a subtle smoky flavor without the hassle of roasting and cleaning fresh peppers. Plus, the recipe includes a nifty method for softening tortillas.

Adding watercress to potato salad gives this old standby new life. We particularly like the contrast of the crisp, peppery green against the warm, vinegar- and mustard-spiced potatoes.

Look to the frozen foods aisle for a quicker way to bring artichoke's spring flavor to buttery pasta.

Instead of the usual approach of topping dandelion greens with hot bacon dressing, here we tame the greens' bitter bite with a Spanish-inspired dressing flavored with almonds, raisins, and Sherry.

Pearl barley makes a wonderful risotto: It retains its distinct chew while easily releasing its starch to create a risotto as creamy as one made with Arborio rice — and with barely any stirring. Since I can't be bothered to make vegetable stocks ahead and I don't like canned versions, I've made the most of the asparagus in this dish. Using the stalks, tips, and even the cooking water makes the risotto sing with asparagus's springtime flavor.