Grilling

Pizza bianca (white pizza) is a Roman dish that's more like seasoned flatbread than your typical pizza. It's great with the salumi and cheese.

These tacos don't come from a particular town or restaurant; rather, they incorporate elements from many different Yucatán grill masters. The preparation may look complicated, but it's actually pretty easy—because your guests assemble the tacos themselves.

Turkey is native to Mexico; it was a staple in the Mayan diet. I first sampled pavo en sac kol at Los Almendros in Mérida. This recipe was inspired by Rick Bayless.

Tradition calls for achiote-scented cochinita pibil to be roasted underground in a pit called a pib. Indirect grilling produces a terrific pibil, and because Yucatecans don't prize the flavor of wood smoke for this dish, a gas grill is ideal. The meat needs to marinate four hours.

Tikinxic—Yucatán's ubiquitous grilled fish—gets a double wallop of flavor: first from a recado rojo (fire-red achiote marinade), then from a wrapping of banana leaves, which help keep the fish moist, prevent it from sticking to the grill, and add their own unique taste.

Arrachera (skirt steak) is one of the most popular grilled meats in the Yucatán— served sizzling hot off the steel-drum grills of street vendors and at restaurants like La Parrilla in Cancuún.

This is a traditional Tuscan method—bricks weigh down the butterflied chicken, resulting in even, quick cooking and crispy skin (you'll need two bricks for this recipe; wrap them in foil). If you don't have bricks, a cast-iron skillet will do the trick. Ask your butcher to butterfly the chicken for you.

Lime is a good match for red cabbage, and its acid keeps the color bright. Napa cabbage is a delicious alternative.

Grill the lettuce? Trust us, you'll make this dish again and again.

Don't be intimidated. This is actually just a Southeast Asian twist on beef-noodle soup: steak, fragrant broth, and eminently slurpable noodles.

We heart this dish. Pomegranate may protect your arteries against LDL ("bad") cholesterol.

This recipe was created by chef Traci Des Jardins of San Francisco's Jardinière.

Briggs takes iron-rich lean beef to another level by topping this steak with cantaloupe, one of the best sources of vitamin A, a nutrient that keeps your skin and eyes at their healthiest.

Sweet summer corn, a whole-grain source of potassium, is delicious on its own. Even better: Spread it with one of the flavorful butter blends created by Bonaparte for a luxuriously indulgent touch.

Soaking the chicken overnight in a yogurt marinade results in pillow-tender chunks faintly flavored with garlic. Turmeric adds a spark of Middle Eastern flavor and a happy orange hue.

Skirt steak is delicious served plain, but since you can get such fantastic South American flavor out of these basic pantry items, why not embellish it?

Originating in Baja California, fish tacos are now served along Mexico's coasts and in Southern California. But unlike the deep-fried versions that are so common, ours entails grilling meaty mahimahi for a smoky char that contrasts deliciously with the fresh, clean Garnishes.

Tamales—meat or vegetable fillings surrounded by masa dough and steamed in softened corn-husk packets—are a Latin American staple, and this rendition cleverly showcases corn in three distinct forms. Kernels of fresh sweet corn brighten up a dough made from corn tortilla flour. (Adding cornmeal to store-bought masa flour helps mimic the texture of fresh tamale dough, a trick we picked up from Magda Bogin at the Cocinar Mexicano cooking school in the town of Tepoztlán.) Poblano chiles add a touch of heat, but it's the time on the grill that gives the tamales real fire. The husks develop a light char, and the smoky flavor penetrates the tamale, accenting the corn in all its dimensions beautifully.

Juicy scallops are rich in selenium, a mineral that protects cells from disease-causing damage in the body.