Chile

Unlike most tamal recipes, which use dried corn (masa harina), this one is Cuban-style, made with fresh corn kernels. I've also added a different touch by replacing the traditional pork filling with conch. The flavor and texture proved very popular at Yuca, and it remained on the menu as a fixture. These tamales are very convenient for entertaining. They can be made ahead of time and frozen, or kept in the refrigerator and then popped in the microwave. In fact, it's not worth making a smaller batch, so you'll probably want to freeze some of them. Likewise, the pesto can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated.

Carne Adovada At Maria's New Mexican Kitchen, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, this stew is used to fill enchiladas and burritos, but it also makes a very satisfying meal served alone or over rice.

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 40 min When we think of fall fruits, persimmons are all too often forgotten — but they're wonderful. Here, they make a salsa-like chutney that's perfect for lamb chops.

A cross between spoon bread and tamale pie, this flavorful, colorful side dish is a huge crowd-pleaser. Assemble it at least one hour and up to one day before baking.

Kache Piaz In India, most dry meat preparations such as kabobs, _tandoori_food, and cutlets are eaten with raw onions, because the onions provide moisture against the dry meat. Besides, these meat dishes taste better with onions. The onion slices are often squeezed slightly to extract and remove some of the juices; this is done to reduce the impact of too sharp and hot a taste. The onions are washed in several changes of water to rid them of any clinging juices; this also makes them taste less sharp. If you want the onions even milder, soak the squeezed onions in salted water to cover (about 1/4 teaspoon of salt per cup of water) for 1/2 hour, and drain. This will make the onions taste sweet, and best of all, there will be no onion odor lingering in your mouth. To make this salad more aromatic, add leaves from 2 or 3 sprigs of fresh coriander.

Clams in an oil and garlic sauce are found all over Spain but are especially good in Andalusia, where tiny bean clams are used. Cockles, Manila clams, and small littlenecks work well, too. Serve plenty of crusty bread to soak up the sauce.

Pozole Blanco con Salsa de Chile de Árbol This dish is similar to the original white pozole that was created in the 18th century. Some regions now specialize in red and green versions. If you don't have a Mexican market nearby, you may have to order the pigs' feet and pork neck bones from your butcher up to one week before you plan to make this (ask the butcher to split the pigs' feet). If substituting pork neck bones for pigs' feet, you'll need a total of 4 1/2 pounds of neck bones for the soup.

This is another wonderful all-purpose salsa. It goes particularly well with eggs and any dish containing black beans. The essential technique in this recipe is the blackening of the tomatoes. That and the chipotle chile give the salsa its deep, smoky flavor.

The provenance of this southern dish is shared by the Hakka and the Cantonese. The historic popularity of salt-baked chicken over the years led to various foods being called "salt-baked" even though they were not. The process of water-blanching, coating, and oil-blanching approximates baking to the Hakka taste. To the Cantonese the dish is simply jiu yim, or "pepper salt" to demote its primary flavors.

Chicken in Pumpkin-Seed Sauce

This unusual salsa calls for canned or bottled nopalitos, the stems of the prickly pear cactus. Available in the Mexican section of many supermarkets, they're sometimes labeled natural tender cactus. If you cannot find nopalitos at your local market, simply substitute cooked green beans. Use this tasty salsa as you would any other--with meats, chips and tacos.

Even better over rice. Top it with sour cream and grated cheddar cheese.

This recipe was created to accompany Roasted Chicken Legs with Plum Chili Salsa . Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.