Side

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.

Turkish cooking might sound exotic, but it's easy. Most of the ingredients are familiar, and combining them in new ways makes for an exciting and different way to eat. This is an excellent side salad for lamb chops. For a great small-plates dinner party menu that's modern Turkish cooking at its best, pick up the May issue of Bon Appétit.

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.

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.

Uyghur flatbreads Topped with a savory mixture of sautéed onion and sesame seeds, this moist, addictive bread gets a pleasant tang from a bit of yogurt added to the dough. Poking holes in it before baking — we use a thick skewer rather than the traditional chicken-feather quills — keeps the nan from getting too puffy.

The light and clean Asian combination of shrimp and mango is treated to a touch of heat from a bit of fresh chile.

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.

Blasting cauliflower florets in a hot oven concentrates their natural sweetness, turning them into something akin to vegetable candy.

Don't be fooled by the short ingredients list; these vegetarian black beans have a surprisingly complex flavor. Since I can't use a meaty bone or lard for a boost, I rely on my trusty trinity of Sherry, balsamic vinegar, and soy sauce, three power ingredients that play well together. The pressure cooker makes cooked-from-scratch beans easily feasible for a spur-of-the-moment supper, though I still prefer to cook up a pot on the weekend; beans thicken as they stand, so by making them ahead and thinning them before serving, I actually get more. This recipe serves as the base for two different meals: I set aside half for flavorful beans and rice and purée the other half into a hearty soup spiked with additional Sherry and lime juice.

Corn bread gets fancy in dainty individual portions — and the flecks of red add more than just cosmetic flair. These tiny bits of pimento provide bursts of flavor that marry the corn bread beautifully with the rest of the main course.

Though they're a nod to the classic pairing of cooking greens with a ham hock, these gently bitter greens have several important differences: Because they are blanched rather than braised, they hold their intense color; bacon crumbled over the top, rather than cooked with the greens, retains its crispness; and smoky chipotle gives the dish an alluring heat.

Reminiscing about the sweet and slightly spicy turnips that she would dig up and eat on her grandfather's farm years ago, senior food editor Alexis Touchet was determined to bring out the best of the root in this creamy side dish. The heat of horseradish plays up the turnips' and potatoes' earthy qualities, and a topping of toasted bread crumbs lends a delightful crunch.

Look for tender greens, such as mâche, Boston, and red leaf lettuces, which appear in farmers' markets at this time of year. Or, as an alternative, use premixed baby greens.

These creamy potatoes would be a welcome addition to any meal. Leftovers reheat nicely in the microwave.

Radishes are in their prime right now. If you can find the small French Breakfast or Easter Egg varieties, just trim them and keep them whole, rather than slicing them. Spring onions, immature onions harvested before their bulbs grow large, are available in farmers' markets at this time of year. If you can't find them, scallions make a fine substitute.

Editor's note: This recipe was created by chef Einat Admony for an Israeli Passover menu. Carp, a common ingredient in traditional Ashkenazi Jewish cooking, has become something of a rarity in the United States as cooks have stopped making dishes such as gefilte fish from scratch. In Israel, says chef Admony, this variety is still popular, used to make everything from Tunisian fish balls to Moroccan spicy fish. In this recipe, Admony riffs on classic gefilte fish, transforming the boiled dumplings into pan-fried cakes served with a creamy, piquant sauce.