These are the fresh fruit drinks of Mexico that you find at markets everywhere served from large ribbed glass jars. Vendors at Mexican markets will offer licuados of all flavors made from local fruit, sugar, and water in a kaleidoscope of colors—hot pinks and greens from melons, yellow from pineapple, purple from hibiscus blossoms, orange from tangerines. No two licuado stands are alike, and this drink represents, for me, the infinite variety and vitality of Mexican cuisine. If you go to Mexico, be sure to try the local licuado, since each region and locality has its own special tropical fruits and ingredients. I prefer to use cane sugar for licuados as it produces a noticeably brighter fruit flavor. For a more natural sugar, substitute a light agave syrup, using about one-fourth less than for cane sugar. If you have a juicer that both squeezes the fruit and strains the pulp, it will produce a fantastic licuado base with the purest fruit flavor. With really ripe, sweet fruit, decrease the amount of sugar in the recipe.
Turn humble onions into this thrifty yet luxe pasta dinner.
This pasta has some really big energy about it. It’s so extra, it’s the type of thing you should be eating in your bikini while drinking a magnum of rosé, not in Hebden Bridge (or wherever you live), but on a beach on Mykonos.
Caramelized onions, melty Gruyère, and a deeply savory broth deliver the kind of comfort that doesn’t need improving.
This is what I call a fridge-eater recipe. The key here is getting a nice sear on the sausage and cooking the tomato down until it coats the sausage and vegetables well.
This classic 15-minute sauce is your secret weapon for homemade mac and cheese, chowder, lasagna, and more.
A dash of cocoa powder adds depth and richness to the broth of this easy turkey chili.
This is the type of soup that, at first glance, might seem a little…unexciting. But you’re underestimating the power of mushrooms, which do the heavy lifting.
I should address the awkward truth that I don’t use butter here but cream instead. You could, if you’re a stickler for tradition (and not a heretic like me), add a big slab of butter to the finished curry.