Vegetarian

Taking your time with kale draws out its sweetness. This dish is also delicious served with pork.

Crispy around the edges and soft in the center, this side dish—laced with fennel, onions, and slow-cooked kale—will please everyone at the table.

When I make a vegetarian entrée, it is always in the back of my mind that a minority of people eat this way, so I try to come up with things that are interesting and balanced for a vegetarian but that someone who does eat meat would find filling, or at least a satisfying side dish to their protein of choice. I try to use kale often, as its nutritional profile is quite impressive. In this dish, its short time in the oven helps it to retain most of its structure, but make sure that the oil really coats the kale, since if you use too little you will get something more like kale chips. If you use curly kale, which is less tender than lacinato kale, or you prefer your greens more wilted, you could sauté it quickly instead. I use lots of liquid in the millet, so the result is nice and soft but bound together by the sharply flavored cheese. The bits of millet are still detectable, but it has a comfort food texture. Whether you serve it as an entrée or a side is up to you.

The complex, bittersweet syrup for these roasted sweet potatoes is inspired by Southern redeye gravy.

If you are the cook around the house, you know how sweet the words "I love this. Please make it again!" sound. This side has become my go-to dish for something quick and pretty, as I love the juxtaposition of the two shades of green. After you remove the leaves from the brussels sprouts, this takes only minutes to prepare. Brussels sprouts are miniature balls of cabbage, so their stems can be pretty tough. By working from the outermost leaf inward, and cutting more of the stem whenever necessary, you follow the pattern of the sprout to easily remove its leaves. You can do this part in advance, but you'll want to sauté them just before serving. Marcona almonds are blanched Spanish almonds that are sweeter than American almonds. They can run on the expensive side, but I have seen them at both Trader Joe's and Costco for a reasonable price. You don't need a lot of them, but their flavor is really special on top of this plate of tender greens.

Brothy Beans "Sólo la olla sabe de sus frijoles" states the wooden sign hung on the wall of a fonda in Veracruz. "It is only the pot that knows its own beans." In homes and small fondas throughout Mexico, beans simmer in large ollas, bulbous-shaped clay pots, their earthy aroma filling the air. Traditionally, a smaller olla filled with water placed on top of the pot serves as both a lid and a way to heat the water that occasionally needs to be added to the beans. Fuel is often scarce and this is a practical way to conserve precious wood. These brothy beans, cooked with lots of water and just a scattering of herbs, onion, and garlic, are the classic bean dish of Mexico. They are often served as soupy frijoles caldos, ladled into small bowls, the beans submerged in their broth, and offered toward the end of a meal so no one leaves the table hungry. Or, they are served as frijoles cocidos, the beans drained slightly to accompany grilled meats or tacos. No matter whether the beans are cooked in an olla, Dutch oven, or other heavy pot, the procedure will be the same. All that needs to be adjusted is the length of the cooking time. The fresher the beans are, the less cooking time is needed, but 2 1/2 to 3 hours is a reasonable estimate, although 4 hours or more is not unusual.

Well-Fried Beans To make the traditional Mexican well-fried beans, or frijoles refritos, you carry frijoles chinos one step further and fry them again in oil until they are even thicker. This is often done as the last part of a continuous process, or the beans are set aside for a day or two and then finished just before serving. In central Mexico, they are cooked until they are quite dry, but in the states bordering the Gulf of Mexico, they are cooked even more—to the point that they can be flipped over and shaped into a roll. These beans, perhaps with a topping of queso fresco, are a perfect partner for Enchiladas San Luis Potosí and similar enchiladas, soft tacos, or innumerable other dishes. The bean roll is often served as a botana for a casual gathering. Serve the beans as a side on the main plate. If they are shaped into a roll, transfer the roll to a warmed platter, sprinkle with queso fresco, and garnish with chopped white onion. Push some totopos in the top as a decoration and for scooping up the beans and then cluster more around the sides.

Raw Green Tomatillo Salsa While salsas made from red tomatoes are often on the table, especially in central Mexico, it is the green salsas made with tomates verdes, the smaller, papery husk–wrapped tomatillos of the same nightshade family, that predominate in most of the country. This simple salsa with its tart chile flavor is a surprising accent for any grilled meat.

Fried Beans When Ricardo first came to Mexico City, he ordered beans in a small fonda and the cook asked, "Fritos o refrito?" (Fried or refried?) That was when Ricardo began to understand the various stages of bean cookery. The first stage, frijoles chinos, is a common way of cooking beans in and around Mexico City. The name confusingly refers to the way the bean texture resembles the tightly curled hair of African slaves brought to Mexico in the middle of the sixteenth century. This same preparation is typically called frijoles fritos by cooks in central Mexico, though it differs somewhat as the beans are served before they have absorbed all of the broth and are still somewhat runny. You can make fried beans from almost any type of dried bean. The diminutive black bean is commonly used in southern Mexico and red or brown beans are popular in the rest of the country. If you are in a hurry, an equal amount of canned beans may be substituted with additional water added to the can liquid if needed. These tasty beans are served in homes and in small market fondas almost any time of the day. They partner perfectly with grilled meat and egg dishes, such as Huevos al Albanil. Serve them in a separate small, flat dish or as a side on the main plate. A light sprinkle of fresh cheese will provide a color and taste contrast.

This dense quickbread is traditionally baked in empty coffee cans.

"When it comes to cranberry sauce, I'm no fan of the back-of-the-bag recipe: It's too sweet and offers little in the way of texture. That's why I've made this raw, tangy, refreshing relish ever since I started hosting Thanksgiving. It's my new classic." —Andrew Knowlton, restaurant and drinks editor

Frascatelli, a semolina dumpling, is the one homemade pasta suited for weeknight dinners. Just sprinkle water over a tray of semolina flour; the dumplings cook up in about a minute.

At the first nip in the air, I start looking for fresh butternut squash at farmers' markets, just so I can make this soup. Considered a Thanksgiving classic, this versatile and universally loved soup is simply too tasty to enjoy only once a year. Now that peeled and precut butternut squash is available in grocery stores year-round, you can make this easy three-step—roast, blend, and simmer—soup anytime you like. Like apple or pear butter, pumpkin butter is gently cooked with some sugar until it's smooth and has a buttery texture. Look for pumpkin butter near the jams and jellies in your grocery store.

Serve these little spinach pies with a main course as your vegetable side and dinner roll in one, or eat a couple for a vegetarian dinner—they're that good.

Dusted with flaky sea salt, these buttery Parker House rolls are folded, making them perfect for late night leftover turkey or roast sandwiches.

This recipe is part of the Epicurious Online Cooking School, in partnership with the Culinary Institute of America. To watch it being made, and to learn how to make other Mediterranean classics, check out the video classes.

This recipe is part of the Epicurious Online Cooking School, in partnership with the Culinary Institute of America. To watch it being made, and to learn how to make other Mediterranean classics, check out the video classes.

This recipe is part of the Epicurious Online Cooking School, in partnership with the Culinary Institute of America. To watch it being made, and to learn how to make other Mediterranean classics, check out the video classes.

This recipe is part of the Epicurious Online Cooking School, in partnership with the Culinary Institute of America. To watch it being made, and to learn how to make other Mediterranean classics, check out the video classes.