Sri Lankan Winter Squash and Coconut Curry

In Colombo, Sri Lanka, home cook Mallika Fernando and her husband, Allan, taught us to make poosanikai kootu, an easy one-pot pumpkin curry in a rich, fragrant coconut base. Butternut squash works well in this recipe, but if kabocha is available, it’s

By Courtney HillAugust 13, 2025

Charred Roasted Cabbage with Skordalia

This recipe is our re-creation of a small plate we enjoyed at Shaffa Bar in Tel Aviv. Cabbage wedges were roasted until deeply charred on the exterior and fork-tender inside, then paired with skordalia. The thick, creamy Greek dip is a puree of nuts,

By Hisham Ali HassanMay 22, 2025

Scoop-and-Drop Vietnamese Meatball Soup

This scoop-and-drop take on Vietnamese canh taught us to stop fussing over perfectly formed meatballs. Canh is a style of light, brothy soups; ours features super simple chicken meatballs paired with tender-crisp baby bok choy. We use store-bought chi

By Rose HattabaughJanuary 24, 2025

Austrian Apple Strudel

In Austria, Eva-Maria Steinbichler and her daughter, Petra Steinbichler, showed us how to prepare a proper apple strudel. The result was a light, barely there pastry surrounding a buttery, sweet-tart filling. To build impressive gluten strength in the

Mexican Cowboy Beans (Frijoles Charros)

Mexican frijoles charros, or cowboy beans, is a brothy stew of beans and a variety of meats, plus aromatics, tomatoes and sometimes chilies. The dish is said to originate with the charros, or cowboys, who worked on the ranches of northern Mexico and t

By Rose HattabaughMay 22, 2025

Spicy Korean Braised Chicken and Vegetables

This flavor-packed stew, called dakbokkeumtang, counts gochujang, or Korean fermented chili paste, as one of its primary seasonings. The thick, bright-red paste usually is sold in plastic tubs or bottles in Asian markets or in the international aisle

By Courtney HillApril 7, 2020

Indonesian Spiced Beef and Lemon Grass Soup

This aromatic soup is our adaptation of the sop konro that home cook Nobita Budianti demonstrated for us in her kitchen in Jakarta, Indonesia. The blender does much of the heavy prep, pureeing many of the ingredients into a spice paste, called bumbu d

By Courtney HillAugust 26, 2025

Barley “Risotto” with Mushrooms, Kale and Gorgonzola

Barley makes a nutty, toothsome risotto-like dish when cooked with the right amount of liquid. We use sautéed cremini mushrooms as a base, wilt in baby kale (or spinach or arugula) at the end, then top it all off with cheese. To make prep go a little

Indonesian-Style Stir-Fried Red Chili Tofu with Peanuts

In Jakarta, at Warteg Gang Mangga, we loved the spicy, savory-sweet kering tempeh. Crisply fried nuggets of tempeh were tossed with bumbu dasar merah, a red spice paste made by pureeing aromatics, that was cooked to a thick, glaze-like sauce that coat

By Courtney HillJuly 31, 2025

Cabbage and Chicken Salad with Gochujang and Sesame

Core ingredients in the Korean kitchen inject loads of flavor into simple cabbage and chicken salad.

By Rose HattabaughNovember 14, 2022

Ziti with Sweet Peppers, Bacon and Paprika

Loosely inspired by Hungary’s ubiquitous pepper stew, lescó, this dish combines smoky bacon with stew-y bell peppers and onion, creating a luscious, vegetable-packed sauce. We use extra-starchy pasta water as a thickener, made by boiling the noodles i

By Dimitri DemopolousOctober 17, 2023

Shrimp and Feta Bake

This is an oven-baked version of garides saganaki, a classic Greek dish that combines sweet shrimp with tangy tomatoes and briny feta cheese. The tomato mixture spends about 45 minutes in the oven to soften the vegetables and concentrate their flavors

By Diane UngerApril 23, 2024

Chickpeas and Pasta with Herbs and Anchovies (Ceci e Acciughe con Pasta)

In Tuscany, at Osteria Su Santa Trinita, chef and owner Vladimiro Gori taught us to make ceci e acciugati, or chickpeas with anchovies. Traditionally, it is a side dish of chickpeas cooked in olive oil infused with sage, rosemary and anchovies, with a

By Courtney HillFebruary 26, 2025

Spaghetti with Garlic and Walnut Breadcrumbs

This pasta dish was one of the best things we ate during our trip to Southern Italy. It was prepared for us by Giancarlo Suriano, whose condiment company specializes in preserving regional ingredients, such as Calabrian chilies and Tropea onions. He a

By Courtney HillFebruary 26, 2025

Indonesian Soy-Braised Chicken (Semur Ayam)

In Jakarta, chef Degan Septoadji taught us to prepare semur ayam, a simple, home-style chicken braise. The flavor base is a white spice paste called bumbu dasar putih, made by blitzing aromatics in a blender. The savory-sweet stew gets complexity from

By Hisham Ali HassanAugust 13, 2025