Nuts

It’s a complete winner every time.

They're basically perfect.

Fresh and crunchy perfection.

To say I'm obsessed is an understatement.

Crunchy roasted nuts with soft broth-soaked bread and chewy morsels of spiced sausage — oh mama, that's good stuff!

Pistachio-crusted cod meets a trio of the season's best vegetables.

We'll be eating this every morning from now until Halloween.

Salty, sweet, nutty — what's not to love?

Perhaps you know them as Russian tea cakes?

When she was still with us, my grandmother baked Mexican wedding cookies every Christmas Eve. Today these nutty, powdered sugar-coated cookies take me back to her little house in San Fernando, where it was warm on most Southern Californian Christmases; I sensed these cookies were her way of giving us snow for Christmas.

Sometimes I shy away from ordering salads at restaurants because I fear they won’t be flavorful enough — I just can’t handle the possibility of that kind of disappointment — but when something sounds colorful and crunchy, and includes peanut butter, I’m far more inclined to leap. If that sounds like you, or if you’re a lover of a good peanut butter dressing draped over a bowl of broccoli slaw and crispy baked tofu, then this salad is for you.

This is the back-pocket granola recipe every home cook needs.

You just need four ingredients and a little elbow grease to make macaron-flavored cookies that are crisp on the edges and chewy in the center.

Clear out your crisper drawer with this forgiving summer soup.

This recipe is inspired by courgettes avec des arachides (French for “zucchini with peanuts”), a classic dish from the north-central African country Chad.

It's actually incredibly easy to make a dairy-free pesto — and it's so darn tasty you'll never miss the cheese.

This is the recipe all vegetarians have been searching for.

It's never too early for cake.

If you’re a fan of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches then boy oh boy, are you in for a treat. This snack cake starts with a tender, moist cake full of peanut flavor, but the crowning touch is in the hypnotic swirl of jelly over the top. A creamy peanut butter mixture and dollops of grape jelly mix and mingle throughout the cake batter and bake up so that every single bite of this cake tastes as though a PB&J and yellow cake collided.

I’d argue that there is no occasion where a bowl of crunchy, salty, cereal-studded party mix isn’t welcome. We make big batches for birthday parties, game nights, and even our Christmas Eve celebration. So when it comes to Thanksgiving, chex mix should be on everyone’s holiday menu too.

This food processor pie is the easy, impressive dessert you've been waiting for.

Shredded carrots have a firm crunch and sturdy bite that rival all other vegetables, and when they get thrown in a mix like this glorious salad, they are an essential supporting player. But it’s not just about the carrots and their sweetness here in this Thai-inspired hash — it’s also about the cabbage, the grapefruit, the zucchini, and so much more. Anna Jones is a cook and writer from London who got her start in Jamie Oliver’s restaurants and on his creative team.

You'll want to eat the curried peanut sauce on everything.

They're inspired by beef and broccoli — but so much healthier than takeout.

If you’re in need of a vibrant, crunchy slaw (in a super-tasty dressing!), but really don’t want to spend a ton of time finely shredding a bunch of produce, this is it. It’s packed with crunchy smoked almonds and tart dried cherries and tossed in a dressing made entirely from pantry staples. And, best of all, it can hang out on your table for an hour or two without wilting.

It's packed with fiber and protein.

This is my favorite spread for making veggie nori rolls, but I also love it as dip for raw vgetables, a sandwich spread, or even a salad dressing, thinned with a little water. I would never say that this really tastes like cheese, but it does make a fine plate of nachos spooned over tortilla chips topped with warmed black beans and scallions. I learned this recipe about a year ago from my sister Jill, and she learned it from raw foodist friends of hers.

This frosty almond butter and banana shake is the perfect sweet treat to refuel your body. Filled with nutty flavor and sweet bananas, this dairy-free snack tastes like dessert! And it does it with a rather surprising secret ingredient. Frozen watermelon is my secret ingredient for creating the best healthy DIY ice cream ever.

It's the cheesy non-cheese dip you've been dreaming of.

I’ll admit that I’ve never really understood chia seeds; they just remind me of eating a lot of kiwi seeds. Throwing them into a blender has totally changed my perspective, however. These tiny little seeds have the miraculous ability to thicken and turn liquids into delicious pudding-like mixtures without the use of dairy or eggs! This vegan chocolate pudding has a base that includes a double dose of almonds, cocoa powder, and maple syrup as the sweetener.

Cabbage may be a humble ingredient, but that doesn’t make it any less interesting. There are so many varieties with different shapes, textures, and colors that it’s time to make cabbage the main attraction. In this vegan dish, sweet, tender Napa cabbage simmers in a coconut-peanut sauce. One bite and you’ll wonder why you don’t cook cabbage more often. This dish is essentially a quick cabbage braise.

Hearty and vegan? Is it possible? Yes, of course! We pulled recipes from a few vegan cookbooks hitting the market this year and asked one of our food photographers and stylists, Maria Siriano, who happens to be vegan, for her thoughts on the recipes.

You’re an adult, so of course you can have chocolate for breakfast when you feel like it. But this is different because this is how to have chocolate for breakfast without it being a piece of cake. Every sip of this creamy smoothie — made with dates, bananas, and almond butter — tastes rich and satisfying, and you can count on its wholesome and nourishing ingredients to fill you up. To get the smoothest, creamiest result possible, this drink is best when blended twice.

A dreamy (vegan!) cashew ice cream that only requires three ingredients and no cooking.

We promise no fuss and no slimy texture in this classic chia seed pudding.

Wait until you try the cashew cream!

This vegan mac and cheese has a veggie secret.

Nutty, oat-y, sweet with maple syrup and a touch of jam, these thumbprints will please vegan and non-vegan palates alike. They’re a hearty tasting cookie — I personally feel that two or three with a cup of strong hot tea is a wonderful way to start your day. They’re quick to mix up, easy to form and fill, and will disappear off of your cookie plate in a twinkle. I first tasted Vegan Thumbprints at a Zen Buddhist monastery deep in the California wilderness.

It could even dupe your cheese-loving friends.

This 15-minute meal is packed with flavor.

Romesco is the ultimate summer vegetable sauce. Made from stale bread (!) and burned vegetables (!) and transformed by the power of olive oil and a blender, to know this sauce is to love it. This Spanish sauce is silky like the best pesto — full of body and richness from ground nuts and a punch of flavor from garlic. But romesco has something pesto doesn’t: a generous kick of heat from cayenne pepper and a vibrant orange hue.

To an American, carrot cake means a rich spiced cake frosted with super-sweet cream cheese icing. But to a Tuscan, this moist cake has no spices at all. In fact, cinnamon is rarely used in desserts and only occasionally used in some savory cooking. This recipe comes straight from my family recipe box. Served with the mascarpone cream, it is a lovely dinner party dessert, but it also works well with your morning espresso or afternoon coffee.

Around the World in 30 Soups: This month we’re collaborating with chefs, cookbook authors, and our own Kitchn crew to share a globetrotting adventure in soups from countries and cuisines around the world. Today’s stop: Jamaica. Here Michelle and Suzanne Rousseau, sisters and authors of the gorgeous Caribbean cookbook, Provisions, share their take on pinda stew. The creamy vegetarian-friendly dish centers around peanuts, which grow abundantly on the island.

Hello, and welcome to the first recipe in my new column, But First, Breakfast! I’ve been thinking about the idea for this series for a long time, probably ever since I started touring to promote my breakfast cookbook, Whole Grain Mornings, and readers told me how much they longed for really simple weekday breakfast ideas. This series is about real-world, make-ahead breakfasts that you can actually fit into your busy, everyday life.

This vibrantly hued red pepper and marcona almond dip is a perfect way to start a summer meal. It’s not too heavy, yet it manages to pack a major flavor punch. Spoon it over homemade flatbreads and naan, or dunk roasted potatoes into it. (For those more virtuous than I, it pairs well with an abundance of fresh vegetables.) Any leftovers can be spread onto a sandwich or slathered over grilled meat. The sky is the limit!

It’s time you get to know labneh. And if you’re already in the know, it’s time you use labneh to make cheesecake bars. Labneh is cheese made from strained thick yogurt. It’s commonly eaten for breakfast in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries with olive oil and bread. At stores, you’ll find it in the refrigerated section, sometimes labeled as “yogurt cheese.

Around the World in 30 Soups: This month we’re collaborating with chefs, cookbook authors, and our own Kitchn crew to share a globetrotting adventure in soups from countries and cuisines around the world. Today’s stop: Ireland. We drew a classic Irish recipe with a modern twist from Rachel Allen, author of Rachel’s Irish Family Food.

If you’re looking for a recipe to turn you into a soup person, here’s the one that did it for me. A surprisingly simple ingredient list — featuring sweet spring carrots and spicy fresh ginger — yields a silky-smooth, bold-flavored soup that’s perfect for these chilly early April evenings. The best puréed soups are rich and velvety-smooth (but stop short of verging into baby-food territory).

I have a bit of a love affair with shepherd’s pie, and I always make extra mashed potatoes just in case the spirit strikes me. Leftover mashed potatoes, after all, are a great start to any shepherd’s pie; they’re able to soak up that yumminess from the bubbling stew below, and easy enough to doctor up with a few fresh herbs and some warm cream if need be.

Ah, couscous! The food so nice they named it twice. Except this isn’t really couscous. It’s cauliflower. And I feel like I won a gold medal in the kitchen when my couscous-loving husband didn’t bat an eye while he gobbled up this “pretend” version. I’ll be the first to admit I don’t usually like when food is referred to something it’s not.

This recipe very handily fed almost a dozen people at a recent weekend get-together; there were even leftovers. It’s also a very easy and delicious recipe with terrific flavor. And yet it takes less than half an hour to put it all together. Perfect menu for company! This recipe is basically a riff on Elizabeth’s slow-cooked pork shoulder. Pork shoulder, also known as pork butt, is a relatively fatty and inexpensive cut of meat that is excellent for slow cooking and braises.

Brussels sprouts and honey might not be the most obvious pairing, but once you’ve tasted this spunky little food combo, you will not look back! The sweetness of the honey perfectly tempers the mustardy undertones of the sprouts. Combined with this nourishing, spiced quinoa and lentil pilaf, this is a hearty salad bowl you will crave time and time again. This dish is all the proof you need that Brussels sprouts are popular again for a reason.

Last weekend I took a walk through the spring farmers market. I wanted to make something special, and was looking for inspiration. At first my focus fell on the new arrivals of seasonal vegetables, especially ramps and leafy greens. I really wanted a fresh side that would hold up in a fancier dish. Then, walking past the local fishmongers, an idea was born. Bright sautéed greens with salmon, a fish that is nicely complemented but not overpowered by strong flavors.

Rhubarb is an odd fruit. To begin with, it’s actually a vegetable — a vegetable with poisonous leaves. The stalks are crisp and juicy, with a vegetal crunch rather like celery. And yet this prosaic stalk can produce some of the most beautiful and delicious food of the spring season. It’s also far easier to prepare than we realized; this crumble involves no pre-cooking, no stewing. It’s a fast dessert with a delicate sweetness and hearty topping.

I’ve never been the type of person who chooses a bottle of wine or a chocolate bar based on the label alone. Until now, that is. If you’ve seen the movie Bridget Jones’s Baby, this flavor-packed salmon will immediately ring a bell. And now, thanks to Ottolenghi’s new cookbook, Simple, you can recreate it at home.

There’s been a substantial number of Midwestern treats coming out of our kitchens this holiday season (see: uber-nostalgic Muddy Buddies and St. Louis-inspired Gooey Butter Cake Cookies), and no one is happier about it than me. It only seems fitting to add to the collection with these best-ever buckeyes, which hail from my home state of Ohio.

Say hello to your must-try fall lunch: fall harvest freekeh salad! If you’re brand new to the world of freekeh, this salad is an easy and delicious way to get your feet wet. And if freekeh is already a regular part of your diet, then this is a recipe you’ll definitely want to add to your stash! This salad is a culmination of all of my favorite salad-y things in one bowl.

The only cold noodle dish you'll need this summer doesn't even require a knife.

The rise of the one-bowl meal has a lot to do with convenience. It’s easy to get all your food and flavor in one handy vessel, but figuring out just what to put in one to make it as flavorful and nutritious as possible requires some thinking. Chef Seamus Mullen has created a one-bowl meal that delivers on all fronts.

The cooler fall temperatures have inspired me to take a break from my usual quinoa salad and cook some nutty farro instead. I love its toothsome texture, and its flavor pairs well with fall ingredients. This salad has nutty, sweet, and savory flavors, and nice contrasting textures. Serve it warm with roasted chicken or pork, or at room temperature for lunch. Let’s call this salad what it really is: fall in a bowl (or on a plate).

Slaw gets a lot of love in the warmer months — when it regularly appears as part of a cookout spread or tucked into a pulled pork sandwich — but in our household it’s on the menu just as often in the winter. Cabbage is a cool-weather crop, after all. The base of this winter slaw is a mix of red cabbage and julienned sweet potato, bejeweled with orange segments and pomegranate. It’s proof positive you can eat the rainbow even in January.

Bringing a side dish to cookouts (and really any potluck) always feels a little bit like Thanksgiving dinner for me. I’m itching to go off-script, to prepare something new, exciting, and adventurous, while the rest of the family wants nothing but the classics. This slaw is the compromise where everybody wins. It ditches the standard shredded cabbage for a duo of crunchy chopped florets for a fresh spin. It’s an instant hit with this broccoli- and cauliflower-loving crowd!

Great slaw can upstage salad whenever it gets a chance. This one, full of sweet and crisp apples and dressed with honey and lime, is familiar yet not run-of-the-mill. It pairs with everything from a ham sandwich to fish tacos, but is satisfying enough to stand on its own as a meatless meal. Take note of the first prep step, where the shredded cabbage is salted and set aside for a bit.

It’s amazing what you can do with a pound of pizza dough. Of course you can make a traditional pizza, but why not get a little more creative? This easy flatbread, which can do double duty as an appetizer or as a full meal, has a fun combination of grapes, Taleggio cheese, and walnuts — all on whatever pizza dough you like best. This easy flatbread starts with pizza dough, and the kind you choose is up to you.

Coconut, chicken, turmeric, peanuts, tomatoes — how can you say no to this Brazilian-inspired stew?

Kung pao chicken has a lot going for it. The Chinese takeout favorite boasts tender chicken, crisp veggies, crunchy roasted peanuts, and a spicy, savory sauce coating each and every bite. With a few basic stir-frying techniques, you can make this satisfying dish at home anytime the craving strikes. Here’s how to do it. Kung pao chicken originated in Sichuan, although you can now find it all over China.

For starters, ditch the jelly and the sliced bread.

This is precisely the kind of chicken recipe you want to keep in your weeknight dinner rotation. It’s quick and simple, has few ingredients, and gets right to the point. It’s what you should expect when you have a crunchy almond coating and a honey-mustard sauce that plays double duty as a coating for the chicken and a sauce for serving.