Michael Natkin, author of Herbivoracious, is an outside of the box kind of thinker. And it's precisely that kind of thinking that gives his meatless creations so much style. Take this Peppery Absorption-Cooked Red-Wine Capellini for example—but first take everything you know about pasta-making and throw it out of the window. More

Rice and beans are served at every single meal in Nicaragua. It's either rice and beans, or riceandbeans, otherwise known as gallopinto ("red rooster," though friends and I used to call it "painted rooster" due to odd translations and plain old foolishness). The name alludes to the color of the mixture of white rice and small red kidney beans, which mirrors that of the king of the coop. More

[Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt] About the author: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt is the Chief Creative Officer of Serious Eats where he likes to explore the science of home cooking in his weekly column The Food Lab. You can follow him at... More

What we're here to talk about today is vegetables, in particular, asparagus and morel mushrooms. More

S.H. Fernando Jr., author of Rice & Curry, calls these Spicy Lentil Fritters an Asian take on falafel, and that's a spot-on call. Subbing out chickpeas for yellow split peas makes for fritters with a great bite and the chiles, onion, curry leaves, ginger, and fennel seeds give these guys beguiling flavor, one that will have you snacking on these little fritters until every last one is gone. More

There's something so... cowboy about cooking spaghetti over an open flame. Fortunately, it's tasty, too. [Photograph: Jennifer Olvera] Note: This recipe calls for a disposable grill pan—the kind of perforated pan designed to fit over your grill to allow you... More

They don't call Mark Bittman, author of How to Cook Everything The Basics, The Minimalist for nothing. His recipes are simple, straightforward, and often pared down to their bare essential ingredients. Plus, he's not one to add in labor intensive steps. Take this Rice Pudding in the Oven—it's a solid dessert that requires nothing more than tossing rice, milk, and sugar into a gratin dish, and baking for roughly two hours. Sure, you have to stir the pot every now and again, but really, it's nearly effortless. And the pudding? Well, it's a beautiful batch of rice pudding: mild, milky, and entirely comforting. More

Salad for dinner always sounds virtuous, but not necessarily all that fulfilling (or just plain filling at all). Flipping through Mindy Fox's most recent cookbook Salads: Beyond the Bowl, it's clear that Fox, who is the food editor at La Cucina Italiana magazine, is trying to stretch the definition of what a salad can be. It's also refreshing that her range of flavors goes way beyond Italian food, like in this twist on Asian sesame noodles. More

[Photograph: David Loftus] What Worked: Starting a recipe three days in advance is going to require some planning but it's worth it for these out of this world Gnudi. Just make sure to read the direction well before beginning the... More

Notes: This recipe can be cut in half. Chicken may be poached 2 days in advance. To store, place chicken and 3 cups strained broth in airtight container and refrigerate. Rice may be prepared up to 2 days in advance.... More

Lidia Bastianich doesn't traffic in trends, so I knew that this recipe in Lidia's Italy wasn't just thrown in to capitalize on farro's recent surge in healthy appeal. As she writes in the caption, it actually came from a restaurant called Le Lampare in Trani, Italy. The tuna, caper, and tomato sauce would probably go well with about any pasta shape (I certainly wouldn't mind it), but seems to really come alive when paired with the farro. More

[Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt] Notes: Masarepa is dehydrated cooked corn meal. It is available in the Latin section of most supermarkets in wither white or yellow varieties. This recipe calls for white, but they can be freely substituted. Popular brands... More

[Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt] Notes: Masarepa is dehydrated cooked corn meal. It is available in the Latin section of most supermarkets in wither white or yellow varieties. This recipe calls for white, but they can be freely substituted. Popular brands... More

[Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt] Notes: Masarepa is dehydrated cooked corn meal. It is available in the Latin section of most supermarkets in wither white or yellow varieties. This recipe calls for white, but they can be freely substituted. Popular brands... More

With flecks of thyme and a touch of tangy sour cream, this farro mushroom hash would be great on its own, but finishing it off with perfectly poached eggs puts it over the top. It's a winner. More

Fresh herb pesto makes a flavorful dressing for a springy pasta salad studded with green peas. Chopped walnuts add delicious crunch and fresh lemon juice brightens it up. More

Sure, shellfish and cured pork almost always go well together—something I learned from Bill Buford's book Heat, a point he drives home over and over again. But then you take crème fraîche and mix in horseradish, then amp up the whole thing with spicy sambal paste? Too intriguing to pass up. More

This Eggplant Romesco Rigatoni treats the meaty eggplant very well indeed, roasting it with onions and peppers before blending it with tomatoes and toasted almonds for an out of this world pasta sauce that just to happens to be vegan. More

This light Provençal lasagna is made from roasted planks of ratatouille, fresh pasta sheets, layers of unexpected herbs, and a gratinéed crust of gooey cheese. More

When peas are in season, one of the first dishes they are dashed into is this subtle Peas Pulav. Jewel green spheres adorn this delicious rice preparation that can be had with almost any Indian gravy or lentil side-dish. More