Kidney Bean

This recipe is a hybrid from different schools of thought. The texture is that of shredded beef, which is authentic Texan, but the flavor is the American Southwest. The dried chilies and the chocolate give this dish an amazing rich, smoky depth. If you’re a purist and think adding beans is a sacrilege, leave them out, but they do work really well here. This is truly one of the best dishes I’ve ever made.

This vegetarian take on a traditional Mexican red pozole—pozole being the name not only of a type of stew, often made with pork, but also of the large dried corn kernels (hominy) integral to the mixture—is rich and satisfying. The accompaniments are an essential and fun part of the dish, adding some fresh crunch to the toothsome bite of hominy, beans, and vegetables. It's the perfect meal to have waiting on the back of the stove for family and friends as they straggle in from near and far for a holiday weekend.

The recipe for red velvet cake has been around since the 1920s, when the cake was the signature dessert at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. The cake captured my heart-and it plays hard to get. It took me forever to come up with a magical adaptation that would capture the richness of its namesake. These bars get their health benefits, velvety texture, and deep red color from a paste made of beets, red beans, cocoa powder, and red food coloring. I took a slight departure from the traditional red velvet cake flavor by adding a touch of almond extract, and that, my friends, is where the magic happened.

This countrified soup is often served in late March for Nowruz, the Persian new year. With beans, vegetables, noodles, and yogurt, it is a meal in itself. If you can't find fava beans, use limas. Start this recipe the night before to soak the chickpeas, kidneys beans, and fava beans. Boil them in a pot with four cups of water for one minute, then turn off the heat and add a splash of apple cider vinegar. Cover the pot and let them soak overnight

This zesty salad is big on beans and packs plenty of protein and vitamins!

Gina: This colorful salad is one of my go-to recipes when I need something to satisfy a crowd, whether at a church potluck supper or a backyard barbecue. The champagne vinaigrette gives the beans a fresh, zippy flavor. For the best results, add the fresh beans to the salad just before serving, so they do not discolor.

Latin-food authority Maricel Presilla describes sofrito—the sautéed mix of aromatic vegetables that is the bedrock of this vegetarian soup—as the DNA of the Latin kitchen because it carries a basic flavor code. There's onion and garlic, to be sure, but also tomatoes and various herbs, spices, and chiles, depending on the region. For this red-bean soup, we were inspired specifically by Puerto Rico, as evidenced by recao (an herb similar to cilantro) and by chiles that are fruity rather than hot. Just for fun, we included a last-minute sprinkling of Italian gremolata for brightness.

You can make the veggie filling a day ahead and refrigerate. Simply reheat 1 1/2 hours before filling the tacos.

In El Salvador, these satisfying little corn snacks are made with quesillo, but many Salvadorans in the United States substitute mozzarella, as we've done here. Cheese on its own is a popular pupusa filling, but we particularly like this hearty revuelta (mixture) that includes red beans and salty, crisp-fried pork rind.

Normally we consider ourselves chili purists, but this quickie version — made with a really good bottled salsa — satisfied our craving.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from The Dooky Chase Cookbook by Leah Chase and are part of our story on Mardi Gras. Chase also shared some helpful tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. In Madisonville, where I grew up, we would use smoked ham to add flavor to our red beans. In New Orleans, they would use pickled meat. Pickling of pork was done in the Creole community. Pickled ribs with potato salad were popular. The meat was pickled in a brine, more or less, along with seasonings. There is a market in New Orleans that still makes pickled meat, in just this way. They might also use some kind of vinegar. In this red beans recipe, I stick with the smoked meats, just like in the country.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Joan Nathan's book The Foods of Israel Today. Nathan also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. To read more about Nathan and Israeli cuisine, click here. According to the Ten Commandments, "On the seventh day thou shalt rest," which means that no cooking can be done on the Sabbath. This tradition is the reason Israel is truly the center of the world for cholent, an overnight stew. Almost all Jewish families have brought their own unique versions — with Hungarian smoked goose breast, Brazilian black beans, Moroccan rice, Bukharan turkey giblets and raisin-stuffed cucumbers, or Polish barley and meat. A dish that has experienced a rebirth even among secular Israelis in the last few years, cholent is often served as a centerpiece main course for parties, usually blending several traditions in one exciting creation. Eons ago, needing a dish that could be kept warm for the Sabbath, Jewish cooks came up with an overnight stew, the ingredients for which varied depending on where they lived. The stew was tightly sealed, often with a paste-like dough, and cooked before the Sabbath began, then left overnight in the embers to warm until the next day. During World War II, before Israelis had proper ovens, the cholent often was simmered over the small flame of a kerosene stove, the lid covered with two heavy bricks. The word cholent comes from the French chaud, meaning "warm," and lent, meaning "slow." In Israel, it is also called hamim, Hebrew for "warm." Like outdoor grilling, preparing cholent seems to have become the Israeli man's domain. It is served on every Israeli army base on Saturday, even in small military units on their own at lookout posts throughout the country, since the army, which officially observes the dietary laws, must serve a traditional Sabbath meal. This Hebronite hamim recipe was given to me by Amnon Lipkin Shachak, a former Israeli army chief of staff. He combines the Ashkenazic basic beans and barley with Sephardic sausages and the long-cooking eggs in their shells called huevos haminadav to make an innovative Sabbath dish from Hebron, the city from which part of his family hails. According to him, the recipe changes each time he makes it, depending on what he can find in the cupboard. This version requires kishke (a traditional delicacy made of flour and fat stuffed into sausage casing, today obtainable from Jewish specialty stores) and the robust and highly aromatic eastern Mediterranean spice combination of baharat (see Tips, below).

When you crave something hot and filling, a bowl of this chili will do the trick.

his delicious vegetarian soup is a take on the Persian dish ash-e reshteh.

Puréed ancho chilies lend a rich, sweet, and only mildly hot flavor to this chili. To make a hotter dish, do not remove the veins or seeds from the chilies. If anchos or similar dried chilies are not readily available, substitute one roasted and peeled red bell pepper and 1/4 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes when puréeing.

Veggie crumbles, a savory blend of vegetable and grain proteins, lend this chili a hearty, ground beef flavor. Look for it in the frozen foods section of the supermarket. To go with the chili, warm some of the new flavored tortillas, and add a composed salad of jicama and red onion with poppy seed ranch dressing. Then splurge with banana splits.

Add the green beans to the salad just before serving so they do not discolor.

This recipe works best with ordinary chili powder, which typically includes not only ground dried chiles but other spices as well. Pure chile powder will be too strong.

Turn your leftover turkey into a warming, crowd-pleasing chili for dinner tonight.

Team these with grilled or broiled chicken, or add a green salad and some crusty whole wheat bread for a simple supper.

Here's a chunky, hearty beef stew that's just right on a cold winter day.