This is the classic Spanish gazpacho, originating in the southern region of Spain called Andalusia, home to all the traditional ingredients: its vegetables, sherry vinegar and, in this recipe, jamón serrano.

“It came from a cookbook that they gave me called ‘Chuck Wagon Cookin’,” says the author. “It’s ideal for chuck wagon days before the days of refrigeration because it will keep for days without breaking down. The honey and vinegar retard bacterial and microbial growth.”

Known in its native Catalonia, in the Catalan language, as “Pa amb Tomàquet,” this starter or nibble course of bread rubbed with ripe tomato is ubiquitous throughout Spain.

This is essentially a Salade Niçoise wrapped in a rice paper roll. It is delicious, in addition to being comely to the eye.

These are delicious: chewy, chocolate-y, and gluten-free.

The pickled chiles and carrots that make up this escabeche can add buckets of flavor and texture to other foods such as enchiladas or tamales.

This firm yet flaky and moist textured fish is farmed in Alamosa by a family-owned company, Colorado Catch.

The best scallops to buy, if you can get them, are “dry-packed” scallops. You can get a crust on them in a way not possible with wet scallops because there is zero water added, much less all the other stuff.

Chorizo, bacon, or another fatty breakfast meat is a welcome addition to this dish.

The peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate are particularly popular at Christmas.

The simplest of preparations, to deliver a complexity of flavors, especially the play between salt and sweet, a killer combo.

The soy sauce, mushrooms and a touch of dashi in the greens is an umami trifecta here.

A small whole fish—dressed, opened, and filleted—is particularly suitable for a “papillote” preparation, a little piscine package of parchment paper roasted with flavorings for a few minutes, then opened at the plate.

A meunière is the spouse of a meunier, French for “miller” or person who grinds wheat into flour. This recipe is so-named because the filets of fish are dredged in flour before sautéeing.

The beginnings of a roasted vegetable ratatouille. Photo from Artem Smoldarev pon pexels.com

A vegetarian or vegan bruschetta using “the black kale” of Tuscany.

Iranian cooks take next-day leftover pasta preparations, fry it in clarified butter and olive oil, and call the crisp pancake a “tahdig.”

Roasted vegetables are the “Sara Lee” of the refrigerator’s bottom bins: nobody doesn’t like them. Picky adults? Children? Sic roasted vegetables on ‘em; it’s failsafe. Photo: Christina Rumpf, unsplash

Grain-based “chopped salads”—typically a mix of vegetables chopped up or shredded into uniform size with cooked grains in some manner mixed in—are close to perfect warm weather fare.

One way to serve smoked and grilled pork belly is in large cubes or chunks.