Suya is a Nigerian street food of spiced sliced meat threaded on skewers and grilled. We make our suya spice mix by processing peanuts, paprika, ginger, garlic and a touch of brown sugar and use it to add flavor and crunch to potatoes. We add a bit of oil and toss the mixture onto halved potatoes before roasting. A simple fresh tomato relish with chili and lime served on the side brightens up the dish. TIP Don’t be shy about using your hands to thoroughly coat the halved potatoes with the seasoning mixture. After emptying the potatoes onto the baking sheet, be sure to scrape any seasoning remaining in the bowl onto the potatoes

Patatas bravas is a popular Spanish tapa, and for good reason. Potatoes fried until perfectly crisp and served piping hot with alioli (the Spanish version of aioli) and a smoked paprika sauce (called bravas sauce) have universal appeal. To avoid having to fry the potatoes—the classic preparation—we first parcook chunked russets in the microwave, then coat them with cornstarch and finish them on a well-oiled baking sheet in a hot oven. This technique delivers fluffy-creamy interiors and ultracrisp exteriors without the hassle and mess of deep-frying. TIP: Don’t use lower-starch potatoes. To get the correct browning and crispness, it’s important to use high-starch russet potatoes. Also, don’t cut the potatoes into small pieces. Largish two-bite chunks can roast long enough to achieve deep browning without overcooking on the inside.

Don’t worry if the potatoes look watery and thin when first mashed. The pourable consistency is typical of patates paçasi. Once baked, the potatoes develop more structure, yet maintain a light, fluffy texture.

Cooks Country

These deeply savory burgers were inspired by a recipe by Ignacio Mattos, chef of Estela in New York and author of a book by the same name. Mattos uses fish sauce as a seasoning for steak, but we opted for similarly salty and umami-rich Worcestershire sauce. We mixed it, as Mattos does with fish sauce, with rosemary and garlic to create a rich baste. These seasonings, combined with a simple taleggio cheese sauce, makes these burgers richer, more elegant and far more flavorful than your average cheeseburger. We recommend brioche buns or Kaiser rolls, as they better resist turning soggy than standard hamburger buns. As for toppings, we liked to keep it simple: sliced tomato or pickled red onions to balance the burgers' richness.

Challah is an egg-enriched bread that can be found in most bakeries and supermarkets. If you cannot find challah, a firm high-quality sandwich bread such as Arnold Country Classics White or Pepperidge Farm Farmhouse Hearty White may be substituted.

Before You Begin: If you happen to be grilling, you can adapt this recipe to the grill. Thread the garlic cloves and tomatoes on separate skewers. Grill the habaneros, garlic, and tomatoes over the hotter part of grill until they are charred on all sides, 4 to 6 minutes. The heat in chiles comes from the compound capsaicin, which is found primarily in the ribs. The seeds, which sit on the ribs, become hot by association. Habaneros are one of the spiciest chiles we work with in the test kitchen, so we prefer to remove all of the ribs and seeds for this recipe. If you have a very high tolerance for spicy foods you can reserve and add back a portion of the seeds and ribs.

Choose potatoes that are 4 to 6 inches in length to ensure well-proportioned fries. Trimming thin slices from the ends of the potatoes in step 2 ensures that each fry has two flat surfaces for even browning. This recipe's success is dependent on a heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet that will not warp in the heat of the oven. Spraying the sheet with vegetable oil spray will help the oil spread evenly and prevent sticking. The rate at which the potatoes brown is dependent on your baking sheet and oven. After removing the foil from the baking sheet in step 5, monitor the color of the potatoes carefully to prevent scorching.

Tofu dish for non-believers

Serve over sticky white rice

Tender, spongy and full of flavor this Sourdough Discard Focaccia is easy to make and is perfect for beginners and pro sourdough bakers. Get all the sourdough flavor with the convenience of commercial yeast and bake homemade sourdough bread in just over 2 hours.