Weeknight Kitchen

The star of the dish here is the celery. It’s an undervalued vegetable and often an afterthought thrown into salads or soup stock, or served as crudits, or enjoyed with a Bloody Mary. But I love this vegetable. If I can have it stir-fried with loads of garlic, salt and white rice, I am a happy girl. I find the combination of medium-rare beef and celery divine, so here is my version of Cantonese black bean and beef, given a celery oomph. Serve it with plenty of rice.

Sometimes we feel like a substantial salad that is a meal in itself with all the elements of good food—plenty of greens, crunchy raw pepper, and loads of flavor. This is also a great way to use up leftover chicken or turkey. Serve with a tzatziki dressing and tomato salad. This is our friend Anne Hudson’s method of preparing the wonderful Greek yogurt and cucumber dip, which she learned to make the local way when living in Greece. You can also enjoy the tzatziki with bread or as a dip for vegetables. (Gluten-free if using quinoa or brown rice.)

This tasty noodle salad couldn’t be easier to make — the only cooking involved is preparing the noodles. The all-purpose noodle sauce doubles up as a salad dressing and noodle sauce.

A Greek-style burger packed full of flavour. You’ll need to make the minted yoghurt and super-simple cucumber pickle a day ahead, but they’re worth it for this delicious lamb burger.

Piquillo peppers, descendants of Peru’s chile de arbol, require a long, hot, dry growing season, which fits Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valley to a T. Gardeners and farmers get their piquillo pepper seeds from the Chile Pepper Institute at New Mexico State University or online from Peppermania. Piquillos are not edible raw; instead, they’re smoke-roasted over wood and then packed in brine in jars or cans. If you grow piquillos, simply smoke-roast them until they’re done. Banana peppers are a good substitute for the piquillo peppers, too.

This recipe is an ancient Persian take on the spinach salad from masterful writer Joan Nathan. Spinach is quickly blanched in boiling water, then pulsed in a food processor with cilantro, walnuts and garlic until roughly chopped. Toss with vinegar, salt and pepper and serve at room temperature alongside a chunk of whole grain bread and good butter and you have a delicious spring dinner.

This version of pesto has Asian influences and, like the Italian original, can add an enormous amount of flavor and character to a dish with just a couple of tablespoons.

Salmon can be challenging to make interesting. This preparation, made with a spicy, crunchy coating of crushed wasabi peas -- adhered with a bonus layer of wasabi paste -- creates an intensely enjoyable dish.

This main looks deceptively meaty on the plate, and it satisfies on the same level. Tandoori spice mixture has an intense spicy flavor that meets its match with rich, unctuous portobello mushrooms. The cool cilantro sauce offers a creamy counterpoint and is entirely sunflower-seed based.