Impressive and healthy, realistic portion size. Save up for this one!
Hearty spicy spaghetti sauce: a fast 25-minute tomato sauce with garlic, red wine, dried chili, and your choice of beef, pork, or chicken. Pantry-friendly Italian dinner sauce with a kick.
Madras curry mixture is a homemade South Indian curry powder built from coriander, ginger, hot chilies, black mustard, fenugreek, black pepper, and curry leaves. Bolder and fresher than store-bought.
A fiery raspberry-chile marinade with orange zest, raspberry vinegar, and fresh orange juice. Use it on chicken, shrimp, or grilled meats for a sweet-hot kick that lasts for weeks in the fridge.
Egyptian-style falafel (ta'ameya) with dried fava beans, parsley, garlic, cumin, and coriander, ground twice for the right crispy-yet-tender texture. The original falafel before chickpeas took over.
This recipe is delicious but might be too barbaric for some.
Szechwan dry-fried beef: shredded steak fried until dark and chewy, then tossed with hot bean sauce, chiles, ginger, and toasted Sichuan peppercorns for that signature mala numbing-spicy heat.
Salmon couscous steamed over a spiced vegetable broth with garlic, caraway, chili pepper, zucchini, and carrots, served with canned red salmon and pumpkin seeds. A North African-inspired one-pot meal.
Spicy root vegetable stew with carrots, turnips, parsnips, and mushrooms simmered in tomato-paste-thickened broth with chili pepper and herbs. Big-batch, freezer-friendly, and served over couscous.
Jamaican-style jerk chicken marinated overnight in spicy seasonings and soy sauce, oven-baked, then dipped in a blended pimento-thyme sauce and baked again.
Fourby chili: a vegan black bean chili simmered in stout beer with peanut butter for depth, corn for sweetness, and broccoli florets on top for crunch. An unconventional, deeply flavored chili worth the slow cook.
Flambed ice cream sauce of buttered green grapes, hot chiles, rum, honey, and warm spices. A sweet-heat dessert topping that takes 20 minutes and shocks the palate awake.
Meaty vegetarian chili built on earthy mushrooms, beans, and chili-cumin spices, served over rice with lime, cilantro, and sour cream. A hearty meatless main without the soy-crumble compromise.
Wattakka, the Sri Lankan curried pumpkin classic. Cubed pumpkin simmered in coconut milk with curry leaves, turmeric, garlic, and chili. Served back in its own roasted shell.
Raw oysters on the half shell topped with a fresh lime-chili relish of shallots, cilantro, jalapeno, and red chili. A no-cook appetizer with serious kick.
Fish and corn chiles rellenos Hunter-style: roasted poblanos stuffed with flaked sole, sweet corn, crispy potatoes, onion, and Monterey Jack. A Mexican coastal twist on the classic.