Spreads

I developed this jam for Cherry-Chocolate Linzer Tarts (page 76), but it’s great on fresh Brioche (page 194) that’s been slathered with butter.

With their slightly caramelized flavor, roasted vegetables make a wonderful spread. Serve with pieces of toasted whole-grain pita rounds or baked tortilla chips.

You can enjoy this protein- and fiber-packed, easy-to-prepare dip on baked tortilla chips or in Vegetarian Taco Salad (page 94).

This is a great spicy, low-carb snack when served with vegetables such as celery sticks and endive. It’s also great served with baked tortilla chips or low-fat whole-grain crackers. Until recently, canned tuna was most commonly available in 6-ounce cans. But lately, a lot of products have decreased in size—from cereals to ice cream to peanut butter, which now often has a bubble in the bottom of the jar to make it look as big as it once was—even though the prices have not gone down. Be wary of this when you determine how many calories you’re consuming. The numbers on this dish are based on the 5-ounce can, not a 6-ounce one—which, by the way, generally contains only 3 1/2 ounces of tuna (the rest is liquid).

Gina: We serve plenty of meals that are heavy on the pork fat—and we wouldn’t have it any other way! That’s why I like to balance out some menus with fresh vegetables and this classic creamy herb dip. It’s also a great way to get my girls and (big Neely) boys to eat their veggies. I like to serve this dip with vegetable crudités: try red and orange cherry tomatoes, blanched asparagus spears and broccoli florets, fresh radishes, green onions, and carrots. It also makes a fabulous spread for turkey or ham sandwiches.

The flavors here are rich and exciting.

In Egypt, vendors sold crates of rose petals, in their season, for making rose water and rose jam. Certain varieties of rose, such as the wild eglantine of Turkey and Syria, are the best for jam-making. I have not been able to make a good one with the roses from my garden. The petals remained tough under the tooth.

We start getting large quinces from Cyprus at the beginning of October, and later in the year smaller ones arrive from Iran and Turkey. I buy them as soon as I see them, and they last a pretty long time without going bad. Their heavenly scent pervades the whole house. In America they are available in the fall in farmers’ markets.

You have to love garlic to appreciate this most ancient of sauces.

There are many versions of this exquisite Turkish and Syrian relish. Serve it with bread as an appetizer, or as an accompaniment to a cooked vegetable salad, or with broiled fish or meat.

The Turkish people claim to have a hundred ways of preparing eggplants. For them, it is the king and queen of vegetables. This is the classic purée that is also found in all the countries around the Mediterranean with a variety of different flavorings and trimmings. Serve it as a dip with bread or with crudités such as carrot, cucumber, and celery sticks.

Yogurt softens the flavors and adds to the creamy texture of this refreshing purée.

This is fantastic on fresh pumpernickel or rye bread for lunch; or spread it on fresh Italian bread to serve with light pasta dishes.

This is excellent stuffed into or spread on pita bread, as well as on crispbreads and crackers. I like it best on fresh pumpernickel bread.

Serve as a spread on whole-grain crackers, crisp lavash, or wedges of pita bread. For more information on miso, a pungent soyfood, see page 21.

A grown-up version of a childhood favorite, this is delicious when spread thickly onto toast, inbetween cake layers, or when sandwiched in the middle of cookies—or if no—one's looking straight from the jar with a big spoon…

Homemade marshmallow spread is so ridiculously easy to make that you'll chuckle at yourself for ever having assumed it was complicated. Making it also allows you to use pure vanilla extract, which tastes so much better than the fake vanillin flavoring in many commercial versions. This spread is superb in S'mores Crêpes .

Shelf Life: 2 years Tomato marmalades are the perfect partners for crackers, cornbread, or sourdough. They have a long history in the United States, where they were traditionally seen as a way to use up extra fruit during summer's long tomato season. Like tomato jam, they tended to be heavily spiced with cinnamon and cloves. For this lighter version, I have introduced saffron into the mix. The result is magic.

This jam is the filling for the Rosemary Cookies with Tomato Jam . I often serve a small pot of it to accompany a sumptuous platter of perfectly ripened cheeses, one of my favorite desserts of all.

Serve with sweet potato or root vegetable chips. The sweet potatoes can be cooked in a microwave in just 10 to 12 minutes.

Opening a can of tomato paste just to use a tablespoon or two for a recipe can be something of a drain on one's culinary resources—do you ever remember to use the rest of the can? This recipe is the delicious solution. Leftover tomato paste (from our Sausage–Stuffed Potatoes with Green Salad) gets puréed with roasted red peppers, walnuts, and garlic to become a luscious, deeply flavored spread. This easy recipe makes a lot, so it's perfect for a party. And it's so good that it's even worth cracking open a fresh can (it will taste just fine if you use the whole thing).

This is a Greek version of hummus that captures the soul of the Mediterranean. For this recipe, be sure to use premium-quality imported sun-dried tomatoes; they should be plump and soft with red hue.