This book is about seeking out the best ingredient and exploring the best ways of cooking it, pulling from all the world’s great cuisines. So whether it’s Louisiana Dirty Rice, Persian Jewel Rice, Chinese Sticky Rice, Arroz Valenciana, or Italian Risotto, you learn the qualities of each ingredient (the long and the short of it!) and the best methods and recipes for showcasing what makes it special.

Sections on universal ingredients—such as garlic, onion, and shallots—offer some of the simplest yet most satisfying recipes in the world. Consider the onion in these three marvelous incarnations: Lebanese Caramelized Onions, American Buttermilk Fried Onion Rings, and French Onion and Bacon Tart. And the chile section encourages readers to use real chiles (rather than reach for bottled hot sauce each time) on an everyday basis in recipes from Hungary to India, from Mexico to China, with wonderful results.

Surprises abound in this vast recipe collection (over 60 percent of which are vegetarian or vegetable-based), such as Tanis’s unexpected happy nod to the value of leftovers: he offers scores of suggestions to morph them into dishes every bit as delicious as the meal in which they originally appeared.