Side Dishes

Savory Mexican cheese tarts — tortitas con queso — are little masa shells baked crisp and filled with green chili sauce and a two-cheese blend of farmer cheese and feta. They're the kind of family recipe that gets handed down, and they're less work than...

These spiced red kidney beans turn out incredibly creamy because they simmer from dried with onion and salt, then finish in a garlicky tomato-jalapeño sauce warmed with cinnamon and cloves. The long, slow pot is what puts that restaurant texture within reach. Forget...

These homemade refried beans taste restaurant-quality because they follow the restaurant method: onions and garlic softened in oil and butter, kidney beans fried into them, then mashed loose with their own cooking liquid. A blanket of melted Monterey Jack finishes the...

This creamy fire-roasted pepper skillet — inspired by rajas con crema — is charred peppers and onions bound in a velvety melted cream cheese sauce, scooped up with warm tortillas. The char does the heavy lifting; the mild chili heat keeps you going back for one more...

This cheesy mushroom chilaquiles casserole layers crisped corn tortillas with mushrooms in a tomato-green chili sauce, all under melted Cheddar. It takes the messy magic of chilaquiles and turns it into a casserole that feeds six with no last-minute scrambling....

Crispy avocado taquitos are vegetarian snacking at its finest: creamy lemony avocado rolled tightly in corn tortillas and fried until the outside shatters. Topped with sour cream, queso fresco, and chopped onion, they go fast enough that doubling is a reasonable...

Classic vegetarian sangria is simply classic sangria done right: a dry Spanish red like Tempranillo, brandy, and Triple Sec, chilled with oranges and lemons until the fruit does its work. Add the club soda and ice at the last minute so it arrives at the table still...

This vibrant vegetable Spanish tortilla is tortilla española's cheerful cousin, folding potato, carrot, peas, and roasted pimientos into the golden egg cake. Every slice comes out confetti-colored, and the vegetables make it hearty enough to be the whole meal....

This classic Spanish tortilla — tortilla española — is nothing more than potato, onion, eggs, and olive oil, cooked slowly and flipped into a thick golden cake. Master it and you'll make it weekly; it's just as good at room temperature with a glass of...

Spanish garlic mushrooms — champiñones al ajillo — are the tapa you smell from the street: mushrooms seared in butter with plenty of garlic, a slosh of dry white wine, and parsley. Fifteen minutes start to finish, and the garlicky pan juices are the best part. Step...

Caramelized onion, pimiento, and olive quiche packs a sweet-salty punch: slow-cooked onion and garlic under a Swiss and cream custard, studded with roasted pimiento peppers and sliced Kalamata olives. Every bite plays sweet against briny. Serve it warm, with a simple...