This soup draws flavor from alcaparrado, a mix of pimento-stuffed olives and capers, and sweetness from raisins and along with the medianoche, makes a hearty Cuban-inspired meal.

Chicken and Dumplings

This tangy, spicy curry from Goa, India, has roots in vinh d’alho, a stew brought to the region by Portuguese colonists. Now an Indian restaurant staple, it comes in countless variations—some fiery, some mild—from the subcontinent to the British Isles. Get the recipe for Chicken Vindaloo »

You can buy the green curry paste to make this Thai classic at any Asian market, but it’s so easy to make, and the results are so fragrant and flavorful, that it’s more than worth making from scratch.

A thick, aromatic walnut sauce adds luscious body and earthy flavor to this spiced chicken dish.

Chicken and vegetable soup dotted with airy dumplings is a beloved Acadian comfort food. Savory—a pungent, peppery herb—adds a piney zest. Get the recipe for Chicken Fricot »

Tagine, the Moroccan stew, shares its name with the terra-cotta pot it’s traditionally cooked in, whose neat conical lid promotes convection and even cooking. There are many versions; maybe the most classic is braised chicken, green olives, and lemons in a sauce fragrant with ginger and coriander.

The recipe for this stew, a northern Italian braise of chicken and vegetables in a tomato sauce, is adapted from Marcella Hazan’s book Essentials of Italian Cooking (Knopf, 1992). Get the recipe for Hunter’s Wife Chicken »

Bathed in fragrant curry- and ginger-infused coconut milk, this stew is a popular breakfast dish at Kingston cafes.

New Orleans chef Donald Link was born and raised in the Cajun town of Lake Charles, Louisiana, and this rustic gumbo, which is often served at his St. Charles Avenue restaurant Herbsaint, always reminds him of home. To give the gumbo added flavor, Link makes his roux with the same oil he uses to fry the chicken, which he later shreds and adds to the pot, along with his homemade andouille sausage. The result is a dark, thick, rustic stew with just the right amount of heat.

This richly spiced chicken dish is adapted from a recipe in Madhur Jaffrey’s classic Flavors of India (West 175 Publishing, 1995). According to Jaffrey, “What gives this a very special southern flavor is the use of fennel seeds, curry leaves, and, of course, the pulse (legume) urad dal. This is definitely a dish you will want to make very frequently.” We couldn’t agree more. Get the recipe for Chettinad Pepper Chicken »

This Puerto Rican chicken soup is hearty with starchy vegetables.

For this delicious, sumptuous stew, you can make your own peanut butter or use a natural store-bought version to get the right silky texture and pure peanut flavor.