Essential Western Cookbook: Best Soup and Stew Recipes

This dish, using canned hominy, takes a fraction of the time needed for regular posole. Serve with warm corn tortillas.

Here's how to make some masala magic–on the healthy side. With the right seasonings, a potentially plain bowl of legumes becomes supremely flavorful and comforting. The broccolini is not at all traditional to India–but delicious.

This stew is also delicious made with other Southwest heirloom beans or regular pintos.

This eye-popping chilled soup floats a red stratum of tomato soup on a green layer of avocado soup. Clear straight-sided glasses or wineglasses to show off the soup's layers.

Serve this lively soup, a fine showcase for Dungeness crab, to brighten up a winter day.

This spicy Chicken Laksa is a Malaysian soup that may have a long list of ingredients, but it's super easy. Malaysian kitchens weave Chinese, Indian, and Malay culinary strands into a complex cuisine.

Bacon, fire-roasted tomatoes, and spicy smoked paprika give this easy-to-make chili recipe a deep, complex flavor. While it's great right after you make it, it's even better the next day. Serve with warm cornbread for a complete meal.

The charm here lies in the toppings, which guests can customize to their liking. This soup is a simple, yet popular weeknight favorite that will never disappoint on a chilly winter evening.

Santa Cruz, California, cookbook writer and cooking teacher Andrea Nguyen based this fragrant, creamy coconut-milk curry on one from James Syhabout's Hawker Fare, in Oakland. Use asparagus or green beans instead of bok choy if you like, and serve it with steamed jasmine rice—or a warm baguette.

Western farmers grow all manner of lentils, including the green ones called French or lentilles du Puy, which cook up firm and nutty. Combine them with root vegetables, kale, and squash for a deeply satisfying winter meal.

Take in all the West has to offer with even more best-loved classics and fresh new favorites from The Sunset Essential Western Cookbook.  Click here to order your copy, today!