Nut

Shelling and skinning the raw peanuts for this recipe can be time-consuming. You might prefer to buy them at an Asian market, where you'll often find the work has been done for you. Some shelled peanuts (with skins) come already blanched. We found the best flavor came from those you shell and skin yourself.

Coarsely mashed vegetables are the main ingredients in this utterly surprising — and irresistible — kugel.

An interesting mix of brown sugar, pecans, and sea salt fills this woven lattice-top bread. You'll need a heavy-duty stand mixer with paddle attachment.

These sweet-crisp cookies can be baked days ahead and, because the recipe is so generous, you can send your guests home with some.

Charoset, a traditional Passover condiment, represents the mortar used by Israelite slaves in Egypt. In this contemporary Mexican version, bananas and other fruit are puréed and cooked down to a sweet spread. "Some people say that the banana was the original 'apple' of the Garden of Eden," says Mexican-Jewish food writer Lila Louli, who collaborated with chef Roberto Santibañez on his Passover recipes. "It's also a very common ingredient in Mexican cooking."

Cardamom loses flavor and aroma quickly, so be sure to store it in an airtight container in a cool dry place — never near your stove. Because the cornstarch in confectioners sugar isn't kosher for Passover, we powdered granulated sugar in an electric coffee/spice grinder and mixed it with potato starch for a similar effect.

California dried apricots are essential for this recipe — they have the tartness needed to balance the sweet filling and macaroon layers. Don't assemble this cake ahead or the crisp macaroon layers will get soggy.

Inspired by Neapolitan ice cream, this pretty dessert layers cherry-studded chocolate ice cream with pistachio ice cream and raspberry sorbet. The press-in, no-bake crust is made with Italian amaretti cookies.

Stir any remaining pesto into steamed vegetables or couscous.

Don't be tempted to use a dark dry Sherry for the syrup or topping — it will muddy the beautiful green-gold color of the cake and tint the cream topping brown.

Espresso powder makes this creamy fudge taste more intensely chocolaty. Any nuts you prefer (such as pecans or macadamia nuts) can stand in for the walnuts.

This is my friend Paule Caillat's recipe, with its meltingly tender all-butter crust. Instructions for poaching fresh pears are included, but if you want to save time, do what Paule and other French women in a hurry do — use canned pear halves. Just drain the canned pears, dry them very well, and carry on.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano. I didn't much care for fish when I was growing up, but I loved nuts. My mother knew both were essential for good nutrition, so she invented this way of slipping in the fish.