Tangy, tomatoey sauce is the star of BBQ chicken

You can stuff all manner of ingredients into a taco. Read enough modern cookbooks, in fact, and you’ll see far too many taco recipes that involve multiple sub-recipes (in different sections of the book, no doubt) for sauces, pickles and fillings. By the time you’re ready to assemble the tacos, you’re also ready for a nap.

I think it’s particularly common with vegetarian or vegan tacos. Perhaps in an attempt to prove that plant-based dishes can be as complex as those with animal products, authors can go a little overboard. I’ve done it myself.

But the more often you make tacos (and I make them so often I find myself apologizing to my fiance about it), the more you realize: They don’t need all that. Pick the right combination — which can be just two elements, besides the corn tortillas — and they’re plenty satisfying. It’s a stripped-down, even sophisticated way to approach what I consider an elemental dish.

That’s what I appreciate about Danielle and Laura Kosann’s taco recipes in “Great Tastes” (Clarkson Potter, 2018). As co-creators of the online magazine the New Potato, the sisters display an appealingly breezy approach to cooking and entertaining, and they devote a short chapter to tacos — because what could be breezier?

Their Eggplant Tacos With Pico de Gallo are almost self-explanatory: You broil (or grill) heavily seasoned eggplant slices, chop them up and serve them on warmed corn tortillas along with a simple pico de gallo. The salsa has built-in crunch and spice, while the already-meaty eggplant becomes even more so with the addition of coriander and cumin. I wouldn’t object if you added pumpkin seeds or scallions, queso fresco or feta.

None of that would be wrong, but these are already right.

4 servings (makes 8 tacos), Healthy

MAKE AHEAD: The pico de gallo can be refrigerated for up to 1 week. The grilled eggplant can be refrigerated for 1 week; reheat it in a low-temperature oven or in the microwave before making the tacos.

Adapted from “Great Tastes: Cooking (and Eating) from Morning to Midnight,” by Danielle and Laura Kosann (Clarkson Potter, 2018). Ingredients 1 pound plum tomatoes ¼ cup finely diced white onion

1 large jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, plus lime wedges for serving

½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed 8 corn tortillas

2 pounds eggplant (preferably small), cut lengthwise into ¼-inch slices ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil ½ teaspoon kosher salt ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin Directions

Hull the tomatoes, then cut them in quarters from top to bottom. Use your fingers to scoop out and discard the seeds. Finely chop the remaining solids, placing them in a medium bowl as you work. Add the onion, jalapeño, lime juice and salt; toss to combine. Taste, and add more salt, as needed.

Position a rack 6 inches from the broiler element; preheat to broil.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, and have nearby a piece of aluminum foil large enough to wrap around the tortillas. Heat as many tortillas will fit in the skillet without overlapping for about 30 seconds on each side, just until they’re starting to lightly spot and perhaps puff, and immediately transfer them to the foil as they are heated, keeping them wrapped while you warm up the rest. Keep them tightly wrapped until you’re ready to serve the tacos.

Arrange the eggplant slices on two rimmed baking sheets, in a single layer. Brush with half the oil, then season with half the salt, pepper, coriander and cumin, rubbing in those spices. Turn over the slices and repeat the brushing and seasoning.

Transfer one baking sheet to the oven; broil the eggplant until deeply browned, 3 to 4 minutes, then flip the slices and broil until browned on the second sides. Repeat with the second batch.

Transfer the eggplant slices to a cutting board, then cut the slices crosswise into strips.

When ready to serve the tacos, divide the eggplant among the tortillas, and pass the pico de gallo and lime wedges at the table.

Nutrition | Per serving: 290 calories, 6 g protein, 37 g carbohydrates, 16 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 310 mg sodium, 11 g dietary fiber, 12 g sugar

A tangy, tomatoey, molasses-laced sauce is the indisputable star of traditional American barbecued chicken.

The brick-hued sauce should be mopped on as the chicken cooks, resulting in a beautifully browned (not charred) exterior surrounding moist, evenly cooked meat. Our Classic Barbecue Sauce gave simple chicken parts all the intense, multidimensional flavor we craved, but the real secret to this recipe was the method: A twolevel grill fire allowed us to cook the chicken most of the way through on the cooler side of the grill, rendering the fat without causing flare-ups, and then we moved the chicken to the hotter side to get a lacquered layer of sauce.

Applying the sauce in coats and turning the chicken as it cooked encouraged the sauce to thicken and caramelize, perfectly glazing the chicken. Don’t try to grill more than 10 pieces of chicken at a time; you won’t be able to line them up. You can use a mix of chicken breasts, thighs, and drumsticks, making sure they add up to about 10 pieces. Servings: 4 to 6

Start to finish: 1 hour and 45 minutes (plus 30 minutes to prepare barbecue sauce) Ingredients

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

3½ pounds bone-in chicken pieces (split breasts cut in half, drumsticks, and/or thighs), trimmed

1 (13-by-9-inch) disposable aluminum roasting pan (if using charcoal)

1 recipe Classic Barbecue Sauce Directions

Combine salt, pepper, and cayenne in bowl. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and rub with seasoning mixture.

For a charcoal grill, open bottom vent completely and place disposable pan on one side of grill. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (6 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over other side of grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.

For a gas grill, turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Leave primary burner on high and turn off other burner(s). (Adjust primary burner as needed to maintain grill temperature around 350 F.)

Clean and oil cooking grate. Place chicken, skin side down, on cooler side of grill. Cover and cook until chicken begins to brown, 30 to 35 minutes.

Slide chicken into single line between hotter and cooler sides of grill. Cook uncovered, flipping chicken and brushing every 5 minutes with some of sauce, until sticky, about 20 minutes.

Slide chicken to hotter side of grill and cook, uncovered, flipping and brushing with remaining sauce, until well glazed, breasts register 160 degrees, and drumsticks/ thighs register 175 degrees, about 5 minutes. (Smaller pieces may cook faster than larger pieces. Remove pieces from grill as they reach correct temperature.) Transfer chicken to serving dish, tent with aluminum foil, and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Serve. Makes about 2 cups This sauce can be used on just about anything. For a thinner, smoother texture, strain the sauce after it has finished cooking. Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 onion, chopped fine Salt and pepper

1 garlic clove, minced 1 teaspoon chili powder 1¼ cups ketchup 6 tablespoons molasses 3 tablespoons cider vinegar 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard Directions

Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and pinch salt and cook until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and chili powder and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Whisk in ketchup, molasses, vinegar, Worcestershire, and mustard. Bring sauce to simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened and reduced to about 2 cups, about 25 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.)

Nutrition information per serving: 349 calories; 74 calories from fat; 8 g fat (2 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 133 mg cholesterol; 1020 mg sodium; 27 g carbohydrate; 0 g fiber; 23 g sugar; 41 g protein.