They are a thinking person's dish, conjuring up old food memories such as tomatoes, lemon and basil, or red peppers, but delivering them in a surprising, new package.

NPR: Cranking Up Savory Sorbet

Add tomatoes, a few glugs of red wine, some crushed red pepper and a handful of fresh basil.

NPR: Savoring Memories of Sunday Dinner

At Perilla, where the cuisine tends to skew toward Italian-American and Eastern European influences, I serve a spaghettini with crab gravy studded with crushed red chili flakes, fennel seed and Thai basil.

WSJ: Endless-Summer Baked Blue Crab