Having friends over for dinner tomorrow? Do yourself a favor and make everything today.

More and more, I cook today for tomorrow, for any number of reasons. After a night in the fridge, many dishes improve, deepening and intensifying in flavor. Soups and stews of all sorts are usually better if made in advance. And having much of the meal already prepared makes life easier and less stressful in the long run.

All of the dishes in this menu qualify. Which is not to say you couldn’t prepare this meal from start to finish in one go, but it will only taste better if cooked ahead.

First off are herb-smeared flatbreads — inspired by manaqueesh, a savory flatbread popular in many Middle Eastern countries — which can be a snack or appetizer with (or without) a little labneh or feta. Or they can accompany the main course. The dough is easy to make by hand, preferably several hours, or a day, in advance of baking, to let it hydrate and mature and allow gluten to develop.

Za’atar, the traditional spice blend containing wild thyme, sumac and sesame, makes an ideal topping. Though you can mix your own, it’s worth a trip to a Middle Eastern grocery where many different regional versions are sold. Some are heavier on sumac, others have more wild thyme, which I prefer.

Though flatbreads are commonly baked one by one on steel griddles throughout the Eastern Mediterranean, the recipe here lets you make them in the oven. If you do bake them in advance, pull them from the oven when they’re still pale, then brown them while reheating.

For the main, this spicy lamb pot roast — a sort-of hybrid, somewhere between a Western pot roast and a North African tagine — definitely develops for the better when it is allowed to rest in its juices for a while.

It’s a fragrant stew, redolent of cumin, coriander, ginger, allspice, fennel and cinnamon, slowly simmered to tenderness. A lamb shoulder roast makes the most succulent stew, but thick bone-in shoulder chops are sometimes easier to find and work just as well.

Besides the spices and a touch of tomato, the key ingredient here is onion. A significant amount, chopped and long cooked, infuses the pot roast with sweetness and acts as a natural thickener for the broth. Give the stew the time it needs; it shouldn’t be rushed.

Then, it’s fine to let it rest for a day or two in the refrigerator, after which the complexity of the spiced broth is revealed. I like to serve the stew with a pile of plain steamed vegetables to contrast with the pungent juices. At the table, grab a warm flatbread and get to dunking.

Finally, to finish, is a light, tender walnut spongecake, risen with egg whites and without any wheat flour, just finely ground walnuts.

It’s hard to go wrong with this gluten-free cake — even if it falls, it still tastes good. But for the best texture and rise, keep two things in mind. First, make sure your beaten egg whites are properly stiff with shiny peaks (you don’t want loose, barely stiff whites or overbeaten, dry, sudsy-looking whites). Second, when folding the beaten whites into the batter, it’s OK to have a few streaks — just work quickly and don’t let the mixture deflate. Once baked and cooled, the cake will keep well for up to a few days in a covered container. (Serve it with softly whipped cream and a few berries.)

Preparing tomorrow’s dinner today has other perks, too. Relax, take tonight off and let someone spoil you.

Whole-Wheat Za’atar Flatbreads

These herb-smeared flatbreads can be an ideal snack or appetizer with (or without) a little labneh or feta, or they can accompany a main course. The dough is easy to mix by hand, preferably several hours in advance of baking to let it hydrate and mature and allow gluten to develop. Za’atar, a lightly salted spice blend containing wild thyme, sumac and sesame, makes a delicious topping. Though you can make your own, it’s worth a trip to a Middle Eastern grocery where many different versions are sold. — David Tanis

Yield: 4 flatbreads. Total time: About 2 hours.

Ingredients

1 (7-gram) package active dry yeast

1 teaspoon fine salt

1 teaspoon sugar

6 tablespoons/90 milliliters extra-virgin olive oil, more as needed

1 1/2 cups/192 grams all-purpose flour, plus more as needed

1/2 cup/60 grams whole-wheat flour, preferably fine, more as needed

1/4 cup/33 grams sesame seeds

2 tablespoons za’atar

Chopped fresh thyme and parsley (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Put 1 cup lukewarm water in a medium mixing bowl and sprinkle yeast over. Once the yeast dissolves and begins to foam slightly, 5 to 10 minutes, add salt, sugar and 2 tablespoons olive oil, then mix in 1 1/2 cups of the all-purpose flour, all of the whole-wheat flour and the sesame seeds until you have a soft dough. Add more all-purpose flour as needed, just enough to hold the mixture together — it will stick to your hands just a bit — and knead it into a large ball. Return to the mixing bowl, cover with a cloth and let rise for about 1 hour.

2. Punch the dough down and dust lightly with flour. Divide into 4 pieces, and form them into balls, dusting as necessary to prevent the dough from sticking.

3. Place a rack in the middle of the oven, and heat to 400 degrees. Lightly oil a 12-by-18-inch baking sheet. Space dough balls evenly on the oiled sheet and, using your fingertips, press each into a flat 5-inch disk.

4. In a small bowl, combine 4 tablespoons oil and the za’atar. Smear the mixture evenly over the dough, spreading it toward the edges and leaving a 1/2-inch rim on each round. Let rise, uncovered, until edges look puffed, 20 to 30 minutes.

5. Bake on the middle rack until nicely browned, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle with a mixture of chopped fresh thyme and parsley, if you like. Transfer to a rack to cool, or serve warm. May be reheated.

Spiced Roasted Lamb and Vegetables

This fragrant stew, redolent of cumin, coriander, ginger, allspice, fennel and cinnamon, is slowly simmered to tenderness. A lamb shoulder roast makes the most succulent stew, but thick bone-in shoulder chops are sometimes easier to find and work just as well. Let the meat rest a day or two in its own broth in the refrigerator. Reheating revs up the complex spice mixture. Then, grab a warm flatbread and get to dunking. — David Tanis

Yield: 6 servings. Total time: 2 hours.

Ingredients

For the stew:

3 thick bone-in lamb shoulder chops (about 2 1/2 pounds)

Salt

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground coriander

2 teaspoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons hot paprika

2 teaspoons red-pepper flakes, such as Aleppo, plus more to taste

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon ground fennel

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Olive oil

1 large yellow or white onion, diced

3/4 cup canned crushed tomatoes with their juices

2 cups cooked chickpeas, or use 1 (15-ounce) can, drained and rinsed

1 dried bay leaf

For the vegetables:

2 large carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise and cut into 3-inch chunks

2 or 3 medium turnips, each peeled and cut into 8 wedges

2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into 3-inch chunks

1 or 2 medium-hot green chiles, such as Anaheim, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces

1/2 small green cabbage, cut in wedges (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Start the stew: Lay the chops flat and season both sides with salt. In a small bowl, mix together cumin, coriander, ginger, paprika, red-pepper flakes, allspice, fennel and cinnamon. Pack the mixture generously on both sides of chops, using all of it. (You can wrap and refrigerate up to overnight, or continue cooking at this point.)

2. Put a large skillet over medium-high heat and add enough olive oil to lightly coat the pan. When oil shimmers, brown the chops for 3 to 5 minutes per side, working in batches if necessary. Remove and set aside.

3. Lower heat to medium and add more oil to the skillet, if needed. Add the diced onions and sprinkle with salt. Cook, stirring, until onions are softened and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes with their juices, stir and cook for 5 minutes more, until the tomatoes dry out a bit.

4. Transfer onions to a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven. Add the browned chops, the chickpeas, bay leaf and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to bring to a gentle simmer, cover and cook until the lamb is fork-tender, about 45 minutes more. Turn off heat. Remove chops from pot. When cool enough to handle, cut chops into rough 1-inch chunks. Return meat chunks to the pot. Spoon off any rising fat. Taste and adjust seasoning of broth if necessary. (At this point, refrigerate overnight, if desired.)

5. Prepare the vegetables: Set up a steamer or bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the vegetables for about 10 minutes, until firm-tender. Reheat the stew, if necessary.

6. To serve, place a pile of vegetables in a large shallow serving bowl and ladle the stew over and around. Alternatively, arrange vegetables and stew in individual bowls. Sprinkle everything with red-pepper flakes.

Walnut Sponge Cake

This tender walnut sponge cake is gluten-free, risen with egg whites and containing no wheat flour. You can substitute other nuts, like almond or hazelnut, with no problem. Served with soft whipped cream and seasonal fruit — it never fails to please. — David Tanis

Yield: 10 servings. Total time: 2 hours.

Ingredients

Oil or softened butter, for greasing the pan

2/3 cup/134 grams sugar, plus more to coat the pan

2 cups/250 grams walnut pieces

6 large eggs, yolks and whites separated

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

Powdered sugar, for dusting

Softly whipped cream (optional)

Strawberries or other fruit (optional)

Directions

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 325 degrees. Butter or oil a 10-inch springform pan. Sprinkle the bottom and sides of pan with sugar, shaking off and discarding any extra.

2. Add walnuts to a food processor and grind until medium-fine.

3. Put egg yolks, vanilla, salt and 1/3 cup/67 grams sugar in a large mixing bowl. Whisk until mixture is pale yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Stir in ground walnuts and mix well.

4. Place egg whites in a clean medium bowl, and whip until they form stiff peaks, then slowly add remaining 1/3 cup/67 grams sugar and beat to stiff peaks.

5. Stir one-third of the stiff egg whites into the egg yolk mixture to lighten it. Carefully fold in remaining two-thirds whites with a rubber spatula. Don’t deflate the batter; a few streaks are OK. Scrape mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

6. Bake until an inserted skewer emerges dry, about 30 minutes. Cool on a rack, then unmold and transfer to a serving platter. Dust top with powdered sugar.

7. Serve with softly whipped cream and ripe strawberries or other fruit, if you wish.