Feta

Accompany the shrimp with grilled zucchini and yellow squash.

A favorite accompaniment is the rice-shaped pasta called orzo.

This is one of the never-absent standard-bearers of the Greek meze table, a classic dish found from one corner of the country to the other, on almost every taverna and meze menu.

A nice side dish for grilled fish or lamb.

"At the Manhattan law office where I'm a legal secretary, it seems as though the phones are always ringing," writes Lisa Caiazzo of Franklin Square, New York. "And if it isn't the phones that have me occupied, then there are lots of documents that need my attention. By the time I get home from the city, I usually have only about 45 minutes to put together dinner for my husband, Angelo, and myself. Still, that's enough time to make something filling and delicious, like a salad and a hearty pasta or soup." Three cheeses make this a delicious appetizer or a nice partner for soup, salad, or pasta.

If the four-inch tortillas used at Café Iguana in Denver, Colorado, are hard to find, the standard five- to six-inch ones also work, or they can be trimmed to the smaller size.

We seasoned this salad — based on the Middle Eastern bread salad called fattoush — with za'atar, a mixture of salt, sumac, sesame, and thyme.

This warm potato salad has a Mediterranean accent, thanks to mint, feta cheese and Kalamata olives.

Feta cheese, cucumber, tomato and fresh dell enliven this simple salad.

An accompaniment to Greek-Style Shrimp.

Hot pasta is tossed into a fresh salsalike sauce for a quick and delicious meal.

Traditionally, chiles rellenos are batter-coated and fried. This version is baked with a lighter cheese filling.

A simple dish from the Cottage Inn, Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Good cooks never discard the nutritious beet greens. Here, the greens are combined with roasted beets, capers and feta in a Greek-inspired salad. Offer this before roast leg of lamb with crisp potatoes.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Deli cucumber salad and one of the new microwavable soups, such as savory lentil or spicy rice and bean, make great side dishes. End with purchased fresh fruit salad.