Mint

Leaving a bit of skin on the eggplant adds to the pesto's texture and color. Pour a Pinot Noir or Provençal rosé with the meal.

Chef Shelton uses a 4- by 2-inch round cake ring to mold the salad on the plate.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Sweet, salty, and spicy, nuoc cham is the indispensable sauce of Vietnam's cuisine. It's a favorite dipping sauce for spring rolls and for fresh rice-paper rolls such as these.

In this rendition of a classic antipasto, fresh herbs infuse the olive oil marinades, which double as dressings.

The greens in this recipe are inspired by Vietnamese-style herb salads.

Nice with chicken.

Arabs brought the eggplant to Sicily in the late tenth century and, in fact, the Italians once called eggplant radice arabica, or Arab root. It is an integral ingredient in Sicilian cuisine, and the variety of recipes featuring it — the most famous being caponata — is astounding. Sicilians often serve room-temperature vegetable preparations as appetizers. In this one, a caper-flavored tomato sauce "blankets" the eggplant.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

It's important to use large lettuce leaves (about 6 inches) for this salad, so you may need to buy 2 heads of lettuce in order to get 6 good leaves. Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 45 min

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time.

This is also very good served hot.

This silky-smooth dessert has only two grams of fat per serving. Just be sure to mix the ingredients according to the recipe instructions and not to overbake the custard, or it will lose its luxurious texture.