Pine Nut

Cara Brunetti Hillyard of Hamilton, Virginia, writes: "I come from a long line of great cooks. My father owns an Italian market in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where my mother gets a lot of the ingredients she uses in her wonderful dishes. My mother-in-law is a recipe developer, and I've been known to sit next to my great-aunt Stella with a pen and paper as she details her amazing recipes. I live far from home now, but I reconnect with my family traditions every evening when I make dinner."

Homemade ravioli are well worth the effort, and making them is the perfect task to share with a kitchen full of cooks (even novices can get in on the fun). Mixing the pasta dough is a breeze in the food processor, but if you don't have one, don't worry — we've given the method for making the dough by hand as well. A brown-butter pine-nut sauce is light enough to let your efforts on the pasta really shine through.

The garlic-nut sauce known as tarator, which sometimes also includes tahini, is a classic Turkish accompaniment to mussels and fried fish as well as vegetables. Here, it's used with cauliflower that is sliced — rather than separated into florets — so that it can be more easily browned, which gives it a nutty flavor that complements the tarator perfectly.

Spaghetti con Salsa di Olive e Pinoli All'arturo This pretty, confetti-like dish is sure to become one of your weekday standbys. Not only is it easy to prepare, but you've likely got all the ingredients right there in your fridge. The trick is to hand-chop everything very finely, so that you get just the right amount of fiery crunch in every bite.

Think beyond the salad bowl: Cooking escarole tempers its slight bitterness; pine nuts are a mellow complement.

For the Mediterranean's Sephardic Jews, sweet fried pastries are as strong a tradition as potato latkes are for Eastern Europe's Ashkenazic Jews. The version here is distinctive for the addition of raisins and pine nuts, inspired by a Roman recipe.

The flavors of this tart are remarkably balanced—it's a bit savory and a bit sweet. (In fact, in the south of France, where it's known as tourte aux blettes, you'll often see the pastry served for dessert.) Paired with a simple salad, it makes for a supremely satisfying light dinner.

Our youth culture has even reached the green market: Baby vegetables are among the most sought-after produce, whether we buy them because they are sweeter and more tender than their full-grown counterparts or just because they look great on the plate. Seek out golden yellow, chioggia (an Italian heirloom variety that has white and pink rings inside), and Albino beets at farmers' markets.

Tender chunks of lamb served kebab-style are paired with a traditional Mediterranean-inspired salad in this simple grilled dish.

You can make this superfresh-tasting version of the Chinese takeout classic yourself.

SALAT TIS LESVOV Editor's note: This recipe is excerpted from Aglaia Kremezi's book The Foods of the Greek Islands. To read more about Kremezi and Greek Easter, click here. From the first October rains up until the end of April, the greengrocers of Mytilini, the capital of Lesbos, sell each head of romaine lettuce tied together with two or three sprigs of borage (often with its little blue flowers), two or three scallions, several sprigs of peppery arugula, four or five sprigs of dill or fennel fronds, a few sprigs of peppery wild cress and either fresh mint or a little wild celery. Once home, these essential ingredients for the local green winter salad are thinly sliced and tossed with a simple vinaigrette. It's important to cut the greens at the last moment and to slice them very thin. If they are coarsely cut, the salad will taste different.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Charlie Trotter and Roxanne Klein's book, Raw.

Surprise! A heavyweight makes a lightweight pizza. This healthy pizza comes from boxing champ George Foreman, the master behind the Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine (don't tell us you haven't seen the infomercials!) and author of the new George Foreman's Big Book of Grilling, Barbecue & Rotisserie (Simon & Schuster). Why grill? "It produces great-tasting healthy food, and it's easy," Foreman says.

This traditional southern Italian pasta recipe, with its base of aglio e olio, garlic and oil, is one of those rustic foods that presents like a gourmet dish. It’s made entirely with pantry items, so it’s a perfect last-minute supper.

Canned artichoke hearts give this dish a Mediterranean flavor without the work involved in preparing fresh ones.

In this easy and hugely satisfying pasta dish, arugula is transformed from peppery leaf into powerhouse pesto.