Pasta

Italy meets Greece in a dish that pairs well with grilled lamb or chicken. What to drink: A crisp Pinot Grigio or Grüner Veltliner.

This recipe is a great way to make the most of late-summer tomatoes. Grill some Italian sausages to go alongside. What to drink: A lighter red, like Pinot Noir.

This elegant dish would be lovely for lunch. What to drink: Something light and fruity, like Sancerre or rosé.

Green olive bruschetta spread can be found near jarred olives and pasta sauces, or in the refrigerated section of the supermarket. It usually contains chopped olives, oil, sun-dried tomatoes, and herbs.

Cockles are small mollusks with heart-shaped shells. If you can't find them, substitute small clams.

Here's a very simple trick for making pasta dishes as delicious as possible: cook them in the classic Italian fashion by adding almost-cooked, drained pasta to the pan or pot with the sauce and let it finish cooking there. Instead of swelling with more salted water during the final minutes, it'll drink in as much flavor as possible, in this case, the potent essence of sautéed mushrooms, red onion, cream, and herbs.

Food Editor: Gina Marie Miraglia Eriquez
Father: Alexander J. Miraglia, Howard Beach, NY
No matter what Italian restaurant we visit, my dad can't seem to resist ordering linguine with clams. Although they're not technically clams, cockles work best in this dish, since they're very small and have tender, sweet flesh. You can identify them by their tiny size (about 1/2 to 1 inch across) and green-tinged shells.

Pasta with Pecorino and Black Pepper This is an old Roman recipe in the tradition of la cucina povera that has always been a favorite of poor and rich alike. (Cacio is a word for "cheese" in Southern Italy.) It is incredibly simple and quick to prepare, but depends on having good-quality Pecorino Romano and pasta, and fragrant peppercorns in your larder. Make it with long or short pasta, whichever you prefer. The arugula is our addition; it brings fresh flavor and color to the dish.

You can also cut ravioli from the sheets of fresh pasta dough.

This is named after the town of Amatrice, not too far from Rome, where the sauce has long been prepared using the few ingredients that were always available: sun-ripened tomatoes, guanciale (salt-cured pork jowl), and a touch of firey peperoncino (dried hot chile).

Carbonara is a legendary Roman pasta dish. Here's a version that includes sautéed zucchini. It's meat-free yet every bit as delicious as the egg-and-bacon original.

Ravioli al Radicchio Rosso Stuffed pasta shows up less frequently in Florence than it does in the nearby Emilia-Romagna region. But when it does appear on menus, it's usually dressed simply, like the ravioli here, with a little butter and a bit of grated Parmesan.

Ricotta and Asparagus Ravioli with Green Pea Sauce In spring, the Roman markets are vivid with the bright green of the baby peas and young asparagus that grow in the volcanic soils of Lazio and neighboring Campania. Here's a fresh idea for combining both vegetables in a dinner-party-worthy dish.

Few stuffed pastas are as pretty as these traditional ravioli from Veneto. The rich, sweet filling of roasted beets is complemented by the unique flavor of tiny black poppy seeds. If you don't have time to make fresh pasta, use purchased wonton wrappers.

Pasta and ChickPea Soup with Clams Roman osterias served this dish every Tuesday. It's an unusual way to combine ingredients from land and sea in one recipe. Follow with a green salad for an easy lunch or dinner.