Pasta

You don't have to cook the lasagna noodles first - just assemble the dish, cover and bake.

This inventive salad is a terrific addition to any summer buffet. For this party, also prepare red cabbage coleslaw, or buy some at the market or a take-out spot.

For more information about forming tortellini, see Wrapped Around Your Little Finger. Active time: 3 hr Start to finish: 3 1/2 hr

This simple sauce is also good with kitchen staples such as spaghetti and penne. This recipe was created to accompany Swiss Chard Ravioli with Quick Tomato Sauce.

Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 40 min

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

One summer this was the recipe of the season. I had a guest and we ate this beautifully simple pasta for dinner three nights in a row. I could have gone for a fourth, but we went out to dinner instead. What could possibly be bad about the trio of fresh golden pasta, lemons from the tree, and rosemary from right outside the kitchen door? A touch of Parmesan, a sip of wine, and the celebration has begun!

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The parts of Corsica that are not cultivated or forested are covered with a thick underbrush called the Maquis. It consists of diverse aromatic herbs that make the hillsides white with little flowers in the spring and inspire one of the island's nicknames, "the Scented Isle." A blend of these herbs, called herbes de maquis, is a flavoring for many seafood specialties, including this rich pasta and lobster dish. Many say that the most flavorful lobsters in the Mediterranean come from the waters off Corsica. For reasons of food safety, it is essential to make the sauce and finish cooking the lobster immediately after the lobster has been boiled.

Use almost any combination of fresh herbs here (watch the tarragon, mint, and sage, since they're more assertive). Accompany this meatless dish with a salad (maybe arugula and radicchio with a red wine vinaigrette) and some seeded breadsticks. Then add a rich dessert, such as an almond tart from the bakery.

Roasting the tomatoes concentrates their sweetness. What to drink: A dry Italian white, such as Pinot Grigio or Soave.