European

My take on linguine vongole includes a lot of vegetables for an added freshness. I also use clam juice, as well as the traditional wine, for a more complex sauce.

For four generations, the Vongerichten family has been turning out this tart, which is like a quiche but creamier.

There are countless versions of croque monsieurs and croque madames all over France. My mom cooks the sandwiches in a cast-iron press on the stovetop so that the bread becomes a crisp casing for the filling. I prefer a sandwich that’s hot and moist all the way through, so I bake the cheese on top of the bread and spread béchamel throughout. That’s the key to my version: The bread must completely absorb the sauce. The effort is well worth it.

For years, I’ve made smooth pureed pea soups; they’re always a hit at my restaurants. Recently, I was inspired by my mom to try something new. While visiting New York with my dad, she made a chunky pea and carrot stew with slab bacon and cabbage. I decided to go vegetarian here—doing away with even the chicken stock and creating a tea-like herb infusion instead—and to puree only part of the ingredients, making a light pureed soup with whole peas and sliced carrots scattered throughout. The result is a bowl of spring.

When I lived near Nice in the sunny south of France, I discovered that everyone there has a version of this summer salad. By tasting ones made by everyone from legendary chefs to humble housewives, I came up with my own. My sun-dried tomato vinaigrette makes this version distinctive. The perfumed sweetness of elderflower cordial highlights the concentrated sweetness of the tomatoes. Be sure to use the best sushi-grade bluefin or yellowfin tuna you can find.

This is something I grew up with, a dish my grandmother and mom always served family-style. For me, this combination—a fluffy, snowy mountain of shaved Gruyère with sliced sweet-tart tomato—is home. In Alsace, we sometimes mixed wine vinegar with honey and spices for the dressing, but sherry vinegar has a similar nuanced sweetness that works very well here.

My grandmother used to take whatever extra livers we had—calf, chicken, goose—and cook them with bacon and a splash of Cognac. She chopped the mixture with a mezzaluna, creating a rustic spread. I swap pancetta for the bacon and puree the mixture in a food processor to create a creamy mousse.

This is the sort of appetizer for a gathering of close family and friends. Picking the artichoke leaves with your fingers and sucking off their flesh encourages (requires?) intimacy. Because artichokes have a strong green flavor, they’re difficult to pair with wine, but a dry Alsatian white should work here.

This simple starter always brings me back to Provence, where I trained as a young chef. There, we served this sea-salty dip with scallions and red bell peppers, but now fennel is my favorite. This dip is so good, it works with any combination of vegetables; pick from my suggestions below. And if you think you don’t like anchovies, you have to try this. The milk mellows the intensity of the fish and the garlic and makes the dip incredibly creamy.

Here is a salad I enjoyed on my first trip to Paris. It was part of a fantastic, produce-filled lunch in a private residence in Montmartre, overlooking much of the city. The key to this simple salad is to use the best possible ingredients—specially the green beans. Serve as a first course with slices of crusty, whole-grain baguette or Italian bread.

The simplicity of this Neapolitan recipe, named for ladies of the night, belies its luscious flavor. Use pitted olives to ease preparation. I especially like this dish made with whole wheat spaghettini.

A classic Spanish dish, this is a great choice when you want something easy and hearty. Briny olives perk up the mellow flavor of brown rice and beans.

This is an easy dish to make, and the results are splendid. Using quick-cooking rice, you can have a magnificent one-dish meal in about thirty minutes, whether for a busy weeknight or a leisurely weekend meal.

Here is a kinder, gentler version of gyros, the Greek meat-on-a-pita classic. Seitan makes a superb stand-in, and the shortcut creamy cucumber dressing gives the entire enterprise a refreshing zip. For heartier appetites, a serving would be two gyros; one is filling enough for moderate appetites or when other dishes will be served.

I adore Paris. When I need to assuage my longing for this lovely city, I serve my family assiettes (referring to a generous platter of a number of components) like those typically served in the city’s vegetarian restaurants. The menus of these restaurants are not as extensive or innovative as those in the United States or Britain, but they do offer delicious, fresh food prepared with French flair. Seitan is a common offering. This one is an amalgam of seitan dishes I enjoyed at Le Potager du Marais, near the Georges Pompidou Center, and Les Cinq Saveurs D’Ananda in the Latin Quarter. For tips on creating Parisian-style assiettes, see the box preceding the recipe.

Oh, how I adore this soup, which I discovered at The Bakery in New Paltz, New York. A simple Italian classic, this soup has a number of variations, but I find there’s no need to dress up the basic formula. Escarole is a sturdy green that’s too tough for many salads, but it cooks quickly and, combined with cannellini beans, gives an almost buttery scent and flavor to the soup.

Traditionally served at an Easter brunch or dinner, this pie is also a great brunch option on any day of the year. There’s no doubt that this pie is a full-size meal, with its combination of a creamy ricotta base and all the meat your heart desires. There are as many variations of this recipe as there are Italian families; the following is my favorite combination. Feel free to mix and match meats and cheeses according to your preferences.

This pie is traditionally served for Easter brunch. While it is sweet, it is not overly cloying. The trick is planning ahead, because the wheat needs to soak overnight. Just give yourself a twenty-four-hour head start to let the grano wheat soak, and it’s a breeze from there. This dense yet moist pie can be jazzed up with plump raisins, which add even more texture to this already unique pie. I recommend using a ten-inch deep-dish pie plate for this recipe to fully accommodate the filling.

No Italian Easter is complete without a ricotta pie. This light, citrus-tinged pie, with its creamy ricotta filling and sweet crust, sings of spring. Although this savory pie is traditionally served as a meal, it can also satisfy a sweet tooth. There are many different varieties of Sweet Ricotta Pie (pizza dolce) out there, but we stick to a very basic pie that will please all palates. If you’re feeling adventurous, try adding candied orange peels, grated lemon zest, miniature chocolate chips, or nuts to the filling.

This is the quintessential quiche dish and certainly one of the most popular in the store. French farmers in the Alsace-Lorraine region of France used to enjoy this quiche as a lunchtime meal, and it’s clear why. The smoky bacon floating amid a creamy cheeseinfused filling is enough to keep you going all day long.