European

Tarte Tatin, the classic French dessert, is made by putting butter and sugar in a shallow baking dish, then topping the mixture with apples and a pastry crust. As the dish bakes, the butter and sugar turn into caramel. The finished dessert is inverted onto a plate, with the caramel sauce on top. In this version, pears stand in for apples and the crust and topping are made separately, then assembled before serving.

These thin, elegant cookies get their flavor from dried cranberries and homemade candied lemon peel. Because the lemon peel needs to dry overnight, be sure to begin this recipe one day ahead.

This is a Greek version of hummus that captures the soul of the Mediterranean. For this recipe, be sure to use premium-quality imported sun-dried tomatoes; they should be plump and soft with red hue.

Editor's note: Use this Chickpea Confit to make Chef Michael Psilakis's Chickpea Spread .

This is the one sauce you must make. It's a classic and very easy to prepare, but be sure you use only a superior quality Greek yogurt or labne spread. I cannot emphasize this strongly enough—it makes all the difference.

One of the delights of making tiramisù is its versatility. This recipe makes a family-style dessert in a large dish, but you can easily compose single servings in dessert glasses, wine goblets, or even elegant teacups for a more impressive presentation, in the style of Signora Garatti's original "coppa imperiale." And while the conventional version of tiramisù calls for espresso soaked savoiardi, I've found that other flavors can be incorporated into the dessert with great success. Here, the brightness of fresh lemons and limoncello liqueur lace the cream and soaking syrup to make for a tiramisù that is refreshing and irresistible.

We found the greens for this salad by foraging in the woods and fields. You can forage farmers’ markets for tender young dandelion greens, purslane, wild fennel, and pea shoots to make a tasty salad. Even your refrigerator or kitchen garden might yield some goodies, like chives, tender young Italian parsley, thinly sliced red cabbage, or the yellow leaves from celery hearts.

This zesty dish is suitable for all sorts of occasions. As a first course, it will turn an ordinary meal into a festive occasion. It’s also a great main course for a family dinner, with a salad and pasta. Heap the sausages and potatoes on a big platter, and let people help themselves.

This classic and delectable pasta dish originated in the region of Abruzzi, in the little town of Amatrice, northeast of Rome, where it was traditionally prepared without tomatoes. But it is the Roman version of pasta all’amatriciana, with tomatoes, that I share with you here—the version that is best known and deservedly popular. Lots of onions; chips of guanciale (cured pork cheek, now available in the United States, see Sources, page 340), pancetta, or bacon; and San Marzano tomatoes are the essential elements of the sauce, Roma style. Note that the onions are first softened in water, before olive oil is added to the pan—a traditional but unusual step that is said to make the onions sweeter. The standard pasta used is bucatini or perciatelli (spaghetti are only tolerated). The long, dry strands of perciatelli resemble very thick spaghetti but are hollow like a drinking straw. When cooked, they are wild and wiggly, so you might be tempted to cut them. Do not—once you’ve got them on your fork, they’re delicious and fun to eat. It is quite all right to slurp them. Indeed, as kids we would suck them in so fast that the end of the noodle would whip us in the nose, splattering sauce all over our faces. What a wonderful memory!

Traditionally, calamari are cooked with the skin on—it is the skin that gives a purple hue to the sauce. But if you want, you can peel it off.

The inspiration here is the fantastically rich dish called Zwiebelkuchen (onion cake), a southern German specialty that arrived in America with European settlers and quickly became a staple in Pennsylvania Dutch homes, where it is known as Zwiwwelkuche. Slow-cooked onions are combined with eggs and sour cream and spooned into a yeasted dough. The pastry is then partially folded over the filling.

The Portuguese soup caldo verde is ideal cool weather comfort food. It is full of good-for-you greens and potatoes, while sausage keeps things porky and satisfying.

This Italian take on shrimp and grits comes together in just 25 minutes for a creamy, comforting dinner.

Taking a cue from German potato salad, these Yukon Golds are smashed with a hot bacon dressing and then tossed with fresh dill. Steaming rather than boiling the potatoes keeps them fluffy.

Thanks to a few humble additions—sun-dried tomatoes, sweet smoked paprika, and leafy spinach—these saucy beans have real pizzazz. Best of all, the dish requires little more than a quick sauté and simmer.