Basil

We've given a twist to the traditional Greek salad, then tucked it into toasted pita bread to come up with a tasty lunchtime treat.

This salsa is chock-full of sun-loving ingredients like tomatoes, olives and capers. It's a splendid accompaniment to grilled halibut steaks, pork chops, sliced eggplant or sourdough bread.

This salad makes a lovely side dish at summer barbecues.

Torquato Innocenti, who sells his just-harvested, still-prickly zucchini — with flowers attached, a sure sign of freshness — offered me simple advice for the vegetable. Roast them whole in a "puddle" of oil and serve with basil. I bought a bag of his smallest (cigar-size) zucchini, pan-roasted them until browned sprinkled them with chopped basil — and loved the results. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

"I recently ventured to Brooklyn Heights, where I had a sensational meal at Henry's End," says Mariana Field Hoppin of New York, New York. "The shrimp with basil-garlic butter was out of this world. Could you obtain the recipe?"

(Grain and Tomato Salad) One summer my husband, Massimo, and I vacationed with our son, Max, near Lucca, about an hour from Florence. There we discovered a local specialty, farro, an ancient grain (emmer, often called spelt, in English) similar to barley, traditionally used in bean soup there. We bought lots of it, and Massimo then made a salad based on panzanella but substituting the boiled farro, for soaked and squeezed bread — a terrific idea that has become a warm-weather favorite.

This is what I call a fridge-eater recipe. The key here is getting a nice sear on the sausage and cooking the tomato down until it coats the sausage and vegetables well.

This fast stir-fry dish pairs minced pork and fragrant basil with hot Thai chiles and a crispy fried egg.

With minimal prep time and a faster cook, this basil fried rice recipe with crispy onions, ginger, and fresh chiles should be in your weekly summer rotation.

This savory and spicy dinner takes less than 30 minutes to make.

Anchovies add umami richness and broccolini brings freshness to this 30-minute weeknight meal.

Thanks to a tricked-out mayo spread (garlic, capers, oregano, and chili flakes—whew!), this pressed sandwich is as flavor-packed as it is easy to make.

Tenderizing yogurt makes the perfect marinade for grilled bone-in chicken thighs, which get even more flavor from chile-infused honey.

A quicker take on risotto featuring bright peas and your favorite pesto.

Packaged broccoli slaw is the shortcut to making quick work of this light and crunchy salad, a perfect counterpoint to rich, bold dishes.

Jarred artichokes are a versatile panty ingredient ideal for pastas, salads, and even toasts, as seen here piled high over a creamy ricotta spread.

This robust main-course-worthy pasta salad balances buttery olives, bitter radicchio, and crunchy almonds with a bright, herbaceous dressing.

Crispy on the outside, herby on the inside, these simple flatbreads are inspired by Armenian jingalov hats, which are just as delicious as they are fun to say.