Bean and Legume

This dish has a livelier, fresher taste than traditional risotto because the vegetables are cooked separately from the rice and then spooned over it in a rich ragout.

If you can find them, large, bright pink watermelon radishes will look and taste great here.

Ann Gillespie of Alexandria, Virginia, writes: "Because I'm balancing graduate school and a family, I try to cook things that don't take a lot of time. But I love experimenting with ingredients, so most of my recipes are easy to make and use interesting flavor combinations. The olives and cinnamon in this stew give it a nice Moroccan flavor. This dish balances sweet and savory with tangy Kalamata olives and golden raisins.

Avgolemono, the tangy Greek sauce of egg yolks and lemon, combines with pasta and veggies for a twist on carbonara.

When garlic is cooked very slowly in olive oil, the result is two delicious ingredients — soft roasted garlic and garlic oil — that give this soup an Italian feel and great flavor.

Note that the chops need to marinate for at least three days, so begin preparing this dish well in advance. What to drink: A white wine with snappy acidity and lemon-lime notes, like dry Riesling or Grüner Veltliner.

Top with chopped fresh cilantro, red onions, and grated cheddar cheese, if you like.

The entrée and side dish roast together for a quick yet elegant meal.

This streamlined version of a complex Catalan sauce makes for a gratifying weeknight supper — and a welcome alternative to pasta with marinara. The recipe is easy, and the sauce is made while the pasta cooks.

No, this isn't more British nursery food: Garlicky, sweet, and creamy, it's a wonderful side dish for roasts and meaty white fish.

A good-quality extra-virgin olive oil makes all the difference here. Elena uses Barbera Frantoia XV, from Sicily, which, when tossed with the warm beans, bursts with a gentle grassy flavor.

Fèves au Lard
These beans boast two staples of Montreal cuisine —sweet maple syrup and rich salt pork.

Sometimes the simplest meals are the most delicious. This bacony soup with toasted cheese couldn't be more satisfying.

Poaching fish in olive oil — a popular restaurant technique — is surprisingly easy and well suited to every-night cooking.

Packed with springtime vegetables, this meal is a quick fix for the winter blues.

Katy Hees of Santa Fe, New Mexico, writes: "Eating local, fresh, organic food is important to me. It doesn't get much more local than the eggs I use, which come from our own chickens. I also have a garden, which inspired my roasted green beans."

Parmigiano-Reggiano enriches canned broth for a quick, hot, and truly delicious meal in a bowl.