Canned Tomato

A bagged lettuce mix with "Mediterranean" greens would go nicely here when tossed with red wine vinaigrette and served with ciabatta bread. End with pears and a plate of bittersweet chocolate-nut toffee.

The aroma of sausage simmering in tomatoes expresses Naples as well as any long-cooked ragù. Indeed, the ensuing sauce is often called ragù di salsicce. In this recipe, you produce just enough sauce for a first course of pasta — either spaghetti or ziti is perfect — with a beautiful bonus of meat for the second course. To make the most of the sauce, set aside only a spoonful to top each portion of sausage, then add the cooked pasta to the sauce, turning the pasta in the sauce until it is evenly dressed and has soaked up some of the sauce's savor.

Full-flavored and hearty, this classic pasta dish with bacon and tomato sauce is always a hit. Top it with plenty of grated Parmesan cheese.

This Mediterranean-style dish can be teamed with green beans and rice, noodles or sautéed potatoes for an easy and sophisticated supper.

Traditional beef stew with Spanish overtones. It's delicious over rice or pasta.

Like American-style chili, picadillo is great over rice or with warm tortillas.

Serve this over the Baked White Polenta with Two Cheeses, and season with any — or all — of the suggested toppings (chocolate adds mole flavor).

There will be a large amount of rendered goose fat left over from this gumbo. The French often use the fat to coat potatoes for roasting. Rendered goose fat keeps, covered and chilled, 3 months. Two 8-pound ducks can be substituted for goose if desired.

This recipe is used to prepare Cod Cannelloni with Swiss Chard and Roasted Peppers . Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The somen noodles called for in this recipe are a very thin Japanese wheat noodle. They are available in the Asian section of many supermarkets, at Southeast Asian markets and at specialty foods stores.

Cioppino is San Francisco's answer to bouillabaisse and, like that famous Provencal seafood soup, is made with a variety of the freshest fish possible. In San Francisco the mixture included Dungeness crab, which adds a unique flavor, but any regional crab will do. If crab is not available, substitute another shellfish. No clams? Try mussels. The point is to treat the following recipe as a guide and use whatever looks best in the market the day you make the soup.