Tomato
Rustic Bread Salad
When preparing bread salad, do not drizzle with oil and vinegar until just before serving, or the bread cubes will become soggy.
Penne with Vegetables and Olives
By David B. Sussman
Spaghetti con Cozze Delle Marche
By Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers
Marinated Vegetables with Garlic and Thyme
Boiling away the butter and seasonings from the leftover vegetables allows the flavors of the marinade to shine through. (If you don't have any leftover veggies, simply steam a mix of your favorites.)
Spicy Tomato Cranberry Preserves
Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 9 1/2 hr (includes cooling and chilling)
Smoked Bocconcini and Tomato-Olive Salsa Canapes
We used smoked bocconcini (small mozzarella balls) for this recipe, but you may substitute unsmoked bocconcini or smoked or unsmoked regular mozzarella, cut into slices and quartered.
Spicy Sauteed Fish with Olives and Cherry Tomatoes
Candida Sportiello writes: "As owner and chef of Il Giardino restaurant, on the tiny island of Ventotene off the coast of Naples, I've been cooking professionally for twenty-five years — but I've been cooking for pleasure for a good fifty years. As is the Italian way, most of my favorite recipes were handed down from my mother and grandmother, so they date from the early 1900s."
"I love having so many amazing ingredients at my fingertips on Ventotene: fish, lentils, wild asparagus, mushrooms, fava beans, and artichokes. They make it easy to produce home-style cooking at its best."
By Candida Sportiello
Contemporary Cassoulet
Make this at least one day and up to two days ahead for best flavor. This is a much simplified version of the classic smoked meat and bean cassoulet.
Chicken Marinara
Lorraine Stevenski of Clearwater, Florida, writes: "As a kid growing up in an Italian family, I loved being in the kitchen. But I didn't become serious about cooking until I got married and had my own kitchen to experiment in. My husband and I lived in Queens, New York, within walking distance of many Greek, Italian, and Spanish food shops. The new foods I discovered there inspired my passion for cooking."
Panko is available in the Asian foods section of most supermarkets.
By Lorraine Stevenski
Lima Beans with Ham
Dry-cured country ham can be substituted for the hickory-smoked ham called for here.
Spicy Two-Bean Vegetarian Chili
"This is a recipe I created on a snowy night when my family needed a little warming up," writes Rebecca Averill of Beverly, Massachusetts. "I combined the spices of India with the flavors of the Southwest, and added bulgur to give the chili a meaty texture. "
By Rebecca Averill
Tuscan Vegetable Soup with White Beans and Parmesan
Cheryl Zook of Ketchum, Idaho, writes: "After I graduated from college last fall, I spent a few months in Europe. By far, my favorite stop was Florence. I'll always remember the vegetable soup I had at Ristorante Mamma Gina near the Ponte Vecchio."
This is almost as thick as a stew. If you prefer a thinner soup, simply add more vegetable stock. Because the beans need to soak overnight, begin preparation a day ahead.
Roasted Jalapeño-Tomato Salsa with Fresh Cilantro
This is our salsa closest to the classic home-style Mexican salsa de molcajete that's made from roasted garlic and chiles pounded in a lava-rock mortar (molcajete) with roasted tomatoes. Even though we've updated the equipment for the modern American kitchen, that perfect blend of sweetness (roasted garlic and tomatoes) and raciness (roasted jalapeños) is what you'll spoon out. The final addition of fresh cilantro and a drizzle of vinegar focuses the whole experience: This is just what most Americans wish they were getting when they open a jar with that ubiquitous "salsa" label. Made with plum tomatoes, your salsa will have a more homogenous texture — just right for using the salsa as an ingredient in other dishes. Because round tomatoes give a looser texture, choose them when you want a condiment to set on the table.
By Rick Bayless, JeanMarie Brownson, and Deann Groen Bayless
Summer Chicken Sauté with Tomato-Basil Sauce
Peperoncini, breadsticks, and orzo mixed with sliced oil-cured olives would round out the main course beautifully. End with raspberries and sweetened whipped cream.