Pasta

(Arrossejat de Fideus amb Llagosta) This Catalan specialty could be described as a pasta cooked like a rice dish. Arrossejat is Catalan for "golden" and refers to the technique of sautéing noodles in oil until golden brown before simmering them in fish stock. The dish is usually prepared in a glazed earthenware casserole known as a cassola, but you can substitute an ovenproof skillet or saut0an with great results. The base of our intensely flavored dish is a sofregit~©on slow-cooked with tomatoes and often garlic and herbs'% foundation for almost every sauce and stewed dish in the region's cooking. Active time: 1 1/2 hr Start to finish: 2 hr

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The mild flavor of leeks adds a nice touch to the pasta's tomato-based sauce.

In the recipe below it is not necessary to soak the pasta squares because they are not cut or rolled.

Just serve any of these dishes with a salad and some bread and you've got an easy, complete meal. You can find good-quality prepared pesto in the refrigerator section of your supermarket.

From the Spa at Doral in Miami.

Orzo, a rice-shaped pasta, is sold at Italian markets and most supermarkets.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Kevin Graham, of Graham's in New Orleans, occasionally adds a Parmesan sauce to go with the tomato cream.

This thick and comforting dish is delicious sprinkled with grated Parmesan cheese. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

A quick yet elegant pasta dish.

Freshly picked greens and herbs are essential to cooking in the Apulia region of Italy. Their assertive, often bitter flavor enriches many a modest dish. Here, a just-cooked tomato sauce is enlivened with the peppery taste of arugula.