Spaghetti

This pie, reminiscent of a frittata, is a great way to use up leftover pasta. Serve it with bread and a salad for lunch, brunch, or dinner.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Whole-wheat spaghetti can replace the soba noodles used here.

Florentine summers are hot and sticky — no time to even think about eating a plate of hot pasta. So, when Torquato Innocenti, whose produce I seek out in my local market, mentioned cold garlic pasta I raced home with his vague hints and produced the following dish. As we compared notes the next day, I realized that Torquato's garlic sauce, and not the pasta, was cold. But no one at my table complained. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr

Syracuse, the beautiful port city on the Ionian Sea, has a cuisine that is marked by highly aromatic combinations of vegetables and seafood. This pasta recipe is a distinctive example.

Good accompaniments to this Sicilian-style pasta are an arugula and fig salad, breadsticks, and gelato with amaretti.

Romanesco cauliflower — with its cone-shaped florets — has a more subtle, nuanced flavor than traditional varieties. The size of Romanesco cauliflower can vary widely, so we call for weight in this recipe rather than number of heads.

Pretty and delicious, this pasta has plenty of vegetables, lots of snap and crunch, and a terrific Asian-style peanut sauce.

A sophisticated main course.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

A country-style Italian bread and a hearty salad of romaine with roasted peppers and black olives would be great with this pasta dish. Pears with walnuts and Gorgonzola cheese would be a nice dessert.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.