Arugula

Later in the summer, you can use eggplant in place of the portobellos.

Here's a more contemporary take on potato salad: Two kinds of potatoes give it eye appeal and a richer flavor. Tossing the potatoes with arugula and bacon adds a peppery crunch and plenty of smoky goodness (and you know how we feel about the smoke!)—and practically makes this salad a meal. Because sweet potatoes are so dense, and they take a few minutes longer to cook than regular potatoes, we cook them separately. This salad doubles easily for a party, and goes great with barbecued brisket or grilled sausages.

Tofu noodles replace pasta, so you don't need to boil water. Plus, this comforting dish offers nearly one third of your day's calcium, via the yogurt and broccoli.

Springtime in Tuscany means eating young green fava beans with salty, nutty crumbles of Pecorino Toscano—a firm sheep's-milk cheese. That favorite snack was a jumping-off point for these savory little toasts. Fresh arugula, both puréed and roughly chopped, punctuates the spread with spice and texture. If you can't get your hands on fresh fava beans, frozen edamame work well, too.

Editor's note: This recipe is part of a healthy and delicious spa menu developed exclusively for Epicurious by CuisinArt Resort & Spa on Rendezvous Bay in Anguilla. Instead of a buttery (and calorie-laden) dough, this attractive reimagined tart has a crispy pita bread "crust" topped with arugula and slices of seared wasabi-marinated tuna steak. A tomato stuffed with bok choy, celery, and carrots completes the pretty picture and rounds out the nutritional profile of the meal, adding tons of vitamins, plus filling and heart-healthy fiber.

Remember those sun-dried tomatoes lurking in the back of your refrigerator? Their punch gives pasta an instant boost.

Before a revolution breaks out, we want to assure you that we still think real fried chicken—soaked in buttermilk and fried in peanut oil until it’s crispy—is the gold standard. But there's no denying that in the past 20 years two factors have had a huge influence on how we cook: speed and healthfulness. Oven-baked chicken satisfies on both counts, offering a crispy, tasty coating and moist meat with less fat and fewer calories. Plus, it's quick enough to make on a Tuesday night. Add a light, bright arugula salad and you’ve got dinner.

It makes a great side dish, but this salad is even better as a pizza topping. Brush the with olive oil, sprinkle it with sea salt and shredded mozzarella, then bake. When the pizza comes out of the oven, top it with the salad.

Spread the pesto over the dough , then add toppings. Roasted asparagus, well-drained cooked spinach, and crumbled feta would be delicious.

When purchasing rack of lamb, ask your butcher to remove the chine bone as well as any excess surface fat and to "french" or clean, the rib bones. To create a really flavorful spice coating for the lamb, Hayden recommends using high-quality coffee and dark, strong Valrhona cocoa. For the salad, Fleming likes to use a spicy Tuscan olive oil to give the vinaigrette an extra kick of flavor.

In the waste-not mentality of Italian cucina povera, panfried patties made with eggs and bread crumbs are a great use for leftover eggplant parmigiana ingredients. In fact, the patties are so incredibly delicious that we made them the crisp showstoppers in this fun reconstruction.

This no-cook quickie dinner is less than 18 percent fat. Dig in!

Start making the dough one day in advance; it needs to be refrigerated overnight.

This recipe originally accompanied Mushroom and Thyme Risotto Cakes with Roasted Tomato and Arugula Salad . If you're not keeping kosher or serving this salad with meat, you could top it with crumbled blue cheese.

Here, we pepped up the fail-safe brunch combination of bacon, egg, and cheese by adding handfuls of flavorful sautéed arugula. They'll be jumping out of bed for this one.

Speck, lightly smoked pork that is cured and air-dried, adds a richness to this dish. Look for Speck at Italian markets, specialty foods stores, or online at igourmet.com.

Pomegranate seeds add brightness to the look and flavor of this starter.