Canned Tomato

My favorite recipe that I've ever posted on the blog is my Four Corners lentil soup, and it remains the most frequently cooked dish in my kitchen. It is so fast and simple to make, really inexpensive, and uses ingredients that are all found in the pantry. It freezes well, too, so I often make a double batch and store some away for when I need a wholesome meal in a hurry. And why the name "Four Corners"? Besides being my favorite soup, it is also much loved by many people I know all around the world. From the busy streets of Singapore to the remote wilderness of northern Ontario, from the scorched deserts in the American Southwest to the rainy shores of Denmark, this soup really has traveled the four corners of the Earth! Highly nutritious and packed with flavor, this lentil soup is a crowd-pleaser that will warm the heart of anyone you serve it to.

Want to show someone you really care? Make them our ultimate spaghetti and meatballs.

Shakshuka is Tunisian in origin but has become hugely popular in Jerusalem and all over Israel as substantial breakfast or lunch fare. Tunisian cuisine has a passionate love affair with eggs and this particular version of shakshuka is the seasonal variant for the summer and early autumn. Potatoes are used during the winter and eggplants in spring. Having published recipes for shakshuka once or twice before, we are well aware of the risk of repeating ourselves. Still, we are happy to add another version of this splendid dish, seeing how popular it is and how convenient it is to prepare. This time the focus is on tomato and spice. But we encourage you to play around with different ingredients and adjust the amount of heat to your taste. Serve with good white bread and nothing else.

This recipe is a prime example of how to cut calories without sacrificing flavor. We use a ton of vegetables and just a handful of flavorful sausage. Don't skimp on the time needed to wilt down the vegetables, because that time adds sweetness to the sauce.

Bolognese is a hearty sauce that needs a toothy, wide noodle like fresh pappardelle, or a sturdy dried shape like rigatoni.—Mike Easton

Gigante beans are our favorites, but almost any bean will be delicious this way. Smaller white beans, like cannellini, will cook more quickly.

Leftover sauce? Bring a pot of water to boil: It's pasta night.

No nduja? Just add an extra glug of olive oil along with some red pepper flakes.

Skip expensive store-bought stock: you can extract cleaner, stronger broth from water and a few pantry items you probably already have on hand (think bacon, tomato paste, herbs, peppercorns, a Parm rind, and, of course, kosher salt).

If you're not a lamb person, ground beef will also taste great.

A classic ribollita is cooked one day, then reheated and served the next. To do that, just hold back the last croutons so they keep their crunch.

There's marrow in those bones! Scoop out the cooked marrow and whisk it into the braising liquid, or eat it on a crust of bread with salt. You earned it.

When my wife, Julie, and I got married, we knew there was only one place to go for our honeymoon: Italy. I was excited to take her to Gombitelli, the tiny town in the mountains near Lucca where my dad's side of the family came from. My great-grandparents, Angelo and Olimpia Gemignani, had left Gombitelli for America at the turn of the last century, and my Grandpa Frank was born right after they got off the boat. We meandered through the Tuscan countryside, following increasingly sketchy gravel roads and finally ending up on a narrow donkey trail that wound up the side of a steep mountain. I remembered this road from a visit I'd made seven years earlier. Since then, it seemed to have eroded and gotten even narrower. It was barely wide enough for a car, with a sheer drop along one side and, naturally, no guardrail. We came to a dead end, the front of the car facing a deep ravine, and an old man came out of his house, waving violently and screaming at us in Italian. I rolled down the window and said "Gemignani?" His expression changed from rage to joy as he motioned to follow him and raced off, back down the road, yelling "Gemignani! Gemignani!" I made the most terrifying U-turn of my life and followed him. The minute I saw the little house and farm, I had the same overwhelming feeling I'd had the first time I'd been there. It was like stepping into my grandpa's farm in California. Although he'd never even been to Italy, he had the blood of a Tuscan contadino—and there in front of me was his backyard in every detail: the same flowers, the lemon tree, the dogwood, the fava beans, the big wine jugs wrapped in straw, the rusty tools scattered around. That California farm and my grandpa are long gone, but in that moment, I was home again. My cousins had decided there was one thing they absolutely had to serve us for our welcome meal: pizza, of course. And this is the one they made. It was quite thin, almost like a toasted flatbread, and I've replicated that in this recipe by rolling the dough out and docking it, so you get a light, crisp crust that's just right with the gutsy puttanesca-style combination of crushed tomatoes, olives, garlic, and anchovies.

Easy enough for a weeknight, but special enough for a dinner party.

This old-school, rectangular pizza bakes right in a sheet tray. The flavorful, doughy crust is thicker than the more standard thin-crusted Neapolitan-style pies.

The thinly sliced zucchini ribbons replace pasta in this delicious, low-carb, noodle-less dish. This lasagna totally satisfies my cravings for cheesy and indulgent Italian comfort food. It's perfect in the summer when I have tons of garden-fresh zucchini and herbs, but I also love making it during the colder months when I want something hot and comforting. Although it takes a little longer than most of my recipes, it's totally worth it!

Pasta, lush tomatoes, and a pool of ricotta lend this dish all the flavor of a lasagne—without the heaviness.

You can use any firm fish and fresh shellfish you like for this brothy stew. (A little crabmeat is a luxurious addition, as well.) Make the base a day in advance for a low-stress Christmas dinner.