Fennel

A full ½ cup of fish sauce goes into this recipe: half into a garlicky marinade and half into a sauce with dried chiles, cilantro stems, and sautéed shallots.

De Laurentiis uses Peroni, an Italian beer, for this 20-minute dish, but any light-bodied lager will work and make a perfect drink pairing as well.

Soaking the onion slices in ice water rids them of their sulfury smell and firms them up.

We like the combo of spicy and sweet Italian sausage, but use any uncooked sausage you like—merguez or chorizo would work.

The fennel seeds turn into an aromatic, crunchy crust on the skin.

I like this one because it's a one-pan dish—you will need a pan with a lid. You can use a can of tomatoes instead of making the purée if you wish, but puréeing the tomatoes produces a better result. You don't need to be precise with the quantities for this dish at all—a handful of cherry tomatoes, add some onion, etc. The important thing is to have the lid to keep in steam and heat so you get a very nice lightly cooked fish. You don't want to overcook it. I've used hake but you can use any white fish like cod, sea bass, halibut or even salmon. It's simple but tasty, and the kind of thing you could easily rustle up for yourself or friends. You can use any green veg but it works well with fennel—sautéed in a pan or slow-baked, or added to the pan and cooked with the fish and tomatoes. This is a great one for a novice cook.

A doubly crunchy topping marks a breakthrough moment for creamy roasted fennel.

Try this alongside a chicken cutlet, on a turkey sandwich, or thrown into a stir-fry.

The clams give up all their essence in this rich coconut-based stock. It's great for curries, or use it as the liquid base for a pot of steamed mussels or littleneck clams.

I used to be put off by poaching chicken as I feared it was more complicated than my simple fried version. But it's actually much easier, because while the chicken poaches you can prepare the rest of the food. These days I often poach 3 or 4 chicken breasts at a time, then keep them in the fridge so I can toss them into salads over the following days. Poaching really helps to keep the moisture in the meat, so the end result is much more enjoyable than dried, overcooked chicken.

A lot of people assume that being healthy means that red meat is off the menu. But I'm delighted to say that it's very much on mine. That said, I am a stickler for ensuring that the meat we eat is of the highest quality and that it is always paired with an abundance of vegetables. Plants are always my main focus, but a little bit of good-quality meat here and there has worked best for me. I have tried being vegan and vegetarian but my health suffered during those phases. We are, after all, omnivores and so, unless you have a specific dislike of, issue with or reaction to meat, I think it's a food group that has an important role in our diet. If you like carpaccio, this recipe also works incredibly well with the beef served raw and very finely sliced.

When it comes to a special-occasion main course, it doesn't get more timeless or show-stopping than porchetta.

These bright zesty pickles are equally at home in a cocktail as they are in a salad, with pâté, or as part of a cured meats and cheese board.

Slow-roasting is the most foolproof way to get perfectly cooked salmon or char on the table tonight.

Mint, ginger, fennel, and cayenne are known for their digestive properties. Turn this into a spritzer by using club soda instead of water.

A splash of cream is the secret to achieving an indulgent, delicious pasta sauce on a weeknight.

Dukkah—a rich nut and spice blend—is easy to make and lends a zesty kick to this gorgeous crisp salad.

Toasting the seeds and nuts in oil forms the base of a complex vinaigrette for simple roasted vegetables.