Pecorino

A blend of cheddar and Romano cheeses makes this dish a real standout.

Basil is one of the favorite ingredients of the Italian region of Liguria, and there is no place in the world where it is more fragrant or put to such delicious use. It's the basis of the classic Genoese sauce, pesto, in which it is partnered with garlic, olive oil, pine nuts, and Parmesan and Pecorino Romano cheeses. It shows up most typically floating atop minestrone, drizzled over potato gnocchi, or - as here - tossed with trenette (the local ribbon pasta), potatoes and green beans.

Cracker-like pancakes are a nice snack.

Linguine with Walnut Sauce The texture of mixed nuts and bread crumbs makes this an ethereal pasta. When the noodles are cooked and then dressed just right, they taste great even at room temperature.

These crepe-like pancakes also make a great brunch dish. What to drink: The saltiness of the ham and cheese calls for a fruity white wine with thirst-quenching acidity, like Tuscany's Vernaccia di San Gimignano.

Donovan Clark of London, England, writes: "I met chef Jean-Yves Bath a couple years ago while I was dining at his elegant Michelin one-star restaurant, Bath's, in Paris. He had renovated an old Chinese eatery near the Champs-Élysées, and it was the perfect setting to showcase the food of his native Auvergne region. The simple cheese ravioli dish I had that night was unforgettable." For a vegetarian version of this recipe, mushroom or vegetable broth could be used in place of the beef broth.

An appetizer that is simple to make, delicious and very appealing.

Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 40 min

Toss bouncy udon in a speedy creamy sauce reminiscent of an Italian favorite.

Tangy vodka sauce and grilled chicken make a savory base for this pizza, which gets topped with a bright arugula salad and pickled red onions after it’s baked.

Zucchini is one of summer’s most abundant offerings; here it stars on a pesto pizza alongside ricotta-stuffed squash blossoms and a showering of mint.

It takes only a handful of ingredients to make this fancy-yet-weeknight pasta.

The classic reconsidered: less pasta, more crispy-chewy strips of guanciale, and more silky creamy egg to hold it all together.

Think of this as carbonara minus the eggs but still with massive amounts of flavor from guanciale, black pepper, and Pecorino.

This minimalist cacio e pepe recipe is like a stripped-down mac and cheese.