Zucchini

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Italian Two Easy: Simple Recipes from the London River Cafe by Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers. To read Epicurious's review of the cookbook, go to The Best Cookbooks of 2006. Vegetables trifolati is a method of slicing and cooking with garlic, olive oil, and parsley. Other ingredients, such as mint, wine, or chiles, are sometimes added. In this recipe we add fresh, ripe tomatoes.

Work more soy into your diet with this delicious vegetarian dish. Serve with: rice noodles or steamed rice.

One of the perks of fame: getting five-star food without leaving the sofa. Whenever Denise Richards craves a healthy, delicious meal, she calls private chef Dorte Lambert, founder of DL Creations. Don't be put off by the high fat count in this dish; it's mostly the heart-friendly unsaturated kind.

The beauty of this recipe is that each type of vegetable is cooked on its own skewer for even grilling. The tangy vinaigrette brings out the natural sweetness in the fresh summer vegetables.

You'll hardly recognize your zucchini after transforming it into both a crisp topping and a bed of vegetable "noodles."

It's delicate in flavor and texture. Marjoram fuses with zucchini and egg in this simple, meltingly tender flat omelet—one that Olney found "completely attractive" and insisted is best at room temperature, prepared 20 to 30 minutes before serving.

In this innovative use of zucchini, the vegetable adds body to the mussel-filled broth without being overpowering.

Stuffed vegetables are much loved by Egyptians, and some version of this versatile side dish (stuffed eggplants, peppers, zucchini, and tomatoes are the most popular) will be found at most big, family-style meals and on every restaurant menu. The idea is probably Persian in origin, and has universal appeal. One enormous benefit is that stuffed vegetables are also delicious served at room temperature or cold.

A butter baste makes the zucchini so amazingly full-flavored that you can even omit the cheese — although it's a delicious accent to the lemony zing.

These delicate, lightly spiced cupcakes are reminiscent of carrot cake. Grated zucchini makes them exceptionally moist.

A meat-free carpaccio, this crisp mix of zucchini and arugula gets a boost from olive oil and salty cheese.