Tomato

Joan Nathan's The Foods of Israel Today is full of intensely flavored recipes, such as this salad. Grab a copy now, while so many fresh vegetables are available.

Put a slice of this butter on any grilled or panfried meat or fish, or slather it on warm corn bread. Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 45 min

When preparing bread salad, do not drizzle with oil and vinegar until just before serving, or the bread cubes will become soggy.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The mushroom and herb topping is similar in texture to bread stuffing. After baking, the fish has a moist center and a delicately crisp top. Partner it with a chilled Viognier.

Fragrant smoke from the mesquite wood chips makes a fine counterpoint to the sweetness of the lobster in this salad. Finish the meal with lemon ice drizzled with tequila, and pass a plateful of sugar cookies.

The delicious sauce is also very nice with chicken and shellfish.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Baked egg roll wrappers make a crisp, low-fat base for the roasted mushroom topping.

Stifado, a hearty Greek stew, can be made with almost any kind of meat, though beef is most common. Here we use lamb. It always involves either red wine or red-wine vinegar or both, herbs, and copious quantities of small whole onions.

This recipe comes from my 86-year-old grandmother, a northern Italian from Faenza, who picked it up during her travels as a piano teacher in southern Italy. I've watched her make it my whole life and know the recipe from memory.