Easy

The traditional combination for succotash is lima beans and corn, but any other kind of shell bean will be delicious, too.

Celery and celery root were developed from the same plant but now they are two distinct varieties. Celery is one of the staples of the kitchen, used to flavor soups, broths, and braises. It is also quite tasty as a vegetable dish and offers lots of crunch in salads. Celery has a powerful flavor, especially the leaves. Use it judiciously when cooking; too much celery flavor can be unpleasant in a broth, for example. Look for fresh, bright stalks when selecting celery. The outer stalks are best used for flavoring and the inner lighter ones for eating. Celery root, also called celeriac, has only a few short stalks and leaves; it is the large round knobby root that is eaten both cooked and raw. Its flavor is mild and sweet. Select smaller, firm, heavy roots that have fresh vibrant leaves. Avoid roots that have brownish, rusty stains or blemishes; these tend to be bitter. Trim the top and bottom of the roots and cut away the tough brown skin. If you are not using it right away, wrap it in a damp cloth to keep it from turning brown.

Algerian in origin, this recipe makes a colorful, tasty hors d’oeuvre. Serve it at room temperature with toasted croutons or pita bread and marinated olives. Warm, it makes a great side dish with baked fish and Chermoula (page 233).

If you’ve never had homemade sauerkraut before, it will be a revelation. And it is easy to make at home: the longer it ferments, the softer the texture and the more intense the flavor. The rule-of-thumb ratio is 1 1/2 teaspoons salt per pound of cabbage.

Long-cooked broccoli is cooked until it resembles a coarse purée. It’s delicious on croutons, tossed with pasta, or as a side dish.

Homemade hummus is very easy to make. If you don’t have any tahini (a paste made from sesame seeds), a chickpea purée without it is still quite delicious. Just add more olive oil.

Freshly rendered lard is the traditional fat for refried beans. Look for it at Latin American markets.

Green beans are beans harvested while the pods are still tender and edible and the seeds within are immature. There are many, many delicious varieties: Blue Lake and Kentucky Wonder beans, wide romano beans (both yellow and green), yellow wax beans, purple and cream-colored Dragon’s Tongue beans, and the tender little French beans called haricots verts, to name only a few. Choose fresh, bright, crisp beans. They should snap quickly when bent and should have only the tiniest of seeds inside. Use the beans quickly to enjoy their best flavor. To prepare them, give them a rinse, and then snap or cut off Large flat romano beans are one of the summer vegetables I most look forward to for their irresistible beany flavor. Don’t hold back on the marjoram; the fresh pungent flavor of the herb is a wonderful complement to the beans.

Quesadillas, cheese-filled tortillas cooked until crisp and melted, are a simple quick pick-me-up. They are a standby for hungry kids after school. Served with rice, beans, and salsa, they make a complete lunch or dinner.

I love a dinner of make-it-yourself sushi. I put a large bowl of sushi rice on the table with squares of toasted nori, thinly sliced fish and vegetables, and some pickled ginger and wasabi. Everyone rolls his own and eats them out of hand.

Farro is a delicious, nutty-tasting whole grain with a flavor like a cross between wheat berries and barley. It cooks quickly (almost as fast as rice) and can be served boiled, plain, or marinated in a salad; or it can be prepared in the same way as a risotto. I usually cook 1 1/2 cups of farro at a time. I serve half of it warm as a side dish and the other half the next day as a salad.

Soda bread is the national bread of Ireland and is made with baking soda for leavening instead of yeast. It is traditionally baked on a hearthstone or in a Dutch oven in the embers of a fire. From beginning to end, this recipe takes no more than an hour.

This gratin (macaroni and cheese by another name) is good to make when you find yourself with the ends of several types of cheeses. Almost any cheese works, except mozzarella, which gets a little stringy, and blue cheeses, which can take over the dish. I love Gruyère for macaroni and cheese, and cheddar, Jack, and Cantal are all good, too.

This pasta works well with little clams in their shells or with large clams steamed open, removed from their shells, and chopped.

The trick to saucing pasta with pesto is to loosen the noodles with hot pasta water. It makes all the difference.

I love the flavors of spicy garlicky sausage together with nutty greens such as broccoli rabe. Besides fusilli noodles, penne rigate, orecchiette, or any other large toothy pasta shape is good for this sauce.

This can be used only as a fresh sauce for pasta, but also as an element in many different dishes. When tomatoes are abundant, this is a good sauce to make in quantity and freeze or can. If you are going to pass the sauce through a food mill, there’s no need to peel and seed the tomatoes beforehand. The food mill will strain out all the skins and seeds.

This recipe is only for tomatoes that are at their absolute peak: dead ripe and full of flavor.