Quick

Fresh ricotta brings out the eggs' creaminess.

These individual desserts get their bright flavor from lemon juice, lemon peel, and a lemon curd topping.

Basil, cilantro, and red bell pepper bring a savory element to this fruit salad. This is a great dessert, but would be equally good for breakfast or brunch.

Cumin gives greens and tomatoes an exotic, almost Indian touch.

Greens are paired with salty olives and feta—to great effect. The greens cook in the pasta water, making this an efficient one-pot meal.

Eggs become a silky, creamy sauce when they're tossed with hot pasta. Here, leeks add a nice spring touch to the traditional Roman dish.

Serve with toasted country bread.

In this delicately flavored main course, the asparagus steams along with the fish in individual paper packets.

A decadent—but still healthy—vegetarian main.

Crispy, golden slices of garlic add a nice crunch and nutty flavor (picky eaters can have their pasta without or easily eat around it).

Baking the crust first keeps it from getting soggy beneath the toppings.

When cooking shrimp in boiling water, 2 minutes does the job. Overcooking toughens them.

Rough-hewn elegance is the name of the game here. The mild, clean-tasting snails and the bosky mushrooms share a yielding texture, and the cream sauce (relax, you're in Normandy, remember?) sparkles with fresh herbs.