Pasta & Noodles

Named for Amatrice, a town northeast of Rome, this pasta is traditionally served with a long noodle like bucatini, but we like how shorter penne captures the spicy, meaty bits of sauce inside the tube.

Add the prosciutto at the last minute to preserve the pretty pink color.

Sardines are one of the ocean’s most sustainable superfoods. Because they tend to fall apart, save half for topping the dish just before serving.

Your next weeknight dinner is this steak stir fry recipe. We like skirt steak because it's a tasty and affordable cut. Slice it thinly so it's tender.

This weeknight chicken soup goes Greek with orzo, lemon juice, and a handful of fresh dill.

The pork for this Southern-inspired pasta sauce is studded with garlic, which infuses the meat while it roasts.

Chopped lemon pulp and peel are added to the couscous for a complex bittersweet flavor.

Orecchiette ("little ears" in Italian) are the perfect shape for cupping the kale and breadcrumbs.

This twist on pasta carbonara is sweet from leeks and rich thanks to cream (in place of eggs).

This pasta sauce is thickened with pureed chickpeas, and it's finished with a fresh garlic-and-rosemary oil, which adds great flavor and an even better aroma.

Any short, tubular pasta will work with this meaty ragù. We used sedanini ("little celery") on the cover, but easier-to-find rigatoni and penne are great, too.

Skip a step when making mac and cheese by not precooking the pasta. Instead, mix the dried pasta with a thinner-than-usual bèchamel sauce, and it will bake perfectly in just 30 minutes.

Flanked-Style short ribs, used for Korean barbecue, are cut across the bones instead of between the bones. Start this recipe ahead of time; chilling the ribs after braising keeps them from falling falling apart when they served (and all braised meats taste better the next day).

This vegetarian revelation balances the meaty sweetness of butternut squash with bitter broccoli rabe and a creamy sauce. Serve it with a simple salad.

Adapted from The River Cafe Classic Italian Cookbook by Rose Gray, Ruth Rogers, and Michael Joseph. Copyright Rose Gray 2009.

Inspired by Moroccan flavors, this chicken stew recipe is incredibly fragrant while cooking.