Farfalle

The personality of raclette in macaroni and cheese—the combination of cornichons and creamy, salty cheese takes to pasta with an irresistible grace.

"Set sun-dried tomatoes on paper towels to soak up some of their oil so the dish doesn't get greasy," Bemis suggests.

Here’s a perfect pasta dish, a one-pan dream that pairs tomatoes with savory Italian sausage. Even picky eaters will love this simple dish, featuring a sweet, creamy sauce that can be spiced to taste with red pepper flakes. The whole thing comes together in under 15 minutes, making it an easy weeknight meal that’s impressive enough for date night, too. This dish makes delicious leftovers, and cleanup is a breeze.

Tuna and 'shrooms contain two different umami compounds that work synergistically to enhance the savory flavor. This dish is the lightest of this noodly bunch, with only 350 calories per bowl.

Kale is what makes this pasta a standout. This leafy green is similar to chard and has an assertive flavor that really stands up to the spicy sausages. This was the only way I would eat kale when I was young.

Anchovy is the secret ingredient that makes this dish so delicious. If you have anchovy haters in your family, don’t worry; the anchovies melt into the butter-and-olive oil mixture, so no one will even know they are there.

The assertive flavor of Gorgonzola cheese gives the sauce for this dish a nice, sharp bite. This combination of flavors is very typical of northern Italian food, and it makes for a particularly earthy, satisfying dish. You can have fun with this recipe, varying the kinds of mushrooms you use; try to incorporate a few varieties. The frozen peas add a welcome pop of color.

I rely on this dish whenever I’m hosting a ladies’ lunch or wedding shower, or when I just want something tasty and healthy in the refrigerator to snack on. The trick here is using a purchased, roasted whole chicken. It’s important to use a whole chicken because it stays moister and more tender than precooked breasts.

Use slender asparagus and you won’t need to scrape the stalks. If you still believe that asparagus should be a harbinger of spring (even though it’s in the market nearly year-round now), make this dish a tradition by serving it every April or May.

Here’s a soup that comes together in no time, yet tastes as if it has been simmered for hours.

There are pasta sauces you can make in the time it takes the pasta-cooking water to come to a boil, and there are those that are really fast—those that can be made in the eight to ten minutes it takes to actually cook the pasta. This is one of the latter, one that boasts just a couple of main ingredients and a supporting cast of two staples.

This pasta features a few flavors of the season—mint and peas—along with lemon and ever-popular salmon. It’s just the thing to hit the spot on a crisp spring evening.

Primavera means “spring” in Italian. Pasta Primavera is a wonderfully colorful, light, and healthy meal filled with springtime vegetables. Almost any vegetable will go well in this dish. Consider adding English peas, sugar snap peas, spinach, asparagus, or other seasonal vegetables. Any type of squash or bell pepper is tasty as well. It doesn’t matter whether your artichoke hearts are frozen or packed in water or oil, but remember that the oil from marinated artichokes will add a powerful punch. If you like heat, 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes can give this dish more of a kick. If there is still liquid in the bottom when the pot comes out of the oven, let it sit with the lid off for a few minutes, which will release some steam and allow the absorption of more of the liquid. Spoon any remaining liquid over each serving as a sauce.

Try this recipe with steak or tempeh or even veal. Spoon any residual broth over the chicken before serving and remember to remove the rosemary sprig.

The story goes that when Napoleon invaded Italy he brought along his own French chef. The army camped at the town of Marengo and the chef created this dish with whatever the scouts brought back from the countryside. Napoleon loved it and the rest, as they say, is history. Using porcini or other wild mushrooms will give this meal more depth of flavor, but almost any vegetable goes well with the basil and green olives. I like to use penne or farfalle (bow tie pasta) with this recipe, though almost any short pasta should work.

Primavera is Italian for “spring,” and that’s what this dish tastes like. It was created at Le Cirque, New York’s famed restaurant, in the 1970s because some high-flying and health-conscious patrons complained that they wanted lighter and healthier dishes. The original version was labor-intensive because you had to not only dice all the vegetables, but also blanch them in different pots. My version cuts out the blanching, and instead you roast the vegetables and end up with a sweet, caramelized, intensely flavored bite. Consider doubling the recipe; it only gets better the next day.

Traditionally, this dish is made with pork sausage. But in an effort to lighten things up, I use turkey sausage, which in general is a great, healthy alternative to pork. I promise that you won’t be able to tell the difference.

Nothing brings out the flavor of fresh asparagus better than lemon. Here the two combine with whole-grain bow-tie pasta, mushrooms, and chicken chunks for a delightful one-dish meal.

I like to use a fairly flat noodle, such as farfalle, with mushroom sauces. Do try to use one of the varieties of brown mushrooms suggested for a full-bodied flavor.

This salad is wonderful served warm or at room temperature with French bread and a green salad.

This dish only looks indulgent: A serving has a mere 7 grams of saturated fat, and the pasta and peas help deliver 40 percent of your daily intake of folate, a nutrient that aids the body in forming red blood cells.

Quickly wilted arugula, canned beans, and toasted walnuts add heft to this vegetarian main course. Try spinach in place of arugula and pine nuts instead of walnuts.

Buy the freshest seasonal vegetables for this pasta. A trip to your local farmers’ market might be in order.