Fish

This is quick, easy and delicious - the perfect addition to a holiday buffet.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Steamed green beans and a rice or pasta salad from the deli go nicely with this entrée inspired by the Pacific Northwest. End with a simple but sophisticated dessert of coffee ice cream drizzled with brandy and sprinkled with toasted hazelnuts. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

In Italy a no-cook pasta sauce is known as salsa cruda, and makes a wonderful one-dish dinner. In this version, the combination of artichokes, olives, capers, and lemon zest is not only beautiful, but bold in flavor.

This gorgeous dish is similar to ratatouille.

Preserved tuna, packed in extra-virgin olive oil, is paired with white beans in Tuscany, a speedy dish to assemble if you've got beans on hand. Canned beans work well and simplify this preparation — open a few cans and chop an onion. Quality tuna makes a big difference in the success of this dish. Leftover grilled or poached tuna can be used instead of canned, but it should be marinated in extra-virgin olive oil. All choices will work better than insipid tuna packed in water. Scallions can be used in the spring, red onions for the rest of the year. Torquato, my farmer and muse, suggested combining green beans with tuna during his glorious green-bean season, a fantastic variation.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Fish cakes make festive party fare. They're especially good when complemented with a cool, colorful and crunchy cucumber, radish and cilantro salsa.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but may required additional sitting time. Be sure to lightly oil the grill rack again so that it doesn’t stick.

The traditional dish of Trapani.

If you’re in the mood for an Asian-inspired meal, serve this fish with the pickled cucumber and cabbage.

Rouget, or red mullet, is renowned in the Mediterranean for its delicate flavor. It is increasingly available here in the U.S. (Incidentally, the fish is not a true mullet but is a member of another piscine family.) We loved the commingling of flavors that resulted when we put this concoction on a bed of zucchini potato lemon-thyme mash .

This savory, French-inspired dish is also delicious made with mussels instead of, or in addition to, the clams. Either way, it's good with crusty bread to soak up the broth, and a glass of spicy white wine.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Trimming the artichokes for this recipe takes a bit of skill but gets easier with each one. Once you have mastered the technique, you'll find this dish is actually quite simple. Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 1 hr

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.