Leafy Greens

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Makes use of the microwave oven.

This gratin makes a simple accompaniment to roast chicken, pork or even baked eggs.

This hearty dish comes from Havesathe de Havixhorst in the Drenthe Province in De Wijk, the Netherlands.

A puree of spinach and basil lends color and flavor to this Thai-style main dish.

Toasted baguette slices and some baby greens tossed with marinated artichoke hearts are a wonderful accompaniment to the pasta. (For extra flavor, you can spread the baguette slices with olive paste before servings.) Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

"Because I love to cook, I'll use any excuse to make dinner for my family or friends. Most of the recipes I concoct are partly based on how the ingredients look—presentation is very important to me," Dave Purdy of Hopewell, New Jersey. "Here, I combined celery root with Swiss chard because the colors and textures contrast so nicely." This tangy side dish would be good with roasted poultry or meat.

Pass hot pepper sauce and warm buttered tortillas to complete this easy dish.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The following antipasto is based on an octopus and cannellini salad served at La Baraonda in Florence.

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 20 min

Pairing citrus fruit with olives is a time-honored Moroccan tradition. While most versions of this salad call for oranges, tangerines make a sweet substitute.

The poblano chilies can be prepared one day ahead, and the vegetables can be chopped and sliced one day ahead and then refrigerated separately in resealable plastic bags. Then the whole dish just requires a few minutes of cooking time before serving.

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 15 min

Candida Sportiello writes: "As owner and chef of Il Giardino restaurant, I've been cooking professionally for twenty-five years — but I've been cooking for pleasure for a good fifty years. As is the Italian way, most of my favorite recipes were handed down from my mother and grandmother, so they date from the early 1900s."

Insalata di Radicchio, Frisée, e Carciofi Including raw artichokes in a salad is an Italian trademark — their flavor is fresher and milder than that of cooked artichokes. Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 1 hr

These rice-coated meatballs, commonly referred to as zhen zhu, meaning "pearls" in Chinese, are often prepared at home in New York City's Chinatown. Steaming them on lettuce leaves helps prevent them from sticking to the steamer rack. They are traditionally made with sticky rice (sometimes called sweet rice), but we've used long-grain rice, which is easier to find.

If you can't find one type of the greens for this recipe, you can either increase the other two kinds proportionally or substitute kale and/or chard.