Vegetarian

Fresh herbs give these sauces bright flavors. Use them to top grilled meats or steamed vegetables. They also make fantastic sandwich spreads.

Vinaigrette is usually considered a salad dressing, but it also makes a fine sauce for vegetables, such as steamed green beans and boiled potatoes, and main dishes, such as broiled chicken or fish.

Because preparing fresh squash can be time-consuming, we used frozen squash as a shortcut here. You can substitute an equal amount of puréed fresh squash (see note below).

Orecchiette are small ear-shaped pasta shells; fusilli or farfalle can be used instead. You can also replace the arugula with two cups whole fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves.

Baking pasta with cheese on top creates a chewy and crispy topping kids will love. You can assemble the dish ahead and refrigerate it, then bake it right before dinner.

Because these crispy bean cakes are broiled rather than fried, the recipe doesn’t call for much oil, so the cakes contain less fat; they are also easier to prepare than fried versions.