Pasta
Tomato-Basil Pasta Nests
A pretty basic version to get you started.
White Beans, Pancetta, and Pasta
This is a mix-up of pasta e fagioli and minestra. Again, my indecisiveness is at play.
Ricotta Pasta with Grape Tomatoes, Peas, and Basil
This dish can be made 100 ways. It’s one of the first dishes you eat as an Italian kid: macaroni with butter and ricotta cheese. Once you grow up, you add stuff in, but the base remains the same. I’ll try to limit myself and just give you my top five versions.
Spaghetti con Aglio e Olio with Tomato and Onion Salad
This meal and the next have appeared in other books of mine. I did not invent the dishes—they are classics. My take on these classics are my two favorite meals, ever. I simply could not have you (or me) live through a whole year without having these dishes in there somewhere. Enjoy these oldies-but-oh-so-goodies!