Recipes with olive oil, extra-virgin

Mediterranean salad with toasted bread cubes, parsley, cucumber, and tomatoes in a lemon-cinnamon-allspice dressing. A fattoush-inspired bowl packed with fresh herbs.

Baby Asian greens salad with warm goat cheese croutons on toasted baguette and a sherry-vinegar vinaigrette with thyme and grainy mustard. A bistro salad ready in 30 minutes.

Chilled cucumber yogurt soup with strained yogurt, fresh dill, mint, and garlic. Mediterranean-style summer soup that beats the heat. No-cook recipe served icy cold.

Spaghetti aglio e olio is the classic Italian pantry pasta: spaghetti tossed with garlic gently fried in olive oil, hot red pepper, and parsley. Five ingredients, ready in under 30 minutes.

Red onion and goat cheese pancake is a savory Dutch baby-style oven pancake layered over caramelized red onions and thyme, finished with balsamic-honey reduction.

Bistecca alla Fiorentina: thick T-bone grilled rare with Tuscan herbs, served with garlicky sauteed spinach and a glug of extra-virgin olive oil. Classic Florentine steakhouse plate.

Mozzarella salad with sun-dried tomatoes, capers, and romaine in a simple extra-virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar dressing. A 10-minute Italian-style composed salad.

Steamed Brussels sprouts tossed with toasted hazelnuts, extra-virgin olive oil, and ground cardamom. A simple 20-minute side dish with just four ingredients.

Summer vegetable pasta with seared zucchini, yellow squash, fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, and basil tossed with ziti and Parmesan. Bright, garden-fresh, and quick.

Spinning out the juice from cherry tomatoes makes the salad tasty but not watery. You can use this technique in all the tomato salads. And the reduction of the tomato juice adds the tangy flavor to the dressing.

Grilled chicken breasts marinated in olive oil, garlic, lemon, and herbs, then sliced thin over pasta with herbed tomato sauce. A Mediterranean-style summer pasta dinner.

Steamed salmon in orange-tomato sauce poaches skinless salmon fillets over a bright reduction of orange juice, white wine, garlic, and plum tomatoes, perfumed with fresh basil. A light, low-fat 35-minute weeknight dinner.

Eggs Italiano tops toasted whole-wheat English muffins with a quick zucchini-tomato saute, a perfectly poached egg, and shaved Parmigiano. A brighter, lighter twist on Eggs Benedict for brunch.

Italian pasta and bean soup (pasta e fagioli) simmers Great Northern beans with onion, carrot, celery, zucchini, and tomato paste, then finishes with al dente pasta. A rustic, hearty peasant-style bowl.

Halloween black spiders' leg noodles toss inky squid ink linguine with roasted butternut squash, orange bell peppers, garlic, and Kalamata olives. A vegetarian Halloween pasta with bold spooky color contrast.

Red chile pesto clams with ancho and dried red chiles, roasted garlic, pine nuts, and oregano blended into a smoky, spicy pesto spooned over steamed clams. A Mexican-Italian fusion seafood bowl.