2,500 italianne recipes

Lemony chicken crepes filled with seared chicken in a cream of chicken and yogurt sauce, topped with a lemon-mushroom sauce and baked until bubbly. A tangy, creamy main dish.

Sicilian-style swordfish involtini: swordfish rolled around a toasted pine nut and parsley filling, braised in tomato sauce with white wine and chili flakes. Bright, briny, and weeknight-fast.

Ratatouille bread bakes the classic Provencal vegetables (zucchini, summer squash, bell pepper, tomatoes, basil, garlic) into a savory bread machine loaf. A Mediterranean-flavored sandwich bread.

Oven-baked five grain pilaf with barley, wheat berries, millet, wild rice, and brown rice, studded with mushrooms, orange-soaked currants, and toasted almonds.

No-cook black bean salad with diced cucumber, plum tomato, celery, slivered basil, orange zest, and lemon juice. A bright vegan side that gets better as it sits and doubles as a protein-packed lunch.

Shell-on shrimp marinated in lemon juice and peanut oil, grilled over hot coals, and served with a sweet soy-brown sugar dipping sauce. A hands-on, peel-and-eat barbecue shrimp that's all about summer.

Vegan macaroni and cheese with vegan cheddar shreds, plum tomatoes, green onions, Dijon, and a crispy breadcrumb top. A dairy-free version of the classic comfort dish.

Home-style vegetable soup loaded with zucchini, carrots, chickpeas, spinach, mushrooms, and pasta in a tomato broth with Italian herbs. A filling one-pot meal.

Here is how Boston chef William Poirer makes red chowder, and it is good enough to convert the most diehard white chowder fanatic.

Light vegetarian lasagna with a from-scratch tomato herb sauce simmered two hours, layered with part-skim ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan. No meat, no oil in the sauce, still deeply satisfying.

Rainbow-bright chilled gazpacho with red, yellow, and green peppers finely diced in tangy buttermilk and sour cream. Fresh lime juice, cucumbers, and tomatoes.

Caribbean guisado loaded with pumpkin, yucca, chickpeas, and pinto beans, slow-roasted with 16 cloves of garlic and fresh cilantro until the vegetables melt into a thick, fragrant sauce.

Manhattan-style clam chowder with bacon, minced clams, diced potatoes, plum tomatoes, celery, and green pepper in a briny tomato broth. The red chowder that started a rivalry with New England's cream version.

Hearty smoky lentil soup simmered with a ham hock, Roma tomatoes, cabbage, carrots and Italian herbs. A thick, stick-to-your-ribs bowl that's built for cold weather.

Chicken cacciatore braises bone-in chicken pieces with Italian plum tomatoes, onions, green pepper, garlic, and mushrooms in a herby tomato sauce. The Italian hunter's-style classic that gets better the longer it simmers.

Fall off the bone lamb with sweet capsicum (bell pepper) and tomatoes. Stand a shank on top of a 'mountain' of garlic mash potato in a bowl; ladle bell peppers and soupy stock all around. Mop up with crusty bread