450 italiano recipes

Vegan penne pasta with fresh Roma tomatoes, snow peas, mushrooms, and a hit of tamari and cayenne. A veggie-loaded weeknight dinner ready in 35 minutes.

Farm market soup stew packed with carrots, cabbage, leeks, potatoes, zucchini, Swiss chard, split peas, and tomatoes in vegetable broth. A hearty vegetarian garden harvest pot.

Rolled stuffed chicken wraps a whole boned bird around hot Italian sausage and garlicky spinach, roasts it skin-wrapped, and slices spirals over a bell-pepper jalapeño sauce.

Thick, warming butternut squash chili with kidney beans, plum tomatoes, red wine, and a hint of orange zest. Seasoned with cumin, chili powder, and allspice. A cozy vegetarian chili for fall and winter.

Garden-fresh vegetable soup with Roma tomatoes, new potatoes, corn cut from the cob, and a bouquet garni of oregano, parsley, and lemon zest. Ready in 30 minutes.

Classic French tomato basil soup made from scratch with fresh Roma tomatoes and topped with sautéed fennel, zucchini, and mushrooms. A vegetarian potage that's rustic, fragrant, and deeply satisfying.

Filled pizza with a double crust stuffed with mozzarella, mushrooms, green peppers, and parmesan, sealed tight and baked hot. A Chicago-style stuffed pizza cousin with pure Italian spirit.

Vegetable pasta sauce loaded with zucchini, mushrooms, carrot and a secret of blended chickpeas that add body and protein to a red-wine tomato base. A hearty, vegan sauce that eats like a meaty ragu.

Pizzeria-style deep-dish pizza: a cornmeal-crisp homemade crust pressed up the sides of a deep pan, layered Chicago-style with mozzarella under crushed plum tomatoes, herbs, sausage, and Parmesan.

Pressure cooker minestrone loaded with navy beans, fresh vegetables, orzo pasta, and a full cup of fresh basil. Cooks in 20 minutes under pressure with zucchini, cabbage, and green beans stirred in at the end for crisp-tender texture.

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.

A hearty two-meat chili: ground round and hot Italian sausage simmered with pink beans, black beans, peppers, and a cornmeal thickener. Feeds 15, perfect for game day or a freezer stash.

Pasta Provencal tosses delicate angel hair with a light, brothy tomato sauce full of summer squash, mushrooms, scallions, and fresh basil. A quick, vegetable-forward weeknight dinner finished with Parmesan.

Grilled curry chicken rice salad layers yogurt-marinated chicken strips over curried rice with bell pepper, snow peas, raisins, and peanuts. Cool Indian-inspired main for hot weather.

The sauce was too much like spagetti sauce. I cooked the pork chops in the sauce for hours and it was tender, but the pork flavor was diminished; I would prefer to taste the pork more.

Texas-style chili loaded with cubed brisket and ground chuck, simmered low and slow in beer, beef stock, and toasted cumin. No beans, no tomato sauce, just bold, meaty heat that's worth every minute of the 4-hour cook.