Recipe Sifter

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.

Cuban-style black bean soup with ham hocks, green pepper sofrito, cumin, and red wine vinegar. Brothy and chunky rather than pureed, garnished with sieved hard-cooked egg in classic Havana fashion.

Spinach calzones with blue cheese, sliced mushrooms, Vidalia onion, and garlic on refrigerated pizza dough. A 22-minute vegetarian dinner that folds into four golden personal pockets.

Four-B chili loads black beans, stout beer, broccoli, and peanut butter into a three-chili vegetarian chili with deep, roasty, unexpected flavor. Served over Spanish rice with warm corn tortillas.

Hearty Portuguese rubble soup (sopa de entulho) loaded with red kidney beans, pumpkin, turnips, carrots, potatoes, and hand-torn cabbage. A warming, rustic one-pot meal.

Hot spaghetti tossed with sauteed shiitake mushrooms, fresh ginger, cooked chicken, and wilted spinach in a soy sauce, sesame oil, and chicken broth sauce. A 30-minute Asian-fusion pasta dinner.

Chiles en Nogada, Mexico's patriotic dish: roasted poblanos stuffed with a sweet-savory pork picadillo, draped in a cool, creamy walnut sauce and scattered with ruby pomegranate seeds. The green, white, and red of the flag on one plate.

Cabbage and grated apple salad tossed in a tangy sour cream dressing with vinegar and sugar. A crisp, Eastern European-style coleslaw served cold.

Indian-style fried green beans with coconut, black mustard seeds, fresh ginger, coriander, and a squeeze of lemon. A flavorful vegetarian side dish ready in 35 minutes.

Sweet and sour chicken saute with orange juice, white wine, raspberry vinegar, and rosemary, finished with fresh orange segments and avocado. Bistro-style chicken with bright pan sauce.

Fresh raspberry pie with a woven lattice crust, made with real berries cooked down with cornstarch for a thick, glossy filling. Dusted with powdered sugar and garnished with chocolate leaves.

Creamy sweet potato and peanut bisque with green chiles, ginger, allspice, and tomato juice, pureed silky smooth with natural peanut butter. Vegetarian, high-fiber, and on the table in 30 minutes.

Traditional homemade wine fermenting dried apricots with raisins, citrus slices, ginger, and yeast for 30 days before bottling.

Louisiana red beans and rice simmered with a meaty ham bone, smoked sausage, the holy trinity, and hot sauce. Soaked overnight, slow-cooked, and served over fluffy rice with scallions.

Cajun red beans and rice cooked in the microwave with ham, onions, garlic, and cayenne pepper. A Louisiana Monday night staple that simmers hands-free in a microwave-safe casserole.