Starter

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Roasting the yams gives this soup its richness; a swirl of cilantro-flavored yogurt adds even more taste and color.

There's plenty of zing in this refreshing summer salad, which also features red onion and peppery watercress.

Thick slices of eggplant are topped with a salad of roasted red bell peppers, feta cheese, olives and garbanzo beans; then the salad is drizzled with a tangy balsamic dressing. It's nice with a Pinot Blanc or a Chardonnay. Pears poached in red wine and served with chocolate sauce and a glass of Sauternes make a lovely dessert.

Baba Ghanouj Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr

Tomato and Bread Soup

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Though this recipe makes more than enough hors d'oeuvres, they are small and disappear in a New York minute!

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. The fennel is the special flavor in this soup.

This dish is a characteristic Moroccan Jewish preparation. North Africans, Jews and non-Jews alike, are particularly skilled at cooking fish because the long coastline yields so much. Dried chickpeas, a staple starch in the Mediterranean, traveled with the Jews when they emigrated.

In 1991, the National Cancer Institute identified phytochemicals in fruits and vegetables; these compounds may be cancer fighters.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Porcini and shiitake mushrooms are the delicious difference in this fondue. Other varieties would work well, too.

Terms like large and jumbo can vary among fishmongers. In this recipe we used what are known universally as "U 16/20s" (16 to 20 of them make a pound). We asked our fishmonger to shell and devein the shrimp for us. It cost a little more but saved lots of time. The dried Aleppo chile flakes we call for in this recipe are from the Aleppo province of northern Syria. Their earthy, robust flavor—with more richness than heat—is famous throughout the Middle East.