Mediterranean

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. This recipe originally accompanied Tapenade Goat-Cheese Crackers.

This recipe—inspired by a similar dish served at the fabulously fast-paced lunch counter Cal Pep, in Barcelona, Spain—is terrific with pork chops or roast chicken. Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 25 min

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

In the following recipe we've added a North African twist to caponata, a versatile Italian eggplant concoction that is usually served as a salad or relish.

Eggplant, zucchini, bell pepper and arugula share the stage with slices of tuna steak in the Mediterranean-inspired sandwich. Spoon the lentil salad alongside and offer chilled beer. Fresh pears and crisp biscotti round things out nicely.

These potatoes, oven-crisped on the outside and tender inside, go especially well with red meat.

This combination of white beans, tomatoes, and cipolline is exceptionally delicious. Letting your tomatoes cook to the point where they become caramelized and start to fall apart adds sweetness and a layer of deep flavor to the dish. Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 9 1/4 hr (includes soaking)

Known as coca, this is the traditional street food of Palma. The name derives from the Latin verb coquere, which means "to cook". Shaped in a long oval or rectangle, baked in a wood-fired oven and sold in room-temperature squares, coca is usually eaten as a snack, but it can also be a great starter for a casual meal. Unlike its Italian counterpart, it is covered only with vegetables, never with cheese. There are sweet cocas and special holiday versions, too. When made with frozen bread dough, coca is a snap to prepare.

You could also serve it on its own with crackers or bread, or offer it as a relish for grilled chicken or fish. It can be made with black olives as well as with green.

This Mediterranean-style treatment of lamb shanks is delicious over orzo.

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr

Purchased tabbouleh spooned onto whole romaine lettuce leaves is ideal with these Mediterranean-inspired sandwiches. Follow with baklava and fresh grapes.

For dinner in a matter of minutes, try this Mediterranean-flavored main course.

Eggs are a staple of the Turkish diet. An ingredient in many dishes, they are also prepared on their own as a main course for lunch or as an appetizer for dinner. Here they are poached, set on a bed of yogurt (another staple) and drizzled with a red pepper-sage butter. The red pepper that fires up Turkish cooking - a cross between paprika and dried crushed red pepper - is much more popular than black pepper, especially outside the large cities.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Preserving a Meyer lemon captures its glorious perfume. We’ve adapted cookbook author Paula Wolfert’s quick method, our favorite, and made it even faster by blanching the lemons first. The rind of a preserved lemon is a common ingredient in Moroccan dishes; we also love it in all kinds of soups, stews, and salads and as a low-fat alternative to olives. Save the pulp for Bloody Marys or anything else enlivened by a little lemon juice and salt.

A colorful salad that is refreshing alongside the lamb chops. Green or red bell peppers can be added to the salad, if you like.