European

Ragù, as the Bolognese call their celebrated meat sauce, is characterized by mellow, gentle, comfortable flavor.

This recipe looks more daunting than it actually is. You basically make a bread dough with a bit of butter and egg in it, knead it for a while, the leave it alone to do its thing.

A classic, simple mince pie, devoid of bells, whistles and creative meddling. The pastry is a rich but workable short crust. It won't collapse in the carol singer's mittens. The pies themselves will stand or fall by the quality of mincemeat. Go for broke, Christmas is not the time for parsimony. The little darlings are at their most delicious when eaten warm. Baked a day or more before, they reheat nicely.

How do you get anyone (really, anyone) to eat kale and mushrooms? Layer them with toasted bread cubes and cover with Gruyère and Parmesan.

Arugula adds a fresh, peppery bite to this simple sausage and roasted vegetable pasta.

You don’t need to smash the butter to smithereens—it’s those large pieces that make for a flaky pastry.

This one-pan, stovetop-only pasta turns mushroom- and spinach-stuffed shells into an easy weeknight dinner.

You need the fresh, soft, fiery red version of chorizo for this dish, the kind that bleeds out bright red-orange grease into the pot when you heat it.

You don't need to cut the finished star sheets into pappardelle—farfalle, lasagne sheets, or any other noodles on the larger side would also showcase this pattern well.

This recipe makes deeply flavorful broth out of something that most people throw away: the hard rinds of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

In this extra cheesy, extra comforting meal, spaghetti pie meets an Italian classic: cacio e pepe.

Still stirring your polenta? With this nearly hands-off method, the oven does the hard work while your stovetop does the bare minimum.

This easy dinner packs all of the classic flavors of classic Pasta alla Norma—eggplant, tomatoes, and basil—into a pan with spaghetti, garlic, and Parm.

The recipe calls for parsley and basil, but consider this dish a canvas for whatever tender herbs you have kicking around: cilantro, dill, tarragon, sage, chives, fennel fronds. Mix and match at will.