Let’s Eat This

This hearty, flexible stew comes together with pantry ingredients and delivers layers of flavors. Cherry tomatoes, roasted in a generous glug of olive oil to amplify their sweetness, lend a welcome brightness to this otherwise rich dish. Onion, garlic and red-pepper flakes form the backbone of this dish, to which white beans and broth are added, then simmered until thick. While this stew is lovely on its own, you could also add wilt-able greens such as kale, escarole or Swiss chard at the end, and toasted bread crumbs on top. The dish is vegan as written, but should you choose to top your bowl with a showering of grated pecorino or Parmesan, it would most likely work well in your favor.

Yield:4 to 6 servings • ½cup roughly chopped Italian parsley leaves and tender stems • 2teaspoons lemon zest (from 1 large lemon) • 2(10-ounce) containers cherry or grape tomatoes • ¼cup olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons and more for drizzling (optional) • 1tablespoon fresh thyme leaves • Kosher salt and black pepper • 1medium yellow onion, thinly sliced • 3large garlic cloves, thinly sliced • ½teaspoon red-pepper flakes • 2(15-ounce) cans white beans (such as butter or cannellini), rinsed • 1½cups vegetable or chicken broth, or water • Flaky salt, for serving (optional) • Toasted bread, for serving

PREPARATION • Step 1 Heat the oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl, gently toss together the parsley and lemon zest with your hands until well combined; set aside. • Step 2 In a large baking dish or on a sheet pan, toss the tomatoes with ¼ cup oil and thyme; season well with salt and pepper. Roast tomatoes until they have collapsed and begin to turn golden around the edges, 20 to 25 minutes. • Step 3 When the tomatoes are almost done roasting, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large (12-inch), deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium. Add the onion, garlic and red-pepper flakes and cook until the onion is softened and the garlic is fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in the rinsed beans and broth and bring to a simmer. With the back of a spoon or spatula, gently smash about ½ cup of the beans so they slightly thicken the broth. If you want a thicker stew, crush some more of the beans. Season with salt and pepper. • Step 4 When the tomatoes are finished roasting, add them directly to the stew along with any juices that have been released. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes more so the flavors become friendly; season to taste with salt. • Step 5 Ladle into shallow bowls. Top each serving with some of the lemon-parsley mixture and drizzle with more olive oil, and season with flaky salt, if you like. Serve with toasted bread.

Yield:8 servings • Unsalted butter, for greasing the pan • Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) and black pepper • 1pound spaghetti • 2tablespoons olive oil • 1large yellow onion, chopped • 2tablespoons minced garlic (about 5 cloves) • 2teaspoons chopped fresh thyme or rosemary, or 1 teaspoon dried • 1½teaspoons dried oregano, plus more for serving • ¼teaspoon red-pepper flakes, plus more to taste • 1pound ground beef (at least 85-percent lean) • 1(32- to 35-ounce) jar marinara sauce • ½cup fresh basil or parsley leaves, chopped, plus more for serving • 1cup/8 ounces ricotta cheese • ¾cup grated Parmesan • 1large egg • 2cups/8 ounces shredded low-moisture mozzarella

This comforting baked pasta feeds a crowd and is an easy way to upgrade everyday spaghetti with meat sauce. Once baked, the spaghetti casserole slices into neat squares, and the layer of ricotta and Parmesan filling give it the rich flavor of a lasagna. Feel free to play around with the recipe, swapping in Italian sausage or ground turkey for the ground beef and sautéing leftover vegetables and adding them to the sauce. If you’re planning in advance, you can assemble the casserole (through the end of Step 5) and store in the refrigerator, covered, until ready to bake.

PREPARATION • Step 1 Heat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with butter. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook according to the package directions until 1 minute shy of al dente. • Step 2 While the water comes to a boil, heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme, oregano, red-pepper flakes, 1½ teaspoons salt and a few grinds of black pepper, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. • Step 3 Add the beef and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until browned, about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the marinara sauce and basil. Drain the spaghetti, add it to the sauce and toss well. • Step 4 In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, ½ cup of the Parmesan, the egg and ¼ teaspoon salt. Mix with a fork until smooth. • Step 5 Transfer half the pasta and sauce to the prepared baking dish and smooth it into an even layer. Dollop the ricotta mixture onto the pasta in large spoonfuls, then sprinkle 1 cup of the mozzarella on top. Add the rest of the pasta and sauce to the pan, again smoothing it into an even layer. • Step 6 Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup mozzarella and the remaining ¼ cup Parmesan on top, then bake, uncovered, until the mozzarella has melted, 5 to 10 minutes more. • Step 7 Cool for 5 minutes, then serve with more chopped basil, a pinch of dried oregano and more red-pepper flakes, if desired. Slice the baked spaghetti into large squares and serve hot or warm.

Yield:4 servings • 3tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil • 5garlic cloves, peeled and sliced • ¼cup tomato paste • 1½teaspoons smoked paprika • ¼teaspoon red-pepper flakes • 1teaspoon ground cumin • 2(14-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed • ½cup boiling water • Kosher salt and black pepper • 1½cups grated Cheddar or Manchego cheese (from about a 6-ounce block)

Whether or not you’ve fallen for this cheesy white-bean tomato bake, we’d like you to meet its bolder counterpart, smoky and spiced, with lots of melty cheese. Black beans shine in a deep-red mixture of fried garlic, caramelized tomato paste, smoked paprika and cumin. The whole skillet gets coated in a generous sprinkling of sharp Cheddar or Manchego cheese, then baked until melted. The final result is what you hope for from a really good chili or stew, but in a lot less time. For a spicier rendition, add a pinch of cayenne with the paprika, or douse the final skillet with hot sauce. Serve with tortillas, tortilla chips, rice, a baked potato or fried eggs.

PREPARATION • Step 1 Heat the oven to 475 degrees. In a 10-inch ovenproof skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high. Fry the garlic until lightly golden, about 1 minute. Stir in the tomato paste, paprika, red-pepper flakes and cumin (be careful of splattering), and fry for 30 seconds, reducing the heat as needed to prevent the garlic from burning. • Step 2 Add the beans, water and generous pinches of salt and pepper, and stir to combine. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top then bake until the cheese has melted, 5 to 10 minutes. If the top is not as browned as you’d like, run the skillet under the broiler for 1 or 2 minutes. Serve immediately.

Roasted White Bean and Tomato Pasta

With a flavor profile inspired by pasta e fagioli, this weeknight pasta recipe coaxes rich flavor out of simple ingredients while enlisting the oven to create a luscious sauce from roasted tomatoes and white beans. Essentially, the dish requires just three steps: Boil pasta, roast your sauce ingredients, then stir together until the pasta is glossy. When roasted in the oven, the beans become crispy, like croutons, and break down in a way that helps thicken the sauce. Though a flurry of freshly grated cheese would be welcome on top, this otherwise-vegan dish doesn’t need it: The roasted tomato sauce is rich and luscious, fortified by starchy pasta water, roasted beans and a good glug of extra-virgin olive oil.

Yield:4 to 6 servings • Salt and black pepper • ¾cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil • 1large shallot, finely minced • 2tablespoons tomato paste • 5garlic cloves, thinly sliced • ½teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary (or ¼ teaspoon dried) • ½teaspoon red-pepper flakes • ½teaspoon granulated sugar • 16ounces cherry tomatoes, halved • 1(15-ounce) can small white beans (preferably navy or cannellini beans), rinsed (or 1⅓ cups cooked white beans) • 1pound orecchiette (or other shaped pasta that will cup or grasp the sauce) • Freshly grated Parmesan or pecorino (optional), for serving

PREPARATION • Step 1 Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high. • Step 2 In a small bowl, stir together ¼ cup olive oil with the shallot, tomato paste, garlic, rosemary, red-pepper flakes and sugar. On a large baking sheet, toss the tomatoes with the dressing; season generously with salt and pepper, then spread in an even layer. • Step 3 On a second baking sheet, toss the beans with 2 tablespoons olive oil; season generously with salt and pepper. • Step 4 Roast the tomatoes and beans, stirring halfway through, until tomatoes slump and beans crisp, about 25 minutes. • Step 5 While the tomatoes and beans roast, cook the pasta until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water then drain pasta. • Step 6 Transfer the beans and tomatoes to the pot. Add ¼ cup pasta cooking water to the sheet pan from the tomatoes and use a flexible spatula to scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the sheet pan; transfer to the pot, then repeat with another ¼ cup pasta cooking water. (One thing they’ll teach you in French culinary school: Never, ever discard the sucs, those browned bits at the bottom of the pan that carry deep flavor.) • Step 7 Add the pasta and the remaining ½ cup olive oil to the pot; stir vigorously until saucy. Season generously with salt and pepper, then add extra pasta water as needed to moisten until glossy. Divide among wide, shallow bowls and top with grated cheese, if desired.

For those of you who love lasagna's edges, where sticky tomato meets crisp cheese, this whole dish is for you — even the middle. A tube of tomato paste here mimics the deep flavors of sun-dried tomato. Frying a few generous squeezes caramelizes the tomato's sugars and saturates the olive oil, making a mixture that's ready to glom onto anything you stir through it. Here, it’s white beans, though you could add in kale, noodles, even roasted vegetables. Then, all that’s left to do is dot it with cheese and bake until it’s as molten or singed as you like. Serve with bread and a bitter-green salad.

PREPARATION • Step 1 Heat oven to 475 degrees. In a 10-inch ovenproof skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high. Fry the garlic until it’s lightly golden, about 1 minute. Stir in the tomato paste (be careful of splattering) and fry for 30 seconds, reducing the heat as needed to prevent the garlic from burning. • Step 2 Add the beans, water and generous pinches of salt and pepper and stir to combine. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top, then bake until the cheese has melted and browned in spots, 5 to 10 minutes. If the top is not as toasted as you’d like, run the skillet under the broiler for a minute or 2. Serve at once.

Yield:4 servings • ¼cup extra-virgin olive oil • 3fat garlic cloves, thinly sliced • 3tablespoons tomato paste • 2(15-ounce) cans white beans (such as cannellini or Great Northern) or chickpeas, drained and rinsed • ½cup boiling water • Salt and black pepper • ⅓pound mozzarella, coarsely grated (about 1⅓ cups)