Wine

The delicious sauce is also very nice with chicken and shellfish.

Stifado, a hearty Greek stew, can be made with almost any kind of meat, though beef is most common. Here we use lamb. It always involves either red wine or red-wine vinegar or both, herbs, and copious quantities of small whole onions.

The bouquet garni for this stew includes orange peel (use a vegetable peeler to make wide strips) and some of the wispy fronds from the top of the fennel bulb that goes into the soup.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 25 min

Sofrito is a sautéed vegetable mixture used as a seasoning in Spain, Italy and Latin America. This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This duck recipe is unusually light and delicate.

Lemon juice is an integral part of this classic dish. Choose the smallest clams possible, and make sure not to overcook them.