Italy

Luckily for those who don't eat meat, lasagna is still excellent when made solely with vegetable ingredients. This recipe will prove the point.

Sure marinara can be plain old tomato sauce. But there are ways to make it a delightfully stylish topping. Here's a very simple Italian marinara recipe to get you started down that road. Then you can go to the fancy styles and flavor the marinara with all sorts of condiments.

Neapolitan pizza is the most basic of all versions. Pizza does not come simpler than this. Make first traditional pizza dough or get a prepared one. Now, onto the pizza!

Tiramisu, the simple way. Naturally, it's best to use the freshest possible ladyfingers - a small cake known in Italy as savoiardi. It's always possible to make them, but the preparation is for the advanced only.

Though far from the most exotic pasta recipe, spaghetti alla carbonara - more or less literally translated as 'spaghetti as that of the charcoal maker' - is a great mid-way step between that and just plain marinara. Essentially spaghetti with eggs and bacon, it is simple to make and delightful to eat.

The risotto from Milan is the world standard of this delicious Northern Italian dish.

Meatballs can be served as a second course in an Italian meal, with a sauce and vegetables on the side, or, more frequently, are served with pasta as the first course.