Greek Pasta

Dave Matthews loves making this casserole, layered with roasted zucchini, mushrooms, tomato sauce, feta and provolone. It's his version of the Croatian moussaka in Moosewood Cookbook.

For Michael Psilakis, macaronia ("pasta") has always meant chicken stewed with spaghetti, tomatoes, cinnamon, raisins and pine nuts. Those are the dominant ingredients here, except he's substituted chicken with cauliflower.

The moist and fragrant casserole pastitsio combines béchamel (a sauce of butter, flour and milk), pasta, ground lamb, tomato sauce, cheese, cinnamon and nutmeg. Instead of béchamel, Grace Parisi stirs a ricotta mixture into the pasta before baking it.

More than one tradition is at work here. Dill and cucumber, mated in several cuisines, unite in a Greek-inspired salad, while salmon and dill are a typical Scandinavian pairing.

Avgolemono sauce, a Greek contribution to the world's cuisine, is a delicate blend of chicken broth, dill, and lemon, thickened lightly with egg. In the spring, asparagus would substitute beautifully for the carrots.