Long known for cooking that is highly refined, richly varied and always fresh and seasonal, Italians have perfected the art of preparing vegetables, creating simple, hearty dishes full of imagination and flavor. The Italian ideal is to cook food so that it tastes like what it is, to eat what’s in season, choose ingredients carefully, and cook them to bring out their best rather than to disguise their flavor.

In Recipes from an Italian Garden, authors Paola Scaravelli and Jon Cohen give this time-honored treatment to a variety of vegetables, including asparagus, eggplant, fennel, zucchini, chickpeas, onions, tomatoes (of course!) and many more. Brimming with more than 300 simple and delicious Italian recipes for antipasti, hearty soups, salads, pasta, pizza, risotto, classic Italian sauces, breads and desserts, this sweetly illustrated vegetable cookbook offers endless possibilities for tasty, healthy meals in the Italian tradition.

Tuscan-born PAOLA SCARAVELLI grew up on a farm outside Florence, where she first learned to appreciate the freshest vegetables, simply prepared.

Husband and co-author JON COHEN is a professor of economics at the University of Toronto.