Late summer reaps a kaleidoscope of peppers. It’s impossible not to scoop up armfuls of chile peppers with myriad shapes and a rainbow of colors. Some are sweet, some are fiery, and all are rich sources of vitamins A and C, folic acid, potassium and fiber, with the added benefit of beta-carotene in the red and orange varieties. Many recipes specify a certain type of pepper, often the ubiquitous bell pepper, but when it’s the height of pepper season, I opt for combining a variety in one dish, bringing a balance of heat, sweetness, flavor and color.

Homemade pizza is a great way to show off a fresh and feisty chile pepper combination. On this white (no tomato sauce) pizza, I’ve combined four distinctive peppers that are in season. Highly decorative Jimmy Nardello chile peppers are long, slender and gnarly with a mild fruity flavor. Hatch chile peppers are a seasonal specialty, prolific from August through September. They are earthy and buttery in flavor and slightly smoky when roasted. If Hatch chiles are unavailable, mild Anaheim peppers are a good substitute.

Poblano chile peppers are the fresh version of dried ancho peppers. When fresh, they are relatively mild and earthy with a bite, and are great for roasting. Calabrian chiles are small, bright red peppers, round or conical in shape, with a moderately high heat level. They are available fresh and are also sold jarred in the Italian or condiment section of your grocery store. They make an excellent garnish with a kick of heat.

Feel free to mix and match your own combination of peppers, depending on taste and availability, but try to include a colorful range of sweet to hot for the most flavorful result.

When possible, I make my pizza on the grill. Not only does it keep the heat outdoors in the warm weather, but it yields a wonderful charred and smoky flavor to the crust. Bear in mind a few tips when preparing your pizza:

1. Store-bought dough is OK! I confess that while I make my dough from scratch from time to time, I often purchase fresh pizza dough at the store to use immediately or freeze for later use. Prepared doughs are usually sold in 1-pound packages and yield one large rectangular pizza or two small round pizzas.

2. Don’t overload your pizza. If the pizza has too many toppings, it will be heavy and the crust can be soggy. The amounts below are for one large rectangular pizza, using 1 pound of fresh dough, thinly rolled or stretched. Have all of your ingredients prepped and ready, so that once you roll out the pizza, all you need to do is assemble. Use your judgment when layering the ingredients, and don’t feel compelled to use every last piece. When stretching the dough, it’s fine if it’s irregular in shape. The key is to make it uniform in thickness to ensure even cooking.

3. Parchment paper is your friend. I find it easiest to assemble the pizza on parchment paper, which is easy to slide on and off of the pizza stone. You can trim any excess paper around the edge of the pizza to prevent charring on the grill. If you don’t have a pizza paddle, you can use a rimless cookie sheet to slide under the paper.

4. A pizza stone is ideal. Whether you make a pizza in the oven or on the grill, a pizza stone is a terrific way to transmit the heat evenly to the bottom of the pizza. If you don’t have a pizza stone, then a perforated pizza pan or a baking sheet will also work, but the cooking times may vary.

Pizza With Roasted Cauliflower, Chile Peppers and Green Olives

Active time: 20 minutes

Total time: 35 minutes

Yield: Makes one rectangular thin-crust pizza, approximately 10 by 15 inches

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

2 garlic cloves, minced

Salt

1/2 head small cauliflower, florets broken into bite-size pieces, about 1 1/2 cups

3 assorted chile peppers, such as Jimmy Nardello, Hatch and Poblano, thinly sliced

Freshly ground black pepper

1 pound fresh pizza dough

1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes, or more to taste

1/4 cup plus 1/2 cup loosely packed finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese

8 ounces fresh buffalo mozzarella (1 ovalini or 8 ciliegine balls), thinly sliced or shredded

2 Calabrian chiles, thinly sliced (or 2 tablespoons chopped jarred Calabrian chiles)

1/2 cup pitted green olives, such as Castelvetrano or Picholine, coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees or prepare the grill for direct cooking over high heat. Preheat a pizza stone on the lowest oven rack or on the grill grates for at least 10 minutes.

Whisk 3 tablespoons olive oil, the garlic and a pinch of salt in a small bowl.

Toss the cauliflower and sliced peppers with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium bowl. Lightly season with salt and black pepper and toss again.

Roll out or stretch the pizza dough to your desired shape and thickness on parchment paper. I prefer to stretch my dough thin in a large rectangular shape.

Lightly brush the dough with the garlic oil, leaving a 3/4-inch border clear around the edges. Sprinkle the red chili flakes and 1/4 cup pecorino cheese over the dough. Spread the cauliflower and peppers over the crust, keeping the border clear.

Arrange the mozzarella over the pizza, gently nestling around and over the vegetables. Scatter the Calabrian chilies and green olives over the top and sprinkle the remaining pecorino cheese over the pizza.

Slide the pizza onto the preheated pizza stone. Bake until the cauliflower is tinged, the crust is golden brown and crisp, and the cheese is melted, 13 to 15 minutes, depending on the size and thickness of the crust.

Transfer the pizza to a cutting board and immediately brush the crust with some of the garlic oil. Drizzle any remaining oil over the pizza. Sprinkle the lemon zest and black pepper over the pizza. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting into serving pieces.

CAPTIONS AND CREDITS

You've probably heard of sheet pan dinners. The term may be trendy, but the concept is not. It simply means arranging all of your dinner components on a rimmed baking sheet, coating them with oil and seasoning, then roasting in the oven. And, voila, you have a complete dinner on a tray.

While the emphasis is certainly on ease of preparation, with the right ingredients this cooking method ensures maximum flavor. Oven roasting coaxes out the flavors of vegetables and meats and is a surefire (no pun intended) way to cook to crispy, golden perfection. The key to building great flavor is the ingredients you use to coat and bind the dish. They can be as basic as olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper, or more elaborate with aromatic marinades, spices, herbs and citrus.

This recipe combines two ingredients that are well suited for roasting: bone-in chicken thighs and romanesco, a chartreuse green brassica that looks like a cone-headed cauliflower. Importantly, they both require a similar amount of cooking time, so they can happily team up on a baking sheet without one ingredient overcooking while the other keeps on roasting. (You can also use white cauliflower in this recipe.) A potent, herbaceous chermoula sauce, robust with garlic, lemon and spices, coats the whole lot and drives in flavor.

The finishing touch to this recipe -- not required, but recommended -- is a smoky red pepper sauce for swiping and drizzling. It’s inspired by Spanish romesco sauce (not to be confused with the romanesco vegetable!) and traditionally consists of roasted tomatoes and ground almonds or hazelnuts. This smoother rendition uses roasted red peppers to create a sweet and smoky condiment.

Sheet Pan Chermoula Chicken With Romanesco Cauliflower

Active time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, plus marinating time

Serves 4

Chermoula Sauce:

1 1/2 cups Italian parsley leaves and tender sprigs

1 1/2 cups cilantro leaves and tender sprigs

1 cup fresh mint leaves

Juice and finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon

4 garlic cloves

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes

1/2 cup olive oil

8 bone-in chicken thighs with skin

Red Pepper Sauce:

2 jarred roasted red peppers, drained and rinsed, coarsely chopped

1 red jalapeno pepper, seeds and membranes removed (optional), coarsely chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 medium head romanesco (or white cauliflower)

Cilantro sprigs for garnish

Lemon wedges for serving

Combine all of the chermoula ingredients, except the oil, in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to finely chop. Add the oil and pulse to blend. The chermoula should have a runny salsa consistency. If it’s too thick, add more oil to loosen.

Place the chicken in a large bowl. Pour in the chermoula and stir to thoroughly coat, rubbing the marinade between the skin and meat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before roasting.

Combine all of the red pepper sauce ingredients in the cleaned bowl of a food processor and process to blend. Taste for seasoning. (The sauce may be prepared in advance and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.)

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Cut the romanesco into thick steaks from crown to stem in 3/4-inch slices. Cut out the cores and cut the cores into bite-size chunks. (The cores are sweet and edible, so don’t discard them.)

Remove the chicken from the marinade and arrange, skin-side up, on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment. Brush the cauliflower steaks and pieces on all sides with the residual marinade from the bowl and arrange around the chicken. Season everything with salt and black pepper.

Transfer the tray to the oven and roast until the romanesco is tender and the chicken is golden brown and cooked through (it should register 165 degrees when a meat thermometer is inserted into the thickest part closest to the bone), about 30 minutes.

Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves and serve with lemon wedges.

CAPTIONS AND CREDITS

When the world is spinning and things feel out of control, the simplest of rituals are often the most comforting. This includes the manner in which we eat. Uncomplicated and resourceful meals are soothing and rewarding. It’s not necessary to deliberately skimp, but to use simple, minimal ingredients with little waste; ingredients that are easily purchased or unearthed in our kitchens.

This ethos is present in the following recipe, which takes inspiration from the most basic yet tastiest Italian pasta dishes. Aglio e Olio is a humble Napoli dish consisting of pasta, olive oil, cheese and dried red chili flakes, glistening with reserved pasta water.

If you haven’t added pasta water to your kitchen toolbox, then it’s time you did. The cooking water is loaded with starch and salt, and is a wonderful way to loosen a sauce or moisten noodles. This nifty, no-cost byproduct of the cooking process is best added in the last few minutes of preparing the dish.

Another ingredient in this dish with humble Italian roots is breadcrumbs. Pasta con la mollica is a southern Italian dish in which breadcrumbs are considered part of the cucina povera -- the “poor man’s cooking.” It may sound redundant to add bread to pasta, but well-toasted breadcrumbs are a fabulous flavor carrier and a resourceful way to use not-so-fresh bread. And like most dishes born of modest origins, it translates to a timeless and comforting dinner classic.

To this recipe, I add fresh arugula, simply wilted by the heat of the cooked pasta, and bacon, arguably another resourceful and economical food. After all, who can say no to bacon?

Spaghetti With Bacon and Arugula

Active Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Yield: Serves 4

8 ounces thick-cut bacon, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup breadcrumbs or panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

1/4 cup plus 1 cup finely grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 pound spaghetti

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried red chili flakes, or more to taste

3 cups fresh arugula

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and fry until the fat renders and the bacon is crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a plate lined with a paper towel.

Pour off all but 1 tablespoon bacon fat from the skillet. Add the breadcrumbs and toast over medium heat until golden, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a bowl. Cool to room temperature and then stir in the 1/4 cup of the cheese, salt and black pepper and set aside.

Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a rolling boil. Cook the pasta 1 minute less than the package instructions for al dente. Scoop out and reserve 1 cup cooking water and drain the pasta.

Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and chili flakes and saute until aromatic, about 1 minute. Add the drained pasta, 1/2 cup of the reserved water and the remaining 1 cup cheese, stirring and tossing constantly to melt the cheese and evenly coat the pasta. (If the pasta is too sticky, add additional water to moisten.)

Remove the skillet from the heat and add the bacon, arugula and half of the breadcrumb mixture. Stir to combine and slightly wilt the arugula. Serve immediately with the remaining breadcrumbs for sprinkling.

CAPTIONS AND CREDITS