That can be set in apt's config files, in /etc/apt. It really helps maintaining
a system .. you can look at the recommends listed and install the ones you want.
I've kept my old sidux/aptosid setup ... this from /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/
// apt defaults for aptosid
// apt 0.7 introduces automatic behaviour unsuitable for sid, revert this
// auto-remove breaks on meta packages
APT::Get::AutomaticRemove "0";
APT::Get::HideAutoRemove "1";
// Recommends are as of now still abused in many packages
APT::Install-Recommends "0";
APT::Install-Suggests "0";
Debug::pkgAutoRemove "0";
// PDiffs reduce the required download for apt-get update, but increase the
// CPU requirements and quite often fail.
// Acquire::PDiffs "0";
documentation seems lacking, but example files are a great fallback as long as
programs use plain-text ones.