Recipes By Alexa Weibel
122 recipes found
Chicken Yassa
Popular across West Africa, chicken yassa coaxes deep flavor from a handful of simple ingredients: smoky grilled chicken, sweet caramelized onions, tangy lime, bright ginger and spicy Scotch bonnet chile. This version comes from “The Fonio Cookbook” by chef Pierre Thiam (Lake Isle Press, 2019). Mr. Thiam, who was born and raised in Dakar, is the chef and owner of Teranga, a West African restaurant in Harlem. His recipe calls for bone-in chicken legs, but, in southern Senegal, where the dish originated, you might be served other chicken parts, fish yassa or even lamb yassa. The cooking method is flexible: The chicken develops the best smoky char when grilled, but will still be delicious seared in a grill pan or cast-iron skillet.
Evan Funke’s Handmade Tagliatelle Pasta
Evan Funke, a pasta maker and the author of the cookbook “American Sfoglino,” developed an exacting recipe for handmade tagliatelle that practically guarantees success for ambitious home cooks. It takes time to achieve the proper balance between elasticity and extensibility in the dough. If it is too elastic, it won’t stretch to the desired thinness, but if it is too stretchy, it is too hydrated and won’t maintain its shape. Keep at it: The more often you make it, the better it will be. If you find the dough springing back after you roll it out, it may need more time to rest, so let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before resuming, or refrigerate it for up to 24 hours. Because the dough is the result of just two ingredients — flour and eggs — use the freshest eggs you can find.
Gingery Fried Rice With Bok Choy, Mushrooms and Basil
An ideal recipe for reducing waste in the kitchen, fried rice is a great way to use up spare tofu, leftover meats or wobbly vegetables. Master Sam Sifton’s fried rice technique, and you’ll have the tools to repurpose leftovers and surplus vegetables. But if it’s a bright, fresh slew of greens and herbs you’re after, this recipe supplies a high ratio of vegetables to rice. Everything cooks quickly, so your mise en place truly counts here: Get everything chopped and prepped before you pick up the pan, and dinner can be ready in 20.
Vegan Mac and Cheese
Many creamy vegan pasta recipes call for an arsenal of expensive ingredients, but this one relies on more approachable ones, like cashews and almond milk for richness, nutritional yeast for tang and soy sauce for complex saltiness. Sautéed onions do double duty: They serve as a thickener and help offset the sweetness of the cashews. This simple stovetop pasta is wonderful on its own, but feel free to add roasted vegetables, fresh herbs, spices, harissa or hot sauce. For a quick-baked version worthy of Thanksgiving dinner, pile the prepared mac and cheese into a casserole dish, top with panko and more nutritional yeast, and broil for a few minutes until golden brown.
Spicy Watermelon Salad With Pineapple and Lime
Refreshing, sweet and spicy, this salad is the edible equivalent of a crisp beer on a hot summer’s day. It pushes the watermelon-feta-mint combination to new heights with a Mexican-inspired flavor profile of lime, jalapeño and cilantro. It’s also easy to prepare, requiring little more than a knife, a bowl and a whisk. Enjoy it as soon as it’s assembled, as the salty dressing draws the juice out of the fruit fairly quickly and the salad can lose its fresh crunch. A sprinkle of Tajín, a chile-lime Mexican spice blend, is optional, but adds a touch of smoke.
Chicken and Rice Soup With Ginger and Turmeric
Many countries have some form of creamy rice porridge in their culinary canon, such as Chinese congee, Filipino lugaw or arroz caldo and Korean juk, to name just a few. Seasonings vary, but all call for simmering a little bit of rice with a lot of liquid until the grains tenderize and break down to create a deeply comforting soup. Ideal for those harboring colds or seeking comfort, this brothy chicken-and-rice soup begins with poaching an entire chicken, which takes time, but guarantees tender meat. The rendered fat creates a rich, flavorful broth, while coriander and turmeric add earthy notes. Fresh cilantro, red chile and ginger brighten the dish.
Cheesy Cornbread Muffins With Hot Honey Butter
Smoky chipotle takes these muffins into savory territory, but this recipe can be used purely as a blueprint: Want them a bit sweeter? Lose the minced chipotle chiles, and increase the sugar by a couple of tablespoons. Need them to hold up to a heavily spiced pot of chili? Double the chipotles en adobo, add 1/4 cup minced red onion and a dash of ground cumin, onion powder or garlic, perhaps. Whatever you add, don’t overmix: Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined (a few lumps are O.K.) before folding in the cheese for muffins that are rich but not dense.
Cha Yen (Thai Iced Tea)
This homemade Thai iced tea gets its complex flavor from black tea, rooibos tea, star anise and cloves, and its sweetness from condensed milk. Adapted from the cookbook “Bangkok” by Leela Punyaratabandhu, this version is hardly typical: Most Thai iced tea sold on the streets of Bangkok — or in Thai restaurants stateside — contains an immoderate amount of sweetened condensed milk and uses a store-bought mix, which contains food coloring. The tea blend used here is intense on its own, but mellowed by ice and milk. Chill the tea fully before pouring it over ice so its flavors don’t get diluted.
Fried Pickles With Pickled Ranch Dip
Fried pickles come in many shapes and sizes, but this recipe approaches them in a way that maximizes their crunch: First, it calls for pickle chips, which yield a better coating-to-filling ratio than pickle spears. Next, the pickles are patted dry to remove extra moisture, ensuring that the breading adheres to every nook and cranny. Finally, breading the pickles in a flour-buttermilk-bread-crumb sequence creates a robust crust. When frying breaded ingredients, be mindful of residual cooking: Remove your cooked items from the hot oil just before they reach their desired shade of golden brown, as they’ll continue to cook — and darken — after being removed from the heat. Frying the pickles mutes their acidity, but adding chopped pickles to the dill-flecked creamy dip bumps up the brightness.
Seekh Kebab With Mint Chutney
Served at most traditional Indian restaurants, seekh kebabs are made with ground lamb that’s been seasoned with garam masala, cumin seeds, fresh ginger and fresh cilantro, then grilled and served with raw red onion and bright mint chutney to offset the richness and heat. This recipe comes from Chintan Pandya, the executive chef at Adda Indian Canteen, a New York restaurant that specializes in homestyle Indian food. You’ll need to purchase deggi mirch, an Indian chile powder that tastes somewhat like a smoky paprika, but is mild enough to be used in a quantity large enough to color the meat red. The spiced meat mixture benefits from chilling to help retain its shape on the grill, but you could also roll it into meatballs and pan-sear them on the stovetop or roast them in the oven, if the season dictates.
Tomato Salad With Cucumber and Ginger
The classic combination of tomatoes and cucumbers gets new life here from a lively dressing of lime zest and juice, fish sauce and serrano chile inspired by Thai papaya salad. It’s a study in contrasts: Bracing on its own, the salty-spicy vinaigrette is mellowed by fresh summer tomatoes and cucumbers. Large pieces of fresh ginger add a punch of spice without the heat, while cilantro and basil serve as fresh, cooling elements. Enjoy with red curry chicken, coconut rice and a nice crisp beer.
Celery Salad With Apples and Blue Cheese
Celery is perhaps at its best in salad: Its flavor is at its brightest and its crunch is unapologetically assertive. Celery root complements the chopped stalks, apples add sweetness and blue cheese — celery’s classic cohort — provides punch. Flavorful enough to stand on its own, this salad isn’t so striking that it doesn’t play well with others. Celery salad makes a welcome addition to the Thanksgiving table, particularly since the crunchy salad ingredients are strong enough to stay sturdy if refrigerated overnight.
Celery-Leek Soup With Potato and Parsley
This celery-forward soup is in essence a potato-leek soup that substitutes most of the potatoes with brighter celery, and skips the vast quantities of cream in the original, resulting in a lighter flavor and texture. Woodsy herbs like thyme and bay leaves, and fresh, raw parsley give the soup its intensely green, almost grassy taste. It’s worth trying the soup without dairy, then admiring the transformative effect of a splash of crème fraîche or cream, which subdues the louder celery notes.
Braised Celery With Thyme and White Wine
Inspired by the French method of cooking duck or chicken confit, in which the meat stews slowly in its own fat, this recipe simmers celery in a classically French sauce, with white wine, stock, shallots and herbes de Provence. The celery is first blanched in heavily salted water, which jumpstarts the cooking process and seasons the stalks from the inside-out, then it’s roasted in liquid until submissive and silky, with a texture reminiscent of roasted fennel. Once the celery is tender, the liquid is reduced on the stovetop until just thick enough to coat a spoon. The resulting sauce bears an uncanny similarity to the jus underneath the Thanksgiving turkey, in both flavor and mouthfeel, and the dish is equally at home at the Thanksgiving table as paired with a store-bought rotisserie chicken and some mashed potatoes. Like classic confit, you can prepare it in advance and simply reheat before serving.
Kale Salad With Peaches and Cornbread Croutons
This Southern-inspired tossed salad contrasts bitter greens with plump peaches, piquant blue cheese and crispy cornbread crumbs. Seasoned with smoked paprika, onion powder and a hefty dose of pepper, the cornbread crumbs bring serious flavor and texture. While they could be roasted in the oven, sautéeing them in a skillet allows you to better monitor their doneness, and turns the tiniest crumbs brown and extra crunchy while the larger pieces toast until golden but still tender. Sprinkle leftover croutons over salad greens, raw sliced tomatoes or any range of roasted vegetables.
Skillet Spanakopita
Buttery, bright and herbaceous, this recipe is a faster take on the Greek spinach and feta pie and far less effort than forming individual triangular spanakopita pastries. A combination of stovetop cooking and oven baking ensures that the filling stays moist while the crust gets crisp. First, the spinach is cooked down in a mixture of butter, garlic and leeks until it wilts enough to release any moisture. Then, the filling is prepared, and the spanakopita assembled in the skillet. Give the phyllo a head start on the stovetop, then transfer to the oven so the spinach filling cooks through at the same time the phyllo becomes flaky. The timing may be precise for the cooking, but you can eat it whenever you want: This spanakopita is just as good at room temperature as it is warm.
Quick-Pickled Vegetable Salad
The best salads don’t have to be laborious. This one benefits from pickled red onions, which take only minutes to make and can perk up salads, seared meats and vegetables, pasta and even grilled cheese. Make a double batch, and you’ll brighten future meals in a flash. And, for excellent flavor in every bite, season the ingredients before combining, bearing in mind that celery, carrots and firmer vegetables need far more salt and pepper than delicate salad greens.
Pickle-Brined Fried Chicken Sandwich
Pointedly low-fuss and remarkably moist, this recipe gets its verve from pickles used two ways: Dill pickle brine seasons and moistens the chicken from the inside-out, while chopped pickles add zip to the coleslaw. Many fried chicken sandwich recipes use breasts, but thighs have more fat, which means they’re more flavorful and harder to overcook. The chicken also fries at a lower temperature, so it finishes cooking and its crust crisps at precisely the same time. The buttermilk is key to the crispness here, so avoid any substitutions. Paired with cornstarch, it forms a thick crust that shatters with each bite. This sandwich is best enjoyed immediately, with your favorite hot sauce and a pile of napkins. (Watch the video of Alexa Weibel making pickle-brined fried chicken sandwich here.)
Hot Sauce Roast Chicken With Tangy Kale Salad
In his cookbook “Amá: A Modern Tex-Mex Kitchen” (Chronicle Books, 2019), the chef Josef Centeno experiments with the Tex-Mex cuisine he grew up eating in San Antonio. Barbecue chicken played a significant role, and he reinterpreted those flavors with a chile paste-rubbed chicken that gets basted with hot sauce as it roasts. This simplified version requires less work and comes together with pantry staples. Slip a few pats of butter under the skin (this ensures the meat stays moist), toss together a dry rub made with chile powder, cumin and onion powder, then rub it all over the chicken. Pop it into the oven and baste with a combination of hot sauce and melted butter every 10 minutes. The crunchy kale salad pairs well with the tangy, buttery chicken. A pile of rice or beans would round out the meal.
Currywurst
Created in postwar Berlin in 1949, currywurst originated as a “poor man’s steak,” cobbled together using sausages, canned tomatoes and curry powder. Today, it’s a popular street food across Germany, although how you enjoy it depends on the vendor and your preferences: The sausages can be served with or without skin, and you can request your currywurst sauce to be scharf (hot) or even extra-scharf. In traditional German currywurst sauces, tomatoes and vinegar provide acidity, sugar or juice lend sweetness and mild curry powder adds spice (although some adventurous cooks add other aromatics and spices, like mustard powder, hot chile or even lemongrass). This recipe, adapted from Alfons Schuhbeck's “The German Cookbook” (Phaidon, 2018), is a great introduction, not too spiced or too sweet, and can be customized according to taste.
Raspberry-Mochi Butter Cake With Matcha Glaze
This cake elicits awe on sight, and it’s a delightfully easy stir-and-bake dessert created by Margarita Manzke, the pastry chef and an owner at République, a restaurant and bakery in Los Angeles. Dense and chewy, mochi is a popular Japanese confection made from glutinous, sticky rice. It’s typically formed into pocket-size balls or squares but can also be made into cakes. As the rice flour batter comes together, it may seem gritty, but it will soak up the coconut milk and evaporated milk and soften as it bakes. Unlike many cakes baked with traditional flour, this gluten-free cake is so rich and moist that it’s hard to overbake. For the glaze, matcha powder is combined with confectioners’ sugar and coconut milk, which gives the cake an earthy tone, but you could easily swap in freeze-dried raspberry or strawberry powder.
Stuffing-Stuffed Mushrooms
In this recipe, classic stuffed mushrooms become an excellent vegetarian Thanksgiving appetizer or side dish by replacing Italian bread crumbs with cornbread, and using traditional stuffing flavors like rosemary, celery seeds and poultry seasoning. Two tips for making these extra flavorful: Trim the mushroom caps a bit to provide more surface area for caramelization, and pre-roast them to reduce moisture and prevent them from getting soggy. You can turn these into a main dish by using about eight large portobello mushrooms instead of two-bite cremini mushrooms, and increasing the cooking time accordingly. If you’re lucky enough to have leftover Thanksgiving stuffing, you can use it in place of the cornbread mixture (you’ll need about 4 cups); just add two beaten eggs and grated Gruyère cheese to bind the mixture before piling it onto the mushrooms and roasting.
Vegetarian Mushroom Shawarma Pitas
Dusted with smoky spices like cumin, coriander and paprika, these thick-cut roasted portobello mushrooms are inspired by shawarma, Middle Eastern spiced lamb — and they taste surprisingly meaty. The flavors are bold, but the prep is simple: While the mushrooms and onions roast, make an easy turmeric and Greek yogurt sauce, and toss sliced red cabbage with salt. Pile everything into a pita with a flurry of cilantro and mint to freshen things up (parsley or salad greens would also do the job in a pinch). While these hearty pitas are best enjoyed with a knife and fork as open-faced sandwiches, they can also be folded into half-moon parcels and eaten out of hand.
Coconut-Braised Chicken Thighs With Turmeric and Peppers
Coriander, lemongrass, ginger, garlic, turmeric and coconut milk create layers of complex flavor in this braised chicken dish that’s lighter than many traditional curries. Available at Thai supermarkets and other specialty food stores, fresh makrut lime leaves are optional, but perk things up. Any leftover lime leaves — sublime when sautéed with butter and seafood, sliced very thinly and sprinkled as a garnish, or simmered into simple syrup for cocktails — can be stashed in your freezer, where they’ll keep for months.