Recipes By Christian Reynoso
50 recipes found
Turmeric-Ginger Salmon
This simply marinated and roasted salmon is lemony, garlicky, gingery and all with a hint of heat. Inspired by the Northern Vietnamese dish, cha ca la Vong, salmon fillets are first rubbed in a simple garlic, ginger and turmeric-based marinade then baked hot and fast. A sauce made with scallions, fish sauce, red pepper and olive oil is poured over the fish, so each bite has a huge pop of flavor. Great with rice noodles and sliced cucumbers, you can also serve with grilled bread or rice and a side green salad. If you feel like grilling this fish, the direct heat will only deepen the marinade’s impact. Chopped nuts are optional and add a textural crunch.
Shrimp Salad With Sesame-Ginger Dressing
Give in to the convenience of already poached shrimp in this bright main-dish salad, perfect for lunch or a light dinner. The core is easy and uncomplicated: Fresh ginger and chiles are married with sesame seeds and oil in a tangy vinaigrette for tender shrimp, crisp cucumbers and a bed of peppery arugula. It’s decidedly unfussy and very easily adaptable — add scoops of avocado or soft-boiled eggs for extra richness or simply serve with buttered toast and make open-faced sandwiches. Individual chiles have their own heat ranges, just like our taste buds. Use the amount in the recipe as a guide, but trust your instincts to adjust.
Mapo Tofu Scramble
The bold, savory, spicy flavors of mapo tofu are paired with the creamy richness of scrambled eggs in this hearty and comforting anytime-of-day meal. The dish comes together quickly and all in one skillet: Ginger, scallions and spiced pork are first sizzled and simmered, making way for eggs that are soft-scrambled then folded into the tofu mixture. Round out this superfast meal with a sprinkling of freshly sliced scallions or chopped herbs and some buttered toast.
Pesto Beans
Part quick and rustic bean stew and part deconstructed pesto, this pesto-inspired one-pan meal requires no blender and minimal slicing. It all starts out by sizzling nuts with a little turmeric in olive oil until golden. The Parmesan cheese makes a creamy base for softened shallots and tender beans; then freshly torn basil leaves and lemon juice are stirred in at the end so they stay vibrant and fresh. Top with the beautifully toasted nuts, golden olive oil and a bit more Parmesan. Serve with crusty bread or garlic bread on the side.
Fresh Tomato, Basil and Prosciutto Pasta
This summertime pasta of lightly sizzled garlic and tomatoes with torn basil is satisfyingly easy and delicious. It’s also a reminder that with really great ingredients, not a lot of cooking is necessary to create a stand-out meal. Melt-in-your-mouth prosciutto and dollops of ricotta add a little richness to contrast with all the freshness, leaving you with a colorful main that doesn’t really need much else, but a sprinkle of crushed red-pepper flakes or a few thin rings of jalapeño or sweet red pepper could be welcome additions.
Creamy Coconut-Lime Rice With Peanuts
Coconut milk does double duty here in this light yet hearty rice dish that straddles the line between side salad and pilaf-like main. First the rice is simmered in creamy coconut milk, then the remaining milk is used to make a soothing dressing spiked with lime juice, peanut butter, toasted peanuts and garlic, with a little added heat from chile sauce. Fresh cherry tomatoes and chopped herbs turn it all into a rice salad that can be a flavorful side for grilled chicken or the base for fried eggs.
Garlic-Scallion Chicken Sandwiches
Convenient and tender rotisserie chicken, sautéed scallions and garlic, vinegar-soaked currants and a couple big handfuls of peppery arugula make up this simple yet very flavorful sandwich. Inspired by the wood-oven-roasted chicken and bread salad from Zuni Café in San Francisco, this is a take on that famed dish in sandwich form. Parmesan and toasted nuts add texture, depth and a hit of umami. For the bread, a thick baguette cut into four sections to make sandwich rolls is economical and offers the duality of crunchy crust and soft inner crumb, although a sandwich roll of your choice works too.
Crispy Shrimp Tacos With Smoky Chipotle Crema
Imagine tender, sweet shrimp ensconced in a crisp and airy tempura-like batter. Now envision those shrimp lying on a warm tortilla topped with fresh cut cabbage and a smoky-spicy drizzle of chipotle crema sauce. These tacos are not just a dream: This coastal delight can be found, just like some of the best fish tacos, along the main Mexican Pacific coast and Baja Peninsula, but you can also make them a reality at home. The toppings can vary, so add sliced or smashed avocado, spicy pickled onions, salsa macha or any other salsas you may prefer.
Quick Smoked Salmon Tart
Reminiscent of a classic bagel with lox, this quick and convenient tart is made with buttery, flaky store-bought puff pastry for a no-rolling-necessary appetizer or light yet satisfying meal. A schmear of sour cream is added after the pastry is baked, followed by smoked salmon and toppings boasting of nothing but freshness: crisp cucumbers, pickled onion, briny capers and fragrant dill. Altogether, this smoky, creamy tart is a surefire hit for any gathering.
Creamy Garlic Pasta With Greens
In this 20-minute weeknight pasta, one of the tastiest, most versatile sauces, aioli (or garlic mayonnaise) is dolloped over a simple bowl of spaghetti tossed with wilted greens. With hardly any cooking and minimal knifework, this one-pot dish starts out by simply cooking the pasta. Meanwhile, a quick aioli is whipped up by stirring garlic, lemon and a little olive oil into store-bought mayonnaise. You’ll generously spoon that shortcut aioli over the pasta, coating each noodle with its rich and fresh garlicky bite. (Leftover aioli can be saved for later use throughout the week.) Serve this pasta with sausages and peppers or a rotisserie chicken.
Cheesy Shrimp Tacos
Featuring succulent sautéed shrimp, onion, poblano chile and melty cheese, these crispy, cheesy tacos — a take on tacos gobernador — veer toward quesadilla territory. Their roots can be traced back to Los Arcos, a revered Mazatlán seafood restaurant where tacos gobernador were created for a visit from the governor of Sinaloa in the early 1990s. The dish evolved over time, and today, variations abound: Ingredients can include herbs like oregano or cilantro; fresh tomato or paste; other chiles, like serrano or chipotle; flour or corn tortillas. The tacos may be grilled over an open flame or crisped in a skillet. In this version, garlic and Worcestershire sauce add zing. Pair with a favorite salsa, hot sauce and lime and adjust as you like; these tacos are customizable yet consistently tantalizing.
Chile Crisp Chicken Cutlets
These savory, tangy, spicy chicken cutlets get their zest from an easy marinade of chile crisp, soy sauce and red wine vinegar. This recipe upgrades the standard breading procedure — flour, egg and bread crumbs — by whisking the excess marinade and eggs together, creating another layer of flavor before the chicken is encrusted in crunchy bread crumbs. If time permits, leave the breaded cutlets in the refrigerator for at least an hour before frying to help create a durable crust and allow the marinade to more fully season the chicken. If you like, serve with a vibrant side of lightly wilted spinach and wedges of lemon.
Sausage Smash Burgers
The delightful characteristics of a beef smash burger — thin, quick-cooking patties with a superbly caramelized ragged edge — are applied here to Italian-style sausage. (The stress relief from smashing food is yet another smash burger perk.) Mayo smeared on soft brioche buns along with a tangle of sautéed sweet peppers and onions top the patties, making this a bit like the sausage and peppers of the burger world. Optional oregano adds a fresh herbal accent. Each bite is savory, rich, sweet and smashingly craveable. These sandwiches are delicious all by themselves, but if you’d like a side, serve with a green salad or French fries.
Lemony Skillet Chicken and Brioche
In this comforting one-pan meal, salt-and-pepper chicken thighs roast atop sweet, buttery brioche, which conforms to the chicken like memory foam. The parts cushioning the chicken become soft and tender from the juices, and the bottoms and exposed portions turn golden and toasty. To marry it all, a simple, savory and bright pan sauce is made with shallots, butter, lemon and a touch of miso. Chopped dill lightens the mood. Serve with roasted green beans, or mixed greens tossed with a little lemon and olive oil.
Lomo Saltado (Tomato Beef Stir-Fry)
Lomo saltado might be the most well-known and beloved example of Chifa cuisine, a hybrid of Peruvian and Chinese culinary traditions. It’s a quick stir-fry made with marinated beef, juicy tomatoes, sautéed red onion, sweet peppers and potatoes or French fries, all tossed in a chile-and-soy-based sauce. Rice is served alongside to help soak up the bountiful sauce. A fresh, fruity, vibrantly yellow tropical chile called aji amarillo is usually called for, but this recipe calls for aji amarillo paste, which is more widely available. (Serrano chile works here, too.) Lomo saltado often has a subtle smoky flavor from engulfing the steak and sauce with flames in a wok, often with the South American brandy called pisco. This recipe is streamlined for home cooks, but if you’re familiar and comfortable with the technique, you may want to try it out.
Grilled Steak With Tomatoes, Basil and Cheddar
This sunny dinner for two forms a happy union between charred steak and salty, umami-rich aged white Cheddar, rounded out with sweet, juicy tomatoes and fresh basil. Somewhat like a salad, the steak is dressed with a punchy shallot vinaigrette that ties everything together. If you don’t have a grill, you can cook the steak in a grill pan or a skillet: Cut the steak into two or three portions and cook in batches to avoid overcrowding, which will help you get a deeper sear on the steak. To round this meal out, try it with grilled garlic bread or even salt and vinegar roasted potatoes.
Poc Chuc (Citrus-Marinated Grilled Pork)
Super citrusy and smoky, poc chuc is both charred and full of tangy brightness. This dish with Mayan origins, from the state of Yucatán in Mexico, translates to “toast” over “fire” and is grilled hot and fast. Traditionally, thinly sliced pork is marinated in sour orange juice. Here, a mixture of citrus juices mimics the spirit of sour oranges, and makes the meat tender and full of flavor. A simple yet delicious way to prepare versatile and cost-effective pork shoulder, poc chuc can top tacos or salads or be served with beans, rice, tortillas, pickled onions, cabbage and avocado. There are no boundaries on how to enjoy it.
Strawberry Pudding Cake
Studded with jammy strawberries, this pudding cake requires just one easy batter but yields three pretty, textured layers: crisp golden topping, tender cake and a saucy, pudding-like layer. It’s like a (delicious) science-class experiment: As it bakes, cake batter rises above a surface of hot, syrupy liquid to brown and create a crust, while that liquid forms a custardy sauce below. Every oven is a little different, so baking time is an approximation, making it important to consider doneness by looks, too — overbaking this will result in a firmer, bread pudding-like texture. This cake is best enjoyed within a couple hours of baking. Though this dessert begs to be eaten directly out of the skillet, served warm, family-style, with a handful of spoons, it’s also delicious in a bowl with whipped cream.
Creamy Meyer Lemon Pasta
With their friendly flavor, Meyer lemons are thoroughly enjoyable from peel to pith to juicy flesh. In this simple weeknight meal, they add complexity to the classic pasta al limone with notes of orange and tangerine, a sweeter tang and a softer, more tender pith. Each bite of pasta is studded with a sautéed mix of tangible lemony bits and garlic slivers cloaked in the dill-forward cream sauce. If you’re in need of a protein here, try with a rotisserie chicken or some seared shrimp.
Asparagus Ricotta Pasta With Almonds
In this comforting pasta, fragrant herbs, spinach and crisp-tender asparagus offer the lightness of spring balanced by rich, garlicky, scallion-infused ricotta. For the creamiest sauce, look for ricotta without added stabilizers or gums, or try making it yourself. An almond crumble brightened with lemon zest adds a nutty crunch and makes each bite texturally diverse. Spiral-shaped pastas have long nooks and crannies for the thickened sauce to cling to, but other short shapes of pasta like penne work well here, too.
Crispy Coconut Shrimp and Shallots
Crispy coconut, caramelized shallots and tender shrimp are cloaked in a spicy-sweet orange chile sauce in this recipe, which is slightly reminiscent of coconut shrimp, the beloved beachside snack. However, the vibe here is more dinner main and perhaps even more laid-back because no battering and frying is needed. Instead, shrimp are simply sautéed in coconut oil to build coconut flavor, then bathed in sauce, before being crowned with the crunchy flakes of coconut and shallot. To soak up the sauce and round out this meal, steamed rice sits at the base, but wilted spinach or roasted green beans would be delightful.
Winter Squash and Rice Soup with Pancetta
Hearty, comforting, sweet and savory, this soup has a brothy rice base that’s great for any season. Inspired by the asparagus, rice and pancetta soup from San Francisco’s Zuni Café, where the late Judy Rodgers first put it on the menu in the springtime, this soup takes equal advantage of seasonal and pantry ingredients. This adaptation turns jasmine rice into a warming, brothy foundation for squash that’s been roasted until caramelized, and bits of salty pancetta. Winter's glut of squash makes this soup ideal for the cooler months of the year, but in the spring, try this with asparagus (and maybe some dill, too) like the original, or in the summer with chopped tomatoes and basil.
Fall Salad With Apples, Cheddar and Crispy Sage
Bubbling sage leaves in olive oil until sizzling provides crisp thrills in this simple, flavorful combination of salty cheese and sweet apples, while the resulting sage-scented oil melds with honey and lemon to create a herbaceous dressing. Mild, leafy butter lettuce helps tie it all together, but slightly bitter chicories like frisée, escarole or endive would work well, too. This salad makes a fun sidekick for main proteins like Buttermilk-Brined Roast Chicken, Porchetta Pork Chops or store-bought sausages or rotisserie chicken.
Brussels Sprouts Amatriciana
Brussels sprouts have a special relationship with pork. Sturdy and lean with just a hint of bitterness, they thrive with a contrasting yet complementary flavor partner, like salty, fatty bacon. Simmered together in an amatriciana-style sauce of tomato, olive oil and red-pepper flakes, the sprouts become tender and smoky in this bright and simple enriched sauce that soaks into freshly toasted thick-cut bread. If you want a more traditional amatriciana, seek out guanciale instead of bacon. (Pancetta works too, though it will be leaner and smokeless.) Reserved crispy pork bits are used as a topping, accenting the luscious sauce.