Recipes By David Tanis
759 recipes found
Persimmon Salad With Glazed Walnuts and Feta
Here, firm Fuyu persimmons are used in a most satisfying seasonal salad that’s fairly easy to put together. First, you mix up a simple vinaigrette that gets a touch of sweetness from balsamic vinegar (a drop or two of honey wouldn’t be out of place). Then, it’s all tossed with chicories, like radicchio, curly endive or escarole, and homemade glazed walnuts and the result really feels like and looks like fall. Similar salads sometimes add blue cheese, but feta suits this one beautifully. And, if you can’t get persimmons, use pears.
Plum-Cardamom Upside-Down Cake
Turn this easy to make (and easy to love) cake right-side up, and it’s a rustic beauty, generously made with any kind of pear. It keeps well and actually improves the longer it sits. So don’t give big servings. Have a reasonable sliver at the table after dinner and save a nice fat slice for breakfast.
Lemon Garlic Roast Chicken With Squash
This showstopping chicken isn’t weeknight fare, but it turns chicken thighs into something totally special. It features lemon two ways, with a fair amount of lemon juice in the marinade, and thin slices of lemon in the roasting pan as well. Garlic, leeks and rosemary also ensure robust flavor. Then, simply roasted rings of delicata squash, skin and all, lay on top, but if you can’t find it, substitute cubes of another hard squash, like butternut. And, if you’re short on time, you can always prepare it in advance — at least a few hours ahead of serving — and reheat for 15 to 12 minutes in a 400-degree oven.
Sea Bass With Garlic Chips and Salsa Macha
When I visited Veracruz, Mexico, a number of years ago, there was a wonderful seaside restaurant where the specialty was a whole fried fish topped liberally with lightly fried garlic chips, called huachinango (red snapper) al mojo de ajo. (“Al mojo de ajo” can also refer to more complex garlic sauces.) Here, a version of that preparation is employed for fish fillets. First, garlic slices are gently fried in oil until golden, and then the fish is fried in the same oil. The fish is then drizzled with salsa macha, which isn’t traditional but nicely complementary, and tucked into warm tortillas, making for wonderful tacos.
Flan de Coco (Coconut Flan)
Flan, a type of caramel custard and a traditional homemade sweet, is beloved all over Latin America and can be eaten any time of day. And best of all, it’s quite simple to make: The only tricky part is preparing the caramel that coats the bottom of the pan. These days, most recipes call for sweetened condensed cow’s milk, but mine skips the dairy altogether, using two kinds of coconut milk instead.
Avocado-Black Bean Tostadas
Great for a snack or served as an appetizer with drinks, tostadas can be dainty, made with small tortillas and a dab of savory mashed beans and queso fresco, or they can be hefty, like an over-stuffed sandwich. Though you can buy tostada shells in packages, homemade ones are more delicious, and making them is as simple as rubbing tortillas with oil and crisping them in the oven. The better the tortilla, the better the tostada shell. This recipe calls for canned refried beans, seasoned to taste, but by all means use homemade if you are able. Avocados that are ripe but still firm, dressed with lime juice and salt, are key. If you wish, make the pickled vegetables a day in advance.
Madhur Jaffrey’s Goan Shrimp Curry
Madhur Jaffrey has published several iterations of this recipe in her cookbooks. This version, from her MasterClass course, is a full-flavored but very easy to prepare curry, perfect for a novice cook. The coconut milk-based sauce may be prepared in advance and the shrimp added just before serving.
Tomato and Cucumber Salad
This adaptation of a Madhur Jaffrey recipe is lovely in its simplicity. Yellow or gold cherry tomatoes are especially summery here, but any color of tomato will work — as will large ones, sliced or wedged if you wish. But try, if you can, to find the curry leaves at an Indian grocery. They add a subtle fragrance.
Gelo di Melone (Sicilian Watermelon Pudding)
Adapted from a recipe by Fabrizia Lanza, this is a traditional Sicilian recipe for a refreshing chilled watermelon dessert, probably originally derived from an Arabic sweet. As there are similar Indian and Persian watermelon confections, it seems a natural finish to this meal. In Sicily, it is typically perfumed with jasmine blossoms. A drop or two of fragrant rose water would be a welcome addition.
Tomato-Pepper Salad With Tapenade
This is perfect Provençal summer fare, with all the sweet flavors of the season. The tapenade, a pungent combination of olives, garlic, capers and anchovy, can be prepared by hand or in a food processor and can serve as a base to a bright salad of tomatoes and peppers. And it’s an ideal condiment for keep on hand, to pair with bright salads or serve over warm garlic toast.
Pesto Pasta With Corn and Green Beans
Fresh summer green beans are the best, and, if you can get them in your own vegetable garden, all the better. They’re most tender when picked on the small side, so aim for that in the garden and at the farm stand. Here, they combine with sweet corn kernels and a basil pesto for a luscious summer pasta that also happens to be nut-free, just parsley, basil, garlic, Parmesan, pecorino and olive oil.
No-Bake Peaches and Cream Cake
Like tiramisù, this simple-to-assemble dessert uses store-bought Italian ladyfingers available at many supermarkets. Made with fresh peaches and brandy, it’s a creamy, boozy, fruity delight that’s a perfect end to a summer meal. It’s also easily made without ever turning on the oven, just waiting in the fridge until ready to serve. If desired, sprinkle with toasted chopped almonds or pistachios just before serving.
Melon-Mint Sorbet
This simple, generous sorbet comes together in a food processor and releases a blast of mint that’s evident in every spoonful. But best of all, it invites any kind of ripe summer melon, even watermelon. The texture is rougher than a true sorbet, somewhere between granita and shave ice. It’s plenty good as is, but to gild the lily, add a bit of raspberry syrup and a few festive berries.
Miso Crab Cakes
These meaty crab cakes, bound with puréed scallops and enhanced with miso and ginger, can be made a day in advance, along with the dipping sauce. But arguably the most fun part is pickling the daikon. Once peeled and cut paper-thin, sprinkled with salt, sugar and rice wine vinegar, and tossed with some slivers of ginger, it’s ready to eat in an hour or so. Stored in a jar in the fridge, it’ll keep for a week.
Chilled Cucumber-Spinach Soup
This chilled soup is easy to put together and most welcome on a hot day. The soft tofu garnish, dressed with sesame oil and soy sauce, is a lovely contrast to the bright green base. It is worth hunting down shiso leaves or Thai basil at an Asian grocery. Their bright flavors add interest.
Sesame-Coconut Shortbreads
These delicious shortbread-like cookies feature tahini, sesame seeds and a touch of coconut. Not only are they easy to transport, but they’re also easy to make and are a pleasant not-too-sweet dessert for nibbling.
Herbed Cucumber-Yogurt Salad
A cucumber salad dressed with tart yogurt and lots of chopped dill and mint makes a cooling, pleasantly refreshing saucy accompaniment to grilled meat. This is a handy brightly flavored salad to make all summer long, and so simple.
Oven Chicken Kebabs
Made with ground chicken (or lamb), these Turkish-inspired kebabs are highly spiced with red pepper, paprika, cumin, sumac and onion. They may also be grilled or broiled. Serve with lavash flatbread or pita and some refreshing vegetable salads.
Tomato-Feta Salad
Cherry tomatoes make a colorful zesty salad that’s good on its own or very welcome as a picnic side dish. They are halved and tossed with a garlicky vinaigrette, roughly chopped olives, cilantro and parsley and a shower of crumbled feta, an ideal accompaniment to grilled meats.
Herby Asparagus Salad With Beets and Prosciutto
Asparagus is absolutely a symbol of spring, so what better way to celebrate the season than by centering them in a salad. A platter of green spears, bathed in a mustard-tinged vinaigrette, would be perfectly fine, but for something more celebratory, it’s nice to dress things up, with finely slivered raw beets, a shower of dill, parsley and mint leaves, and chopped (or quartered) soft-cooked egg. A few slices of prosciutto complete the colorful assembly. For the best flavor, look for the freshest firm, shiny asparagus available, whether pencil thin, medium or hefty.
Lemon Cake With Strawberries and Cream
For dessert, a bowl of strawberries and cream is always a winner. But instead, consider this lemony spongecake topped with strawberries and cream, which may well generate applause. It’s worth seeking out smaller strawberries, which tend to be riper and sweeter than the large, white-shouldered type. The spongecake may be baked in advance, up to 2 days ahead. It’s fun to hide the strawberries under a thick layer of whipped cream, but you can serve the cream on the side if preferred.
Lamb Shoulder With Greens and Beans
Spring and lamb are synonymous, so in honor of the season, make this succulent lamb shoulder braised with white wine and aromatics. While the lamb is, of course, a showstopper, the real star is a mélange of greens (chard, kale or large spinach) and beans, punched up with rosemary, hot pepper and orange zest. Look for fresh favas, or substitute the peeled frozen variety (found at Middle Eastern grocery stores), frozen edamame, baby limas, green peas or a combination. An ideal dinner party main, every part of this dish can be prepared hours (or a day) ahead and reheated just before serving.
Spiced Chicken Breasts in Pastry
These chicken breasts baked in pastry may sound impossibly fussy, but they’re quite simple to prepare. The only tedious part is making sure the chicken breasts are the same size and thickness. Small boneless chicken breasts work well, and will need only a little trimming, but if all you can find are large ones, you’ll need to cut them into four 6-ounce pieces, an easy butchering project. (Save leftover scraps for a stir-fry or freeze them to add to a future chicken stock.)
Tangerine Yogurt Sherbet
This easy, refreshing dessert can be made in an ice cream machine or in the freezer with a bowl and spoon. Once it’s set, serve it in tangerine “cups” made from halved, scooped-out tangerines or scoop it into glasses. A few pieces of candied ginger served alongside make a nice addition.