Recipes By David Tanis
750 recipes found
Catalan Fideuà
In Catalunya, the northeastern part of Spain, there is a traditional dish called fideuà, made with short lengths of dry pasta called fideus. Instead of boiling the noodles Italian-style, the Catalan way is to cook them with only a small amount of liquid in a wide earthenware cazuela or paella pan. Here, the noodles are first browned in olive oil, then simmered in a rich fish and shellfish broth. It’s a sort of cross between risotto and paella, and it’s a dish for all lovers of Mediterranean fish soups in the bouillabaisse family. Broth is added at intervals as it is absorbed, but not much stirring is involved. A dab of garlicky allioli, the Spanish version of aïoli, is added to each soup plate before serving.
Spiced Pecan Date Shortbread Bars
Cardamom, allspice, clove and nutmeg are the culprits in these flavorful bars, along with molasses and orange zest.
Salt Cod, Potato and Chickpea Stew
This hearty, brothy stew features popular ingredients from the Iberian Peninsula — salt cod, garlic, saffron, potatoes. Spanish and Portuguese cooks adore salt cod and use it in all kinds of ways; these same ingredients may also be reconfigured into salads or casseroles. You’ll need to soak the fish overnight to remove the salt. The chickpea broth adds great flavor.
Sicilian-Style Citrus Salad
Winter is the season when many kinds of citrus fruits suddenly appear. For this savory fruit salad, a mixture of navel, blood and Cara Cara oranges and a small grapefruit make a colorful display. It’s fine to use just one kind of orange, blood oranges being the classic example. Thinly sliced fennel, celery and red onion add a tasty bit of crunch. The salad is dressed assertively with oil and vinegar, and scattered with olives and flaky sea salt.
Allioli
Allioli is the Spanish version of the French garlic sauce aioli — or is the other way around? A spoonful stirred into fideus noodles, paella or fish soup adds richness and a truly garlicky flourish. The purist version is made only with garlic and oil, but it’s rather tricky to achieve a proper emulsion that way, so most people use egg yolks and make it like a mayonnaise.
Braised Duck Legs With Plums and Red Wine
This is a deep, dark, flavorful braise, perfect for cool weather. The plums and red wine add body, sweetness and a touch of acidity to the rich sauce. Look for small Pekin (sometimes called Long Island) duck legs, about 8 ounces each; they cook more quickly and are more tender than the larger Muscovy duck legs some butchers carry. If small duck legs are unavailable, chicken legs may be substituted. You may be tempted to brown the legs in the Dutch oven rather than the skillet called for in Step 2, but a roomy skillet (cast iron if possible) does the job better and saves time in the long run — you can brown more legs at a time.
Lobster Stew With a Pastry Lid
Maybe there is nothing better than a boiled lobster straight from the pot, easily managed for two people, with no more accompaniment than a little melted butter. But sometimes that is too simple a preparation. So how about lobster stew? Not difficult, and easier to eat. For a homey-sophisticated touch, though, we suggest this lobster stew with a pastry lid, finished with a shower of freshly snipped herbs. Here’s how to make it.
Chickpeas With Mint, Scallions and Cilantro
Chickpeas (garbanzos) always taste better cooked from scratch, but unlike other beans, you do have to soak them overnight. Then it’s a simple matter of simmering for about 45 minutes. Cooked chickpeas will keep up to 5 days stored in their cooking liquid in the refrigerator. The combination of warm beans and cool herbs makes a great side dish.
Moroccan Baked Fish With Onions
For fish with a spicy North African flavor, marinate firm-fleshed fillets for at least an hour in this traditional mixture of chopped green cilantro, olive oil, garlic, green chiles, paprika and lime juice. Then roast the fish on a bed of savory sliced onions stained yellow with turmeric and seasoned with preserved lemon and olives. Serve with steamed rice or roasted potatoes, and slices of ripe tomato.
Braised Chicken Legs With Wild Mushrooms
A good roasted chicken is a simple pleasure, but a braised chicken dish is always more interesting. Here, dried wild mushrooms, smoked bacon and red wine perfume the sauce to give these chicken legs depth and character, with a flavor nearly similar to a game bird. Using turkey broth makes this braise even more heady. For a quick, concentrated broth, simmer 2 pounds of meaty turkey wings with 6 cups water for about an hour. Finding a dried wild mushroom is not like hunting for its fresh counterpart in the forest. Most Italian delis and nearly all supermarkets sell little packets of dried wild mushrooms.
Buckwheat Blini With Caviar
The holidays present a number of opportunities to splurge, and New Year’s Eve is the ultimate night for it. Though it may seem a cliché, the classic combination of blini and caviar is the perfect example — indulgent, elegant and delectable to the extreme. If you are hosting a small crowd for drinks (preferably Champagne or vodka with these), it’s all you need to serve, though it also can be a sit-down first course. Preparation is simple: the blini are topped with a dab of crème fraîche, a spoonful of caviar and a drizzle of butter.
Lamb Shank Tagine With Dates
For the best stews, use lamb shanks simmered slowly on the bone. Here, Moroccan seasonings mingle for a bright balance of flavors: sweetness comes from dates and onions, and heat and spice from ginger and cumin. This tagine is traditionally accompanied only by warm whole wheat pita or Arab flatbread. But, if you wish, serve with buttered couscous or even mashed potatoes. Roasted parsnips or wilted mustard greens would harmonize well, too.
Soft-Shell Crab With Preserved Lemon and Almonds
Chicken Blintzes with Wild Mushrooms
These are not your average blintzes. Elegant and savory, they are as good for a midnight supper as they are for brunch. Though the recipe is a bit complex, it can be parceled out into a series of small, manageable chores; both the pancakes and filling can be prepared up to 2 days ahead, and once the blintzes are assembled, they can wait in the fridge as well. The final step of browning and crisping the blintzes in butter is almost no work at all.
Moroccan Steamed Lamb Shoulder
Lamb shoulder is an extremely versatile cut of meat, useful for everything from stews to kebabs. Steamed lamb shoulder is wonderfully succulent and tender, well worth the several hours it takes to cook. This recipe is inspired by one in Paula Wolfert’s "Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco," published in 1973.
Seared Sea Scallops With Spicy Carrot Coulis
A coulis, pronounced koo-LEE, is a thin, pourable sauce, often made from tomatoes for savory dishes, or from berries for desserts. This brilliant orange sauce gets a splash of vinegar for a hit of acidity and a pinch of cayenne for heat, a perfect foil for the scallops’ sweetness. For the best flavor, use young bunch carrots, not large “horse carrots.” This is a very easy dish if the sauce is prepared in advance. (Make the sauce up to a day ahead. If made in advance, reheat to serve.) Then it’s just a matter of searing the scallops and assembling the plates.
Pan-Roasted Baby Artichokes
Five-Spice Crisp-Fried Squid
In most Chinese restaurants, so-called “Salt and Pepper-Style” shrimp or squid usually contain other spices too. A good dose of 5-spice mixture makes these fried squid especially tasty, and dusting them with cornstarch before frying keeps them delicately crisp. Maintain the oil temperature at 375 degrees, and don’t try to fry too many pieces at once.
Fragrant Thai-Style Clams in Coconut Broth
The classic, highly aromatic Thai seasoning for seafood includes lemongrass, galangal, lime leaf, hot pepper and coconut milk. Spicy and refreshing, the bright-tasting broth is a mix of sweet, salty, sour and herbaceous. You may substitute mussels or prawns for the clams.
Bo Kho (Vietnamese Braised Beef Stew)
Bo kho is a delicious Vietnamese pot-roasted beef stew, fragrant with lemongrass, star anise and cinnamon. When the meat is fork tender, carrots are added to complete the dish. If you wish, include turnips or daikon radish or potatoes. Serve it with rice, rice noodles or a freshly baked baguette.
Chicken Breast Milanese With Green Olive-Celery Relish
A breaded chicken breast, gently fried in olive oil, can be sublime accompanied by a bright citrusy relish of green olives and celery. I like to marinate the chicken in buttermilk for an hour or longer, which adds sweetness and helps keep the meat moist. But if you are pressed for time, it’s fine to skip this step.
Creamy Leek and Parsnip Soup
This soup has a kind of quiet charm. Whizzed until creamy in a blender, it is a happy marriage of silky leeks and earthy parsnips — think leek and potato soup, but with more depth of character. It’s very good made with water instead of broth; sautéing the leeks and parsnips very slowly, to concentrate flavor before adding liquid, is the key to success.
Butter-Steamed Broccoli With Peppery Bread Crumbs
Here is an easy, elegant broccoli dish. If you wish, make the crumbs by pulsing cubes of day-old French bread in a food processor, but really any type of bread crumbs will do.
Italian Almond Cookies
These delectable almond cookies are made with just a few ingredients. Though they’re typically Sicilian, similar versions are found all over Italy. A bit like macaroons, they are crisp on the outside, with a perfumed chewy interior. They may be baked plain, decorated with candied fruit or whole almonds, or made into thumbprint cookies, filled with a spoonful of good jam. Ideal to bake in advance, these cookies keep well for several days, ready to serve at a moment’s notice.