Recipes By David Tanis
750 recipes found
Clams and Spaghetti With Spicy Tomato Broth
Many Italian recipes call for simmering fish and shellfish in “acqua pazza,” or crazy water. It's a quick way to make a small amount of tasty broth, and obviously more flavorful than cooking fish in plain water would be. Every cook makes it differently, but most recipes involve olive oil, tomato and a pinch of crushed red pepper. Garlic, parsley, capers, lemon and even smashed anchovy could also be part of the mixture. The end result is the perfect year-round medium for cooking fish fillets or shrimp or to serve as the base for a brothy bowlful of clams and spaghetti. It takes only a few minutes, and the cooking liquid, conveniently, is also the sauce. Basil leaves and fresh cherry tomatoes, halved and drizzled with olive oil and salt, give the dish a summery feel.
Fig and Almond Cake
Figs are baked into an almond batter for this rustic cake to have with coffee or tea. With figs, ripeness is everything. A ripe fig (the object of your desire) is soft, yielding, beginning to crack, nearly wrinkled. When you cut into it, the flesh is bright and juicy and the taste is ethereal.
Spicy Clam Pasta With Bacon, Peas and Basil
In a pinch, canned baby clams make a very decent pasta ingredient. There is great variation between different brands of canned clams — some are not salty at all, so bear that in mind when seasoning. The liquid in the cans is not needed here, but you may save it for another purpose if you wish.
Pappardelle With Fresh Ricotta, Squash Blossoms and Basil Oil
Ricotta is one of the great undersung cheeses and can be used in dozens of ways. Bake it in a hot oven in an earthenware dish with a little olive oil and rosemary, then spread it on toast for an antipasto or snack. Mix it with chopped cooked spinach or chard for filling ravioli or layering into baked pasta. Or, as is done here, fold the cheese into pappardelle noodles with barely cooked zucchini and squash blossoms and serve with basil oil and grated pecorino for a sensational summer pasta.
Fig Vinaigrette
Parmesan Lamb Chops
Though you can buy individual rib chops, it is easy to cut a rack into eight chops yourself, which is more economical. (You will want to have it Frenched, that is, trimmed to expose the bones and rib-eye. Most butchers sell lamb racks that are already prepared this way.) How many chops make a portion? Two make a moderate serving, but you may need three or four for heartier appetites. A wonderful way to prepare rib chops is to coat them in a mixture of bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese, then fry them gently in olive oil to give them a crisp, golden, savory crust. Served with lemon wedges and a pile of garlicky greens like broccoli rabe or spinach, they make a lovely treat.
Onion Tart With Leeks, Capers and Anchovy
Though this tart may seem complicated, it’s actually rather simple to put together. Once you make the savory onion mixture, all that’s left to do is spread it on a sheet of rolled-out puff pastry, top it with anchovy fillets and capers, and bake it to a golden brown. Use any kind of flaky pastry or pie dough you wish, or even spread the mixture on yeasted pizza dough. Accompany with a salad of small lettuce greens if desired. The tart is delicious served warm or at room temperature.
Mixed Bean Salad With Pickled Ginger
Nostalgia aside, classic three-bean salads are not much to write home about. They are traditionally composed of red kidney beans, garbanzo beans and sad soft green beans, all from cans, and heavy on vinegar and sugar. That’s fine for camping or during a power outage. Here’s a better bean salad that takes advantage of fresh beans — and fresh shelling beans — in season. Lightly dressed with a Japanese-inspired vinaigrette and sparked with pickled ginger, it’s a most delicious departure from the ordinary. You don’t have to make your own pickled ginger, but it’s an easy, fun project.
Roast Lamb Shoulder With Spring Vegetables
Here is a simple and gorgeous main dish that both celebrates spring and tastes like it. The perfect meal for a long, lazy afternoon or a Sunday evening. Boneless shoulder of lamb is ideal because you can smear the interior with garlic and mint. Favas, peas, asparagus and artichokes sparkle alongside.
Persimmon and Orange Salad
Squat, roundish Fuyu persimmons are the ones to use raw in salads. (The pointy Hachiya variety is better ripened to softness for desserts.) Paired with sweet oranges and watercress, they make a refreshing autumn salad. They barely need dressing at all, but a little sherry vinegar adds brightness.
Summer Minestrone al Pesto
Some vegetable soups are complex and long-simmered. This light, brothy one brims with full-flavored summer vegetables for a minestrone that comes together in a half an hour or so. If you don't have a vegetable garden, look to the farmers' market for the freshest, sweetest produce. For a warm-weather lunch or supper, the simplicity of this soup is very appealing.
Frisée aux Lardons
Here is a bistro salad classic of curly endive with bacon and poached egg that demands a kind of ruthlessness from its cooks. You want curly endive with tender, blanched centers. That means the darker green outer leaves must be removed and not used in the dish. You want to expose the pale inner leaves and keep them looking as natural as possible. Don’t chop them. For the lardons, use bacon or, if you don’t want its smoky taste, unsmoked pancetta. And when you fry them, take care to brown the lardons lightly so that they are crisp, but with a little give. Don’t overcook them, or the egg.
Little Onion Tarts With Gorgonzola and Walnuts
For the holidays, cookie platters abound, but for those without a sweet tooth, these little savory tarts are just as appealing. Caramelized onions and Gorgonzola on buttery pastry rounds, topped with walnuts and sprinkled with rosemary — what’s not to love? Perfect with drinks, they reheat beautifully, too.
Caramelized Endives With Crème Fraîche
Belgian endive makes a great salad, but it is also terrific when cooked. The flavor is reminiscent of artichoke, but juicier. These creamy, caramelized ones are perfect for a first course or may be an accompaniment for nearly any main course, especially in winter.
Old-Fashioned Scalloped Corn
Scalloped corn is pure Americana. Enjoyed as old-fashioned comfort food throughout the United States, it's often attributed to New England, where any number of other ingredients are scalloped, like potatoes, oysters, clams and tomatoes. Cooks differ over whether to use heavy cream, condensed milk or white sauce, but nearly all agree buttered cracker crumbs or bread crumbs are essential for the topping. If you like, scalloped corn can be prepared several hours ahead of serving and reheated.
Crab-Meat Quiche
A proper quiche (also known as a tarte salée, or savory open pie) should have really good pastry and contain a soft, tender eggy custard. It should be light enough to serve as a first course, or in larger portions for a simple main course. It should be something to sing about. This is a rosy bisque-like shellfish quiche with a handful of crab meat (use shrimp or lobster if you like).
David Tanis's Onion Confit
The French word “confit” usually refers to food that is slowly cooked in some kind of fat. Originally, confit was a method used for preserving meat, typically duck, goose or pork. When stored and cooled in earthenware crocks, a layer of fat on top kept the food from spoiling by sealing out air. Onion confit, on the other hand, is a savory preparation of sliced onions, cooked to a soft, almost melting consistency, often seasoned with salt, herbs, sugar and vinegar for a somewhat sweet-and-sour effect. Sometimes called onion marmalade, a spoonful or two makes a perfect accompaniment to roasted meats. It may also be used to make onion tarts or pizzas, or as a “bed” for baked fish. The mixture will last for a week or so, refrigerated. To use, reheat gently over low heat.
Onion Tart With Bacon or Olives
A recipe for onion tart with bacon or olives.
Chinese Cold Boiled Chicken
This is an easy dish, put together in minutes and abandon for an hour on a low flame. If you do it in the morning, it will be ready for lunch. But it can also be cooked a day ahead. Its flavors deepen with a night in the fridge. The recipe in three sentences: Season the thighs with salt and pepper, ginger, star anise and scallions, cover with water and simmer slowly. Remove the chicken, reduce the cooking liquid, then pour it back over the meat. Wait until it’s well chilled. To serve, sprinkle the ice-cold jelly-clad chicken with sesame oil, scallions, cilantro and jalapeño slices. Give it a squeeze of lime. If you want something extra, add cucumber, avocado and crisp lettuce leaves. Or take off the skin, shred the chicken and have it with cold noodles.
Apple Raita
Raita is an elemental Indian yogurt sauce, refreshing alongside a fiery curry or even as a sauce for a plain grilled fish. Simple to prepare, it is basically seasoned yogurt. Additions may be fresh herbs, toasted spices, ginger, garlic and nearly any vegetable or fruit imaginable, from cucumber or carrot to apple or banana.
Indian Fresh Apple Pickle
Butter-Fried Oysters
There are easier ways to fry oysters, and faster ways, too, but if you’re going to bother to make them at home, you might as well have the best way. I won’t pretend it’s not a little bit of a project. There are bread crumbs to make, from a day-old French loaf. It’s easy if you have a blender or food processor — just remove the crust and pulse the cubes into fluffy crumbs. My recipe also calls for clarified butter. It can be made ahead, it keeps, and it really makes a difference.
David Tanis's Shrimp Broth
This stock, made from shrimp shells simmered with herbs and dried shrimp, adds depth to gumbos and risotto.
