Recipes By Melissa Clark
1468 recipes found
Sheet-Pan Crisp Tofu and Sweet Potatoes
Tossing marinated tofu squares in cornstarch before roasting makes them wonderfully crunchy and brown. Here, the tofu is cooked alongside spears of sweet potato, which are soft and silky against the crisp squares. A tamari-honey dressing spiked with rice wine vinegar acts both as marinade for the tofu and sauce for the finished dish. Then quick-pickled scallions and hot sesame oil make for a bright and spicy garnish.
Lemon-Blueberry Bars
Fresh blueberries make these lemon bars a bit sweeter than usual, and very jammy, but without compromising their essential acidity. The grated lime zest gives the curd another note of citrus complexity. But if you’d rather leave out the lime, use more lemon zest. Or try playing with orange and grapefruit zests. The filling stays pretty soft in these tender bars, so it’s best to keep them in the fridge until right before serving, then dust with powdered sugar at the last minute.
Roasted Vegetables
The key to roasting all kinds of vegetables is to know the right temperature for cooking them. Dense, low-moisture vegetables (like the roots and squashes in this recipe) need lower heat and more time in the oven than vegetables with more moisture, like eggplant or zucchini. Then simply toss your vegetables with oil and season with salt and pepper before roasting. Top your roasted vegetable with a couple of fried eggs or a dollop of yogurt, or both, and you have a meal.
Baked French Fries
If every baked French fry you've ever eaten has been a soggy disappointment, then this recipe is for you. The key to achieving perfectly crisp “fries” is heating your sheet pan in a 500-degree oven for a good 10 minutes. When you toss the potatoes onto the blisteringly hot pan, magic happens: The potatoes sear and develop a truly crunchy crust. In terms of seasoning, we keep it simple with just salt and pepper, but feel free to experiment with adding a bit of chili or garlic powder, smoked paprika or cayenne to the mix.
Lemony Cauliflower With Garlic and Herbs
There aren’t many cauliflower salads as vivacious as this one, which is zipped up with plenty of lemon, herbs, garlic and one minced jalapeño. It is best made a day or two ahead, which gives all the ingredients a chance to mingle, and the raw cauliflower time to soften and absorb all of the dressing's bright, complex flavors. Although this salad needs no other seasonings, you can add capers, sliced olives or crumbled feta here for even saltier tang. The pinch of red-pepper flakes here is optional, but especially good.
Roasted Broccoli Rabe
If you’ve never roasted broccoli rabe, this recipe will be a revelation. The high heat renders the stems and florets tender while the leaves crisp around the edges, like kale chips but with a spicy broccoli bite. Make sure not to crowd the pan or everything will steam rather than roast. This recipe will also work with regular broccoli. Cut the head up into bite-sized pieces and add 5 to 10 minutes to the cooking time.
Skillet Chicken With Silky Peppers and Green Olives
Made with diced fresh tomato and colorful sweet bell peppers, this savory chicken dish is lively and bright. Cooked as written, the sauce is on the brothy side, perfect for pouring over rice or couscous, or for sopping up with bread. But if you prefer it to be heartier, remove the chicken pieces from the pan once they’re cooked, then simmer to reduce the sauce, stirring occasionally, for another 5 to 8 minutes. Return chicken to the pan and stir in olives, then garnish with herbs to serve.
Broccoli Salad With Garlic and Sesame
This salad is made from uncooked broccoli tossed with an assertive garlic, sesame, chile and cumin-seed vinaigrette slicked with good extra-virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar. The acid “cooks” the florets a little as ceviche does fish. After an hour, the broccoli softens as if blanched, turning bright emerald, and soaking up all the intense flavors of the dressing. You’ll be making this one again.
Broiled Salmon With Mustard and Lemon
In this simple salmon recipe, a quick stint under the broiler transforms smooth Dijon mustard into a savory, caramelized crust, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice adds just the right brightness and tang to the rich, sweet fish. Covering the baking pan with a protective layer of aluminum foil helps with the cleanup, meaning you can cook dinner and wash up in under 30 minutes.
The Crunchiest Summer Fruit Crumble
The secret to this fruit crumble is to bake the sweet, cinnamon-scented topping separately, to dry it out. Then when you pile those crumbs over a mound of juicy summer fruit, they won’t absorb as much liquid, and stay crisp and cookielike. You can make the crumbs a day ahead. But the crumble is best baked on the day you serve it, preferably while still a little warm and brimming with syrupy fruit. Make sure to taste your fruit before adding the sugar. Sweeter fruit like strawberries, cherries and blueberries need less sugar than tart plums and nectarines. A spoonful of whipped cream or ice cream makes this even better.
Eggplant Pasta With Anchovy Bread Crumbs and Capers
In this colorful dish, there’s as much of the eggplant and tomato topping as there is pasta. They’re all tossed together with loads of garlicky, anchovy-imbued breadcrumbs and a hit of fresh basil or parsley. Serve it with a big salad of crisp lettuces for crunch. It’s a dish that’s good hot, warm or at room temperature, so you can make this recipe a little ahead of time if that works best for your kitchen flow.
Sheet-Pan Paprika Chicken With Tomatoes and Parmesan
This deeply savory, weeknight-friendly sheet-pan chicken is worth buying a new jar of sweet paprika for, especially if you can’t remember when you got the one in your spice drawer (for those Fourth of July deviled eggs several summers ago?).The fresher the spices, the more intensely flavorful the dish. This one is as pretty as it is complex, with a mix of colorful cherry tomatoes and peppers that soften and absorb all the chicken juices as they roast. Serve it with something to catch the saucy tomatoes: Crusty bread, polenta or couscous all work well.
Spicy Turkey Stir-Fry With Crisp Garlic and Ginger
This quick-cooking stir-fry is packed with umami from fish sauce and soy sauce, and heat from both red-pepper flakes and fresh chile. Pungent and herbal, it’s a terrific weeknight dish that’s fast but never bland. The key here is to let the turkey get deeply brown, so don’t move it around in the pan too much. Serve it over rice for a substantial meal, or a bed of crisp lettuce if you want something lighter.
Creamy Corn Pasta With Basil
There’s no cream in this wonderfully summery pasta dish, just a luscious sauce made from puréed fresh corn and sweet sautéed scallions, along with Parmesan for depth and red chile flakes for a contrasting bite. Be sure to add the lemon juice and fresh herbs at the end; the rich pasta really benefits from their bright, fresh flavors. And while this is best made at the height of corn season, it’s still quite good even with out-of-season supermarket ears, or with frozen corn.
Buttermilk Green Goddess Slaw
This herby coleslaw variation was adapted from “The Animal Farm Buttermilk Cookbook” (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2013) by Diane St. Clair. In it, a tangy buttermilk- and avocado-spiked green goddess dressing takes the place of the usual mayonnaise mix, for a slaw that’s both lighter and fresher tasting. Like most coleslaws, it gets better as it sits so, if you have time, plan to make it a few hours ahead. Save any extra dressing to use as a dip for cut vegetables or for other salads. It will keep for up to two days in the fridge.
Asparagus, Goat Cheese and Tarragon Tart
Because you don’t have to make your own crust, this gorgeous asparagus-striped tart is so easy it almost feels like cheating. But it’s not. It’s just simple yet stunning, effortlessly chic and company-ready. As there are so few ingredients in this recipe that each one makes an impact, be sure to buy a good all-butter brand of puff pastry. If you can manage to serve this tart warm, within an hour of baking, it will be at its absolute best, with crisp pastry that shatters into buttery bits when you bite down and still-runny cheese. But it’s also excellent a few hours later, should you want to get all your baking done before your guests arrive. If tarragon isn’t your favorite herb, you can use chives, basil or mint instead. And if you can manage to trim all the asparagus to the same length, this tart will be especially neat and orderly looking.
Roasted Fennel and Farro Salad
This salty-sweet grain salad is filled with bits of caramelized roasted fennel, sweet dates and briny olives, and is bolstered by orange, red-pepper flakes and herbs. It’s substantial enough to be a light meatless dinner on its own, or it can be served as a hearty side with simply roasted or sautéed chicken or fish. It holds up well, and any leftovers will be a boon to future lunches. The feta topping is optional and adds a creamy tanginess, but the mix of roasted vegetables, dried fruit and grains is just as good without it.
Roasted Asparagus With Crispy Leeks and Capers
In this supremely springy recipe, thick asparagus stalks and thinly sliced leeks are glossed with olive oil and covered in salty capers. Everything is roasted in the same pan and emerges tender and golden-edged. Capers also make an appearance in the mustard sauce served alongside, which adds a tangy, mayonnaise-like richness. You can double the recipe, if you wish, though you may have to increase the roasting time by a few minutes to make up for a more-crowded pan. Serve this on its own as a first course, or as an accompaniment to roast chicken, braised meats or seared fish. Just don’t use thin asparagus: It’ll cook too quickly, before the leeks have a chance to turn golden. Stick with spears that are at least 1/2 inch in diameter.
Cauliflower Shawarma With Spicy Tahini
In this vegetarian take on shawarma, the usual spiced lamb, chicken or turkey is replaced with cauliflower florets and onion wedges that have been tossed with a classic combination of cumin, paprika and coriander, then roasted until browned, fragrant and very tender. A hot sauce-spiked tahini served alongside lends creaminess and heat. To serve it, you can tuck everything into a pita or flatbread, or keep the bread on the side and let everyone assemble their own sandwiches at the table. Chopped cucumber, tomatoes and olives are optional, but they add a juicy brightness to contrast with the aromatic, roasted flavors. (Watch the video of Melissa Clark making cauliflower shawarma with spicy tahini here.)
Shakshuka With Feta
Shakshuka may be at the apex of eggs-for-dinner recipes, though in Israel it is breakfast food, a bright, spicy start to the day with a pile of pita or challah served on the side. (It also makes excellent brunch or lunch food.) It’s a one-skillet recipe of eggs baked in a tomato-red pepper sauce spiced with cumin, paprika and cayenne. First you make that sauce, which comes together fairly quickly on top of the stove, then you gently crack each of the eggs into the pan, nestling them into the sauce. The pan is moved into the oven to finish. Shakshuka originated in North Africa, and like many great dishes there are as many versions as there are cooks who have embraced it. This one strays from more traditional renditions by adding crumbled feta cheese, which softens into creamy nuggets in the oven’s heat.
Sheet-Pan Sausage Parmesan With Garlicky Broccoli
Using quarter sheet pans (small rimmed baking pans measuring about 12 inches by 9 inches) allows you to cook your main course and side dish at the same time in the same oven, but without the mixing of flavors that would happen if you combined everything in one large pan. So the sausage juices can mingle with the tomato sauce and melted cheese, without compromising the roasted garlicky broccoli to serve alongside. You can use hot or sweet Italian sausages here, or a combination – as long as you can remember which is which for serving.
Sheet-Pan Paprika Chicken With Potatoes and Turnips
Think of this as the sheet-pan dinner version of a Hungarian chicken paprikash, ruddy with paprika and sweet tomato paste. Roasting the chicken at high heat instead of braising it lets it singe at the edges, and allows the potatoes and turnips to turn golden beneath their coating of duck fat (or olive oil). Feel free to double this; just use two large sheet pans instead of the smaller pans.
Sheet-Pan Chicken With Sweet Potatoes and Peppers
This sheet-pan supper brings velvety sweet potatoes together with soft bell peppers, pungent sage and roasted chicken thighs. To counter the rich and caramelized flavors, quick-pickled thinly sliced red onion adds a bright and zippy note right at the end. If you prefer chicken breasts, you can use them here instead of the thighs. Choose bone-in, skin-on breasts if possible, and keep an eye on them. They’ll cook faster than the thighs. Remove them when they’re ready, but let the vegetables roast until they thoroughly golden and tender.
Vegetarian Skillet Chili
If you keep canned beans, tomatoes, onion and garlic in your pantry, you can make this dish on any weeknight without having to shop. The pickled onions aren’t strictly necessary, but they are simple to make and add a welcome tangy contrast to the beans. Pickled peppers are a fine substitute. If you have a bell pepper or jalapeño or two, chop them up and sauté them with the onions. And if you want to be fancy, grate the zest off the lime before juicing for the pickles, and stir it into the sour cream.