Recipes By Melissa Clark
1468 recipes found
Sheet-Pan Coriander Chicken With Caramelized Brussels Sprouts
Brussels sprouts cozy up to chicken in this sheet pan supper. When the brussels are blasted with enough heat, they get intensely sweet, losing the mustardy, cabbage-like bite they have when they are cooked to a lesser degree. Both sprouts and chicken caramelize and brown, getting soft in the middle and crisp at the edges. Coriander seeds add a citrus spiciness to the pan, intensified by grated lemon zest, while garlic and crushed red pepper just make everything else even more delicious. Try it with polenta on the side.
Sheet-Pan Roasted Fish With Sweet Peppers
Quick to make and very pretty to behold, this easy weeknight dish has more verve than most. The roasted bell peppers turn sweet and golden, while olives add a salty note that goes nicely with the mild, flaky fish and a garlicky parsley dressing. If you can’t find hake, cod or flounder make fine substitutes, though you may have to adjust the roasting time. The thicker the fillets, the longer they will take to cook.
One-Pot Mujadara With Leeks and Greens
Cookbooks will tell you that, in the Middle East, mujadara is the essence of comfort food, a humble dish made from pantry staples. To that I will add how easy it is to make. The only part that needs some attention is the frying of the onions (or in this case, leeks). To get them crisp, you have to cook them until they are deeply brown and darker than you might be comfortable with. But without the deep color, you don’t get the crunch. Just make sure to take them off the heat before they burn. You want the majority to be mahogany, not black (though a few black strands would be O.K.).
Skillet Chicken With Tomatoes, Pancetta and Mozzarella
With a topping of tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella, it’s no wonder that I always think of this easy skillet dish as "pizza chicken." It’s a tangy, milky, gooey, lovable meal that’s somewhat reminiscent of chicken Parmesan, but with succulent bone-in chicken pieces instead of breaded and fried cutlets. Even better, it has pancetta and anchovies for complexity of flavor, and the whole thing comes together in under an hour.
Sheet-Pan Supper
This is not a recipe for a chicken dish. Instead, you get a whole chicken dinner, which comes together easily and without fuss by roasting everything at the same time on sheet pans, which emerge from the oven more or less simultaneously. The chicken comes out crunchy-skinned and juicy, the sweet potatoes soft and succulent and scented with thyme, and the broccoli rabe crisp-leafed and tender-stemmed. Perhaps the best part? With just a couple of pans that can go straight into the dishwasher, cleanup is a snap.
Chickpea Vegetable Soup With Parmesan, Rosemary and Lemon
This satisfying, colorful soup is loaded with chickpeas and vegetables, and it's incredibly easy to make. There's not much more to it than tossing everything into a pot and letting it simmer for a couple of hours (no sautéing!) until everything is tender. Do not forget to finish the soup with a flurry of the rosemary, Parmesan, lemon zest and pepper mixture. It really makes this soup sing.
Sheet-Pan Spicy Roasted Broccoli Pasta
Think of this as the sheet-pan version of a classic, cheese-covered pasta bake. It has all the elements of the usual casserole — the pasta and vegetables tossed with ricotta and topped with Parmesan-dusted bread crumbs. But because all the ingredients are spread out on a sheet pan instead of being piled into a baking dish, everything browns, which in turn means more crunch and crisp edges. First, the broccoli is roasted until it softens and browns. Then, the other ingredients are spooned on top, and everything is quickly baked, making for a speedy, vegetarian weeknight meal. It’s worth seeking out really good ricotta here. With so few ingredients, every one makes a difference.
Sausages With Tangy, Gingery Pineapple
Debate ham and pineapple pizza all you want. There’s no denying the goodness of caramelized pineapple paired with crisp-edged sausages. In this easy weeknight meal, a tangy lime- and ginger-spiked dressing cuts the richness of the meat and tempers the sweetness of the fruit. Serve this with some crusty bread to mop up the drippings.
Pressure Cooker Chicken Korma
Flavored with cardamom and saffron-infused cream, then garnished with golden raisins and slivered almonds, chicken korma is a delicate and elegant dish. This version, by the cookbook author Madhur Jaffrey, is quickly made in an electric pressure cooker. You can substitute chicken breasts here, as long as you buy them still on the bone. Boneless chicken is apt to overcook. Serve this over basmati rice to soak up the rich, creamy sauce.
Stir-Fried Chicken and Bok Choy
No need for a wok here. You can use a flat-bottomed skillet or sauté pan instead, the bigger the better. You want as much surface area as possible to get as hot as possible, so preheat the pan for at least five minutes before adding the oil. There should be a forbidding amount of smoke when the ingredients hit the pan (open the windows and turn on the fan before you start). That will give you the deepest sear. Stir-fries are infinitely variable, and you can change up this recipe by using beef or pork, and other green vegetables (asparagus, broccoli, mustard greens, cabbage, spinach or thinly sliced green beans) substitute nicely for the bok choy. Make a version of this dish once or twice and you’ll have a reliable and delicious alternative to takeout.
Sesame Chicken With Cashews and Dates
Dates add a touch of sweetness to this savory chicken and scallion stir-fry. If you don’t have a wok or a 12-inch skillet, you might want to cook this in two batches in a smaller pan. That will ensure a nice, browned crust on the meat. And if you want to substitute chicken breasts, stir-fry them for only 2 minutes in Step 2 before adding the rice wine.
Middle Eastern-Inspired Herb and Garlic Chicken
This recipe was inspired by the Middle Eastern dried seasoning mix called za’atar, a combination of herbs (usually thyme, oregano and marjoram), sesame seeds and sumac, often spiked with salt. Here, fresh herbs are substituted for the dried, which, along with fresh parsley and mint and plenty of lemon and garlic, are used to marinated boneless chicken thighs. If you can’t find sumac, just leave it out. It does add a nice tang and vibrant color, but the dish will work without it. Optimum marinating time here is 8 hours. But feel free to leave it for as little as 15 minutes or as long as 24 hours. If you would rather use white meat, substitute boneless skinless breasts but reduce the cooking time by a few minutes.
Black Pepper Chicken Thighs With Mango, Rum and Cashews
Pairing spicy chilis and sweet mango in salsa is a classic. Here's a twist on a chicken sauté, spiked with plenty of black pepper, a little rum and mangoes folded in at the end to brighten the mix.
Midnight Pasta With Anchovies, Garlic and Tomato
Tomato paste gives this speedy midnight pasta, studded with anchovy and garlic, its color and umami. If you’re not an anchovy fan, you can substitute a few tablespoons of chopped capers or olives. Be generous when adding the pasta water to the pan. The mixture should look soupy at first, but the sauce will thicken up as you toss.
Pasta With Green Puttanesca
Puttanesca is a sauce that plies its trade all year round, with ingredients — pantry staples like anchovies, garlic and olives — at the ready whenever the desire strikes. But this puttanesca takes advantage of spring greens, using fat green garlic cloves and baby spinach to lend a pungent verdancy to a tried-and-true dish. (If green garlic isn’t available, use regular, but use less.)
Pasta With Burst Cherry Tomatoes
This recipe may seem like it calls for a lot of mint, but that’s what makes this easy pasta dish so refreshing. Cooking halved cherry tomatoes in olive oil until they burst condenses their flavor and caramelizes their edges, and makes a very intense base for the pasta sauce in this dish. Pancetta adds richness and a salty tang, but if you’d rather leave it out, you can. Just toss in some grated pecorino cheese at the end along with the butter.
Pasta Primavera With Asparagus and Peas
This simple pasta primavera uses a combination of the earliest vegetables available in spring — asparagus, peas and spring onions — making it a true celebration of the season. The sauce works best with springy egg pasta, preferably homemade or a good purchased brand. Make sure not to overcook it; you need the chewy bite to stand up to the gently cooked vegetables. If you can’t find good fresh English peas, you can substitute frozen peas, but don’t add them until the last minute of cooking.
One-Pan Orzo With Spinach and Feta
Similar to spanakorizo, a Greek spinach and rice dish, this easy, meatless meal features orzo, spinach, peas and scallions. It is deeply satisfying but still on the lighter side of pasta recipes, thanks to all those vegetables. A little feta gives it creaminess and tang, while some lemon zest brightens everything up. It makes a complete meal on its own, or, if you’re looking for something more substantial, serve this as a hearty side dish to roasted meats or fish.
Shredded Tofu and Shiitake Stir-Fry
Shredding tofu on a box grater before stir-frying gives it a fluffy, light texture, and the smaller pieces readily absorb the complex, earthy mushroom flavor of the sauce. Unlike with many tofu dishes, you’re not looking to sear the tofu here, just to warm it up in the sauce. The caramelized flavor is supplied by the shiitake mushrooms, which should be cooked until they are well browned and crisp-edged. If you can’t find fresh lemongrass, you can leave it out.
Cottage Cheese Pasta With Tomatoes, Scallions and Currants
Satisfying the same creamy urge as mac and cheese, noodles with cottage cheese is a comforting Eastern European staple that’s sometimes topped with golden fried onions and a dusting of black pepper and cinnamon. This version trades caramelized onions for slivers of sharp raw scallion to contrast with the richness of the cottage cheese, which melts into a sauce upon contact with the hot pasta. The currants lean into the cinnamon's sweetness, while halved cherry tomatoes and mint make the dish juicy and fresh. It’s an unusual take on the original dish that’s easy to riff on — feel free to add or leave out ingredients to make it your own.
Sugared Shortbread
In 2012, The Times invited readers to submit their favorite cookie recipes. Amy Casey of Sparta, N.J., submitted this unusual recipe for shortbread that calls for melted butter and a little bit of rice flour (which is now relatively easy to find since it’s a popular gluten-free flour). You can mix this recipe in a bowl with a wooden spoon in about three minutes, and the rice flour gives the shortbread a sandy, singular texture that’s accentuated by the coating of granulated sugar on the top and bottom. You can substitute cornstarch for the rice flour, but you'll end up with a slightly softer crumb. Bonus: this keeps for weeks — but only if you hide it.
Olive Oil Zucchini Bread
This moist loaf, made with olive oil and yogurt, is less sweet and more complexly flavored than most zucchini breads. Grated lemon zest gives a gentle brightness, while brown sugar adds a caramel sweetness, and cinnamon makes it spicy and rich. Serve slices plain or buttered, or spread thickly with cream cheese for a more tangy and luscious variation.
Pumpkin Bread With Brown Butter and Bourbon
This hearty pumpkin bread is a sophisticated twist on the traditional version with the addition of bourbon (teetotalers can substitute apple cider), browned butter and cardamom.
Pantry Crumb Cake
More of a snack or breakfast than a showy dessert, a homey crumb cake doesn’t need the oohs-and-aahs of any guests. It’s the kind of thing a small family can devour in a few days, and a single person can freeze in slices, at the ready whenever the urge for brown sugar and butter hits. (Just wrap each slice up separately and store them in a container in the freezer; a slice will thaw in under an hour on the counter.) This cake is also extremely adaptable: Use whatever spices you like. If you don’t have oats, use more flour or chopped nuts. And feel free to use whatever fruit, fresh, frozen and thawed, or canned, you have on hand.