Recipes By Melissa Clark
1468 recipes found
Coconut-Stewed Bamboo Shoots With Shrimp (Ginataang Tambo)
Dressing seafood in coconut milk is a classic way of cooking it, writes Nicole Ponseca in her book, “I Am a Filipino.” Here, shrimp are quickly sautéed in a heady coconut milk sauce laced with onion, ginger and slivers of red chile. Slippery pieces of bamboo shoot (canned, or fresh if you can find it) add texture and a gentle earthiness.
Zucchini Tian With Curried Bread Crumbs
Sweet Potato and Gruyère Gratin
This rich, cheese-laden gratin is a more savory take on the usual Thanksgiving sweet potato casserole, with sage and rosemary giving it an herbal bite. If you'd like to make it partway ahead, you can peel and slice the potatoes the day before; store in a sealable plastic bag in the fridge. You can also simmer the cream mixture (don’t add eggs) and grate the cheese the day before as well, storing them covered in the refrigerator.
Pasta With Seared Zucchini and Ricotta Salata
My favorite summer pasta toppings split the difference between salad and sauce. They should be chunky and filled with plenty of vegetables and herbs like a pasta salad, yet still be thoroughly seasoned and well integrated. Ideally, the pasta-to-vegetable ratio should be about equal; light, bright and fresh is what I’m after. This recipe is an example.
Zucchini Frico
It may be daunting to imagine, but this dish is really quite simple. All you do is take some good hard cheese, grate it, spread it in a nonstick pan and let it melt until it turns golden. Montasio is traditional, but Parmesan, asiago or a young, not too salty pecorino will all work well, too, so use whatever you have. You can form frico into small individual crackers for neater serving, or you can make one large cracker the size of your pan and break it apart as you devour it. Frico on its own doesn’t need much embellishment. All it truly requires is a chilled cocktail or a glass of Italian white wine served alongside. But this one incorporates zucchini. First, I browned thin rounds of zucchini in olive oil, then I topped them with the cheese and let them cook. It took only five minutes, plus another minute or so to let the cheese crisp up after I turned it out of the pan.
Zucchini Blossoms With Burrata and Tapenade
Soft goat cheese, ricotta and buffalo mozzarella would have all worked (and can be substituted), but I went for the richest thing I could get: burrata, which is essentially mozzarella filled with heavy cream. I spooned some into the flowers, dotting the cheese with a tangy, garlicky tapenade. Then I piled the blossoms onto a platter, slicked them with good olive oil until they shined, and sprinkled them with crunchy sea salt.
Creamy Pasta With Roasted Zucchini, Almonds and Basil
Whole-grain pasta offerings on supermarket shelves have expanded with gusto. Unlike the gluey, good-for-you-but-not-your-tastebuds pastas of yore, the best whole-grain brands are firm-textured and tasty. The warm, nutty flavor of varieties like these is robust enough to stand up to intense, complicated sauces, yet satisfying with just a little butter and Parmesan shaved over the top. Here, pasta with creamy goat cheese and a bite of citrus is enough to keep even the most staunch of whole-wheat opponents satisfied.
Candied Sweet Potatoes
When Fred Harvey opened his first Harvey House restaurant in 1876 on the railway line in Topeka, Kan., his idea was radical for the time: Railroad passengers would be fed good food in a pleasant environment. His concept was so successful that it spawned 84 restaurants, a Hollywood movie and an official cookbook. And it was in “The Harvey House Cookbook” that we found this excellent recipe for sweet potatoes candied with confectioners’ sugar and butter. It is best served warm rather than piping hot, which makes it convenient for big meals like Thanksgiving. Bake it before you roast your turkey, then reheat it briefly just before serving.
Roasted Sweet Potatoes With Horseradish Butter
This recipe plays velvety, honeyed roasted sweet potatoes against the sharp bite of a fresh horseradish and herb compound butter. It’s a great dish for feeding a crowd at Thanksgiving or another gathering. You can roast the potatoes and make the horseradish butter ahead, then pop them into the oven just 15 minutes before serving, while the turkey rests. If you can’t find fresh horseradish, substitute another aromatic ingredient like garlic, fresh ginger or scallions, adjusting the quantities to taste. You'll need less ginger and garlic than you would horseradish, and probably the same amount of scallions. Taste as you go.
Sweet Potato Aligot
In a classic French pommes aligot potatoes are mashed with butter and enough cheese to turn them into a stretchy purée that’s soft, gooey and eminently comforting. This version, made with sweet potatoes, has a gently caramelized flavor and a deeply satiny texture. Pan-fried sage leaves make a crisp, herbal garnish that’s worth the few extra minutes of work. Note that the bigger the sage leaves, the easier they are to fry. If you can’t find Saint-Nectaire or Tomme de Savoie cheese, you can use fontina or mozzarella. And if you want to make this ahead, or reheat leftovers, let the mixture cool, then store it in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat it on low, stirring in a little cream until the mixture is elastic and smooth. Serve this as a side dish to sausages or roasted meats, or as a meatless entree with a fresh, crunchy salad.
Maple Candied Sweet Potatoes
Here's a simple way prepare a favorite Thanksgiving side. Just bake the potatoes, peel and slice, then drench them in a butter-cider-maple syrup mixture that's been seasoned with cinnamon, cloves and orange zest. Bake until bubbly and the edges brown.
Spiced Eggplant and Tomatoes With Runny Eggs
A little like an eggplant version of shakshuka, this velvety skillet meal features sautéed eggplant and tomatoes seasoned with garlic, spices and lemon zest. It’s topped with runny eggs and a crunchy garnish of toasted nuts. The yogurt and hot sauce simultaneously heat things up and cool things down, and really add a lot to this hearty, meltingly soft dish. Serve it for brunch or dinner, with a crisp green salad and some flatbread on the side.
Swordfish With Caramelized Eggplant and Capers
Soft, caramelized eggplant and chunks of meaty swordfish vie for your attention in this complexly flavored main course. The eggplant, first broiled, then simmered with wine, diced fresh tomatoes, olives and capers, collapses into a silky caponata-like sauce. The swordfish, enriched with butter and spiked with garlic and herbs, becomes meltingly tender. If you’d rather not use swordfish, you can substitute fresh tuna or even chunks of boneless, skinless chicken breast. Serve it with rice, polenta or crusty bread to sop up every last, tender morsel.
Eggplant Focaccia With Ricotta and Olives
A generous amount of olive oil in the dough gives this flatbread its especially crisp edges, and a soft, bready crumb. The topping, a mix of thinly sliced eggplant slathered with garlic-imbued olive oil and minced olives, is silky, rich and very flavorful — even without the optional (but excellent) anchovies. Just as good devoured warm from the oven and as it is at room temperature, this makes perfect picnic fare. Or serve it with a leafy salad for a light but satisfying dinner.
Summer Vegetable Skewers
Of all the possible vegetables to grill on skewers, zucchini and eggplant are some of the best, turning velvety soft and richly flavored as they sear over the flames. In this recipe, they’re quickly marinated in oregano, garlic and olive oil while the grill heats, then brightened with plenty of fresh lemon juice just before serving. Salting them for 10 or so minutes before grilling helps season them through and through, but you can skip that step if you’re short on time. To get vegetarian recipes like this one delivered to your inbox, sign up for The Veggie newsletter.
Pan-Fried Eggplant With Chile, Honey and Ricotta
For the crispest, most burnished pieces of eggplant, nothing beats frying, and it’s worth every last splattered drop of oil to get there. This dish pairs the golden spears of fried eggplant with milky ricotta cheese, fried garlic slices, red-pepper flakes and a generous drizzle of honey. You can serve it as a first course, a substantial side dish or a light main course with a green salad on the side. Note that tender, young eggplant cook a lot more quickly than denser, larger ones, and are worth seeking out here.
Shortcut Moussaka
Like a moussaka meets shepherd's pie, this cheater's version of the Greek spiced lamb casserole was born, Melissa Clark wrote, "out of a combination of hunger, ingenuity and a lack of time." Instead of a fussy béchamel, it is made with a creamy layer of mashed potatoes laced with kefalotiri or Parmesan cheese, and instead of frying the eggplant, it is cut into cubes and roasted. It isn't exactly a quick recipe, but it's far easier than the classic dish and equally satisfying.
Lemony Asparagus Salad With Shaved Cheese and Nuts
Less is more when it comes to asparagus, especially those first tender stalks that show up in spring. Here they’re quickly steamed and turned into an elegant salad tossed with a lemony, shallot dressing, and enriched with plenty of grated Manchego or other cheese. Chopped pistachios add another shade of green to the plate along with their sweet crunch, but use any nuts you like, or skip them entirely. This tangy, bright salad doesn’t need them.
White Bean and Asparagus Salad with Tarragon-Lemon Dressing
Pork-Cabbage Casserole
This hearty skillet meal is filled with layers of buttery, caramelized cabbage sandwiching a filling of herby pork and rice. A garlicky yogurt sauce, plus plenty of lemon juice and zest, keeps the dish bright and tangy, and the soft cabbage makes it especially warming on a cold winter day. This reheats perfectly, so make it ahead if you like (up to three days, store it in the fridge), then heat it up in a 350-degree oven until steaming.
Polenta With Asparagus, Peas and Mint
Buttery polenta serves as a soft, savory bed for asparagus and peas in this verdant, vegetable-rich main course. Sautéed shallots add sweetness, while fresh mint lends brightness to a satisfying yet light meal. You can substitute any soft herbs for the mint or use a combination for the most complex flavor. And, if you’re short on time, instant polenta will work in place of regular, too. Just follow the directions on the package to cook it.
Lamb Chops With Green Tomatoes
Lamb chops cooked with tomatoes is traditional, but less so when the tomatoes are green. Here, unripe, green tomatoes add acidity, which works nicely with the rich gaminess of the shoulder chops. If you can’t get green tomatoes, you can make this with the half-green, half-red tomatoes, the kind that haven’t fully ripened on the vine before they need to be picked in advance of a frost. In a pinch you can even use tomatillos or bland, out-of-season supermarket tomatoes, which will add the necessary juiciness and vegetable matter to the pan if not the same complexity of flavor (a squeeze of lemon would help). In any case, make sure to taste before stirring in the honey, since the acid content of tomatoes varies widely. And if you aren’t a lamb lover but are wondering what to do with a plethora of green tomatoes, you can make this recipe with pork chops; just add a few minutes to the cooking time.
Egg-in-a-Hole With Asparagus
What would you get if you crossed savory Parmesan French toast with egg-in-a-hole and served it beneath a pile of roasted asparagus? An easy, vegetable-focused brunch or light dinner that you can make on a single sheet pan. The key here is to use wide slices of bread large enough to hold two eggs each: Choose slices from the middle of the loaf. (If your bread slices are smaller, just use one egg in each.) Feel free to substitute other quick-roasting vegetables for the asparagus. Broccoli florets, halved cherry tomatoes or brussels sprouts, or sliced mushrooms will all work equally well. And if you want to double the recipe, use two sheet pans, arranging the bread on one and the asparagus on the other.
Pan-Seared Asparagus Salad With Frisée and Fried Egg
Here is a fine variation on the old combination of egg and asparagus. It is a twist on the bistro staple, frisée aux lardons, with pan-fried asparagus standing in for the bacon lardons. It’s mixed with the frisée and a pungent garlic vinaigrette laced with a little anchovy. Then, in place of the usual poached egg nestled in curling frisée leaves, fry an egg until the edges are crisp and brown. This adds a vaguely baconlike nuance to the salad, without the meat.