Recipes By Melissa Clark
1476 recipes found
Ginevra Iverson’s Chocolate Hazelnut Ice Cream
This recipe came to The Times from Ginevra Iverson, a chef and former owner of Calliope in New York. To make this luscious ice cream, she melts a few tablespoons of butter along with the gianduja (hazelnut-imbued chocolate) before whisking it into the custard. The only potentially tricky part is combining those two mixtures; the custard and melted gianduja need to be the same temperature, otherwise you could break the two emulsions and the whole thing will contract and curdle. Feel free to substitute plain old Nutella for the gianduja, and when folding the roasted hazelnuts in, mind the nut dust you sometimes get from peeling them.
Sweet Corn Ice Cream With Blackberry Verbena Sauce
Because this ice cream uses so few ingredients, wait until the depths of summer, when you can get really good, sweet, plump ears of corn. Taste a kernel before committing yourself. If your ears are on the less sweet side, save them for the savory parts of the meal where it matters a little less. The blackberry sauce, flavored with verbena, is a wonderful topping for this ice cream, but you could use fudge instead. Even unadorned, this ice cream deserves to be the golden finale.
Vanilla-Honey Soft Serve Ice Cream
You don’t need an ice cream maker for rich, custardy ice cream. With the help of an electric mixer and food processor, you can create ice cream with the texture of soft serve. One of the keys to a silky texture without the ice crystals that plague other no-churn ice cream recipes is using cream cheese (a trick picked up from Jeni Britton Bauer of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams). This helps hold the custard's emulsification even during freezing. This ice cream is best served right out of the food processor or blender, but if you want to make it entirely ahead, take it out of the freezer 20 minutes before serving. If you would like to make this recipe with an ice cream maker, freeze the custard according to manufacturer’s directions after cooling it completely.
One-Pan Pork Chops With Feta, Snap Peas and Mint
Brawny and golden brown, these seared pork chops make a hearty one-pan dinner that’s rounded out by sweet sugar snap peas and loads of fresh mint. The feta, added at the end, melts into the pork and peas, spiking the sauce with its brininess. Be generous with the fresh lemon juice at the end; this rich dish gains a lot from the tang.
Apple and Walnut Haroseth
This very classic Ashkenazi haroseth, which is a ceremonial part of the Passover Seder, is made from diced apple, toasted walnuts, a touch of cinnamon and a shower of sweet Passover wine. It’s meant to represent the mortar used by the Israelites when they were slaves in Egypt. The sweeter the apples you use, the less honey you’ll need to add at the end. But tart apples are nice here, too, as long as you balance their acidity. If you can’t get Manischewitz or another sweet Passover wine, ruby port is a fine substitute. You can make this haroseth one day ahead and store it in the refrigerator; just mix it well before serving to reincorporate any liquid that might have seeped out of the mix.
Tomato-Fennel Soup With Brie Toasts
The childhood pleasure of tomato soup with a side of grilled cheese had been enshrined in my mind since I’d last had it, decades ago. A tart, bright tomato soup and a crispy sandwich with an oozing interior: no wonder they are an iconic match. This recipe, spiked with fennel and Pernod, is livelier and more sophisticated than your usual tomato soup. It has a more complex flavor, too, with the fennel bulb adding a pronounced sweetness, along with a very gentle licorice flavor brought out by the Pernod. Serve with slim croutons seasoned with fennel seeds and topped with Brie. (Here's a helpful tutorial on how to cut up fennel.)
Chocolate-Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream With Salted Cashews
This surprisingly simple, yet rich and creamy, chocolate custard ice cream is studded with salted cashews and chunks of bittersweet chocolate throughout. The addition of crushed coffee beans to the cooking custard (they're later strained out), enhances the chocolate flavor.
Pomegranate Baked Rice and Onions With Dill
This tangy-sweet casserole is adapted from Shimi Aaron, an Israeli chef also known for his elaborate chocolate babkas. In this colorful dish, a layer of short-grain rice studded with pine nuts and dill is bathed in pomegranate juice and honey, and topped with shingles of red and yellow onions. When it emerges from the oven, the onions glisten like jewels, and the rice is fragrant, tender and a little sticky. Serve this as a meatless main course with a crisp salad, or as scene-stealing side dish alongside a simple roast chicken or fish.
Pasta With Caramelized Cabbage, Anchovies and Bread Crumbs
This dish is hearty and robust, with a savory backbone from the anchovies, sage and pecorino, as well as a bite from the red chile flakes. (A note to anchovy haters: add them anyway. They dissolve into the sauce and add complexity without any fishiness.) Although I used regular pasta, I think farro pasta or whole-wheat pasta would also have stood up to the brawny flavors of the dish. Or, if you wanted to take this in a meatier direction, you could substitute bacon for anchovies, reducing the olive oil and using some of the bacon fat to cook the cabbage. Pork products and cabbage are a match made in heaven, or at least in much of Eastern Europe.
Bhatti da Murgh (Indian Grilled Chicken With Whole Spices)
Adapted from the chef Chintan Pandya of Adda Indian Canteen in Long Island City, Queens, this fiery, aromatic recipe calls for marinating whole chicken legs in yogurt, ginger-garlic paste and ground spices, then coating them in cracked whole spices before roasting. The ground spices imbue the meat with flavor while the whole spices add pungency and a wonderful crunch. At Adda, Mr. Pandya cooks these in a tandoor. But you can roast them in your oven, or cook them on the grill using indirect heat and a baking sheet. In either case, brushing the sizzling chicken skin with plenty of melted butter is the key to its rich taste and burnished crispness.
Grilled Shrimp Salad With Melon and Feta
A colorful mix of juicy fresh melon, salty feta and grilled shrimp, this easy-to-make salad is perfect for a quick and light summer dinner. A little minced chile adds heat, balancing the sweetness of the melon and shrimp, while the toasted whole coriander seeds lend a nice crunch. You can use any one type or a combination of melon here, and the riper the better. Serve this with something to catch all the tangy sauce — bread, rice or even a spoon.
Pulled Pork Sandwiches
This recipe takes a good deal of time, but it yields a lot of sandwiches, more than enough for a sloppy, spicy dinner party feast. You’ll roast a dry-rubbed pork shoulder in the oven until it’s pull-apart tender, 3 or 4 hours that you can spend doing other things while your kitchen fills with the aroma of the cooking meat. Then you’ll assemble a quick slaw and simmer a tangy barbecue sauce for about 10 minutes before putting it all out on the table with soft rolls. Serve the combination warm, at any time of the year, for a weekend project well worth an afternoon’s work.
Gingery Grilled Chicken Thighs With Charred Peaches
Coated in a balsamic vinegar glaze that’s spiked with ginger, garlic and soy sauce, these chicken thighs are sweet-tart and irresistibly sticky. They’re served with grilled thyme and honey butter-basted peaches, which become soft and wonderfully jammy on the fire. The yogurt is optional. It adds a cool and creamy counterpart to the char and smoke, but the dish is just as satisfying without it.
Spice-Rubbed Beer-Can Chicken with Potatoes and Sweet Peppers
Grilled Ratatouille With Crostini and Goat Cheese
Grilled ratatouille is a warm-weather recipe with many charms in both method and result. Grilling takes the whole process of cooking outside, and the grill also adds a lovely smoky nuance to the finished dish without overpowering the essential flavors of vegetables, olive oil and herbs. The dish is less stew-y and more saladlike than a typical ratatouille, but with its concentrated flavor and velvety texture, along with a garlicky kick, it may well become a favorite all the same.
Grilled Chicken Breasts With Spicy Cucumbers
Light and refreshing, yet packed with flavor from herbs, jalapeños and garlic, this is an easy, after-work meal that can be endlessly adapted to suit what you’ve got on hand. Substitute other thinly sliced raw vegetables for the cucumbers (zucchini, carrot, radishes, celery, cabbage, fennel), and other herbs for the cilantro and parsley (dill, basil, mint). Just be sure not to overcook the flattened chicken, which can happen in an instant.
Grilled Flank Steak With Worcestershire Butter
Grilled steak covered in melting herb butter is a cornerstone of summer cooking. Here, both the steak and the compound butter are spiked with Worcestershire sauce, fresh thyme and garlic for an intensely brawny flavor. Then, the steak is garnished with a mix of charred tomatoes, scallions and basil, which gives everything a juicy sweetness brightened with lemon. You can use any cut of beef here; the flank steak has a deeply mineral taste and chewy texture that’s at its best sliced thin. But rib-eye, skirt steak and sirloin also work; just be sure to adjust the cooking time for thinner or thicker pieces.
Ash-Roasted Potatoes
You don’t need a real recipe for these potatoes, but you do need a charcoal grill because these ash-baked tubers won’t work with gas. The recipe is a throwback to when clans of kids roamed New York City streets in the early 20th century, building fires in abandoned lots and baking potatoes into the ashes for a hot snack. The potatoes turn so sooty black that it can be hard to tell them apart from the coals, especially in the twilight. The timing of when they will be done will vary depending upon the size of your potatoes and the heat of your fire. Stab them with a skewer to see when they are tender within. To eat, carefully break a potato open and scoop out the smoky, fluffy flesh with a spoon, seasoning it with salt and butter to taste. Or go old-school and wrap the potatoes in a newspaper to protect your fingers before breaking them open and biting the flesh directly from the burned shells.
Grilled Pomegranate-Glazed Chicken With Tomato Salad
Of all the condiments in my overstuffed pantry, pomegranate molasses ranks among the most intense. A staple in countries across the Middle East, it is made from pomegranate juice simmered until nearly as thick and dark as espresso, but with even more punch. Both pickle-sour and syrupy sweet, it’s as pungent as chile paste but with the vivid bristle of tart red fruit instead of capsicum heat. In Middle Eastern cuisines, pomegranate molasses is usually tossed into salads, stirred into stews and sprinkled on vegetables and fish. In my kitchen, I especially adore it as a way to perk up mild meats like chicken. A small drizzle after you’re done grilling the meat can add just the right note of sweet-tart complexity to make everything shine.
Garlicky, Smoky Grilled London Broil With Chipotle Chiles
No matter if you broil, pan-sear or grill it, like most economical cuts, London broils want to stay rare and juicy and a little chewy to show off its best side. Cooked through until completely brown, these steaks toughen and dry up. Warning to well-done steak lovers: You might want to buy a different hunk of beef.
Sweet and Spicy Fruit Salad
Most fruit salads consist of little more than diced fruit mixed in a bowl. They are simple and satisfying, but not necessarily special. This one is a more sophisticated take. It calls for a star anise- and chile-infused simple syrup, which adds sweetness and musky, spicy complexity. In addition to fruit, herbs – tarragon and basil – are tossed in for freshness. You can use whatever fruit you like as long as it is sweet and ripe. Eat the salad as it is, or top it with either mascarpone for a mellow, creamy note, or crumbled ricotta salata for something savory and bracing. Feel free to play around with other toppings as well. In the mellow category are fresh ricotta, crème fraîche, sour cream or ice cream. For something on the salty side, try shaved Parmesan, crumbled feta or goat cheese.
Mustard-and-Chile-Rubbed Roasted Beef Tenderloin
For parties or picnics, meat that you've prepared the day before is a time-saving trick worth adopting. Everyone knows that beef tenderloin, served hot, is a fail-safe dish for a dinner party. It comes out of the oven caramelized, glistening and perfect. If the primary goal is to serve it chilled or room temperature, however, the trick is to swab the meat with flavor — lots of chile powder, oregano, garlic, mustard and olive oil — before sliding it into the oven (roast it rare so it stays tender and juicy). The next day all you need to do is slice and serve, no compensatory condiments necessary. The flavors of mustard and chile, carried by the fat in the olive oil, have penetrated the meat beautifully.
Grilled Pork With Whole Spices and Garlic Bread
Deeply flavored from a rub of fennel, coriander, caraway and cumin, and crisp-edged from the grill, this pork feeds a crowd, and most of the work can be done in advance. You can use either boneless loin or shoulder here: The shoulder is chewier, brawnier and more irregular in shape, while the loin is neater to slice and softer to eat. But both are delicious, especially when showered with fresh lemon or lime juice at the end to cut the richness. You don’t have to make the buttery garlic bread, but its herbal flavors go well with the smoke and char of the meat. If you do skip it (your loss), serve the pork strewn with plenty of fresh, bright herbs. If you’re not grilling, you can roast the pork in a 500-degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes, flipping it halfway. Then run it under the broiler at the end to sear the fat.
Grilled Lamb Chops With Rouille and Cherry Tomatoes
The rouille helps the chops char while they absorb all that garlicky-saffron flavor, which is underscored by a dollop of sauce on the side and a garnish of sweet cherry tomatoes.