Recipes By Melissa Clark
1478 recipes found
Arepas de Choclo With Avocado Salad
Arepas, corn cakes that are a cornerstone of Colombian and Venezuelan cuisines, come in many guises, depending on the region, the season and the available ingredients. This slightly sweet, cheese-filled version, called arepas de choclo, is adapted from “Colombiana” (HarperCollins, 2021), a cookbook by the Colombian food stylist Mariana Velásquez. The dough, which uses a combination of fresh corn kernels and yellow masarepa (precooked cornmeal), fries up into rich, moist, golden cakes that are like a more delicate version of the mozzarella-stuffed arepas found at street fairs. Ms. Velásquez pairs these with a lemony tomato and avocado salad to offer a soft and juicy contrast to the crisp-edged cakes. Perfect for a summery brunch, these also make an excellent light lunch or dinner. If you can’t find masarepa (P.A.N. is one brand available in large supermarkets), Ms. Velásquez recommends substituting instant polenta. But don’t use masa harina, which is a different product altogether. To get vegetarian recipes like this one delivered to your inbox, sign up for The Veggie newsletter.
Cassoulet
This slow-cooked casserole of white beans and several kinds of meat has long been considered the pinnacle of regional French home cooking. It takes planning (you’ll need to find all the ingredients), time and a good deal of culinary stamina. But the voluptuous mix of aromatic beans surrounding rich chunks of duck confit, sausages, roasted pork and lamb and a crisp salt pork crust is well worth the effort. Serve this with a green salad. It doesn’t need any other accompaniment, and you wouldn’t have room for it, anyway. This recipe is part of The New Essentials of French Cooking, a guide to definitive dishes every modern cook should master.
Fresh Green Chorizo
Because it’s not stuffed into casings, this vibrant and fiery Mexican fresh pork sausage comes together fairly quickly. The most time-consuming part is roasting the green chiles and garlic, which are then puréed and mixed into ground pork along with spices, parsley and a tangy dose of sherry vinegar. Use the green chorizo as a base for tacos or scrambled eggs, or simmer it with beans into a thick, hearty stew. Wherever you use it though, be prepared for a kick. This is spicy stuff. And here are several more of our delicious chorizo recipes.
Beer-Braised Beef and Onions
This hearty, warming beef and onion stew is flavored with Belgian beer, bay leaves and sweet paprika. A variation on a traditional Flemish carbonnade, it’s rich and homey but still lively, with a ruddy color from the paprika. The very large quantity of onions adds sweetness, and also helps make the sauce velvety soft. Serve it over potatoes, noodles or polenta.
One-Pot Turkey Chili and Biscuits
In this streamlined recipe, turkey chili and buttery cornmeal biscuits are nestled together in the same skillet, and baked into a blissfully cozy one-pot meal. You can make the cornmeal batter and the chili several hours ahead — or even the night before — then bake them together right before serving, so the biscuits are at their most tender. A dollop of sour cream at the end isn’t strictly necessary, but the cool milkiness is lovely with the spicy, meaty chili. Yogurt makes a fine substitute. And if you’re looking to make this vegetarian, substitute faux meat or another can of beans for the turkey.
Sausages With Potatoes and Red Cabbage
A full meal baked in one pan, this easy weeknight dish yields tender, sweet red cabbage and crisp, golden potatoes seasoned with whole caraway and coriander and topped with meaty sausages. You can make this with any kind of sausage: whether spicy turkey, chicken and mushroom, classic pork bratwurst, chorizo or hot Italian links. A metal pan will give you slightly better browning on the potatoes, but use what you’ve got.
Ratatouille and Sausage Potpie With Cornmeal Biscuits
A typical ratatouille recipe has you sauté all the vegetables separately, then combine them. That seemed too laborious for a potpie. So I streamlined the method by making a sauce on the stove with the peppers and tomatoes, stirring in roasted eggplant and zucchini, and sausage for extra flavor, and baking everything covered in dough.
Feta-Brined Roast Chicken
Brining a chicken before roasting can make for a particularly juicy, tender bird. Using feta in the brine adds a complex and earthy flavor to the mix. Don’t skip the step of taking the chicken out of the brine an hour before cooking. This allows the bird to come to room temperature and dries it out a bit, which helps crisp the skin. This recipe calls for a lot of black pepper, and if you like a spicy bite, don’t afraid to go for the full 2 tablespoons. Or bring the amount down for something milder. In either case, do grind it yourself; the pre-ground stuff is missing all the essential oils that give freshly ground black pepper its woodsy, floral notes. Roasted potatoes make an excellent side dish.
Cinnamon Roasted Potatoes
A cinnamon stick broken into pieces gives these potatoes a bit of Middle Eastern flavor. Roasting them first at 325 degrees, and then turning the heat up to 450, gives them a perfect crispness.
Roasted Sausages With Grapes and Onions
You can use any kind of sausages in this cozy, autumnal dish, filled with roasted sweet grapes and vinegar-spiked onions. Spicy Italian sausages made from pork, chicken or turkey, fresh chorizo or merguez, will give the dish a kick, while milder sausages like chicken and apple, bratwurst or Weisswurst make for a gentler meal. Serve this on a bed of polenta or mashed potatoes, or with some crusty bread to sop up the vinegary, sausage-rich pan juices, and a green salad on the side. If you want to halve this recipe, reduce the oven temperature to 425 degrees; otherwise the smaller amount of food in the pan might get too brown.
Herbed Compound Butter
A compound butter — a stick of butter seasoned with herbs, lemon and garlic or shallots — is one of the most versatile things to keep on hand. You can store it in the freezer, then slice it whenever you want to add herby richness to a dish. Use it on steak, fish, chicken or even mashed or roasted sweet potatoes. And feel free to vary the herbs to suit your taste. For a kick, a pinch or two of chile powder or a drizzle of hot sauce would do the trick. This recipe is part of The New Essentials of French Cooking, a guide to definitive dishes every modern cook should master.
Pyaz Ka Laccha (Raw Onion Relish)
These floppy, lightly pickled onions are a traditional accompaniment to grilled and tandoor foods throughout India and the rest of South Asia. There are different versions depending on the region, but all are seasoned with salt, spiked with chile (either powdered or fresh) and brightened with some kind of acid, usually lemon juice or vinegar. This recipe, adapted from “Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking” (Barron’s, 1983), uses a combination of sweet paprika and cayenne for an earthy, nuanced flavor, and you can add the spices to taste, making this as fiery or mild as you like. Soaking the onion slices in water before mixing the relish helps soften their sharpness, but you can skip this step if you prefer a stronger onion flavor.
No-Churn Ice Cream
Made without an ice cream maker, this custard-base ice cream is frozen solid in a loaf pan, then churned until creamy in a food processor or blender. It's best scooped straight from the machine, when it has the satiny-chewy texture of soft serve. If you do want to make it ahead, you can return it to the freezer for up to a week, then let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving.
Modern Timpano
A timpano is a highly festive, drum-shaped, baked pasta torte filled with all kinds of delectable goodies — meatballs, cheeses, sausages or ragù, hard-boiled eggs and penne, all coated in a rich Sunday-gravy-type tomato sauce. This updated version is more streamlined, nixing the eggs and meatballs in flavor of roasted squash and sautéed garlicky broccoli rabe, and using purchased fresh pasta sheets instead of homemade. It’s lighter, a little easier and a lot more colorful, without sacrificing the cheesy, meaty essence of the dish. Making a timpano is undeniably a project, but you can do much of the work a few days ahead, including making the sauce and cooking the vegetables, which can be made up to 2 days ahead. Then set aside half an hour before baking to layer everything in the mold. Serve this at a dinner party when you’re looking to impress.
Horseradish Crème Fraîche Sauce
This creamy, luscious sauce gets its bite from the combination of mustard and horseradish. Dollop it on steaks and chops, fish, chicken, roasted vegetables (especially broccoli and cauliflower) or a hot baked potato. If you can't get crème fraîche, sour cream is a fine substitute. This recipe is part of The New Essentials of French Cooking, a guide to definitive dishes every modern cook should master.
Classic Hot Fudge Sundae
There is a reason a hot fudge sundae is such an enduring classic: That combination of warm, rich chocolate fudge mixing with frozen ice cream and melting it slightly is absolutely irresistible. Of course, if you have homemade fudge sauce and homemade ice cream, it gets even better. Vanilla ice cream is the standard here, but feel free to use your favorite flavor, or a combination of flavors. And if you like nuts, by all means use them here. The added crunch is marvelous against all the rich creaminess.
Classic Custard Ice Cream Base
Rich, creamy and deeply satisfying, there is nothing better than a classic custard ice cream. Sometimes called French-style, this base incorporates eggs, which improve the texture and help prevent ice crystals from forming. This recipe for ice cream base may be churned on its own, but it is meant to have flavors added. See the chart here for flavor options and directions for incorporating them into the base recipe.
Crunchy Baked Potatoes With Anchovy, Parmesan and Rosemary
This is a sophisticated take on the typical cheese-laden twice-baked potato. Here, rosemary, Parmesan, anchovy and garlic replace the Cheddar cheese and sour cream, and for a crunchy topping, bread crumbs mixed with more Parmesan and lemon zest are sprinkled on top and placed under the broiler until golden and crisp.
Salted Caramel Ice Cream
This luxurious ice cream is the ideal balance of sweet yet salty and rich yet light. It's custard-based, which means you have to separate a lot of eggs (six), but the thick and silky results are worth a little bit of fuss. For something a little lighter, use more milk and less cream, as long as the dairy adds up to three cups. You can also cut down on egg yolks for a thinner base, but don’t go below three. Despite the rumors, making caramel is not hard, but it can be a little tricky. If this is your first time, make sure you have enough sugar for a second batch in the event your first is a bust. Also, remove the cooking caramel from the heat just before you think you need to to prevent burning.
Spiced Brandied Cherries
This recipe calls for heating the liqueur to hasten the maceration time, and further impregnate the cherries with booze.
Philadelphia-Style Ice Cream Base
Made without eggs, this ice cream is much less rich than those made with a custard base. The lack of eggs also allows the flavorings to shine through, making it a light in texture yet intense in taste. Using a combination of granulated sugar and liquid sugar (corn syrup, honey or agave syrup) helps keep the texture smooth and silky.
Ginger Butterscotch Sauce
This recipe came to The Times from the pastry chef Pichet Ong, who developed it when he worked at Spice Market and 66 in New York. He served it over a kabocha squash pie with a lime graham cracker crust, but it would go equally well over cheesecake, key lime pie or chess pie. It takes about a half-hour of your time, and will add a buttery note to any dessert.
Dark Chocolate Flan With Pumpkinseed Praline
A light and fluffy flan seasoned with chile, cinnamon and anise, and topped with a filigree of pepita praline (just hulled pumpkinseeds mixed with caramel). This is dinner party pudding at its zenith.
Black Bean-Chorizo Stew
This chili-like stew relies on spicy, fresh green chorizo for its bright, zesty flavor. It only takes half an hour to make your own green chorizo, but you can substitute any kind of fresh (uncured) store-bought sausage, as long as it’s got a kick. Then add some chopped garlic, along with minced parsley and roasted poblano pepper for the green factor. Serve it over rice, or with corn or flour tortillas on the side. Here are several other dishes you can make with chorizo.