Recipes By Melissa Clark
1478 recipes found
Braised Lamb Shanks With Fresh Herbs
Bone-in lamb shanks are perfect for braising. The marrow in the bones releases into the sauce, deepening its flavor, while the tough meat softens into perfect tenderness during the long, slow cooking. In this recipe (very loosely based on a Georgian stew called chakapuli) the shanks are cooked with a prodigious amount of fresh herbs, adding fragrance and body. You can braise this several days in advance, then reheat it on the stove. The flavors get even better after having a chance to meld. Just don’t add the final herbal garnish until right before serving. A little bread, polenta or rice would be just the thing to soak up the heady sauce, though a spoon works, too.
Braised Pork Chops With Tomatoes, Anchovies and Rosemary
This is the sort of thing to make when you long for a satisfying, braised beef pot roast, but you don't have the several hours required. Here, pork chops are seared until they're mahogany in color, then tossed in with a quick sauce of tomatoes, garlic, rosemary and anchovies. The whole mess goes in to the oven for about 15 minutes until the chops are cooked through. Don't be put off by the anchovies; they will magically melt into the sauce.
Moroccan Shakshuka
In this shakshuka variation by the San Francisco chef Mourad Lahlou, lamb and beef kefta (meatballs) are browned, then simmered in a spiced tomato-red pepper sauce. Instead of the usual whole eggs poached in the sauce, Mr. Lahlou adds only the yolks, which burst into a luscious orange sauce when tapped with a fork. In his native Morocco, this kind of dish would traditionally be cooked in a tagine, but a large skillet works equally well. Serve this with flatbread for brunch, lunch or dinner. Chef Lahlou garnishes his shakshuka with edible flowers and micro cilantro, as shown here, but tender cilantro springs will do beautifully, too.
Pumpkin Sticky Toffee Puddings for Two
These rich little date and pumpkin puddings have the texture of soft cake, and are imbued with a brown sugar toffee sauce that’s broiled until bubbling, and, well, sticky. Don’t skip the crème fraîche (or yogurt). That tang is essential for keeping any cloying sweetness at bay.
Golden Raisin and Pecan Thins
These slightly sweet, extremely simple crackers, adapted from "Better Baking" by Genevieve Ko, can be stirred together in minutes in one bowl, no electric mixer required. They are then baked twice – once in loaf pans and once after freezing and slicing – making them crisp all the way through. Serve them with cheese or pâté, or even on their own as a snack. And feel free to personalize these by substituting other dried fruits and nuts for the raisins and pecans. Chopped dried figs and hazelnuts make another wonderful combination.
Gougères With Pancetta and Sage
What could be better than warm cheese puffs straight out of the oven? How about warm cheese puffs studded with bacon — or in this case, pancetta — and fresh sage? They are salty, brawny and rich; crisp on the outside and soft within. Gougères are best baked just before serving, but if you like you can make the batter ahead, form it into balls, and freeze them, unbaked. Bake while still frozen, adding 5 to 10 minutes onto the baking time.
Crème Fraîche Poundcake
Old-fashioned poundcake recipes don’t typically contain any chemical leavening, relying on the power of eggs and elbow grease to raise the crumb. Modern recipes often mix in a little baking powder or soda to lighten things up — but how much can be up to the cook. Adding 1/2 teaspoon baking powder will give the cake a dense and velvety interior; using the whole teaspoon makes it slightly airier and softer. Either way, this buttery loaf cake has a gentle tang from the crème fraîche, which is also featured in the candylike glaze. You’ll need a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan to accommodate all the batter. If your loaf pan is smaller, bake any extra batter in a greased ramekin on the side.
Gluten-Free Cinnamon Sugar Cake Doughnuts
Grammy’s Spice Cookies
This recipe for spice cookies came to The Times from Claire Will of San Francisco after a callout for favorite holiday recipes. At first, it seemed rather plain Jane, but the hefty dose of ground cloves (3/4 teaspoon) was what lured me into testing it, and I have to admit I was skeptical. I was soon a believer. Of the five kinds of cookies I served to a group at a holiday party, those crisp-edged, soft-centered beauties were the first to vanish. One friend texted on his way home, “send recipe for spice cookies a.s.a.p.”
Pan Roasted Pork Chops With Pea Shoot Pesto
A pesto built on pea shoots, pine nuts and cilantro brightens this pork chop recipe. The chops are seared, then roasted in an oven for 15 minutes, putting dinner on the table in less than an hour. To serve, pair it with a light salad coated with lemon and olive oil, salt and pepper. Try it tonight.
Chocolate Tahini Mousse
Dense and very creamy, this dark chocolate mousse has pockets of sesame tahini swirled through it, weaving a nutty flavor into the bittersweet. The candied cacao nibs add a piquant, caramelized crunch. But feel free to skip them, and simply sprinkle plain nibs on top of the mousse. Or substitute another crunchy topping, such as chopped, toasted almonds or walnuts, or sesame brittle.
Spelt and Lamb Meatballs
Fragrant with cinnamon and allspice and imbued with parsley and dill, these meatballs are like a cross between a falafel and lamb kibbe, with a crunchy crust. Starchy spelt helps the balls hold their shape and adds a pleasing chewy texture, while a small amount of lamb contributes its brawny, mineral flavor. Feel free to try these meatballs with other ground meats —turkey, chicken, beef or pork should all work nicely. Other whole grain berries (wheat, rye, barley) can be substituted for the spelt. Just make sure to cook the grains until they are quite tender and the bran splits.
Creamy Bucatini With Spring Onions and Mint
Rich and creamy in texture, and full of sweet-savory onion flavor, this rather mild-looking pasta packs a wallop on the fork. The pistachios add color and crunch, but other nuts work nearly as well. And if you can’t get spring onions (that is, fresh bunches of onions with their greens still attached, available in late spring and early summer), you can substitute regular onions or a combination of alliums, such as sweet onions, scallions, ramps or leeks.
Cardamom Butter Crescents
The egg whites in the batter keep these buttery shortbread-like cookies crumbly and light (and provide a place for all those spare egg whites you accumulate during holiday baking). The cardamom flavor is pronounced, so use the freshest cardamom you can find. These are also perfect for gift-giving, since they’ll keep practically forever, or at least 3 weeks stored airtight at room temperature.
Roasted White Fish With Lemony Almondine
Fish almondine, a variation on a classic meunière, combines toasted sliced almonds, brown butter and lemon juice as a sauce for sautéed, flour-dusted fillets. In this easy, weeknight-appropriate version, the fish is roasted, skipping the flour, for a more delicate result. Then, the sauce gets extra citrus intensity from a bit of grated lemon zest. Flaky white fish, or trout, is most traditional here. But the winning mix of brown butter, lemon and almonds is equally good on any kind of salmon, shrimp, green beans, asparagus – even roast chicken. And it comes together in a flash.
Irish Oatmeal Brulee With Dried Fruit And Maple Cream
Gruyère-Stuffed Roasted Red Peppers With Raisins and Olives
My usual method for roasting peppers is to sit each pepper on an open flame, letting the skin turn black and ashen in spots. It’s time-consuming, especially if I’m roasting more than four peppers at once (I have a four-burner stove), so I blacken them all together under the broiler. (You could also use a grill.)
Ricotta Tart With Lemon Poppy Crust
This simple, not-too-sweet tart is reminiscent of a cheesecake but with a higher crust-to-filling ratio. If you’ve got excellent, ripe fruit, feel free to lay it on top — berries, figs, poached rhubarb or pears, pineapple, plums — anything sweet and juicy will contrast nicely with the milky ricotta filling. Or just drizzle the tart with good flavorful honey and serve it plain. It’s an elegant way to end a meal. If you aren’t a poppy seed fan, just leave them out of the crust. Or substitute sesame seeds instead for a similar crunch, if different flavor.
Pecan Pie Bites With Gravy
It’s difficult to assess exactly how much the legalization of marijuana in Colorado may have changed the Thanksgiving menu. But it has indubitably increased the snacking that goes on afterward, said Alexander Figura, the chef of Lower48 Kitchen in Denver. That post-meal, late-night snacking has taken on a different kind of intensity now that the munchies are involved. “Stoned people gravitate to more extreme flavors,” he said. “They want something very savory or very sweet, or both at the same time.” His recipe for sticky pecan pie bites dunked into leftover turkey gravy — an after-hours snack among chefs he knows — hits those notes perfectly. The bite-size, bourbon-spiked pecan bars work on their own, too: no gravy or cannabis required. You can bake them up to 5 days in advance.
Caramel Cheddar Popcorn
There’s a sweet and salty allure to eating caramel corn and Cheddar popcorn in the same bite, but popcorn purists can keep the two flavors separate. Either way, a giant tin of homemade fancy popcorn is the gift that everyone wants and no one thinks to ask for. And it’s a lot less expensive to make yourself than it is to buy. The popcorn will last stored airtight at room temperature for up to two weeks.
Pork Chops With Shiitake Mushrooms
In this simple dish, thick pork chops are pan-seared, then finished in the oven. Served with a pungent grainy mustard vinaigrette and crisp-edged shiitake mushrooms, it makes a tasty, hearty weeknight meal.
Turkey Pitas With Cucumbers, Chickpeas and Tahini
These vibrant, crunchy, creamy turkey sandwiches have all the flavors of falafel, but without the frying. They’ve got a lemony tahini dressing, soft chickpeas, and a cumin-scented tomato and cucumber salad, all packed into pitas with leftover turkey (use dark or white meat). The pickled red onions give these a wonderful brightness, and they’re well worth the 10 extra minutes they take to make.
Pikliz
In Haiti, this spicy cabbage, carrot and chile-laced pickle, which is pronounced pick-lees, is traditionally served with rich meats and fried foods, like the pork dish griot. Its bright, fiery tang mitigates the heaviness and balances out the flavors. It’s also a wonderful condiment to serve with rice and beans, noodles, roast chicken, or other gently flavored dishes that need a little zipping up. Like most pickles, it will keep for weeks in the refrigerator. Make sure to take care when handling the chiles; gloves are recommended here.
Turkey and Hominy Chili With Smoky Chipotle
Making an authentic pozole — the fragrant Mexican hominy stew — has been on my list of things to do for years, but it can be very labor intensive. One recipe by Diana Kennedy, the author of Mexican cookbooks, calls for trimming hominy and boiling a pig’s head. Just reading about it causes my enthusiasm to wane. This stew is a compromise; a sort of a pozole-chili hybrid, loaded with ground turkey, bell peppers, hominy and pinto beans. Chile powder adds heat, jalapeño brightness and canned chipotle chile in adobo smokiness and depth. A bottle of beer provides a pleasant bitterness that complements the spice. This recipe makes a very large batch perfect for entertaining or for stocking the freezer, but you can easily half it to feed a family of four.