Recipes By Melissa Clark
1478 recipes found
Fish With Sizzling Olive Butter
Sizzling butter is an excellent base for several classic sauces for fish, including amandine and meunière. Here, garlic, sliced olives (try a mix of green and black), fennel seeds and lime juice are thrown into the pan, adding tangy, bright and aromatic flavors. You can use this sauce for any kind of fish, whether pearly fillets of cod or meaty tuna or salmon. It even works with shrimp and chicken breasts. After all, there are few things that aren’t improved by a drizzle of garlicky melted butter. Serve this over rice or with crusty bread to catch all that butter.
Skillet Chicken and Farro With Caramelized Leeks
This very savory skillet dinner features golden pieces of bone-in chicken nestled in a leek and farro pilaf. You might be surprised to see the leek greens used along with the whites. But, because the slices are sautéed until tender and then simmered with the farro, they turn soft and sweet, and contribute loads of deep onion flavor. (Added bonus: It’s nice to use the whole vegetable.) A simple tomato relish garnishes the top, adding juicy freshness to this hearty one-pot meal.
Pearl Couscous With Creamy Feta and Chickpeas
Baking pearl couscous with chickpeas, roasted tomatoes and garlic results in a one-pan vegetarian meal that’s cozy and very savory, especially if you use a flavorful stock for cooking. Soft and almost porridgelike in texture, it satisfies the same urge as polenta or risotto. Lemon zest and fresh herbs make it bright, while feta, added at the end, gives the whole thing a creamy richness. Save leftovers to bring to work for lunch the next day; they pack up perfectly. If you feel like you need more vegetables here to round out the meal, serve this on a bed of baby spinach, some of which will wilt on contact with the hot couscous.
Pomegranate Gin Preserve
Chilled Cucumber Soup With Avocado Toast
A chilled cucumber soup, whirled together in the blender to serve as an instant dinner, is one of the quiet rewards of midsummer. The trick to making it hearty enough is to not stint on the seasonings, especially when something as mild as cucumber is the main ingredient. Garlic, plenty of herbs, jalapeño and anchovy add plenty of flavor, while buttermilk contributes a creamy, light texture. You could serve this with nothing more than some crusty or toasted bread on the side and be satisfied, but a topping of soft avocado dressed with a little lemon juice and feta cheese fills out the meal nicely. And the muted green colors of avocado toast and cucumber soup look as cooling as they taste.
Farro Salad with Leeks, Chickpeas and Currants
Sliced leeks are wonderful roasted: they caramelize in the oven, becoming tender and sweet, their edges crisp. This recipe combines them with spicy marinated chickpeas and sweet currants for a hearty, satisfying side-dish salad. You could easily turn it into a main course by adding grated cheese (maybe ricotta salata or aged Cheddar) and nuts (pistachios, pine nuts, pecans). And also feel free substitute any other cooked bean or dried fruit; chopped apricots or cherries would work particularly well, as would navy or cannellini beans. The recipe makes a very large bowlful, but sturdy farro holds up well in the fridge.
Roasted Cabbage With Parmesan, Walnuts and Anchovies
Roasting cabbage wedges at high heat makes them crisp at the edges and tender in the middle. Here, the lacy crevices between the leaves are stuffed with a piquant mix of anchovies, walnuts and Parmesan, giving the sections crunch and a deep savory flavor. Serve them as a light, meatless main course, paired with noodles, rice or crusty bread, or as a hearty side dish to roast chicken or fish.
Gâteau Breton
With its soft, buttery crumb, this classic French cake is similar to a giant shortbread, though moister and more tender. Its hidden prune filling is traditional, although you can use other dried fruit, such as apricot, instead. In France you sometimes even see bakers sandwiching melted chocolate or caramel between the layers. This keeps well if you want to bake it 1 or 2 days ahead. Store it well wrapped at room temperature.
Spicy Grilled Pork With Fennel, Cumin and Red Onion
Imbued with spices that char at high heat, this aromatic pork recipe is a snap to throw together — exactly what you want for a night of summer grilling. If you’re got wooden skewers, don’t forget to soak them in water for an hour before grilling, so they don’t flare up. And if you’re broiling and you don’t want to bother with skewers at all, just spread the pork cubes out on a rimmed sheet pan, turning them halfway through cooking with tongs or a spatula. The pork is excellent served with pita or crusty bread or a rice pilaf, or simple grilled corn on the cob.
Classic Hot Chocolate
This is a dark, rich and classic hot cocoa that’s perfect for any snowy afternoon. Nondairy milk can be substituted for whole milk here, though you might have to reduce the sugar, since some brands are sweetened. Also bear in mind that the higher the cocoa percentage of the chocolate you use, the less sweet the drink will be. Add the sugar gradually, tasting as you go: Hot cocoa sweetness is a very personal thing.
Peach and Passion Fruit Smash
Creamy Pasta With Ricotta and Herbs
In this simple, springy pasta, milky ricotta thinned out with a little starchy pasta cooking water makes for a saucy, soupy dish that’s seasoned with loads of black pepper and herbs. For the best flavor, use at least three different kinds of herbs, break out some nicer olive oil and look for fresh ricotta. Lemon lovers can grate in the zest of half a lemon as well.
Rice Noodle Salad With Salted Peanuts and Herbs
This satisfying salad has rice noodles and vegetables in equal measure, making it bright, crisp and light. The peanuts add richness and a salty crunch, along with a dose of protein. And the dressing is a little spicy and a lot tangy, with a pungent kick from fish sauce, garlic and ginger. The recipe makes just enough dressing to lightly coat the vegetables and noodles, but if you’re a fan of heavily dressed salads, consider doubling it. Any leftover will keep in the fridge for up to a week, and you’ll be happy to drizzle it on fish, chicken and all kinds of vegetables.
Pomegranate, Lime and Tonic
A Cherry Tale
Arancini With Brandy-Soaked Raisins
These Italian fried rice balls have a surprise filling of brandy-soaked raisins, which gives them a gentle sweetness that contrasts with the savory fontina and mozzarella cheeses. You can make the rice mixture up to a day ahead, and form the balls up to four hours ahead. Then fry just before serving so the cheese is warm enough to gush when you bite in.
Pasta With Caramelized Peppers, Anchovies and Ricotta
Caramelized slivers of soft bell peppers and whole cloves of garlic serve as the sweet vegetable-based sauce for this summery pasta. The ricotta gives everything creaminess and body, while herbs and scallions lend freshness, and anchovies depth. If you have an open bottle of wine on hand, you can add a splash to deglaze the tasty browned bits on the bottom of the pan. But don’t bother opening something new: A little water or dry vermouth does the trick nearly as well.
The Louisville Sling
Juniper and Tonic
Pomegranate-Orange Relish With Walnuts
Turkish Burned Milk Pudding (Kazandibi)
This delicate Ottoman milk pudding has a burned bottom layer that adds a toasted-marshmallow, caramel-like flavor reminiscent of crème brûlée. The pudding itself is thickened with cornstarch for a soft, delightfully wobbly dessert that’s gently perfumed with mastic. You can find mastic, an aromatic tree-sap resin harvested in the Mediterranean, from specialty markets and spice shops. But if you can’t get it, feel free to substitute more vanilla extract, using a full teaspoon for the recipe. You need to make this at least 6 hours ahead so it has a chance to firm up. Making it a day or two ahead is even better. You will need a flameproof 9-by-13-inch metal baking pan — as long as it's made entirely of metal without an enamel coating, it should work. Avoid glass, which will shatter.
Penne With Brussels Sprouts, Chile and Pancetta
Pasta and sliced brussels sprouts make a good pair, the softened green shreds commingling with the chewy noodles in the sauce. Here that sauce is a simple one with big flavors: pancetta, rosemary, garlic and chile. The raw brussels are then added to the pan. A splash of lemon juice at the end is a bright touch. Within 30 minutes, dinner is ready. Vary this recipe at will — use regular bacon instead of pancetta, or skip the meat altogether and use extra cheese to make a satisfying vegetarian main course. Use a knife or a food processor (fitted with the slicing blade) to cut the brussels. A mandoline works too but isn’t necessary, because the brussels don’t need to be paper thin, or uniform in size. These are unfussy slices you can do by hand.
Banana Upside-Down Cake
Like a cross between bananas Foster and pineapple upside-down cake, this homey dessert is topped with caramelized banana slices and crunchy walnuts. Cooking the brown sugar in a skillet before adding the fruit gives you a particularly deep, complex flavor. Because of the moisture in the topping, you’ll need to bake this cake a little longer than other, similar butter cakes. Underbaked cake will be soggy and apt to fall apart, but an ideal result will have a well-browned surface and dark, slightly crunchy edges.
Risotto With Chard and Pancetta
This satiny risotto uses an entire bunch of chard, both stems and leaves, which gives texture and color to the tender grains of rice. Pancetta, crisped up in the pan, adds a savory, brawny crunch that contrasts with the sweetness of the shallots or onion. Red chard turns the rice a subtle shade of pink, but Swiss or rainbow chard will work equally well. And don’t neglect that squeeze of fresh lemon juice right at the end; it brightens everything up.