Recipes By Samin Nosrat
93 recipes found
Napa Cabbage Kimchi With Steamed Pork Belly
During gimjang, the annual Korean kimchi-making gathering, it's customary to set aside a portion of the seasoned cabbage to eat fresh with steamed pork belly, after everything else has been put up for the year. This recipe from Julya Shin and Steve Joo of Oakland's Nokni restaurant yields a savory, pungent kimchi that's delightful to eat immediately and only gets better with age. Make the trip to an Asian grocery to find all of the traditional ingredients -- it's worth it.
Khoresh-e Bademjoon (Persian Lamb, Eggplant and Tomato Stew)
Bademjoon, sometimes spelled bademjan, is a quintessential summer dish in Iran, and it was a childhood favorite of mine. Fresh lemon juice and ghooreh, or unripe grapes, lighten the stew and lend a particularly tart punch. (Use fresh or frozen ghooreh if you can find either. You could also use pickled ghooreh, but be sure to rinse them well before using to rid them of excess salt.) Those sharp flavors contrast nicely with the soft, comforting texture of the eggplant and tomatoes, which grow silky as they cook down. This dish is particularly delicious with a piece of crunchy tahdig.
Stock-and-Cider-Brined Chicken Over Stuffing
This one-pan dinner is ugly — rustic, if we’re being kind — but good. Or as the Italians say, “brutta ma buona.” Truly, though, it’s everything you could ask for in a rich, comforting meal. As it cooks, the chicken, brined in stock and cider, drips its flavorful juices onto the bread. The bread absorbs every drop, turning into a chewy, savory nest cradling the tender, perfectly browned chicken. Each bit of stuffing offers a different surprise — sometimes the sweet-and-sour zing of a prune, other times the faint rumor of Thanksgiving whispered by celery and thyme. It’s as satisfying as you could ever hope, even if it isn’t particularly attractive.
Classic Meat Tortellini With Tomato Sauce
According to local legend in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, the birthplace of tortellini, the pasta's navel shape was inspired by the indescribable beauty of Venus's belly button. Keep that in mind as your roll, stuff and fold these little dumplings, whose recipe is adapted from the "true and authentic" version codified by the Confraternita del Tortellino and notarized by the Bologna Chamber of Commerce. While tortellini are traditionally served as a middle course in a light meat brodo, they'll make a fine main course when tossed with a simple tomato sauce and topped off with a light grating of Parmesan. This version yields enough for leftover pasta and sauce. Freeze them both separately when you're done for a comforting meal in the days and weeks to come. hen you're done for a comforting meal in the days and weeks to come. (And check out Cooking's How to Make Pasta guide for more tips and video.)
Whole-Wheat Fettuccine With Spicy Broccoli Rabe
Nutty, chewy whole-wheat noodles have the character to stand up the bitterness of this spicy, braised broccoli rabe. This dish will come together in short order, once you have your fresh whole grain pasta ready. Top it off with a generous showering of ricotta salata to balance the bold flavors with a little creaminess. This recipe makes more than you need, so freeze the rest and cook as normal for a hearty, satisfying meal in the days and weeks to come. (And check out Cooking's How to Make Pasta guide for more tips and video.)
Ravioli Verdi With Butter, Parmesan and Pepper
For these stunning green-on-green ravioli, stuff a verdant, spinach-packed dough (a modification covered in this basic fresh pasta recipe) with a sweet chard and onion filling. Shaping the ravioli will take some time, so solicit help from friends and family and form an assembly line to speed up the process. Then, set the table and make sure everyone is ready to eat before you drop the pasta in the pot and start the sauce. Toss the just-cooked ravioli with the creamy butter sauce and serve piping hot so everyone can enjoy the pasta at its peak. This recipe also makes more than you might need, so freeze the leftovers before dressing them in the sauce for a mighty meal in the days and weeks to come. (And check out Cooking's How to Make Pasta guide for more tips and video.)
Herbed Pappardelle With Parsley and Garlic
Let the fresh flavor of these herbed noodles — a twist on this basic pasta dough recipe — stand out by tossing them with just a few kitchen staples. Inspired by the classic Roman pasta, aglio, olio, e peperoncino, this simple dish will become a go-to, especially once you develop familiarity and confidence with rolling and cutting pasta. Soon enough, you'll find yourself making it on a weeknight, without a recipe. This recipe also makes more pasta than you need, so freeze the rest for a hearty meal in the days and weeks to come. (And check out Cooking's How to Make Pasta guide for more tips and video.)
Turkey Tikka Masala
This twist on the Punjabi-style curry gives a new life to leftover turkey. The turkey is marinated overnight in yogurt, turmeric, garam masala and garlic paste, imparting deep flavors and moisture. Tomatoes and cream add warmth, while serrano peppers give the tikka masala its kick. Serve it alongside steamed basmati rice for a deeply satisfying meal.
Basic Pepper Salsa
Spoon this pepper sauce over eggs, beans, pork chops or roast chicken. Or toss stewed, shredded chicken, pork, or beef with abundant salsa for a spicy, flavorful filling for tacos or enchiladas.
Italian Fennel Sausage
Make this simple fennel-scented sausage to toss into pasta or onto pizza. Par-cook large crumbles to fold into Thanksgiving stuffing or a pot of soup. Or fry up patties and serve alongside crusty bread and a bowl of tender white beans doused generously in olive oil. Be sure to use ground pork with enough fat or you'll end up with dry, flavorless sausage. Twenty percent by weight is a good ratio, though 25 doesn’t hurt. If the ground pork available to you is too lean, ask the butcher to replace two ounces or so of the lean meat with ground pork belly or bacon.
Amalia’s Goat-Cheese Soufflazy
This recipe offers a clever shortcut for a notoriously finicky dish, yielding an aromatic, billowy cloud of eggs, cheese and herbs. There are two tricks: First, separate and heat both the egg whites and yolks over a water bath before reuniting them. And second, don’t overwhip the whites. Take them to a medium stiff peak — when upturned on a whisk, they should flop over a tiny bit. Serve soufflazy for breakfast, brunch or as a first course at a dinner party, with buttered toast and a salad of bitter greens or arugula.
Basic Tahini Sauce
Use this sauce, which is adapted from the Philadelphia chef Michael Solomonov, as a garnish for roast chicken and lamb. Dress thinly sliced raw kale and toasted pumpkinseeds with tahini sauce for a simple salad. Drizzle it over sliced tomatoes and cucumbers. Or serve with grilled eggplant, zucchini and peppers or roasted carrots and cauliflower.
Mandu
As with any dumplings, making mandu requires lots of space, time and hands. In other words, it's the perfect project food for your next dinner party. Double or triple this recipe so all of your guests can take home leftovers. And if anyone finds it too difficult to fold the classic dumpling shape, offer up the alternate cigar shape. Its ratio of crispy brown crust to moist filling is perfect.
Patra Ni Machhi
This recipe is adapted from a version found in "My Bombay Kitchen," Niloufer Ichaporia King’s indispensable book on Parsi cooking. Ichaporia King, a culinary scholar, anthropologist and terrific home cook, recommends steaming the fish, but the soft lap of wood smoke is a natural complement to the sweet, floral flavor the banana leaf imparts. Look for fresh or frozen banana leaves and coconut at Mexican, Asian and Indian markets. As Ichaporia King says, “It does represent some effort to find the banana leaves, but it’s worth it.” If you can’t find banana leaves, you can use fig leaves (shiny side-up) or pieces of aluminum foil lined with parchment paper. And if you don’t have access to a grill, you can roast the fish parcels on a baking sheet in an oven preheated to 450 degrees for about 8 minutes until done.
Soy Dipping Sauce
Bursting with ginger and chile flakes, this simple sauce offers a savory, acidic contrast to the rich filling of mandu.
Russian Honey Cake
The key to making this exquisite, gravity-defying cake, which comes from Michelle Polzine of 20th Century Cafe in San Francisco, is patience. This cake takes a lot of time! Set some aside to do it right. There are just two components — airy, lightly spiced cake layers and glossy whipped-cream frosting, both tinged with burned honey — but both require precision. Clear your schedule, and your countertop, to make the time and space to get it right. Then invite a dozen or two of your favorite people over the next day to delight in the impressive results of your hard work. You can buy dulce de leche at most Mexican markets or upscale groceries (look for brands made in Argentina), or make it a day ahead using this recipe.
Herb and Radish Salad With Feta and Walnuts
This light, crunchy salad is inspired by sabzi khordan, the heaping platter of fresh herbs, radishes, walnuts and feta cheese that accompanies nearly every Persian meal.
Turkey Mole Verde
A few things may come to mind when thinking of mole: chocolate, long ingredient lists and even longer cooking directions. But mole verde is a bit of an exception. This version comes together in about an hour, combining a pumpkin-and-sesame-seed paste with a sauce built from tomatillos, chard, romaine and jalapeños. Cooked turkey simmers in sauce just long enough to pick up some of the green flavors. For balance, serve with white rice and corn tortillas.
Japchae (Korean Glass Noodles)
Dangmyeon, or Korean glass noodles, made with sweet potato starch, have a wonderful chewy, slippery texture. Combined with an abundance of stir-fried vegetables and beef, then tossed with soy sauce, sesame oil and abundant black pepper, Japchae teems with multiple savory flavors and contrasting textures. Delicious warm, at room temperature or cold, it's an ideal dish for potlucks and project-focused dinner parties alike.
Long-Cooked Vegetables
Long-cooked vegetables fall firmly into the “ugly but good” camp of the Tuscan cucina povera, where flavor far outshines looks. The beans will change from firm and bright to limp and gray. But right around the two-hour mark, they'll transform again, into a dark, tangled mess, soft but defined. They'll taste extraordinarily rich, deliriously sweet and dense with flavor. All it takes is time and courage. Use this technique with almost any vegetable. It works particularly well with the shunned, the fibrous and the forgotten-in-the-fridge.
Herbed Garlic Bread
There are two proper ways to use garlic: pounding and blooming. Pound raw garlic into a paste that dissolves into food, leaving behind only a faint rumor of its presence. To cook garlic, sizzle but don't brown it before adding it to food — this is blooming, and it will tame garlic's raw fire. Put both techniques into practice to make this unforgettable loaf of garlic bread. First, make a garlic butter rich with herbs and Parmesan. Then, score the loaf into thick slices and slather each with butter. Wrap and bake, then pull the steaming, mahogany-crusted bread from the oven, and stuff each slot with herb salad. The fragrant loaf will barely have a chance to cool before everyone at the table begins to tear into and devour it.