Dairy-Free
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Crispy Tofu Shawarma
The flavors of shawarma come alive in this plant-based spin featuring crispy shaved spiced tofu, sumac pickled onions, lemony tahini and fresh vegetables. Super-firm tofu is ideal as it doesn’t require pressing and is sturdy enough to withstand being thinly sliced. Tossing the tofu with soy sauce, an admittedly unusual ingredient in shawarma, imbues it with a deep savoriness, and when the tofu is pan-fried, it gets remarkably crisp-chewy. Cooking in batches ensures maximal crispness, but doesn’t require much babysitting, so that time can be spent whipping up the tahini sauce and prepping the vegetables. Cucumbers and cherry tomatoes offer a mix of crunch and sweetness, but you can use whatever you have on hand. Scoop leftovers into pita pockets for lunch.
Spicy Curried Potatoes
This is more a stir-fry than a curry in spite of the name, which, like the recipe, comes from “Classic Indian Vegetarian and Grain Cooking” by Julie Sahni (William Morrow, 1985). The potatoes get no sauce, just a coating of curry powder that adheres to their flesh as they crisp in the pan. Grinding your own curry powder is not strictly necessary, especially if you have a brand you like in your cupboard. But this is a very, very nice blend, unusually fragrant and nuanced. The quantities below will give you more than you need for the potatoes. Make half a batch if you wish, or make the whole amount and start thinking of things you’ll do with the rest.
Roast Salmon With Smashed Olives
Salmon is perfect for roasting because it’s such a forgiving fish. The key is salting the fillet ahead of time, which seasons the flesh all the way through and helps it stay juicy, even if you overcook it a little. In this recipe, adapted from my cookbook “Let’s Party” (Union Square & Co., 2025), the salmon is roasted just until cooked then is immediately doused in a floral, herby and briny mix of fresh orange juice, olive oil, roughly chopped olives and parsley, further ensuring that every bite is moist and flavorful.
Dan Dan Noodle Salad
Turns out, dan dan noodles work well as a salad, in this recipe adapted from my cookbook “Linger: Salads, Sweets and Stories to Savor” (Knopf, 2025), as the signature punchy sauce made with sesame paste and chile oil transforms nicely into an assertive dressing. Curly and chewy ramen noodles cling perfectly to the sauce, but you could really use any noodle you like, including instant noodles, udon or thick rice noodles. Adapt this salad throughout the year by adding seasonal vegetables such as mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, sugar snap peas, snow peas, spinach or green beans.
Flan de Coco (Coconut Flan)
Flan, a type of caramel custard and a traditional homemade sweet, is beloved all over Latin America and can be eaten any time of day. And best of all, it’s quite simple to make: The only tricky part is preparing the caramel that coats the bottom of the pan. These days, most recipes call for sweetened condensed cow’s milk, but mine skips the dairy altogether, using two kinds of coconut milk instead.
Gelo di Melone (Sicilian Watermelon Pudding)
Adapted from a recipe by Fabrizia Lanza, this is a traditional Sicilian recipe for a refreshing chilled watermelon dessert, probably originally derived from an Arabic sweet. As there are similar Indian and Persian watermelon confections, it seems a natural finish to this meal. In Sicily, it is typically perfumed with jasmine blossoms. A drop or two of fragrant rose water would be a welcome addition.
Gin and Tonic Sgroppino
This bright, refreshing riff on the classic Sgroppino works perfectly with either lemon or lime sorbet, however be sure to use freshly grated lime zest to finish and ensure the drink leans properly toward gin and tonic. To keep it properly icy, make sure everything from the bottles of gin and tonic water to the bowl, whisk and final serving glasses are deeply chilled.
Rosé Sgroppino
Pink, bubbly and lightly bitter, this frosty drink works equally well as a palate cleanser, dessert or hot afternoon cocktail. While this recipe was created with sparkling rosé in mind, feel free to use another dry sparkling wine: Prosecco, cava, crémant or pétillant naturel. A Lambrusco di Sorbara (the lightest in color and higher in acidity of the Lambruscos) makes an excellent swap as well.
Marinated Green Beans
This snappy, tangy and super easy recipe for Italian marinated beans makes a perfect side dish, salad or addition to an appetizer spread. The green beans are cooked briefly in salty boiling water just to turn them bright green, then tossed with olive oil, red wine vinegar, grated garlic and fresh herbs and left to marinate. Gently cooking the beans and marinating them while they are still warm allows them to soak up more flavor from the dressing. They are delicious served cold or at room temperature, and you can add a little kick to them with crushed red pepper, if you like. Green beans are available year round, which means this side dish is ready to become a staple in your kitchen.
Lemon-Miso Tofu With Broccoli
Inspired by Cantonese-style lemon chicken, this vegetarian version features crispy tofu and broccoli coated in a citrusy sweet and savory sauce. This lemon sauce is neither overly sweet nor tart, but has a soft umami hum thanks to the addition of miso paste. The simple technique of dusting the tofu with cornstarch before pan-frying delivers crispy tofu that is light yet robust enough to carry the sauce. (The tofu and broccoli can also be cooked in an air-fryer with comparable results; see Tip for instructions.) Once the crusted tofu hits the sauce, it will soften and become velvety, though if you prefer more crunch, you can serve the lemon sauce on the side for dipping.
Oregano-Garlic Chicken With Big Croutons
Tender, crispy chicken and big hand-torn chunks of toasty bread are the main elements here for this laid-back sheet-pan dinner. To make sure the chicken is thoroughly flavorful, a quick sauce of warm garlic oil, vinegar and oregano is spooned over. The croutons also become saturated in the sauce, creating a double texture of crunchy and chewy. Golden raisins offer little surprise bursts of sweetness and tang, too. When you’re choosing bread for this, something hearty with an open and airy crumb works well. Try ciabatta, Pugliese, a rustic sourdough loaf or even a baguette. Enjoy the croutons however you like – with your hands, a fork, or straight from the baking sheet. A sprightly salad or roasted zucchini would round this meal out nicely.
Poached Chicken Breasts
This quick and versatile poached chicken breast recipe can stay in your stable through many seasons. Need an elegant topping for a bright spring salad? An easily portable contribution for a potluck picnic? A simple sandwich anchor for a midday lunch? The chicken is ready in just a few minutes, and works just as well after a day or two in the fridge. As written, the poaching liquid’s aromatics skew on the lighter side, so as not to overwhelm any accompanying condiments, dressings and sauces, but you can always double or triple your preferred elements to strengthen the flavor profile.
Light Soup With Mushrooms
Impossibly rich but never heavy or thick, light soup is a Ghanaian favorite, made by gently simmering dried fish or meat in a pot, then briefly adding onion, tomato, ginger and chiles to the broth. This version replaces the protein with mushrooms and is endlessly adaptable. You can add any summer vegetable of your choice, such as baby potatoes, spinach, squash or zucchini. If you prefer to add fish, toss in some chunks of a simple white fish at the end of the cooking process. The choice is really yours.
Sizzled Scallion Rice With Sardines
This sardine rice recipe unites some likely kitchen inhabitants, such as onions, garlic and leftover rice, to make a quick, allium-perfumed weeknight dinner. Since fat is an excellent courier for flavor, giving the olive oil time with the aromatics and sardines ensures a satisfying amount of each ingredient's fragrance and flavor throughout the rice. Is it fried rice? Technically, yes, but the taste drifts toward the Caribbean. The dish stands alone, as any seafood fried rice can, but would also welcome a soft-boiled egg on top, if you’re up for getting another pot involved.
Ginger Chicken and Rice Soup With Zucchini
A simple base of aromatic garlic, ginger, bay leaf and turmeric flavors this cozy and nourishing chicken soup. Tender chicken, zucchini and chewy brown rice provide bite and substance, and simmer together at the same pace. The rice will swell and soften in the broth as the soup sits, and you can cook it longer than called for to give this soup more of a stewy or even porridge-like texture, depending on your preference. Add more water or stock to thin the broth as needed if reheating. Serve with a drizzle of chile crisp or a squeeze of lemon and sprinkle of fresh cilantro.
Spiced Couscous With Fragrant Steamed Fish
Like any carb cooked in a tomato sauce, this dish is deeply comforting. Pearl couscous simmers in a spiced tomato base, absorbing its rich flavors while developing a lightly golden, crispy bottom, much like a tahdig. Just before the couscous finishes cooking, sea bass fillets are gently steamed on top, staying tender as they soak up the fragrant sauce. A final flourish of hot garlic oil, inspired by Cantonese steamed fish, adds warmth and depth. This meal is easy enough for a weeknight, but special enough for a celebration.
Curried Red Bean Soup With Kale
This riff on classic Italian minestrone draws inspiration from rajma and maharage nu shaak, two red kidney bean curries with spiced, aromatic gravies, typically made with tomatoes (rajma is Hindi for kidney beans, and maharage is Swahili for beans). This version offers a perfect use case for black mustard seeds, which bloom in the oil to add a sharp, earthy flavor before the onions and garlic are added. This, along with a few other warming spices, helps create an aromatic tomato base for the kidney beans, pasta and greens. Using whole peeled tomatoes (preferably San Marzano) is key to achieving a brothy soup that still has body, but crushed tomatoes will work in a pinch.
Pork Laab
The magic of pork laab (also known as moo larb or laap) lies in the simple yet strikingly effective combo of fresh herbs and toasted rice to season this ground meat salad. Cilantro, scallions and mint balance the richness of the meat, while the nutty flavor of the ground rice — an essential component of laab — complements the zingy lime juice. Many Thai recipes call for ingredients that can be tough to find in the U.S., but this northern Thai salad is an outlier. You can opt for dried Thai chiles, if you’ve got them, or you can achieve your desired heat level by grinding up crushed red pepper.
Lomo al Trapo (Salt-Grilled Beef Tenderloin)
Preparing lomo al trapo calls for a resolute attitude at the grill. Tenderloin is costly, so you must have faith that you are not going to incinerate a prized piece of beef by enshrouding it in a dish towel and committing it to the flames like a sacrificial mummy. In Bogotá, Colombia, this showstopper is often prepared for a Sunday barbecue. This method, based on a version from the chef Jaime Pesaque of Sapiens restaurant in Lima, Peru, wraps the center-cut beef tenderloin in a salt-covered, wine-soaked towel. The wine infuses the salt and, through it, the meat, which grills in that package directly on red-hot coals. When the blackened bundle is brought to the table, you crack the crust to reveal the cooked tenderloin within and serve it up in thick slices, with chimichurri, horseradish cream or Colombian ají sauce. For step-by-step photos, see the article linked below.
Crispy Tofu Tacos
There are plenty of crispy tofu recipes, but few truly deliver on the promise, since tofu has a tendency to steam because of its high moisture content. But time can do the trick in the oven, creating brittle edges and a chewy texture with little effort. Squeeze out as much excess liquid as you can from your block of tofu, grate it coarsely, season it fearlessly, then roast it until sizzling. The key step is to drizzle the tofu with a combination of olive oil and tomato paste toward the end of cooking, which crisps the edges and lends a deep umami flavor, so much so that this tofu could almost be mistaken for seasoned ground beef. A swipe of avocado mayo, loosened with lime juice and electrified with zest, adds richness and tang, and quite literally holds the tacos together. Choose your mayonnaise and tortillas wisely and the whole dish is vegan.
Tepache (Fizzy Fermented Pineapple Drink)
Refreshing, earthy and lightly sweetened, tepache is a popular fermented drink from Mexico. Traditionally, the main ingredients are piloncillo (a Mexican variety of raw cane sugar), pineapple peels (and sometimes the core) and water. For best results, use a very ripe pineapple. You can also add spices like cinnamon, cloves or fresh ginger. Fermentation time depends on the environment: In warm weather (75 to 85 degrees), it could be ready in 2 to 3 days; in cooler weather, it can take 5 to 7 days. Taste the tepache regularly; when ready, it will be frothy on the surface and slightly fizzy on the tongue, and will taste and smell pleasantly fermented. (Be mindful that if the tepache ferments for too long, it will turn into vinegar.) You can serve tepache on ice as is, or dilute and sweeten it to taste by adding water and sugar.
Shami Kebab (Crispy Beef and Chickpea Patties)
Widely considered the Rolls-Royce of Desi kebabs, shami kebabs have a silky smooth, almost creamy texture, with a thin outer shell that forms at the time of frying, giving the kebabs structure. The key to achieving the crisp exterior and creamy interior is cooking well-marbled chunks of beef with spices and chana dal until tender, then running the mix through a food processor. This paste-like mixture is used to form round patties, slightly smaller than hockey pucks. You can dip them in egg and shallow-fry right away, or freeze them, uncooked, to enjoy later. Like samosas, they freeze well, so are often found side by side at tea time, quickly fried up as a snack for unexpected guests. They also make for excellent sides at lunch or dinner, especially on special occasions. Sandwich a leftover kebab or two in a potato roll, add ketchup and a fried egg for bun kebab, the ubiquitous Pakistani street food.
Pad Prik King (Red Curry Chicken and Green Beans)
There are very few ingredients that can electrify a dish the way a spoonful of curry paste can. In this recipe, which is adapted from “Kiin: Recipes and Stories from Northern Thailand” (Penguin Canada, 2020) by Nuit Regular, store-bought red curry paste and lime leaves season sliced chicken and long beans in a salty-sweet dry curry. At her Toronto restaurant, Ms. Regular makes the curry paste from scratch, and in Thailand, you can purchase fresh curry paste by weight, but stateside, you’re more likely to find it in shelf-stable cans or jars. Salt and heat levels vary widely, so start with a little, then add more gradually, as desired. Citrusy, herbal Makrut lime leaves are essential to classic pad prik king (see Tip 2), but rest assured, this recipe is still delicious without them.
Chicken Jorim (Soy-Braised Chicken)
Korean jorim is a classic braise of meat, fish or veggies simmered in a savory soy sauce until they’ve absorbed all of the flavors of the thickened liquid. Typically done with beef, the stew is equally flavorful with quick-cooking chicken. Here, cubed chicken thighs and potatoes are braised in a tangy sauce infused with ginger, garlic cloves and mushrooms, a simple combination that delivers deep flavor. Serve the stew over warm rice to balance and soak up the intense sauce.