Dinner
8856 recipes found
Cheesy French Toast With Kimchi
When French toast meets kimchi grilled cheese, we arrive at a surprising and joyous union. While any bread can be used here, choosing a soft, plump variety like brioche or milk bread will ensure that the center of the sandwich becomes super custardy. The trickiest part of this recipe is getting the cheese to melt before the toast gets too golden; American cheese melts faster, but other firm cheeses like Cheddar or Monterey Jack work, too. Combining grated cheese with the kimchi encourages faster, even melting, while cooking on low heat and covering with a lid slows browning. If you do find that the outside of your toast is getting too dark before your cheese has melted, simply place the sandwich in a 300-degree oven. (You can also do this to keep your sandwich warm if you are making more than one.)
One-Pan Creamed Spinach With Eggs
This pantry-powered dish brings together the decadence of creamed spinach with the comfort of baked eggs. Big flavor with little effort, this recipe requires no chopping and just a handful of staple ingredients: Frozen spinach is combined with cream cheese and garlic powder to create a wonderfully aromatic and silky base for the eggs to nestle and steam within. Covering the eggs while they cook will give you irresistibly soft whites and gooey yolks. If you’d like a little spice, finish with some red-pepper flakes or chile oil.
Stir-Fried Tofu With Ginger
Tofu and ginger share equal billing in this easy, economical weeknight stir-fry. The ginger is sliced into fine slivers and added towards the end of cooking so that it retains a fresh, slightly raw bite, while also adding texture to the dish. The bouncy and juicy texture of the tofu is achieved by lightly dusting the tofu with cornstarch which absorbs excess moisture, helps the tofu stay intact and ensures that the sauce clings to every surface. To make sure that your tofu doesn’t stick to the pan use a very well-seasoned wok or cast-iron pan and heat it well, until you can see smoke rising from the surface of the pan. (Or use a non-stick pan, and there’s no need to heat until smoking.) If you do find a lot of the tofu stuck to the pan after Step 3, add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water to deglaze it before adding the ginger, scallions and sauce.
Harissa and White Bean Chili
The key to achieving depth of flavor in this fresh, nontraditional, 30-minute chili recipe is layering ingredients with bold condiments that do most of the work for you. Here, soy sauce and harissa are used to provide umami, spice and heat. Finish the chili as you’d like, topping it with all of the suggestions below, or skipping the yogurt and feta to keep it vegan. The chili will thicken as it sits, so add a little water when reheating. If you don’t like tomato skins or don’t want to buy fresh tomatoes, substitute 2 tablespoons of tomato paste for the tomatoes, adding it with the harissa. For a more substantial meal, serve with rice or bread, or double the recipe for leftovers.
Crispy Tofu and Broccoli With Ginger-Garlic Teriyaki Sauce
Crispy tofu is attainable without frying. In this mostly hands-off recipe, firm tofu is dredged in cornstarch (one of our pantry’s most versatile staples) before being baked at high temperature. The tofu becomes golden, with an enviable crunch that stays crisp even when drizzled with teriyaki sauce. Traditional teriyaki sauce contains just four ingredients — soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar — but this one also has ginger and garlic, which add a bit more punch. In Japanese cuisine, teriyaki refers to any grilled, broiled or pan-fried food with a shiny glaze. No cornstarch is needed to make a true teriyaki sauce glisten; just cook it down until it looks shiny underneath the brown foam, but make sure not to overcook as it thickens considerably as it cools.
Cheesy, Spicy Black Bean Bake
Whether or not you’ve fallen for this cheesy white-bean tomato bake, we’d like you to meet its bolder counterpart, smoky and spiced, with lots of melty cheese. Black beans shine in a deep-red mixture of fried garlic, caramelized tomato paste, smoked paprika and cumin. The whole skillet gets coated in a generous sprinkling of sharp Cheddar or Manchego cheese, then baked until melted. The final result is what you hope for from a really good chili or stew, but in a lot less time. For a spicier rendition, add a pinch of cayenne with the paprika, or douse the final skillet with hot sauce. Serve with tortillas, tortilla chips, rice, a baked potato or fried eggs.
Breakfast Tofu Scramble
This tofu scramble is as good for breakfast with coffee and pancakes as it is for dinner with rice and roasted vegetables. And it’s a cinch to make, even with just one eye open: Sear large slabs of tofu, then break them into irregular pieces. The craggy edges of the tofu absorb a seasoning mixture that’s reminiscent of breakfast sausage: sweet from maple syrup, herbaceous from sage, and spicy from hot sauce and black pepper. Feel free to add vegetables that are already cooked, or that cook in 2 minutes, along with the maple-sage mixture, but if you do so, you may want to increase the seasoning accordingly.
Gilgeori Toast (Korean Street Toast With Cabbage and Egg)
Gilgeori toast, which literally means “street toast” in Korean, is a popular salty-sweet egg sandwich sold by many street-food vendors in Korea. For many who grew up there, it's a nostalgic snack, reminiscent of childhood. Eaten for breakfast or lunch, it’s quick, easy and adaptable. If you don’t have cabbage on hand, toss in any vegetables you have that would add crunch and flavor, such as sliced scallions or julienned zucchini. For a modern twist, try substituting the sugar with different flavors of jam, or dress the sandwich up with your favorite condiments and sandwich fixings.
Bombay Frittata
The writer Nik Sharma reimagines the spiced Indian omelettes his mother used to make him in his Mumbai childhood with this frittata, drawn from his first cookbook, “Season.” It incorporates garam masala, red-pepper flakes, onions and fresh herbs into the egg mixture, which is sprinkled with paneer and stuck in the oven for about 25 minutes. The pop of garam masala and the red-pepper flakes give each bite a nice jolt. This one is even better the next day.
Buffalo White Beans
This spicy-tangy vegetarian skillet comes together quickly, helped along by pantry ingredients and a few hardy vegetables. Don’t skimp on the butter! Classic Buffalo flavor depends on not just the vinegary hot sauce but also a rich butter base. Celery leaves make a fresh herbal topping; if your stalks don’t have leaves, grab some extras from the middle of the bunch.
Mapo Potato
Let’s be clear: Nothing surpasses the hearty deliciousness of a traditional mapo tofu. But for those days when you find yourself without soft tofu in the fridge, or when you are craving something vegetarian, this mapo potato will hit the mark. Potatoes step in for tofu and pork, providing a perfect vessel that eagerly soaks up all of the deep fermented flavors. (If you want a hit of protein, you can add some soft tofu just before you add the cornstarch slurry in Step 3.) Doubanjiang, a fermented bean paste that is a staple in Chinese cuisine, provides mapo dishes with its signature spicy umami richness; each brand will vary in heat so adjust according to your personal preference. If you don’t have doubanjiang, you could substitute with fermented black soybeans, which are less spicy but will give you similar salty funkiness.
Glazed Shiitakes With Bok Choy
Gorgeous glazed shiitake mushrooms and tender green bok choy sparked with ginger, sesame and hot pepper work beautifully against more staid flavors, so consider serving them next to a traditional roast chicken or turkey. They also are delicious draped over a pile of rice.
Miso and Seaweed Ramen With Egg
This weeknight ramen features a soothing broth that comes together in just 30 minutes with the help of rich seaweed and sweet-salty miso. Dried wakame is a dark green, edible seaweed with a delicately sweet flavor; once cooked, it softens and transforms into a tender, smooth and silky texture. Caramelizing the miso with earthy shiitake mushrooms adds extra depth and body to the meatless broth. A nutty, scallion-flecked sesame-ginger sauce adds brightness and a fresh crunch to the cozy soup.
Green Curry Glazed Tofu
To make crispy, flavorful tofu without having to press it first, use this smart method from Andrea Nguyen, the author of “Asian Tofu” (Ten Speed Press, 2012) and other cookbooks: Warm the tofu in a pan with a small amount of flavorful sauce. As it cooks, it will dry out and absorb the flavors of the sauce. Next, you add oil to the pan, which crisps the tofu. In Ms. Nguyen’s recipe, soy sauce is used, but here, the aromatics in Thai green curry paste and the sugars in coconut milk toast and caramelize on the tofu. Once the tofu has a deep-brown crust, remove it, sear a quick-cooking vegetable in the same pan, then reduce the remaining curry-coconut mixture into a fragrant, sweet-and-spicy glaze.
Kale and Quinoa Salad With Tofu and Miso
A hearty base of kale, quinoa and crisp tofu give this easy salad enough bite to serve as a meal. Curly kale provides heft and holds up nicely to the sweet, sour and spicy dressing. Use your hands to massage the vinaigrette into the kale, and let it marinate for at least 10 minutes to tenderize the sturdy greens. Finish the dish with a drizzle of sriracha and honey, but use a light touch: The point is to balance the heat and sweetness levels without overwhelming the delicate miso vinaigrette. If you like, double the dressing and refrigerate it for future use; it makes a fantastic dip for grilled chicken or pork, or a glaze to brush on salmon before broiling.
Sesame-Brown Butter Udon Noodles
This weeknight meal is silky, slurpable and so quick to pull off. It follows the tradition of wafu or Japanese-style pasta, and combines brown butter, udon and spinach, but the classic combination of savory sauce, chewy noodle and green vegetable allows plenty of room for improvisation. Instead of soy sauce, you can add umami with Parmesan, miso, seaweed or mushrooms. Instead of black pepper for heat, grab ginger or chile flakes, oil or paste. For more protein, boil eggs or shelled edamame in the water before the udon, or add tinned mackerel or fresh yuba along with the sesame seeds. Udon noodles, found fresh, frozen or shelf-stable, are singularly bouncy and thick; if you can’t find them, use the thinner, dried style that resembles linguine.
Quinoa and Broccoli Spoon Salad
This easy chopped salad fits loads of texture and flavor onto a spoon by combining finely chopped raw broccoli with chewy dried cranberries, crunchy pecans, fluffy quinoa and chunks of sharp Cheddar cheese. The mixture is tossed in a punchy mustard vinaigrette that soaks into the florets, only getting better as it sits. Feel free to substitute the quinoa for any grain, like brown rice, farro or buckwheat groats, though the cook time may vary.
Creamy Braised White Beans
Everything you need to make this humble-but-satisfying meal is probably in your kitchen at this very moment. Two cans of beans (chickpeas and white beans) are simmered with milk, a whole head of garlic, herbs and nutmeg for a rich and creamy vegetarian dinner that can be on the table in under a half-hour. Be sure to use whole milk here — it's the most flavorful and will yield the best results. Feel free to wilt greens like chard, watercress, arugula or basil into the beans, and serve with grated Parmesan and red-pepper flakes. A slice of crusty bread slicked with caramelized garlic is the perfect crunchy accompaniment to velvety beans.
Ramen With Charred Scallions, Green Beans and Chile Oil
Scallions can be so much more than a garnish. Raw scallions bring an assertive pungency, but when cooked, they take on a sweet tenderness that is very pleasing to the palate. In this vegan recipe, treat scallions as you would a bunch of greens. Take cues from the Chinese cooking technique used for stir-fries, and add the scallions to very hot oil to let them “bao” (to crack, explode or burst), drawing out their natural aroma. Those packets of ramen noodles stashed in your pantry are perfect for this quick yet intensely satisfying weeknight noodle dish. The chile oil makes just enough for this dish, so if you want extra for future meals, make double.
Vegetarian ‘Carbonara’ With Spinach
This spinach-laden carbonara deviates from the standard by nixing two of its leading ingredients: custardy egg yolks, which create its silky texture, and cured meat, which delivers its salty punch. This egg-free version uses a combination of butter and starchy pasta cooking water to give the sauce body. A sprinkle of grated smoked Provolone or Gouda adds a bit of the earthy flavor that traditionally comes from guanciale or pancetta. The final coup? Adding greens: One entire pound of baby spinach may look like a gargantuan amount, but it wilts right into the pasta. Most importantly, don’t be shy with the black pepper: It adds a necessary dose of spice and heat.
Puttanesca Chickpea-Tomato Salad
This recipe turns tomato salad into a meal by marrying creamy beans with some of the briny, salty ingredients found in pasta puttanesca, like tomatoes, capers, olives and garlic. While Parmesan isn’t traditional to puttanesca, coarsely chopped pebbles of it add bursts of umami to this salad. Feel free to omit the cheese for a vegan dish, or embellish the mix with fresh or dried chile, tinned fish or more vegetables. This recipe is not only adaptable but also improves as it sits: The tomato juices mingle with the oil, olives and capers — and the beans drink it all up.
Vegetarian Reuben Sandwich
The Reuben sandwich — corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and Russian dressing on rye bread — has inspired many meat-free versions. Tempeh, seitan, vegetables and mushrooms have stood in for the corned beef, but they’re not really needed, because outsize quantities of the other traditional elements make a punchy, gooey sandwich on their own. Both sides of the buttered rye get melted Swiss. The mountain of sauerkraut doesn’t warm long enough to lose its crunch. The specks of pickles and onion in typical Russian dressing become layers in the sandwich. And while the dressing has mayonnaise and ketchup, as usual, it also has coriander and black pepper to evoke corned beef’s brine, plus hot sauce for kick. Because this rejiggered sandwich relies mostly on condiments and pantry staples, this homemade Reuben is within reach any day.
Three-Cup Vegetables
This vegan dish is inspired by three-cup chicken, a deeply savory Taiwanese specialty that can be traced back to the 13th century, to the execution of Wen Tianxiang, a scholar-general of the Song dynasty who resisted Kublai Khan’s invasion. The night before Wen’s death, a guard is said to have made him the surprisingly pungent chicken dish with the prison’s limited resources. It has many variations, but usually calls for braising chicken in rice wine, soy sauce and sesame oil with plenty of ginger, garlic and basil. Here, root vegetables like carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes and turnips take the place of the chicken, but feel free to also add tofu and quick-cooking vegetables like broccoli or snap peas with the roots. Serve over rice or ramen noodles to soak up sauce.
Gyeran Bap (Egg Rice)
Gyeran bap is a lifesaving Korean pantry meal of fried eggs stirred into steamed white rice. In this version, the eggs fry and puff up slightly in a shallow bath of browned butter. Soy sauce, which reduces in the pan, seasons the rice, as does a final smattering of salty gim, or roasted seaweed. A dribble of sesame oil lends comforting nuttiness, and runny yolks act as a makeshift sauce for the rice, slicking each grain with eggy gold. (You can cook the eggs to your preferred doneness, of course.) This dinner-for-one can be scaled up to serve more: Just double, triple or quadruple all of the ingredient amounts, using a larger skillet or repeating the steps in a small one.