Dinner
8856 recipes found
Slow-Cooked Lamb Shoulder With Green Beans
There are many ways to achieve a succulent braised lamb shoulder. In a covered grill over indirect heat or in a low oven, it will take about 3 hours, but you could also use a countertop slow cooker. It’ll take longer but you’ll know the meat is ready when it’s well seasoned and nearly falling apart. For convenience, you may prepare the braise a day or two in advance. Then finish it, cooking it with green beans (or a mixture of various summer beans) and hot pepper, then showering it with chopped parsley, dill and mint.
Polenta Lasagna With Spinach and Herby Ricotta
With a dense, creamy texture and sweet corn flavor, this hearty and unexpected variation on the usual lasagna uses layers of Parmesan-topped baked polenta in place of pasta. This meatless recipe is speckled green with baby spinach and lots of parsley and basil. Be sure to get a good brand of marinara sauce, preferably a chunky one with bits of tomato, for the richest flavor and texture. Or even better, if you have homemade marinara sauce tucked away in the freezer, use it here instead.
Mussels With White Beans, Garlic and Rosemary
The best part of a pot of steamed mussels is arguably the broth — rich with garlic, wine and the heady saline juices from the bivalves. Here, the mussels are cooked in a pot of garlic and chile-braised white beans, which absorb all of their flavor, and turn them into a velvety stew. Don’t stint on the lemon zest or herbs at the end; they add just the right amount of freshness and verve.
Spicy Big Tray Chicken
At Spicy Village in in Manhattan’s Chinatown, the Spicy Big Tray Chicken arrives on an aluminum tray. You eat it on a foam plate with a plastic fork or chopsticks. It’s a mound of chicken nearly afloat in a bath of dark, spicy sauce that contains star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, chile, garlic, cilantro, a few mystery ingredients and potatoes. Those of you who live in or visit New York should eat this dish whenever you can, but it can absolutely be prepared at home. It’s not precisely a simple recipe. But it’s an excellent project one. And you can improve on the ingredients. The restaurant uses both MSG and Budweiser in the recipe. We subbed in Modelo Negra and omitted the MSG, but you certainly don't need to.
One-Pan Fish With Bacon and Sweet Corn
The delightful textures of this dish’s three main components — crisp bacon, tender fish and plump corn kernels — make for a lovely summer dinner. Tilapia, trout, bass or any other flaky yet firm white fish will work well. Naturally smoked bacon imparts a flavor reminiscent of campfire cooking or outdoor grilling over hot coals. When fresh corn isn’t in season, frozen corn can be used, but will require a minute or two more in the skillet. A squeeze of fresh lemon juice rounds out the dish with its acidity.
Linguine and Clams With Fresh Red Sauce
This weeknight clam pasta comes together easily under 30 minutes without compromising flavor. Canned whole clams, packed in valuable clam juices, are the pantry hero. Opt for whole canned clams, since they’re more tender and delicate than the chopped or minced varieties. The key to achieving the most seafood flavor is finishing the pasta right in the clam sauce, so that the pasta absorbs all of the briny flavors as it cooks. The sauce gets a nice fresh boost from the addition of sweet cherry tomatoes, while Parmesan and butter stirred in at the end create a rich, silky sauce.
Pasta With Spicy Sausage, Broccoli Rabe and Chickpeas
In this hearty weeknight pasta recipe, chickpeas contribute an earthy, nutty flavor to the classic combination of sausage and broccoli rabe. The addition of Parmesan, butter, and lemon juice just before serving balances the heat from the sausage with a bit of richness, creating a bright and flavorful sauce in the process. This pasta is incredibly versatile: You can use any sturdy greens or even broccoli in place of the broccoli rabe, and feel free to swap in whatever pasta shape and canned beans you have on hand. You can even substitute sweet Italian sausage or ground pork or turkey for the sausage in a pinch; add about 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes to give this dish its spicy kick.
Pork Tocino
In the Philippines, tocino is a sweet, cured pork dish that is served for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Though the term “tocino” comes from the Spanish word for bacon, in the Philippines, the dish can be made from chicken or beef as well. Its vibrant red hue often comes from annatto seed, an orange-red food coloring from the achiote tree. In this recipe, the annatto seed is swapped out for beet juice, which adds both color and sweet earthiness to the dish. When cooking the meat, you don’t want to sear it in superhot oil; the key is to let the sugars caramelize slowly with the pork to achieve a beautiful, dark, sticky glaze. Garlic fried rice and fresh slices of tomato make excellent side dishes.
Broccoli Rabe Lasagna
Broccoli rabe (sometimes spelled raab, or known as rapini greens) is one of the most delicious members of the mustard green family. The leaves, tender stems and broccoli-like buds have a distinctive pleasant bitterness when cooked. For this vegetarian lasagna, some of the cooked greens are puréed to make a garlicky pesto and the rest is coarsely chopped and added to the layers. Find more lasagna recipes.
Sweet and Spicy Pan-Seared Pork Chops
Simple pork chops taste luxurious when they’re draped in ginger butter and a sticky-sweet whiskey sauce. The ingredient list here is minimal thanks to unsulphured molasses, a natural byproduct of sugar processing. It delivers an intriguing sweetness that is smoky, bitter and savory — like honey, chicory, coffee and soy sauce in one ingredient. And, in this recipe, it melds with whiskey and ginger to add warmth and spice, as well as brown sugar and butter to soften the assertive edges. Serve these chops with roasted carrots, mashed sweet potatoes or grits.
Pasta Salad With Marinated Tomatoes and Tuna
Fresh, quick-marinated tomatoes make the best sauces for pasta salad because not much needs to be done beyond tossing the tomatoes with hot pasta, salt and olive oil. The juices from the tomatoes and the heat create a gloriously glossy combination. Feel free to make this pasta salad ahead of time, then toss in flaked tuna right before serving.
Tepary Bean Salad
Indigenous communities in the Sonoran Desert have cultivated the tiny, drought-tolerant tepary bean for millennia. This recipe, adapted from “From I’Itoi’s Garden: Tohono O’odham Food Traditions” by Tohono O’odham Community Action (TOCA), a grassroots food and health community organization, reimagines a traditional tepary bean dish by adding venerable corn, colorful peppers and rich aromatics. The white beans have a sweet finish, while the brown variety showcases an uncommon nuttiness. Navy or Great Northern beans may be substituted for the white tepary beans, but there is no equivalent for the unparalleled tepary brown. Combined with an assertive cumin vinaigrette, this robust salad manifests a rich blend of old and new indigenous foodways.
Fried Chicken Biscuits With Hot Honey Butter
This recipe for chicken biscuits could be a weeknight dinner with a side of greens, but it's made to travel, and perfectly suited for a picnic. The biscuit dough, adapted from Sam Sifton's all-purpose biscuit recipe, is lightly kneaded here, so it's not too tender to work in a sandwich. The chicken tenders, inspired by Masaharu Morimoto's katsu in the cookbook "Mastering the Art of Japanese Home Cooking," are pounded and coated in panko for plenty of crunch. Prepare both components the day you want to eat them, giving yourself at least one extra hour for everything to cool before you assemble, so the sandwich stays crisp. You can also cook well in advance, and assemble the sandwiches the next day. Either way, cooling the chicken completely, on a wire rack, is crucial. If you prefer breast meat over thigh, feel free to swap it in.
Vegetarian Swedish Meatballs
Cremini mushrooms, chickpeas and bulgur wheat mimic the texture of ground meat in this vegetarian version of the classic Swedish meatball dish. Seasoned generously with allspice and nutmeg and blanketed in a velvety mushroom gravy, they are excellent served over egg noodles or mashed potatoes — or spooned onto a toasted hero (add sliced tangy pickles to balance out the richness). Leftover cooked meatballs can be frozen and reheated in a 425-degree oven until warmed through, about 15 minutes.
Mattar Paneer (Peas and Paneer in Spiced Tomato Gravy)
Traditionally, roasted and crushed cashews are puréed with cooked onions and tomatoes to make the base for this comforting vegetarian dish. This version skips the hassle of puréeing and instead uses a hefty amount of cashew butter for the same nutty flavor and creamy texture. Red chile powder, ginger and garlic provide the perfect backbone for the sauce. Substitute tofu for paneer if you like; the mildness of either lends itself well to this unexpectedly luxurious dish that is so much more than the sum of its parts.
Pan-Seared Chicken With Harissa, Dates and Citrus
Juicy, pan-seared chicken thighs in a saucy mix of peppery harissa, sour citrus and sweet caramelized dates will make this dish the star of your weeknight meals. For even more flavor, marinate the chicken for as long as you can, anywhere from 30 minutes to 24 hours. Dollops of creamy yogurt will mellow any heat, and a shower of fresh herbs will add a subtle fragrance. Serve with the pan drippings spooned generously over steamed rice or fluffy couscous, or alongside some warm crusty bread for dipping.
Artichoke and Olive Farro Salad
Farro, a nutty Italian grain with a chewy texture, is an excellent candidate for a savory, herb-flecked pantry salad that travels well. The grain is not intimidated by bold flavors: Tangy oil-marinated artichokes, briny kalamata olives, feta and crisp red onion take wholesome farro by the hand and lead it straight to the dance floor. Cook times vary depending on the type of farro. Quick-cooking, pearled or semi-pearled all work well, but hulled is not recommended here, as it would need soaking and takes a long time to cook. Don’t be shy with the oil and vinegar: The farro absorbs them the longer it sits. If farro is not available, you can use orzo (see Tip), or other hearty grains like barley, wheat berries or freekeh.
Spinach Lasagna
Equal parts indulgent and virtuous, this meatless lasagna from Mark Bittman will please everyone at the table. Serve it with a green salad on a weeknight, or alongside a platter of meatballs for Sunday dinner. And listen: We won't tell anyone if you use no-boil noodles or frozen spinach. It's all good either way.
Carne Asada Lorenza
For centuries, Sonoran carne asada tacos have traditionally been assembled in flour tortillas. However, the corn tortilla, salted and crisped on the same grill that cooks and seasons the meat, has been added to the mix, creating a crunchy open taco called the Carne Asada Lorenza. Not only is it a sight to behold, but it has become such a favorite that it’s starting to rival the flour tortilla taco. Once the corn tortilla is seasoned and grilled, it is slathered with refried beans, mounted with copious amounts of melty cheese, and placed back on the grill for the cheese to ooze all over. The taco base becomes a sumptuous bed for the carne asada. Finish it with fire-roasted salsa and guacamole, and you will see what the Lorenza hype is all about.
Individual Beef Wellingtons
Beef Wellington, the English dish of a large beef fillet wrapped in pastry, is a project, but the joy of this scaled-down version is that it’s significantly easier to prepare. Pâté de foie gras and prosciutto are common ingredients in a traditional Wellington, but they’re skipped here for a more balanced flavor profile. Just as common is a deeply caramelized mushroom and shallot mixture known as a duxelles, which lends a strong foundation of earthy umami; a little red wine and heavy cream add richness to it. These are excellent for making ahead: Just stop after Step 5, and store them covered in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours until you’re ready to bake. Serve with roasted potatoes, green salad or wonderfully bitter radicchio.
Tahini-Parmesan Pasta Salad
Many traditional pasta salad recipes call for a heavy mayonnaise-based dressing, but this one combines tahini and Parmesan for a lighter, umami-packed dressing that can be used on noodles, salad greens, asparagus, grilled chicken or grains. Tahini and Parmesan may be a surprising duo, but they naturally work well together because tahini, which is made from sesame seeds, amplifies the cheese’s rich, nutty flavor. To add even more complexity, cherry tomatoes are blistered in a skillet to concentrate their sweetness and acidity. As with any good pasta salad, this one benefits from adding fresh scallions and mint right before serving, plus toasted sesame seeds and shards of Parmesan.
Cherry Tomato and White Bean Salad
This simple salad makes a bright, tangy companion to grilled meat or fish. Marinating the red onions and garlic in the vinaigrette for 15 minutes not only diffuses their flavor but also softens their bite. This salad travels well and would be an excellent choice for a potluck or picnic. It’s also supremely versatile, and can be dressed up with any soft herb like basil, tarragon or mint, and chile, in almost any form.
Greek Salad
While diner-style Greek salads made with chopped romaine, crumbled feta and often grilled chicken have become ubiquitous in American restaurants, a traditional Greek salad, or horiatiki salata, is a simpler affair. An assembled salad of large-diced vegetables with Kalamata olives and sometimes capers, this salad has no greens at all, and the feta is served sliced on top of the salad rather than crumbled and tossed into it. A traditional Greek salad dressing usually consists of olive oil and red wine vinegar; this recipe adds garlic and oregano. To make the salad into a satisfying vegetarian main course, throw in a can of drained and rinsed chickpeas.
Spicy Crab Linguine with Mustard, Crème Fraîche and Herbs
This pasta dish is impressive, but it is barely any work at all, ideal for an impromptu gathering. The sauce is just warm crème fraîche, highly seasoned, along with a shower of herbs, and just enough green chile to cut the richness. (If you don’t want chile, increase the mustard and black pepper, and add lime zest.) Obviously, you’ll want the freshest sweetest crabmeat available. Substitute lobster if you can’t get crab, or use small shrimp, briefly cooked in butter, and feel free to vary the herbs — basil, mint, dill or chervil would be most welcome.