Dinner
8856 recipes found
Wine-Braised Chicken With Artichoke Hearts
Artichokes become weeknight friendly when they come from a can or a jar. Be sure to buy the unmarinated ones here. The gentle braise in rendered chicken fat and tangy white wine, mixed with onions and herbs, provides all the flavor the artichokes need.
Ricotta Dumplings With Buttered Peas and Asparagus
These dumplings are a way to get the satisfaction of making your own pasta without having to make your own pasta. This recipe doesn’t require you to drain the ricotta, but if you notice that yours is especially wet, you may want to add a tablespoon or two more of flour to make sure the dough stays together. It should be like a very wet biscuit dough (and not pourable or soupy). As for the vegetables, this dish is a truly excellent canvas for anything seasonal (asparagus and peas in the spring, cherry tomatoes in the summer, mushrooms in the fall, squash in the winter), so adjust as you like.
Leek Risotto With Sugar Snap Peas and Pancetta
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to stir risotto constantly, but achieving a creamy risotto with slightly toothsome grains does require some attention. During the cooking process, the rice should always be lightly coated in liquid and bubbling energetically, and the liquid needs to be added gradually: Add just before the rice threatens to stick to the bottom of the pan. For the creamiest results, stir more frequently and more vigorously during the second half of the cooking, when the grains begin to release their starch.
Classic Chicken Schnitzel With Smashed Cucumbers
If making chicken schnitzel sounds hard, perhaps it’s because you’ve never tried. The technique itself is so simple, effective and addictive that you might find yourself turning to it all the time. For the crispest crust, you'll want to keep the hot oil circling the schnitzel as it cooks, creating a little space between the crust and the chicken. As for the side, giving your cucumbers and green beans a good whack with the rolling pin opens them up and creates crevices that soak up the harissa and garlic. Be generous with the squeezes of lemon at the end. They'll bring the chicken and spiced cucumbers to their fullest flavor.
Tfaya Baked Chicken
This one-pan chicken dish is a practically effortless meal packed with the flavors of Morocco. Tfaya is a sweet and savory Moroccan sauce made of caramelized onions, raisins and spices, and here those ingredients are used to create a comforting meal that requires only 10 minutes of preparation time.
Chopped Salad
A good chopped salad is a buoyant mix of different textures (creamy, crisp, crunchy, juicy), a range of colors, and sweet, salty and tangy flavors. This one has it all, in just the right proportions. You can gather all the ingredients in advance, including cooking the bacon and the eggs. But don’t toss everything together until just before serving — and, preferably, do so at the table for maximum impact.
Mashed Potatoes With Garlic and Basil
Lamb Stew With Chickpeas and Butternut Squash
There is no high drama about simmering a stew. However fine, stew is a homey, intimate exchange, a paean to the way living things improve when their boundaries relax, when they incorporate some of the character and flavor of others. Soulful, a word inextricably linked with a good sturdy stew, is the payoff to the cook who plans a little and has the patience to abide. Here, long-simmered lamb combines with chickpeas and butternut squash to yield a stew rich with the flavors of cumin, cardamom and coriander, that can help keep a chilly night at bay.
Creamy Cauliflower Pasta With Pecorino Bread Crumbs
Equal parts cauliflower and pasta, this one-skillet dinner is a vegetable-forward version of macaroni and cheese. A whole head of cauliflower browns and caramelizes in a skillet before being simmered with heavy cream, pecorino cheese and a bit of lemon zest, breaking down into a special (and yes, decadent) sauce to coat the pasta shape of your choosing. For those looking to make it their own, this pasta could absolutely handle a bit of chopped bacon sautéed with the cauliflower, or handfuls of leafy greens tossed in at the end to wilt. Whatever you do, do not skip the bread crumbs — they are a not-so-stealthy vehicle for more cheese, and also add much-needed texture to the finished dish.
Pan-Fried Trout With Rosemary, Lemon and Capers
This 1994 recipe gets Provencal flavors on the table in minutes. Fresh rosemary needles are pressed into the fillets, which are seasoned in flour and pan fried for a crisp exterior and flaky inside. A sauce built on shallots, white wine and lemon adds complexity. Pair it with a light vegetable like sautéed asparagus, or a bright arugula salad, and serve with some of that white wine for an easy, refreshing spring dinner.
Lamb With Cherries And Couscous
Craig Claiborne's Beef Stew
It would be hard to find a simpler meal than Mr. Claiborne’s hearty beef stew, which goes beautifully with buttered noodles and a stout glass of red wine. (Or, for the children, a glass of milk.) A small scattering of cloves adds a floral note to the gravy, augmented by just a little thyme, and the combination pairs beautifully with the carrots you add near the end of the cooking process, to prevent them from going mushy in the heat. Sprinkle chopped parsley over the finished dish, of course, a nod to the past that rewards in beauty and flavor alike.
Shrimp and Kimchi Rice Bowl
If you want dinner with ease, make it a rice bowl. You can cook the rice in advance and reheat it, or employ a rice cooker. (A small one doesn’t demand much space, and it cooks perfect rice while you go about other business.) But even if you make rice on the stovetop, you’ll have 30 minutes to pull together the rest of this meal, so it’s hot and ready all at once. Kimchi is the heavy lifter here, since it has tons of crunch and tang, which gives you space to add in other vegetable without doing much to them. They could be grated and raw, or make use of yesterday’s leftovers. If shrimp isn’t your speed, try this marinade on beef chuck or tofu. Or top the rice with an egg fried in a mixture of canola and sesame oil.
Rhineland Sauerbraten
“Braising is a cooking method that is little understood and much neglected,” Mimi Sheraton wrote in The Times in 1983. “The long, slow, moist process fills the house with warm scents of simmering meats, vegetables and herbs and yields in robust main courses that include rich sauces and gravies to be aborbed by potatoes, rice or noodles. And because the moisture tenderizes the meat, even the least expensive cuts gradually take on savory overtones.” She accompanied her article with this luscious sauerbraten, which benefits greatly from larding the meat with bacon or salt pork, and is even better the day after it is prepared.
Radicchio Salad With Anchovy Vinaigrette
Salt is the best way to tame a bitter flavor, and so a radicchio salad benefits from a dressing that tilts toward saltiness. It does not matter which type of radicchio you use — the common tight round head, clusters of white stems with burgundy leaves, or maroon-trimmed endives to name a few — they all deliver some bitterness. The vinaigrette here is bolstered with anchovies and capers.
Chilean Cabbage and Avocado Slaw
Coleslaw meets guacamole here in this utterly simple mix of shredded cabbage, salt, lemon, and puréed avocado. The chef Iliana de la Vega, who was born in Oaxaca, Mexico, served it at a delicious Latin-themed lunch she prepared at the “Healthy Kitchens, Healthy Lives” conference this year at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley. I couldn’t get enough of it. I sat with Iliana at the lunch and asked her about the salad. “Just salt the cabbage, let it sit for a while, then add lots of lemon juice and the mashed avocado,” she said. That really is all there is to it. Shred the cabbage thin and for best results let it sit, after salting generously, for an hour or more, to tenderize it and draw out strong-tasting juices.
Pescado Frito (Fried Red Snapper)
Fishing is an extraordinarily complex issue in Puerto Rico. Much of the seafood eaten doesn’t come from the island’s own waters, in part because of arcane legislation that controls fishing rights. And yet, whole deep-fried fish is a staple on the island, particularly along the west and southwest coast. There, you’ll find red snapper, simply marinated in adobo, fried and served with tostones, avocado salad and white rice. It is, in my opinion, the absolute best way to enjoy a whole fish. The frying turns the head and the tail into a crunchy fish chicharrón, and the skin and flesh cook evenly, keeping the flesh moist and the skin crisp. While bones are often a concern for those uncomfortable eating whole fish, there’s a simple solution: Eat it with your hands. Your fingers will do a much better job of finding bones than your fork will, and the experience is more visceral, and delicious.
Octopus Bolognese
This quick and rich nontraditional riff on bolognese features convenient yet under-used tender and meaty tinned octopus. Look for octopus that’s packed in olive oil; the oil will add depth to the sauce, along with clam juice to heighten the seafood flavor. Tangy capers brighten the sauce, while nutty Parmesan rounds it out. (Cheese can typically overpower the delicate flavor of seafood, but octopus has a hearty texture and here, it is enhanced by a hit of nutty Parmesan cheese.) Serve it over pasta or polenta; it’s also great with mashed potatoes or sopped up with crusty bread.
Garlicky Steak With Carrot, Walnut and Dill Salad
Any steak benefits from a quick marinade, but especially a flank steak. Fairly tender on its own, it becomes its best self when bathed in oil laced with lemon, garlic and coriander. The trick here is to set aside a teaspoon of this potent marinade to stir into yogurt, to dollop or serve alongside. This marinade and the garlic yogurt also work well on chicken or pork, tossed with almost any grilled vegetable or even drizzled over toast. The salad, made from long strips of carrots, is a light, sophisticated side that's as at home on your Tuesday night table as it is at weekend brunch.
Craig Claiborne's Fried Chicken
This fried chicken is classic Mississippi picnic fare, and goes hand in hand with a cold repast of deviled eggs, coleslaw and frosty drinks. A well-seasoned cast iron pan is best for cooking it, but you can do all that work the day before your feast. Drain it on a paper bag and cover it tightly with plastic wrap. It will keep until you unpack the basket. (The New York Times)
Mofongo
Easily the most popular classic Puerto Rican dish, mofongo is flavorful, satisfying and layered with history. The ingredients and process reference the island’s Indigenous and African roots alongside Spanish flavors. While this preparation uses chicharrón or pork cracklings, you can easily make it vegan by omitting the pork and adding a little extra garlic and olive oil. The trick to great mofongo is to work quickly: Heat your garlic and olive oil mojo while your plantains are frying, and smash everything together as soon as they’re done. You can stuff mofongo with seafood or roast pork, if you like, and serve it with guiso, a flavorful, sofrito-scented tomato sauce, or even use it to stuff a Thanksgiving turkey. The included recipe for guiso is optional but recommended, as it adds dimension and moisture, particularly for a vegan preparation.
Dudhi Kofta Curry (Indian Squash Dumplings)
The Indian cookbook author Raghavan Iyer experienced his first Thanksgiving, in Minnesota, in the early 1980s. “Coming from a land of spice, I thought, ‘Man, how boring,’" he recalled. He shared this recipe for squash dumplings in a creamy tomato sauce spotted with cashews and raisins, a bright and spicy dish welcome on any table, any time of the year. In a pinch? The sauce and dumplings can be prepared a day ahead and refrigerated separately.
Skillet Refried Beans With Avocado and Radish
This hearty vegetarian mash-up of burritos and seven-layer dip is a crowd favorite for good reason: It’s easy, it’s fast and it encourages diners to gather around the table and fill their tortillas however they wish. Canned refried beans seasoned with a dash of cayenne are heated through on the stovetop, then topped with a generous sprinkling of cheese. Before serving, lots of cool, crunchy toppings like avocado, grated Cotija cheese, snap peas, radishes and romaine lettuce are piled on top. The toppings make it feel like a proper meal, though you could serve it with tortilla chips as a snack or with eggs for brunch.
Mrouzia Lamb Shanks
This recipe for mrouzia, a Moroccan tagine of lamb shanks with a syrupy sauce made with onions, ras el hanout, honey and raisins, is adapted from “Casablanca: My Moroccan Food” by Nargisse Benkabbou (Firefly, 2018). This centuries-old dish has been around so long that traditional recipes call for large amounts of animal fat and honey, which were needed to preserve the meat before the invention of modern refrigeration. Mrouzia is usually served to celebrate Eid al-Adha (also known as Eid el-Kabir), or other special occasions. Enjoy with fluffy couscous or plenty of crusty bread.