Dinner
8856 recipes found
Vegan Mac and Cheese
Many creamy vegan pasta recipes call for an arsenal of expensive ingredients, but this one relies on more approachable ones, like cashews and almond milk for richness, nutritional yeast for tang and soy sauce for complex saltiness. Sautéed onions do double duty: They serve as a thickener and help offset the sweetness of the cashews. This simple stovetop pasta is wonderful on its own, but feel free to add roasted vegetables, fresh herbs, spices, harissa or hot sauce. For a quick-baked version worthy of Thanksgiving dinner, pile the prepared mac and cheese into a casserole dish, top with panko and more nutritional yeast, and broil for a few minutes until golden brown.
Skillet Pork Chops With Blistered Grapes
Pork chops make a great weeknight dinner, and this dish is no exception. It looks and feels special, but comes together in about 20 minutes with very minimal prep. Selecting bone-in pork chops is beneficial beyond appearance: The bones protect the meat to keep it moist. However, you could also use boneless chops or even chicken breasts, if you’d prefer; just be sure to reduce the cooking time accordingly.
Spicy Chorizo Pasta
Macaroni and chorizo is classic Spanish comfort food. While iterations abound, it typically starts by frying smoked chorizo with a little onion, adding canned or fresh tomato and maybe some oregano, then letting it simmer into a thick tomato sauce. It’s often topped with cheese and baked like a mac and cheese. Instead of fresh tomatoes, this recipe uses highly concentrated tomato paste, which is made by cooking down tomatoes for ages so you don’t have to. The paste fries in the chorizo’s rendered drippings for a very fast, silky, smoky and spicy sauce. When shopping for this recipe, look for Spanish chorizo, a shelf-stable sausage usually found near salami and other cured meats in the grocery store. Mexican chorizo is sold fresh and is made with different chiles and spices.
Zibdiyit Gambari (Spicy Shrimp and Tomato Stew)
This astonishingly simple stew, adapted from Yasmin Khan’s “Zaitoun: Recipes From the Palestinian Kitchen,” is bursting with the fierce, passionate flavors that are emblematic of the cooking of the Gaza Strip. You’ll mash together garlic, dill and jalapeños using a mortar and pestle and cook them in tomato sauce to add depth. Once the stew thickens, stir in the shrimp until they turn flushed and tender. To serve, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and dot with toasted sesame seeds and verdant flecks of parsley.
Swiss Chard and Lamb Torte With Fennel-Pomegranate Relish
Festive dishes in Israel and throughout the Middle East often include rice and lamb. This magnificent recipe, topped with a bright pomegranate and fennel relish, is the Israeli chef Erez Komarovsky's twist on an ancient, labor-intensive classic of individual stuffed chard, cabbage or grape leaves, symbolizing the plenty of the fall harvest. It is perfect for Rosh Hashana or any seasonal holiday gathering. Make it with blanched Swiss chard, grape leaves or even cabbage or kale as the outer crust, and assemble it a day in advance. Then bake it and revel in the heightened flavors from the cardamom, cinnamon, fennel and mint; the crunch of pistachio; and the slight kick you get from the Mexican Serrano pepper now planted in Israel.
Salmon With Potatoes and Horseradish-Tarragon Sauce
Adapted from an 18th-century recipe by George Lang for his 1971 cookbook, “The Cuisine of Hungary,” this recipe layers roast potatoes with just-tender baked salmon and a fresh swipe of horseradish sauce. You could substitute the potatoes with carrots, beets or other root vegetables, or you could play around with more tender vegetables like zucchini or fennel, though you’d need to slice them more thickly and reduce the cook time in Step 1. Likewise, halibut, cod or another white fish can be used instead of salmon. The bright horseradish sauce keeps the salmon moist and gives this dish verve, pairing horseradish’s peppery punch with tangy sour cream and fresh herbs.
Chicken Stir-Fry With Mixed Peppers
I used green peppers only for this stir-fry. Try to use a mix of hot and sweet peppers, and feel free to use red, yellow or orange ones if you want to introduce some color. The chicken is “velveted” before stir-frying; a good name for this technique as the texture of the chicken remains velvety and moist after stir-frying.
Opor Ayam (Indonesian Chicken Curry)
This luxurious chicken stew from Java is a staple of the Indonesian kitchen, made by simmering the meat in coconut milk with curry paste and lemongrass. The chef Retno Pratiwi grew up eating the dish on special occasions in West Java, and continues to make it at her pop-up restaurant in Boston, always opting for drumsticks over white meat. Though the shallots are traditionally incorporated raw into the curry paste, Pratiwi prefers to caramelize them first to bring out their sweetness. It adds a little time to the process, but the final result is worth it.
Avocado and Onion Salad
Avocado, onion, oil and vinegar are all that’s needed for ensalada de aguacate y cebolla, with rich, creamy avocado against the assertive crunch of onion, plus oil and vinegar accentuating the contrast. According to “Gran Cocina Latina: The Food of Latin America” (W. W. Norton, 2012) by Maricel Presilla, this combination is found in many Caribbean and Andean traditions, served as a starter or alongside almost any dish but especially rich stews and meats. Florida avocados are larger and can taste greener than buttery Hass avocados; when they’re in season, use them for this salad. While sometimes embellished with tomato, watercress, tropical fruits or seafood, start with the simple recipe below, and see why it’s a mainstay on so many tables.
Kongguksu (Cold Soy Milk Noodle Soup)
Traditionally enjoyed during the summertime in Korea, this refreshing cold noodle dish requires just five ingredients: cucumbers, dried soybeans, pasta, salt and water. The base of the dish is a nutty and rich homemade soy-milk broth, which is served ice-cold over thin wheat noodles. There’s minimal hands-on work, but overnight soaking time is required, so plan ahead. Once the beans are fully soaked, the meal comes together in just 30 minutes. Adjust the thickness of the broth by adding more or less water, and for extra earthy flavor, try adding 1/4 cup of roasted pine nuts, peanuts or sesame seeds before blending. If you like, you can make the broth ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator until ready to serve. You can also freeze it, but once thawed, whiz it in the blender to restore its smooth texture.
Baked Cod With Crunchy Miso-Butter Bread Crumbs
Shiro miso, also known as white miso, is a fermented mash of soybeans and rice with an incredibly rich, sweet flavor that packs a punch. It pairs particularly well with ginger and garlic, and is combined here with those aromatics, butter and panko bread crumbs for a crisp coating. As it bakes, the miso crust caramelizes and forms an addictive flavor that elevates the mild cod.
Mushroom Pasta Stir-Fry
While stir-fries have long gone hand-in-hand with rice, this recipe shows the versatility of the dish. Here, a quick stir-fry is transformed into a flavorful, unconventional pasta sauce. Five spice is a Chinese seasoning that is said to incorporate all five tastes: sweet, sour, bitter, salty and umami. In this recipe, its blend of star anise, cloves, Chinese cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorns and fennel intensifies the robust flavor of the mushrooms. Don’t overcook the broccolini; it should be crisp, with a bright green vibrancy. You could easily substitute broccoli, green beans, snow peas or other crunchy greens. And don’t skip the butter (or use vegan butter, if you prefer), as it provides a beautiful richness which brings the sauce and ingredients together.
Chicken With Artichokes and Lemon
If you like artichokes as much as I do, this recipe, often made at Passover by Jews from Morocco, is for you. You can use fresh or frozen artichokes, though trimming fresh artichokes is worth the effort for their delicate texture. To save waste, boil the trimmed artichoke leaves about 15 minutes until tender in water with a lemon, then enjoy them for lunch, dipping them into an easy sauce of yogurt spiked with a spoonful of Dijon mustard. Easily made in a frying pan, this tagine goes well with couscous, or a quinoa or bulgur pilaf, though that might depend on your Passover traditions, and Moroccan Jews do not allow rice or couscous. The dish can easily be made a day or two in advance and refrigerated or even frozen.
Watermelon and Grapefruit Salad With Tahini
This fruit salad is simple to make but thrilling to eat because it hits all the marks of a good salad in surprising ways. The base is crunchy-sweet watermelon and tangy-tart grapefruit. (If you can’t eat grapefruit, substitute orange sprinkled with lemon or lime juice.) These two fruits look similar, but taste different, and that is part of the fun of eating them together. Tahini is used like a nuttier, richer oil, and honey mellows the mix. The balance really depends on the quality of your ingredients, though, so adjust to taste until each bite races between sweet, savory, juicy and creamy.
Spaghetti and Drop Meatballs With Tomato Sauce
This fast version of spaghetti and meatballs with red gravy is ready in less than 30 minutes, but you’ll be chopping, stirring and monitoring heat — actively working — from start to finish. You’ll be busy, but not frantic, and rewarded not only with the twirling of pasta in half an hour, but with the satisfaction that you made every second count.
Stir-Fried Snow Peas With Soba
Snow peas are a great source of fiber, vitamin K, calcium and vitamin C.
Salty-Sweet BBQ Salmon and Broccoli
This salmon and broccoli sheet-pan dinner gets a boost from bottled oyster sauce, which is made from caramelized oyster juices, salt and sugar, and tastes like a sweet yet briny soy sauce. It makes the perfect base for a rich barbecue sauce that comes together in just 10 minutes. Caramelized sugar, tomato paste and soy sauce quickly create depth, while vinegar balances the sweetness. The salty-sweet sauce complements the buttery salmon and does double duty as a glaze and finishing sauce. It also serves as a terrific marinade for chicken and steak, so you may want to make a double batch of it.
Cheesy Baked Orzo With Marinara
A vegetarian weeknight pasta that’s as comforting as it is easy, this dish will win over adults and kids alike (red-pepper flakes optional!). While fresh mozzarella can become tough and chewy when baked, shredded low-moisture mozzarella melts beautifully. Serve this with a simple, lemony arugula salad or a Caesar salad for ultimate weeknight comfort.
Stir-Fried Swiss Chard and Red Peppers
This is particularly beautiful if you can find rainbow chard, those multicolored bunches with red, white and yellow stems. Slice the chard crosswise in thin strips. If the pieces are too thick, they’ll be tough.
Quick-Braised Chicken With Greens
There’s a family of dishes that are both tangy and cozy: hot and sour soup, braised collard greens, puttanesca, brisket and now, this pot of braised chicken and greens. Its bite comes from hot pickled peppers and their brine, while the comfort comes from browned onions, tomato paste, cumin and chicken broth — and the knowledge that you can make this dish quickly with boneless thighs and any dark, leafy greens in your fridge. Eat the stew on top of something starchy to soak up the broth; it’s especially good with crunchy olive oil-fried toast (see Tip).
Corned Beef Hash
A jumble of salty meat, crisp potatoes and sweet onions, corned beef hash is a satisfying and hearty breakfast, lunch or dinner. The New England classic is also pragmatic, borne as Julia Moskin wrote “on leftovers from endless boiled dinners of beef, cabbage, potatoes and onions.” This recipe doesn’t require already-cooked potatoes, though you can swap them in if you have them. And instead of corned beef, use 1 1/2 cups bite-size pieces of another cooked protein, such as pastrami, roast beef, sausage, bacon, chicken or tofu — or omit for excellent home fries.
Tuna Melt
Legend has it that the tuna melt was accidentally invented in the 1960s at the Woolworth’s lunch counter in Charleston, S.C., when the cook didn’t notice that a bowl of tuna salad had tipped over onto a grilled cheese. We may never know if this story is true, but there’s no doubt that the tuna melt has become a classic American diner food. This recipe adds chopped cornichons and whole-grain mustard for a satisfying crunch and vinegary element. Extra-sharp Cheddar is a must, and as with grilled cheese, the key to achieving perfectly melted cheese and golden bread is to toast the sandwich over medium-low heat. If you prefer an open-face tuna melt, skip the top piece of bread and place the sandwich on a sheet pan under the broiler until the cheese melts.
Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad
Depending on your appetite, this variation on a classic Caesar salad with grilled chicken makes an excellent first-course or a full-on meal. Hitting the lettuce with a little fire is an unexpectedly brilliant trick; the green leaves char and crisp and the insides become slightly tender, but you still get the satisfying crunch everyone loves about romaine. If you're a pescatarian, try it with grilled tuna, salmon or scallops.
Jackfruit Curry
Reminiscent of chicken tikka masala, this recipe is inspired by the in-ground or lovo cooking of Fiji. There, meats are heavily seasoned, then set atop tubers, jackfruit or breadfruit, wrapped in banana leaves and slow-cooked. This simple vegan dish is rich and satisfying, drawing on the Indo-Fijian flavors of the island, with aromatic spices and a bit of a kick. Heavy with coriander, garlic and ginger, this spice blend has a slightly milder, more delicate flavor than most. But if you have a favorite blend, you can substitute the spices in this recipe with 2 tablespoons of no-salt curry powder, and continue with the recipe as written. Serve alongside white rice and sautéed veggies, naan or your favorite curries.