Lunch
2847 recipes found
Tamales
Tamales are a traditional Central and South American dish of masa, a corn dough, that is filled with meat, vegetables, cheese and seasonings, then wrapped in a corn husk or banana leaf and steamed. They have been around for thousands of years — the Aztec and the Maya people ate them — so there are innumerable delicious variations, but this Mexican version, which is known as rojos de puerco, is filled with braised pork and red chile sauce. Often served at special events like weddings, baptisms, first communions and the like, tamales are particularly important to Mexicans and Mexican-Americans at Christmas time during which tamaladas, or tamale-making parties, are hosted to divide the work, share the food and enjoy each other’s company. For convenience, this recipe calls for masa harina, a dried form of masa that can be found in most supermarkets and is reconstituted with water and fat, but if you can find fresh masa, use it for outrageously good, authentic results.
Cabbage Soup
Cabbage soup has been a staple in Eastern European cuisines as far back as the Middle Ages, when cabbage was one of the most readily available fresh vegetables. Even today, there is something undeniably comforting and restorative about this brothy yet hearty soup. While some variations call for chicken broth, this one is entirely vegan (though chicken broth certainly works if that’s what you have on hand). Cook the recipe as written, or make it your own by adding other vegetables from your fridge, or a can of rinsed white beans to make it more filling.
Tortellini Soup
Store-bought cheese tortellini make this easy vegetarian soup a breeze to put together at home. The stuffed pasta cooks in minutes and floats in a creamy, tomato-y broth that’s loaded with vegetables. A splash of vinegar enhances the tomato flavor and provides a bit more acidity, and chopped herbs, added at the end, offer some freshness. This soup works well with substitutions like swapping kale or other hearty greens for the spinach, for instance, so feel free to use whatever produce you have on hand. Whatever you do, don’t skimp on the grated Parmesan at the table.
Spicy Carrot-Ginger Soup
Let’s proceed on the theory that everyone likes soup, and some soups are better than others. You might think of squash for an autumn soup, but this bright soup of carrots, stewed with ginger and jalapeño and finished with a good squeeze of lime and a handful of chopped cilantro, is an example of how not to make the all-too familiar stodgy too-thick purée. Still, feel free to try it with kabocha or butternut squash. If the soup is not to be served immediately, cool after puréeing, and reheat just before serving — it will taste fresher.
Mushroom Galbi
This vegan twist on traditional galbi swaps meaty mixed mushrooms in place of the meat. The garlicky soy-and-sesame-oil sauce deepens the flavor of earthy mushrooms, which get roasted alongside scallions and green bell pepper until tender and golden. A final broil imparts a nice char and smoky flavor that mimics the grill. Leftovers turn into a fantastic fried rice the next day, topped with a fried egg.
Crispy Green Bean and Potato Sabzi
Indian cooking is filled with one-pan sabzis that come together fast and deliver big, complex flavor. This variation on a potato and green bean sabzi has a twist: almond butter, which gives the vegetables a nutty, almost tempura-like coating, made fragrant with warm spices, ginger and garlic. The green bean and potato combination makes for a nice contrast of textures, but you can easily make swaps: potatoes for sweet potatoes, green beans for broccoli. Chaat masala — a salty, tart and delightfully funky spice blend — is widely available in South Asian grocery stores or online and is well worth having in your pantry to give sabzis like this one some extra sparkle.
Crispy Rice With Salmon And Avocado
This recipe for golden-crisp blocks of sushi rice topped with cool and creamy salmon and avocado is a riff on a spicy tuna and crispy rice dish created by Katsuya Uechi, a Los Angeles chef who was inspired by yaki onigiri. While the dish does require a number of steps and is best eaten right when it’s made, you can break up the work by cooking the rice and seasoning the salmon with lemon zest and jalapeño up to 24 hours ahead. (In fact, the results will be better if you do.) Right before serving, slice and fry the blocks and top with the salmon and avocado. These gorgeous two-bite treats make an excellent party hors d'oeuvres or full dinner with a cucumber salad.
Ricotta Pasta Bake
Thanks to a whole lot of ricotta, this baked pasta is so creamy and milky that it’s nearly as fluffy as pudding. The dish has a sweet tang from roasted lemon and tomatoes, plus a crisp bread crumb topping to contrast all that plushness. Because the sauce is mostly cheese, it’s worth seeking out ricotta that doesn’t have gum or stabilizers; you’ll get the best results from ricotta that is made of just milk, salt and perhaps a vinegar or natural culture.
Mortadella Sandwich With Ricotta and Pistachio Pesto
Mortadella may just be the best sandwich meat there is. Run through with translucent spots of pork fat and sometimes slivers of pistachio, it’s tender yet springy when sliced deli-thin. Here, it’s layered with milky sweet ricotta to balance its savoriness, while pistachios add crunch and basil freshness. Homemade focaccia turns this simple sandwich into a life-affirming meal, but reheated bakery-bought squares have a similar effect. If your deli counter sells mortadella, ask for it very thinly sliced.
Crab Cakes
Flavored with Old Bay seasoning, mustard and a splash of Worcestershire sauce, these classic Maryland-style crab cakes are heavy on the crab, with just enough bread crumbs and mayonnaise to hold everything together. Serve with homemade tartar sauce, lemon wedges and a green salad for a special lunch, dinner or appetizer any time of the year. For an hors d’oeuvre-sized portion, form smaller cakes (about 3 tablespoons of batter each) and pan-fry as directed. The batter can be made up to 24 hours in advance and stored, covered, in the refrigerator.
Cuban Sandwich
There are many types of Cuban sandwiches, but the star of this one, also known as a Cubano, is tender, fall-apart roast pork. The pork’s marinade, called mojo, is citrusy and garlicky and spiked with earthy cumin and oregano. Sour oranges are traditionally used (see Tip), but a mix of regular oranges and lime juices can be swapped in if the former is difficult to source. A loaf of Cuban bread is ideal for its fluffy interior, but a soft French bread, bolillo bread or hero rolls can stand in its place. Besides the pork, the sandwiches are stacked high with deli ham, Swiss cheese, dill pickles and yellow mustard (add salami to make it Tampa-style). They’re pressed until the cheese is melted and the bread is golden. Any leftover pork can be served alongside Cuban beans, maduros and rice.
Buss Up Shut (Paratha-Style Roti)
In Trinidad and Tobago, this roti is called buss up shut because it resembles a torn — busted up — shirt after the flaky layers of paratha roti are shredded during the cooking process. This version comes from Peter Prime, the executive chef of the Caribbean restaurant Bammy’s in Washington, D.C. Across the world, from the Indian subcontinent to the Caribbean Islands and East Africa, roti is used to describe several versions of flat, unleavened bread cooked on the stovetop. Here, the soft dough is brushed with a combination of butter or ghee and coconut oil for a toasted nuttiness that lingers faintly within the finished tender and chewy layers. The roti should be served while it’s still hot, but can also be cooled completely, wrapped in a sealed bag and frozen. Defrost and warm up by steaming gently for a few minutes.
Coconut Saag
Saag paneer is a classic North Indian dish — but it’s also endlessly riffable. Swap out the paneer for feta or halloumi, the mustard greens for kale or spinach, and so on. This is a particularly stellar riff, in which coconut milk enriches an already aromatic and verdant sauce that can be paired with either the traditional paneer, or extra-firm tofu. The final hit of coconut oil infused with smoky cumin seeds and red chile powder adds loads of depth, making this dish quite possibly the most luxurious way to eat a pound of greens.
Tomato Pie
The Italian American tomato pie is an elemental dish that lets its simple components — a flatbread covered in tomato sauce — really sing. It comes in different forms in different cities. In Philadelphia, tomato pie is an institution unto itself, typically sold from old-school Italian bakeries. Joe Beddia of Pizzeria Beddia is among a younger generation of chefs in the city who are making their own version of tomato pie. His 24-hour fermented dough produces a focaccialike flatbread with a springy interior and a crunchy, golden-brown crust. He covers it with a thin spread of rich tomato sauce, and finishes it with a generous drizzle of fruity olive oil and restrained sprinkle of Sicilian oregano. Eat it at room temperature as they do in Philadelphia — it makes for an ideal, make-ahead buffet addition, especially on Eagles game days.
Chili Mac
“Nothing induces a feeling of security and comfort better than the come-hither aroma of an honest pot of chili mac keeping warm on the stove.” Many would agree with what Jane and Michael Stern wrote in “The Lexicon of Real American Food” (Lyons Press, 2011), whether they’ve had the thrifty, hearty combination of macaroni and chili at a family dinner table, around a campfire, bellied up to a bar somewhere near Lake Michigan or even in an M.R.E. in a military dining room. This supersavory version is a cinch, requiring just one pot and minimal chopping. (For another common chili pasta, see this Cincinnati chili con carne.)
Hiroshima-Style Okonomiyaki
Meals seldom get more soulful than okonomiyaki — the Japanese cabbage pancake is soothing and filling, hearty with pork and savory with a topping of seaweed and bonito flakes. Its name stems from “okonomi,” which translates closely to “how you like,” and the recipe is an exercise in variation and flexibility. With a framework of shredded cabbage and its accompanying batter, any number of proteins, vegetables, cheeses and seasonings are fair game, yielding a meal that’s as personal as you’d like it to be. This iteration’s locality is commonly attributed to Hiroshima: the layered pancake’s noodles add texture while absorbing sauce and flavor from pork belly, a fried egg and whichever other toppings of yours are adorning the dish. If you’re cooking with a griddle, it’s possible to make multiple pancakes at once; but if you’re using a pan on your stovetop, it’s worth cooking them one at a time, then serving each immediately.
Tostadas
In Spanish, tostada is used as an adjective and a noun to refer to a tortilla that has been toasted on a comal or griddle, crisped in the oven, or in some regions of Mexico, fried until golden brown. Stateside, store-bought corn tortillas are made using preservatives to extend their shelf life, but they can also add a sour taste and smell to the product. This is masked by toasting or frying them, which enhances the flavor of the corn, making them taste more like something you would find in Mexico. Tostadas can be used to hold whatever fillings you want to pile on top, but in this recipe, chorizo and canned beans make a quick meal perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Easy Couscous
Because the couscous in American grocery stores is already steamed and dried, it just requires hydrating in hot liquid for about 5 minutes to transform the North African semolina pasta into fluffy beads. This recipe makes 4 cups of cooked couscous, but you can follow a one-to-one ratio of couscous to liquid to make any quantity you like. Couscous is the ultimate blank canvas: Eat with tagine or grilled meat, or toss into a salad.
Sheet-Pan Zucchini, Tomatoes and Feta
The star of this speedy supper is the golden-topped, lightly scorched feta that remains irresistibly spreadable and melty when sliced. Thanks to the direct heat of the broiler, charred and burst tomatoes add juiciness to the sheet pan, along with tender zucchini spears. You could also scatter some arugula or baby spinach over the ingredients, gently tossing to wilt, and eat this dish right out of the pan with some bread for a warm, late-summer salad. During other times of year, you could swap the zucchini for asparagus or broccolini.
Cumin and Cashew Yogurt Rice
Yogurt rice is a nostalgic dish for many South Asians, and especially South Indians. It’s the ultimate comfort food, and a no-fuss dinner that’s easy to put together. Cool, creamy yogurt and crunchy, warm spices create a dreamy contrast that makes this dish feel more whole meal-worthy than snack-friendly (though it’ll serve you well for both). Traditional versions include mustard seeds, curry leaves and urad dal, but this variation includes a different set of pantry staples: cumin seeds, cashews and red chile powder. The trio, plus fresh green chiles, gets sizzled in ghee, enhancing all the rich, smoky, spicy flavors, then gets poured directly over the yogurt rice. Add grated carrots and zucchini to give the rice more heft, or try it with a different combination of spices.
Pasta With Corn, Mint and Red Onions
Practically a no-cook recipe, this celebration of corn, tomatoes and plenty of herbs is about as easy as summer pasta gets. A dollop or two of ricotta adds milky softness, enriching the tangy, garlicky tomatoes and plump kernels of corn, but you can leave it out if you prefer. Although this dish is best with seasonal tomatoes and freshly shucked corn, it’s also excellent made with frozen corn and year-round grape tomatoes, cut into cubes. You can serve this versatile salad warm, at room temperature or even cold as a pasta salad. And leftovers make a terrific lunch the next day.
Pizza Salad
For pizza in salad form, this recipe tosses a crisp and briny mix of romaine lettuce, pepperoncini, black olives and red onion in a fresh, grated tomato vinaigrette. Spicy pepperoni strips are sizzled until crisp; their zesty fat gets sopped up by toasty bread crumbs that are spiked with the classic New York slice flavors (oregano, garlic and red-pepper flakes). (You can make a big batch of these crumbs, store them in the fridge and use them to top pasta, eggs, roasted veggies and anything else you want to take to pizza town.) This salad is showered with the salty pepperoni crumbs, offset by mozzarella morsels running throughout.
Chilled Soba in Dashi With Tomatoes and Corn
This chilled noodle dish is extremely refreshing on a hot summer’s day. Corn, shiitake mushrooms and tomatoes simmer with water to make a vegan take on dashi that is packed with umami. The buckwheat noodles have a lovely nutty flavor, adding depth to the dish, but feel free to try with different noodles, such as thin wheat noodles (somen) or rice noodles. The dashi is extremely light and clean, while the toppings add bursts of flavor. The balance between sweet, salty and sour is very delicate, so be sure to be somewhat pedantic when measuring for seasoning. You can get ahead by making the dashi a day in advance and chilling it overnight.
Sheet-Pan Chopped Salad With Chicken
A vibrant mix of vegetables roast alongside chicken in this recipe, transforming into a warm chopped salad. Quickly marinated chicken breast pieces stay juicy and moist during cooking, emerging with the texture of chicken that has been gently poached. Zucchini and bell peppers release flavorful juices as they cook; the resulting liquid gets transformed into a tangy vinaigrette that comes together in the pan. Leftovers are great the next day, tucked into a baguette. You could also chop the chicken and veggies, then simmer them in marinara sauce for a heartier pasta meal.