Lunch
2850 recipes found
Chicken and Celery Salad With Wasabi-Tahini Dressing
Inspired by the desire to make use of some leftover wasabi paste, this is the kind of chicken salad that’s sure to become a go-to recipe. The best advice here is to make a large batch, and save it for multiple meals. Equally delicious cold or at room temperature, this salad is especially good in a sandwich, tucked into soft potato rolls. Embrace the wasabi and think of it as a hot mustard; you can even dial it back, starting with less, then adding more to taste. Lime juice lends a mellow acidity that rounds out the dressing.
Chicken Schnitzel With Pan-Roasted Grapes
No matter how you spin it, making schnitzel is a bit of a process. But by starting with thinly sliced chicken breasts, or chicken cutlets, this recipe removes the most time-consuming step — pounding the chicken — and makes schnitzel more doable on a weeknight. The contrast in temperatures and textures from the pan-roasted grapes and tangy sour cream make for perfectly balanced bites. Serve with a simple green salad with a lemony vinaigrette.
Chicken Katsu
Katsu, a popular Japanese comfort food of breaded cutlets, is commonly made with chicken or pork. For this chicken version, boneless chicken breasts are pounded thin, dredged in flour, egg and panko, then fried until golden brown for an irresistible crispy crust that yields to — and protects — juicy meat inside. The traditional accompaniments are a mound of crunchy shredded cabbage, steamed rice and a generous drizzle of sweet-savory katsu sauce. Also called tonkatsu sauce, it’s a tangy Japanese-style barbecue sauce made with soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, tomatoes, ginger and clove. Though you can purchase bottles of it in Asian markets or online, the sauce is easy to make, lasts indefinitely in the fridge and serves as a great all-purpose dip.
Muhammara Chicken Sandwiches
In this picnic-perfect sandwich, sliced chicken breast is enlivened by muhammara, an earthy Middle Eastern spread of roasted red peppers, walnuts and lemon that includes a little pomegranate molasses for sweetness. Poaching is an ideal technique for keeping chicken tender and juicy for these sandwiches, but you can swap in roasted, grilled or rotisserie chicken as well. Baby arugula, or a similar leafy green, adds a peppery bite. Be sure to use bread that can hold up to the sandwich fillings — one with a firm crumb and crunchy crust.
Sheet-Pan Baked Feta With Broccolini, Tomatoes and Lemon
When baked, feta gains an almost creamy texture, similar to goat cheese but with feta’s characteristic tang. In this easy vegetarian sheet-pan dinner, broccolini (or broccoli), grape tomatoes and lemon slices roast alongside the feta until the broccolini crisp, the tomatoes burst and the lemon rinds soften. (Remember, broccolini has a tender, delicious stalk so only the bottom 1/2-inch needs to be trimmed.) Serve this dish over a pile of orzo for a complete meal. If you like, cut the broccolini, feta and lemon into bite-size pieces and toss with the orzo.
Rasta Pasta With Jerk Chicken
Comforting and spicy in just the right way, Rasta pasta is popular in Jamaican communities across New York and beyond. This version gets its spice from jerk seasoning and a single Scotch bonnet. The bell peppers and green onions add not only texture, but a sweet crunch and brightness. You could swap salmon or shrimp for the chicken, or use fettuccine or rigatoni instead of the penne, if you like; just mind the cooking time. You could even halve the heavy cream, or substitute coconut milk for more depth of flavor. Feel free to refrigerate any leftovers, and either reheat or eat them cold the next day. This is a dish that gets better with a little time.
Roasted Sheet Pan Potato Salad
In this homage to warm, mustardy German-style potato salads, bite-size potatoes are roasted with asparagus and sliced leeks until crisp, then tossed with a simple shallot-and-mint vinaigrette, which soaks into the warm vegetables and infuses them with flavor. Using just one pan makes things simple: less cleaning, more eating. Serve as a side dish, or add hard-boiled eggs for a hearty vegetarian dinner.
Sheet-Pan Sesame Tofu and Red Onions
This sheet-pan recipe makes simple ingredients into a meal of delightful contrasts: savory and sweet, crisp and soft. The roasted tofu’s nuttiness is accentuated by a coating of turmeric and sesame seeds. Onions, which are often the sidekick to other vegetables, are roasted until soft, crackly-edged and sweet, becoming alluring enough to take top billing. A scattering of citrus-dressed herbs adds freshness. This dish goes well with steamed or roasted sweet potatoes or squash; massaged or sautéed hearty greens; rice or other grains; pita or tortillas; or something rich and creamy, like hummus, yogurt, mozzarella,peanut sauce or avocado.
Chickpeas Escabeche With Plantain Strips
In the Spanish-speaking world, the technique of cooking ingredients and then immersing them in vinegar is called escabeche. Anything can be made escabeche; it brings a lovely little shiver of sourness to the table. The writer and cultural critic Alicia Kennedy, who lives in Puerto Rico, likes to use chickpeas, simmering them in vinegar, olive oil and sofrito, a potent blend of garlic, onions, sweet peppers, grassy-bright cilantro and its swaggering cousin culantro. Just before serving, she adds Spanish stuffed olives, for extra richness. The beans are meaty enough to sate and small enough to scoop up with a chip — or, as Ms. Kennedy prefers, to be spooned, almost daintily (‘‘like caviar,’’ she says), onto a delicate strip of crisped plantain, hot from the skillet.
Broccoli Salad With Peanuts and Tahini-Lime Dressing
Broccoli stalks, often overlooked or tossed in favor of the florets, take center-stage in this summer picnic salad. While many broccoli slaws are made with mayonnaise-based dressings, this one is inspired by the bright flavors of Thai cuisine, and uses sesame oil, lime juice, salted peanuts, scallions and a dash of hot sauce for heat. (Garnish the slaw with fresh Thai basil, if you like.) Tossed with a creamy vegan tahini-lime dressing, the broccoli softens just enough to lose that raw broccoli flavor without giving up any of its satisfying crunch. A food processor or Mandoline makes quick work of the stems, but with a little bit of patience, a good knife does the trick, too. Finally, this salad is best the day it’s made, though its components can be prepared in advance to save time.
Roasted Broccoli With Tahini Garlic Sauce
One of my favorite Middle Eastern mezze is deep-fried cauliflower served with tahini garlic sauce. I decided to try the dish with broccoli, but instead of deep-frying the broccoli I roasted it, a method that requires a lot less oil. The buds on the broccoli florets toast to a crispy brown, and the texture of the stalk remains crisp. It goes wonderfully with the classic and irresistible tahini garlic sauce.
Chopped Salad With Chickpeas, Feta and Avocado
Like any good chopped salad, the lettuce here is in equal balance with the other ingredients, making this a great choice for those who are less than enthusiastic about leafy greens. Creamy feta and avocado mingle with briny olives and capers while cucumbers and finely chopped romaine provide crunch. Use this recipe as a template for making the most of ingredients you have on hand; radishes, cherry tomatoes or diced onion would all be welcome here. The same flexibility applies for the croutons: Stale bread works, of course, but even leftover hot dog buns, pita bread or oyster crackers become excellent little croutons when toasted in the oven.
Peach and Molasses Chicken
The sauce here relies on store-bought jam as a shortcut to intense fruit flavor and it is amazing on chicken. This recipe, adapted from the cookbook “Watermelon and Red Birds” by Nicole Taylor, is special enough for your Juneteenth celebration, but it’s so delicious, it can be cooked on a weekly rotation. Almost any fruit jam works, too, if peach isn’t your thing. As for the chicken itself, so much of the fat and flavor comes from the chicken skin that removing that outer layer is tantamount to robbing the meat of most of its taste, so do what it takes to find skin-on pieces. The crispy, charred chicken edges, drenched with the sauce, only happen with skin attached.
Roasted Tomato Tart With Ricotta and Pesto
Save those wider-than-tall, about-to-burst tomatoes for slicing and showering with flaky sea salt. For this recipe, you want smaller, sturdier varieties like kumato, Campari or petite heirlooms. Brushing the uncooked puff pastry with crème fraîche adds a subtle tanginess that you won’t necessarily notice, but the tomatoes will taste better for it. You might be tempted to skip salting your tomatoes, but don’t: It helps prevent a soggy crust while intensifying the flavor of your tomatoes. This tart is best enjoyed straight out of the oven, at its flaky prime, but it’s also great at room temperature, or even cold, devoured directly from the fridge.
Microwave-Steamed Eggs
The reward for this delightful steamed egg dish, smooth and savory, will seem much too high for the effort. Reminiscent of Chinese zheng shui dan, Japanese chawanmushi and Korean gyeran jjim, this streamlined recipe cooks entirely in the microwave. The key to that perfect, soft-set wibble-wobble texture (think silken tofu) is using your microwave at around 500 watts — or half its power on a 1,000-watt machine. This lower heat lets the eggs and broth steam together gently until they cohere into something ethereal, existing somewhere between liquid and solid. More slurpable than chewable, it tastes fantastic as a light starter or breakfast on its own, or for lunch or dinner alongside steamed rice and other dishes to complete the spread.
Crispy Baked Chicken
For pull-apart tender chicken with crisp, deeply spiced skin, rub it with a spicy-sweet mix and roast it low and slow while you’re doing something else. Because this chicken is cooked at a moderately low temperature, the spices will bloom but not burn, and the chicken fat will render slowly and completely (which means you don’t need any oil). The smoky rub in this recipe will turn the chicken skin into what tastes like a barbecue potato chip, but you can use other spice blends, too, like garam masala or Montreal steak seasoning. Just be sure your mix includes sugar for browning and salt for accentuating flavors. Whole chicken legs (with the thigh and drumstick attached) provide a more generous portion of juicy meat and skin that shatters, but a mix of drumsticks and bone-in thighs work, too.
Grilled Shrimp With Spicy Slaw
Lightly charred, citrusy grilled shrimp are the star of this quick slaw made from a pile of thinly sliced, crunchy green cabbage tossed with a sweet-tart citrus dressing. Cilantro adds bright flavor, and this dish has a bit of spice in the form of fresh jalapeños. They range quite a bit in their heat level, so start with a small amount and add more as you see fit. (You can also add julienned mango to tame the heat, if you like.) Feel free to substitute any quick-cooking protein for the shrimp; grilled chicken thighs or slabs of grilled tofu would work wonderfully. The cabbage will soften as it sits, so serve soon after it has been dressed to maximize its crunch.
Mango Slaw
There is absolutely nothing new about coleslaw, but there is something slightly intriguing about coleslaw with mangos. Often, when we think of coleslaw, we think of it as a side for fish and chips, barbecue or heavy, mayonnaise-drenched cabbage. But just think about the cool, crunchy sweetness of the cabbage, carrots and mango, paired with the spicy kick of jerk chicken. What’s a better combination? You also don’t have to serve it as a side: It can be tucked into a sandwich or wrap. One of the best things about this recipe is that all the ingredients are readily available, and there are many shortcuts you can take, like using a bagged mix. Who wants to ruin their knuckles on a box grater, or break out the food processor?
Vegan Caesar Salad With Crisp Chickpeas
There are many ways to mimic the rich, creamy texture of emulsified, egg-based Caesar dressing: Tofu, vegan mayonnaise, aquafaba whipped with oil, the list goes on. Blended raw cashews prove themselves the best base in this version, which is fortified with garlic, mustard, miso paste and caper brine to achieve the tangy-salty-punchy balance found in the real deal. Crisp chickpeas and hand-torn croutons add a crunchiness that plays well with the velvety dressing.
Basil and Tomato Fried Rice
Summer’s dynamic duo of tomato and basil make a surprising appearance in this aromatic fried rice. The tomatoes cook down slightly and become sweeter, coating the rice in their vibrant, sun-kissed juices, while basil adds a peppery perfume. This recipe is very adaptable, so make it your own. Use any tomato variety you like. Add more or less basil, or use Thai or holy basil in its place for even bolder flavors. If you want more heat, leave the seeds in the chiles. Finally, for a fresh element, serve with cucumber slices and a lime wedge on the side.
Sheet-Pan Roasted Salmon Niçoise Salad
Here, the classic French salad becomes an elegant dinner, with mustard-glazed salmon in place of tuna, roasted vegetables and jammy eggs served over a jumble of salad greens tossed with a red-wine vinaigrette. Roasting the vegetables, rather than serving some steamed and some raw as you would for a traditional Niçoise, gives this dish great texture and a delicious contrast of temperatures. The vegetables and salmon are roasted on a single sheet pan, making this an elevated take on the one-dish dinner — fit for company and easy enough for a weeknight.
Nasi Goreng Ayam (Indonesian Chicken Fried Rice)
Nasi goreng, which translates to “fried rice,” is one of Indonesia's best-known dishes, and it’s prepared in numerous ways around the world. Like many other fried rice recipes, this version, from the chef Lara Lee’s “Coconut & Sambal,” blends crunchy vegetables with piquant rice, but the addition of ginger and white pepper offer spice and aroma, while kecap manis, a velvety sauce, adds a slightly sweet balance to the dish. Don’t skimp on the fried egg or the fried shallots; both add essential crunch and texture. This is an ideal for a dinner for two.
Creamy Corn Pasta With Basil
There’s no cream in this wonderfully summery pasta dish, just a luscious sauce made from puréed fresh corn and sweet sautéed scallions, along with Parmesan for depth and red chile flakes for a contrasting bite. Be sure to add the lemon juice and fresh herbs at the end; the rich pasta really benefits from their bright, fresh flavors. And while this is best made at the height of corn season, it’s still quite good even with out-of-season supermarket ears, or with frozen corn.
Cold Tofu Salad With Tomatoes and Peaches
Sweet, savory and refreshing for summer’s hottest days, this is the salad to make when tomatoes and peaches are at their prime, on the verge of bursting. Inspired by Italian caprese salad and Japanese hiyayakko, it features juicy, ripe wedges of peaches and tomatoes seasoned with flaky salt, which draws out their juices to mingle with soy-balsamic dressing and creamy silken tofu. Top the salad with a shower of fragrant basil and mint, a nod to the shiso that often accompanies hiyayakko, and a few cranks of black pepper. Be sure to spoon the umami-rich dressing (the best part!) over the tomatoes, peaches and tofu so that it pools at the bottom of the serving platter. To get vegetarian recipes like this one delivered to your inbox, sign up for The Veggie newsletter.