Lunch
2795 recipes found
Louis Armstrong’s Red Beans and Rice
In New Orleans, red beans and rice speaks to the soul of the spirited and storied city. Many native New Orleanians have expounded their own recipes, with some calling for ingredients ranging from jalapeños to mustard. The jazz singer and trumpeter Louis Armstrong loved the dish so much, he would often sign his letters “Red Beans & Ricely Yours,” and had several iterations that he shared with loved ones. In this recipe, adapted from the Southern Food and Beverage Museum booklet “Red Beans and Rice-ly Yours” by Christopher Blake, Mr. Armstrong makes a promising case for his essential red beans and rice ingredient: ketchup, which adds a hint of sweetness and tang. Though it’s not in the original recipe, oil helps brown the pickled ham hock and onion, for maximum depth and body, and keeps the pork from sticking. “As they say in New Orleans, red beans need no thickening because they got it in themselves,” Mr. Armstrong recounted in his recipe. However, if you crave more creaminess, smash a few beans against the side of your pot, just like many cooks do in the Crescent City.
Grilled Garlic Bread
A quick and easy, but delicious side for summer dinners. Hot, smoky garlic bread is equally friendly to a juicy steak, a whole fish or a Caprese salad. Any loaf that is not too thick can be used, but whole grain stands up better to the oil-garlic-fire treatment. You may doubt that using garlic cloves with the papery skins on will work, but the rough surface of the toasted bread rubs them right off.
Eventide Fish Chowder
Clam chowder is the New England classic everyone knows, but fish chowder is also popular — and a lot easier to make. This recipe comes from Eventide, in Portland, Maine, a combination of a seafood shack, an oyster bar and a modern farm-to-table restaurant with Japanese influences. Dashi, the Japanese fish stock, has an oceanic taste that is perfect here, and the instant kind is easy to buy online and keep on hand.
Roasted Cauliflower Salad With Halloumi and Lemon
Inspired by Mediterranean and Moroccan dishes, this tangy, earthy roasted cauliflower salad is a satisfying vegetarian meal. Spiced cauliflower, salty halloumi, peppery arugula, buttery avocado and a honey-lemon vinaigrette fill it with contrasting textures, temperatures and flavors. There’s lots of room for substitutions or additions: Swap in orange zest and juice for the preserved lemon, smashed green olives for the avocado or kale for the arugula. If looking to bulk it up, you could toss in some seared shrimp, roasted chicken, pearl couscous or whole grains.
Tacos al Pastor
Tacos al pastor, a Mexican street-food staple, are a perfect synthesis of local flavors (pineapple, chiles, annatto), Spanish influence (pork, adobo), and Middle Eastern technique (a spinning, shawarma-style vertical rotisserie). The synthesis comes from Mexico’s history, but perfection comes from the combination of sweet pineapple, spicy meat and fragrant corn. This recipe, from the chef Gabriela Cámara, provides an easy way to make it at home; try boneless chicken thighs if you don’t want pork. Either way, make sure to blot the meat until very dry before cooking it so you get a hard sear that mimics the char of a grill.
Grilled Chicken Skewers With Tarragon and Yogurt
These grilled chicken skewers are gently spiced with a ginger-and-cumin yogurt marinade, which makes the meat exceedingly tender and cooks to fragrant curds. As they grill, the skewers are gilded with a tarragon-mint baste that tastes distinctly Persian. Restraint and a very hot grill are both key to getting a good char: Don’t move the skewers until the yogurt is burnished and the meat releases from the grates. Color is flavor. Catch any juices that run out of the cooked skewers with warm pita bread. Leftovers make excellent chicken salad.
Homemade Dumpling Wrappers
From-scratch dumpling dough requires only two ingredients — flour and water — and the water temperature yields different types of wrappers. Cold water is best for boiled dumplings because it causes the flour’s proteins to form the gluten that makes dough chewy and able to withstand vigorously boiling water. Hot water denatures flour’s proteins, resulting in dough supple enough to roll very thin and into tender wrappers ideal for pan-fried and steamed dumplings, such as chile crisp dumplings. The hot water for this dough should be hotter than warm and cooler than boiling and can come from the faucet’s hot tap. Letting the dough rest allows it to more fully absorb the water and relax, which will make rolling even easier.
Reuben Sandwich
Like many classic dishes, the Reuben sandwich has multiple origin stories: Some accounts trace its origins to the since-shuttered Reuben’s delicatessen in New York City, where Arthur Reuben created a special for one of Charlie Chaplin’s leading ladies in 1914, using ham, turkey, Swiss cheese and coleslaw on rye. Another origin story points to a customer, Reuben Kulakofsky, who was said to have ordered a corned beef and sauerkraut sandwich at Blackstone Hotel, in Omaha, where Bernard Schimmel obliged by rounding it out with Thousand Island dressing, Swiss cheese, rye bread and a hot grill. Today’s Reuben sandwiches feature corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and a healthy smear of Russian dressing between toasted, buttered rye. Homemade dressing has a brighter, fresher flavor than the bottled variety, and comes together in just a few turns of a whisk. To achieve the prized crispy crust and gooey cheese, keep the heat low enough to allow the buttered bread to toast while the cheese melts.
Roasted Carrots With Turmeric and Cumin
These are based on Suzanne Goin’s turmeric-spiced root vegetables from her wonderful new book “The A.O.C. Cookbook.” I use her technique for roasting the carrots, and use the same spices she uses, but I make the dish with a little less olive oil and butter. Suzanne serves her mix of carrots, turnips, parsnips and rutabagas with Greek yogurt seasoned with makrut lime juice and zest, and mint chutney. They are also delicious on their own.
Thanksgiving Leftovers Enchilada Pie
This recipe was developed for a special kids’ edition of The New York Times, but we’ve found that people of all ages love it. It sounds a little strange, but we promise you, it’s surprisingly delicious. It’s easy to make, and anything you don't already have on hand can be picked up from the corner store. We used leftover turkey, braised greens and mashed sweet potatoes, but feel free to experiment with savory dishes like sautéed brussels sprouts, cornbread stuffing or mashed potatoes. Top your slice with cranberry sauce salsa, a dollop of sour cream and a scattering of roasted pumpkin seeds. (We used a mix of Velveeta, Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses because the Velveeta helps prevent clumping, but, if processed cheese bothers you, leave it out and add a half-cup more Cheddar or Monterey Jack.)
Tacos Campechanos
One of the best food experiences you can have in Mexico City is walking up to a sidewalk taco stand late at night and smelling the incredible aroma of meats and vegetables simmering in a huge pot over a gas flame. The taqueros start early in the day and add meats like suadero, pork, offal, tripe, chitlins, pig and beef feet, chorizo, onions and chiles into a giant pot, where they cook until the meats fall apart and the flavors fuse together in perfect harmony. On the menu at many of these stands, tacos campechanos include a little bit of everything in those pots.
Vegan Broccoli Soup With Cashew Cream
This nourishing, three-vegetable soup is thick and creamy, even without dairy. It takes very little skill and only 25 minutes to make, but success lies in proper blending: Use a high-powered blender for the creamiest soup, or let it go a few minutes longer in a standard blender. Fennel and celery provide welcome depth, and the quick cashew cream feels luxurious spooned over the top or stirred right in. Save any extra to drizzle on other blended soups or even roasted vegetables. Finish this vibrant bowl with celery leaves, parsley or dill, and two basic but crucial ingredients: an extra drizzle of olive oil and a dusting of freshly ground pepper.
Lunchbox Harvest Muffins
These diminutive muffins make the rotation at least twice a week in my daughter's lunchbox. Although they are filled with plenty of good-for-you ingredients (whole-wheat flour, olive oil, apple and grated vegetables), they are moist and just sweet enough to ensure that they don’t end up coming back home, which is the sad fate of many a salami sandwich.
Pasta With Roasted Broccoli, Almonds and Anchovies
This no-fuss weeknight pasta makes marvelous use of basic ingredients found in almost every kitchen — and calls for some smart multitasking: Get the broccoli roasting while the pasta cooks, then create an easy emulsified sauce using butter, anchovies, red-pepper flakes, lemon juice and a splash of pasta cooking water. A sprinkle of toasted almonds provides texture and crunch. This dish is endlessly adaptable: Go for cauliflower instead of the broccoli (or a combination of the two); use parmesan or any other hard cheese in place of pecorino; opt for walnuts or pistachios instead of the almonds — or bypass nuts altogether and use toasted panko or breadcrumbs. If you don’t have campanelle or fusilli, that’s fine too. Any pasta with plenty of nooks and crannies to capture the buttery sauce will do.
Olive Oil Refried Beans
Use whatever variety of beans and chiles you’ve got in your pantry to make this recipe, which is inspired by the silky, lard-fried, pinto bean version available at nearly every Southern Californian taqueria. Eat these however you like, whether alongside rice and greens, smeared onto garlic-rubbed toast or spread onto a warm tortilla and with a perfectly fried egg on top. The overnight soak allows the time for both water and salt to penetrate the beans, cutting down the cooking time and leading to better seasoned, more evenly cooked beans. But if you’re short on time, you can skip the presoak; the beans will just take longer to cook through, and might not cook as evenly, which isn’t the end of the world if you’re mashing them up. You can also skip simmering altogether and use the drained, rinsed beans from two (15-ounce) cans and begin with Step 3.
Slow-Cooker Cauliflower, Potato and White Bean Soup
This creamy vegetarian soup is built on humble winter staples, but the addition of sour cream and chives make it feel special. (Crumble a few sour-cream-and-onion chips on top to take the theme all of the way.) It takes just a few minutes to throw the ingredients into the slow cooker, and the rest of the recipe almost entirely hands-off, making it very doable on a weekday. Use an immersion blender, if you have one, to purée it to a silky smooth consistency, but a potato masher works well for a textured, chunky soup. To get vegetarian recipes like this one delivered to your inbox, sign up for The Veggie newsletter.
Spinach and Sardine Sandwich
Whenever I fly, I like to go armed with lunch, as the food in airports tends to be both appalling and expensive. Lately I’ve hitting the road with sandwiches that combine produce with canned fish, like sardines, herring, trout or smoked salmon — all of them high in omega-3 fatty acids, packed with protein and delicious. In some of this week’s sandwiches, I used small whole-wheat English muffins that were lightly toasted. The muffins won’t fall apart, even with a juicy filling like Greek salad, and I like the size. This is inspired by the classic Mediterranean combination of sardines and spinach. I like to use lightly smoked sardines in olive oil for it.
Pasta With Mushrooms, Fried Eggs and Herbs
This fall-inspired, earthy pasta uses a combination of mushrooms for depth of flavor and is topped with a runny egg, which silkens up the sauce. Supermarkets these days generally have a good selection of different varieties such as cremini and shiitake, but if your standard white-button mushroom is all that’s available, this dish will still be a winner. If you’re not feeling pasta, the mushrooms are equally good served on top of creamy polenta or on their own. Red wine not optional.
Fresh Egg Pasta
This adaptable pasta recipe will work with whatever flour you’ve got in the pantry. Using the “00” gives the silkiest, softest pasta while bread flour will give you more of a satisfying chew, and all-purpose lands you squarely in the middle. Because flour absorbs liquid differently depending on its age and the humidity in the air, consider these amounts as a guide and not as the law. Use your judgment. If the dough seems too wet and sticky to work with, add a bit more flour; if it seems too dry to come together into a smooth, satiny ball, add a bit more oil. The pasta is wonderful cooked right away, but you could dry it for future use instead. Let it hang in strands over the backs of your kitchen chairs or on a washing line if you have one. Or you can curl handfuls of pasta into loose nests and let them dry out on the sheet trays, uncovered.
Broccoli and Cheddar Soup
A staple of any fast-casual restaurant, broccoli-cheddar soup has somewhat of a cult following on the internet. Thicker than cream of broccoli, this roux-thickened soup can be puréed completely smooth or left chunky and rustic. Either way, be sure to use the sharpest Cheddar available (white or orange work here). It’ll provide richness in addition to a necessary acidity.
Baked German Potato Salad
While all sorts of products, like oysters, were coming by boat from the East to Michigan and the rest of the Midwest during the pioneer period, the European families who settled there generally liked to stick to their traditions. “In the Upper Peninsula, there were the Finlanders, and they had Cornish hens,” said Priscilla Massie, a co-author of the cookbook “Walnut Pickles and Watermelon Cake: A Century of Michigan Cooking.” Then there were the Germans families, who, Ms. Massie said, tended to adopt Thanksgiving first. Their tangy baked potato salad can be found on many tables around the state to this day, made easy by a crop that’s available statewide.
Fall Salad With Apples, Cheddar and Crispy Sage
Bubbling sage leaves in olive oil until sizzling provides crisp thrills in this simple, flavorful combination of salty cheese and sweet apples, while the resulting sage-scented oil melds with honey and lemon to create a herbaceous dressing. Mild, leafy butter lettuce helps tie it all together, but slightly bitter chicories like frisée, escarole or endive would work well, too. This salad makes a fun sidekick for main proteins like Buttermilk-Brined Roast Chicken, Porchetta Pork Chops or store-bought sausages or rotisserie chicken.
Vermicelli Sweet Corn Usli
This is a take on vermicelli usli, also known as upma — an ideal South Indian breakfast, savory and satisfying, full of vegetables and delicate fried noodles, and seasoned with coconut and cashews. Though commonly made with carrots and peas, you can toss in whatever vegetables you have on hand. In summer, fresh corn adds plenty of crunch and sweetness, and the dish works for lunch and dinner, just as it is.
Evan Funke’s Handmade Tagliatelle Pasta
Evan Funke, a pasta maker and the author of the cookbook “American Sfoglino,” developed an exacting recipe for handmade tagliatelle that practically guarantees success for ambitious home cooks. It takes time to achieve the proper balance between elasticity and extensibility in the dough. If it is too elastic, it won’t stretch to the desired thinness, but if it is too stretchy, it is too hydrated and won’t maintain its shape. Keep at it: The more often you make it, the better it will be. If you find the dough springing back after you roll it out, it may need more time to rest, so let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before resuming, or refrigerate it for up to 24 hours. Because the dough is the result of just two ingredients — flour and eggs — use the freshest eggs you can find.