Lunch
2800 recipes found
Spaghetti With Garlicky Bread Crumbs and Anchovies
This is a take on a classic dish from Southern Italy that tosses pasta with toasted, seasoned bread crumbs called pangrattatto. In this version, the bread crumbs are sautéed in olive oil with garlic and anchovies until golden and crisp, and the pasta is coated with egg yolks, hot sauce and Asian fish sauce for creaminess and depth. You can make the bread crumbs up to 3 hours ahead; longer than that and you risk letting them go soggy. Use good-quality bread crumbs here, either homemade or purchased from a bakery. The next best choice is panko, Japanese bread crumbs that you can find in large supermarkets. If you have any of the pangrattatto mixture left over, store it in the refrigerator and give it a brief sauté to revive it before using.
Broccoli-Walnut Pesto Pasta
Pesto becomes more full-bodied with the addition of broccoli that’s blanched in the same pot as the pasta and fresher with the combination of mint and lemon. For a sauce that's light and loose, use only the florets — not the stems. Raw walnuts have a welcome natural sweetness and nice crunch that complement the pesto, but you can leave them out or substitute sunflower seeds if you have a tree-nut allergy.
Grilled Broccoli
This grilled broccoli is dressed simply in tamari, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It results in crisp-tender florets that are beautifully sweet and salty beneath the smoke.
Steamed or Roasted Beets and Beet Greens With Tahini Sauce
I usually roast beets, but I decided to steam them for this dish. I then added some water to the steamer and blanched the greens – though you could also steam them. Beets take about the same time to steam as they do to roast, and it’s a good option if you don’t want to heat up your kitchen with the oven. But I find that roasted beets have a richer flavor. Here, the flavor of the tahini sauce is so pungent that it doesn’t matter if the beets are muted.
Spicy Watermelon Salad With Pineapple and Lime
Refreshing, sweet and spicy, this salad is the edible equivalent of a crisp beer on a hot summer’s day. It pushes the watermelon-feta-mint combination to new heights with a Mexican-inspired flavor profile of lime, jalapeño and cilantro. It’s also easy to prepare, requiring little more than a knife, a bowl and a whisk. Enjoy it as soon as it’s assembled, as the salty dressing draws the juice out of the fruit fairly quickly and the salad can lose its fresh crunch. A sprinkle of Tajín, a chile-lime Mexican spice blend, is optional, but adds a touch of smoke.
Avocado Toast
It may seem silly to give a recipe for avocado toast, but there is an art to it, as with most things that are both simple and perfect. Here, you want to make sure of a few things: that the bread you use is sturdy and has some taste; that there's enough salt and citrus to bring out the avocado's flavor; and that you use a good olive oil to bring it all together. These garnishes, from the Australian café Two Hands in Manhattan, are tasty but unnecessary.
Cold Rice Noodles With Coconut Milk, Peanuts and Lime
In this breezy recipe, rice noodles are tossed in a creamy-yet-light mix of coconut milk, fish sauce and lime, then garnished with plenty of salty peanuts, chile, lime zest and cilantro. Don’t bother picking the cilantro leaves from the stems; just chop the whole plant until you hit a firm, white stem. The green stems add crunch, and they pack more concentrated flavor than the leaves. Feel free to add whatever fridge stragglers or greenmarket celebrities that look good to you, such as thinly sliced vegetables, poached shrimp, pan-fried tofu, grilled chicken or pork. Because this salad teeters from savory to sweet, even pineapple, green apple or mango would do.
Roasted Pepper and Goat Cheese Sandwich
Travel sandwiches require good keeping properties. The ingredients have to hold up for hours at room temperature and can’t be too moist, or the bread will become soggy and fall apart. In deference to fellow travelers, I choose fillings that taste great but aren’t pungent. (Garlic aioli has a place in my life, but it’s not within the confines of an airplane.)
White Bean, Rice and Dill Soup
This cozy, comforting pot of soup comes together quickly with a few pantry staples. Creamy canned navy beans and jasmine rice add body to a base of softened vegetables stained with turmeric. You may be tempted to add stock, but be assured that using water is enough here. The sum of the ingredients can stand on its own and doesn’t need the added boost of stock. (If you do add stock, be mindful of the amount of salt you use.) The dill – which can be dried or fresh – and turmeric brighten up the soup and offer a bright reminder of spring any time of year.
Stone Fruit Caprese
A standout caprese starts with great fruit. You need ripe tomatoes to weep juices, which then mingle with grassy olive oil and milky cheese to make your dressing. Basil adds freshness, black pepper and flakes of sea salt add crunch, and that’s it, a perfect combination. But if the stone fruit options are looking better than the tomatoes at the market, you can use them instead. They’re similar in flavor to tomatoes, but need cajoling to relinquish their juices. By letting sliced fruit macerate with salt, sugar and lemon juice, their fruitiness becomes more electric and their juices pool on the plate. Start with fruit you can smell and pair it with equally quality ingredients. Caprese is more about shopping than cooking.
Frittata With Kasha, Leeks and Spinach
I like adding cooked grains to a frittata, but you have to choose just the right one; it should be soft, not too chewy. Rice works, and so does bulgur. But if you want to add a grain that will contribute a lot of flavor to a frittata, kasha is your grain. It is wonderfully nutty, and a cup of cooked kasha contributes just the right amount of bulk to make this frittata substantial but not at all heavy. Leeks, cooked down until sweet and tender, a small amount of baby spinach, which always partners well with kasha whether raw or cooked, lots of fresh dill and a little bit of feta are the other components. Serve this for dinner and take leftovers to work for lunch.
Spicy Thai Pork Tenderloin Salad
There are a lot of ingredients in this bright and bold-tasting pork salad recipe; they add up to a vibrant dish you can serve warm or at room temperature to a spice-loving crowd. Lean pork tenderloin is marinated with chiles, ginger root and cilantro, grilled or broiled, then combined with cabbage, fresh herbs and nuts and coconut for richness. A bit of reserved marinade serves as the dressing. The recipe makes a large batch; you can halve it or make the whole thing and enjoy the leftovers.
Spring Vegetable Japchae (Korean Glass Noodles)
Japchae is a savory Korean stir-fry with mixed vegetables, beef and sweet potato noodles. Also known as glass noodles, sweet potato noodles can be found in Asian markets; once cooked, the noodles turn translucent, light and chewy. (They are also wheat-free, so they are a great option for those avoiding gluten.) The noodles are cooked first, then sit in the sauce, absorbing all of the garlicky sesame and soy flavors like a sponge. This springtime japchae celebrates crisp asparagus and snap peas. Japchae can be made a few hours ahead and served at room temperature, making it the perfect dish for potlucks and picnics.
Buffalo Cauliflower
Cauliflower is a blank canvas that can take on flavors that pack a punch, like Buffalo sauce. It also has lots of craggy edges that the sauce can cling to for maximum flavor. For crisp-edged buffalo cauliflower without a fryer, turn on the broiler. Once the tender florets are roasted, broil them a few minutes so the silky, spicy sauce caramelizes and chars in spots. (A finish under the broiler can also elevate chicken wings coated in Buffalo sauce.) Stir together a quick Ranch-style yogurt sauce for dipping, and get on with the game (or lunch).
Celeriac, Celery and Carrot Remoulade
When I lived in France I discovered céleri rémoulade, the creamy grated salad made with celery root, mayonnaise or crème fraîche, or both, and mustard. It was a dish I always ordered when I saw it on café menus, and brought home from French delis on a regular basis. This is inspired by the French salad, but it is not quite as creamy (or gloppy). However you can make it more so if you wish just by adding more crème fraîche, yogurt (healthier), or mayonnaise.
Endive Salad With Blue Cheese Dressing
I modeled this salad after one of my own great secret weaknesses: iceberg lettuce with blue cheese dressing. The big difference here, of course, is that endive has much more flavor than iceberg, which has more texture than flavor. The bitter edge of the endive is soothed by the sharp blue cheese dressing, and the combination is set off by the small apple dice that garnishes the wedges.
Watermelon and Feta Salad
A take on the Mediterranean combination of watermelon and feta, this refreshing zinger of a salad couldn’t be more perfect. Unassumingly simple, the sweet melon, salty cheese and fragrant basil reach their peak when doused with white balsamic vinegar and dribbled with fruity olive oil. Rather than building tall, this salad builds wide — so use a large platter for the most dramatic presentation. Vinegared watermelon does not keep its crisp, juicy texture well, so be sure to dress it (and eat it) the moment the last basil leaf falls.
Persimmon and Pomegranate Salad
Persimmons and pomegranate are colorful fall and winter treats. Be sure to use squat Fuyu persimmons, which are delicious raw. (The pointy Hachiya type must be fully ripe, or they are unpalatable.) To serve this salad as a first course, you may add arugula or radicchio leaves. Or just garnish with mint leaves if you are serving it as an accompaniment.
Hearty Kale, Squash and Bean Soup
A substantial main course soup that usually contains beans or other legumes and lots of garden vegetables, call this soup a potage, if you like. Hard squash gives the soup body. Try acorn, Kabocha or delicata squash for a change from the ubiquitous butternut. This soup reheats beautifully, gaining character in the process, so it’s an ideal dish to prepare in advance.
Eggplant Salad With Peppers, Mint and Caper-Feta Vinaigrette
Egg Salad and Greens Wrap
I make these delicious wraps with the whole-wheat lavash that I buy in Middle Eastern markets. Beet greens and Swiss chard are both good choices.
Escabeche Salad
The “escabeche” here refers to the acidic vinaigrette for this very easy, refreshing salad. This meal is built to take care of leftover meat and vegetables. Simply toss everything together and dress it. It will keep for a few days.
Tricolor Salad Alla Splendido
An Italian restaurant standard is kicked up a few notches in this recipe from Mario Carbone, the chef at Carbone restaurant in New York. If you find it hard to track down Italian frisée or various types of radicchio, you can substitute the usual trio of arugula, endive and radicchio. A helping of poached tuna adds richness and a hint of a salade niçiose.
Farro and Green Bean Salad With Walnuts and Dill
Farro is a perfect vehicle to showcase summer produce. With its nutty flavor and toothsome texture, the whole grain is a great counterbalance to snappy, sweet green beans. The farro cooks while you prepare the rest of the salad, allowing for an easy-to-assemble meal. Dill and walnuts, a nod to Middle Eastern flavors, are used in the gremolata, but pistachios and mint or hazelnuts and parsley would also work. Feta cheese or ricotta salata tossed in at the end would also be a nice addition. This hearty salad works well on its own, but would also be a fine companion to grilled fish or any other protein. Add the acid just before serving; it makes every ingredient sing.