Lunch
2804 recipes found

The Real Burger
Here's one way to know you're using great meat in your burger: Grind it yourself, using chuck roast or well-marbled sirloin steaks. “Grinding” may sound ominous, conjuring visions of a big old hand-cranked piece of steel clamped to the kitchen counter, but in fact it’s not that difficult if you use a food processor, which gets the job done in a couple of minutes or less. The flavor difference between this burger and one made with pre-packaged supermarket ground beef is astonishing, and might change your burger-cooking forever.

Herbed Pappardelle With Parsley and Garlic
Let the fresh flavor of these herbed noodles — a twist on this basic pasta dough recipe — stand out by tossing them with just a few kitchen staples. Inspired by the classic Roman pasta, aglio, olio, e peperoncino, this simple dish will become a go-to, especially once you develop familiarity and confidence with rolling and cutting pasta. Soon enough, you'll find yourself making it on a weeknight, without a recipe. This recipe also makes more pasta than you need, so freeze the rest for a hearty meal in the days and weeks to come. (And check out Cooking's How to Make Pasta guide for more tips and video.)

Curried Egg Salad
Here is a recipe our colleague Jeff Gordinier got from the New York chef Jesse Schenker in the process of writing an article about Mr. Schenker’s efforts to lose weight. It is for a much lighter version of the egg salad you may ordinarily make, with Greek yogurt standing in for mayonnaise and a number of egg yolks held back from the finished dish. But it is important to note that you don’t have to do that. You can make this dish with all the yolks if you like, and pile the result into the midst of a green salad or on top of a roll, and you’ll have a fine meal indeed.

Three Sisters Stew
Matt Mead, the governor of Wyoming, recalls being taken out by his grandfather on the family ranch to shoot his first duck for Thanksgiving at age 9, when he was so small that his grandfather had to brace him from behind to help absorb the kick from the shotgun. Game is found on many Thanksgiving tables in the state, but other traditions predate the hunt. The trinity of corn, beans and squash was central to the agriculture of the Plains Indians in what would later become Wyoming, and some cooks honor that history each Thanksgiving with a dish called Three Sisters stew. The writer Pamela Sinclair’s version is a highlight of her 2008 cookbook, “A Taste of Wyoming: Favorite Recipes From the Cowboy State.” The stew works nicely as a rich side dish for turkey, and can easily be adapted to vegetarian tastes by omitting the pork and adding a pound of cubed butternut squash instead.

Sazerac
Rye is absolutely vital in a Sazerac, among the most supernaturally alluring of drinks and frequently a bartender’s favorite. Peychaud’s bitters, which are made by the Sazerac Company in Louisiana, are asked for here, and are lighter than the more commonly found Angostura variety. If you can’t get your hands on some, try using your own favorite bitters. (The New York Times)

Potato-and-Radicchio Tart
This recipe for a satisfying savory tart is adapted from the pastry chef Natasha Pickowicz, who makes endless variations on the dish, building it in up in thoughtful layers. You can play with the format, too, swapping out the ingredients based on what you have on hand. Start with a cold pâte brisée, then go from there: Spread a fine layer of cheese such as ricotta or mascarpone, then season it with lemon zest, salt and pepper. Now move onto a denser layer of cooked vegetables, such as cauliflower, potato, leek or squash, lightly seasoned with olive oil, salt and pepper. Fill the gaps in the vegetables with pieces of cheese. When the tart comes out of the oven, consider a topping of herbs, lightly dressed salad leaves or even a couple of fried eggs.

Hard-Cooked Eggs in Tomato-Onion Sauce
This is the eggs-as-meat-style main course of hard-cooked eggs simmered in tomato sauce. Though the main recipe here is Mediterranean, and you often see this preparation in southern Italy (it’s good over pasta), it is equally well known in India, where it is served with chapatti or other bread, and where the spicing is more assertive and the results even more surprising.

Brisket Summer Rolls With Sriracha-BBQ Mayonnaise
With Vietnamese-American communities thriving in Texas cities, delicious mashups were inevitable, like this summer roll stuffed with glass noodles, fresh herbs and smoky barbecued beef instead of the traditional pristine shrimp. Dennis Ngo, a self-trained chef, devised it as a way to serve all the pieces of the whole briskets he smokes for Lonestar Empire, his roving barbecue business in New York City. The slick of spicy, barbecue sauce-flavored mayo is pure pleasure.

Fried Guacamole
The fried guacamole that Angelo Sosa serves at Abajo, his tequila bar, reminded me of the fried ice cream served at some Chinese restaurants. It’s creamy, crunchy and cool on the inside. It’s easier than you might think and it makes for a nice tidbit to enjoy with a drink, or as a first course with a salad. You can prepare the guacamole and freeze it early in the day, leaving only the frying for the last minute. The fritters can also be kept warm in a 150 degree oven for at least 30 minutes.

Arepas de Choclo With Avocado Salad
Arepas, corn cakes that are a cornerstone of Colombian and Venezuelan cuisines, come in many guises, depending on the region, the season and the available ingredients. This slightly sweet, cheese-filled version, called arepas de choclo, is adapted from “Colombiana” (HarperCollins, 2021), a cookbook by the Colombian food stylist Mariana Velásquez. The dough, which uses a combination of fresh corn kernels and yellow masarepa (precooked cornmeal), fries up into rich, moist, golden cakes that are like a more delicate version of the mozzarella-stuffed arepas found at street fairs. Ms. Velásquez pairs these with a lemony tomato and avocado salad to offer a soft and juicy contrast to the crisp-edged cakes. Perfect for a summery brunch, these also make an excellent light lunch or dinner. If you can’t find masarepa (P.A.N. is one brand available in large supermarkets), Ms. Velásquez recommends substituting instant polenta. But don’t use masa harina, which is a different product altogether. To get vegetarian recipes like this one delivered to your inbox, sign up for The Veggie newsletter.

Japanese Beef and Rice Soup
When the chef Marco Canora was told to cut back on coffee, soda, wine and beer for health reasons, he found himself sipping cups of broth from the stockpots at his restaurant, Hearth, instead. Soon he had designed an entire system of healthful eating (and drinking) around the stuff. This soup, wintry but light, is a satisfying example. At Brodo, a takeout window that he opened in 2013, a to-go cup of broth can be customized in as many ways as an espresso at Starbucks — with ginger juice, mushroom tea and other aromatics and add-ons. This is easy to pull off at home, too.

Provoleta (Grilled Provolone Cheese)
In Argentina, a thick slice of provoleta, a provolone-type cheese, is cooked over coals until browned and bubbling, then served as a mouthwatering appetizer with bread. It’s a bit like fondue or queso fundido but not quite as molten and melty. Typically, a large meal, or asado, of grilled sweetbreads, sausages and various cuts of beef follows, but provoleta makes a great snack with drinks, regardless of what you serve afterward. For ease of preparation, provoleta can be cooked in a cast-iron pan, under the broiler or baked in a hot oven. If you want success at cooking provoleta the traditional way, directly on the grill, leave the cheese uncovered at room temperature for several hours or overnight to dry the exterior a bit. A dab of chimichurri salsa is usually served alongside.

Fresh Green Chorizo
Because it’s not stuffed into casings, this vibrant and fiery Mexican fresh pork sausage comes together fairly quickly. The most time-consuming part is roasting the green chiles and garlic, which are then puréed and mixed into ground pork along with spices, parsley and a tangy dose of sherry vinegar. Use the green chorizo as a base for tacos or scrambled eggs, or simmer it with beans into a thick, hearty stew. Wherever you use it though, be prepared for a kick. This is spicy stuff. And here are several more of our delicious chorizo recipes.

Chinese Chili
This version of chili is more Shanghai than Southwest. Serve it with rice, Mexican black beans mixed with some Chinese fermented black beans and Chinese fried noodles.

Bulgogi Cheese Steaks
These sandwiches, which are inspired by Philly cheese steaks, are made with beef marinated in classic Korean barbecue flavors. Tender rib-eye steak is thinly sliced and pounded to mimic the texture of shaved meat, then tossed in a savory garlic-soy marinade. Thin-skinned shishito peppers, a common ingredient in Korean cuisine, stand in for traditional bell peppers. Shishito peppers vary in spiciness, so once blistered, they will add mild, or sometimes bold, heat to the sandwiches. Rib-eye creates the juiciest sandwiches, but sirloin is more affordable, and a solid substitute.

Bratwurst With Sauerkraut and Potatoes

Suvir Saran’s Guacamole With Toasted Cumin
The chef Suvir Saran says that “avocados make people happy,” and he’s right. He adds toasted cumin seeds, which he refers to as “Indian bacon bits,” to his chunky guacamole. This guacamole has all the flavors of a Mexican guacamole – illustrating yet again how Indian, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and Mexican cuisines overlap. In fact, the ingredients here are identical to those that I have always used in my guacamole; but this recipe has the added delight of texture, as the ingredients aren’t mashed up. This is best served sooner than later as the avocado color will fade, but it has a few hours of holding power.

Sausage Rolls
Though the concept of sausage wrapped in pastry exists in every cuisine in one way or another, the British have claimed sausage rolls as their own. They are always welcome, especially at holiday time. Boxing Day, a national holiday in Britain, celebrates the traditional post-Christmas servants’ day off, when upper-class families were forced to fend for themselves and subsist for a day on a lavish buffet of leftover feasts from the week. Sausage rolls are often part of the spread. A pleasantly spiced homemade sausage mixture is easy to make up with a pound or two of ground pork shoulder, not too lean. They are usually made with all-butter puff pastry (often frozen store-bought, a good option); these are wrapped in a very flaky lard and butter pastry. Both the pastry and the sausage filling can be made a day ahead.

Mushroom Ragoût Omelet
Mushroom ragoût makes a luxurious filling for a simple omelet.

Black Bean Chili

Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor’s Onion Pie
Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor’s 1970 cookbook, “Vibration Cooking, or the Travel Notes of a Geechee Girl,” combined memoir and recipes in a new way, and introduced many readers to a brilliant new voice in American food culture. This onion-pie recipe is like many of her recipes, simple and deeply satisfying home cooking rooted in the South, but with a truly global point of view. If you want, you can toss a handful of cooked ham or grated cheese or fresh chopped herbs into the mix before putting it in the oven. It’s especially delicious chilled, the next day, when the flavors have mellowed and the custard has become creamy.

Tacos With Green Beans, Chiles and Tomatillo Salsa
This filling works in tacos or on its own as a delicious summer salad. This is another summer taco filling that can also stand alone as a delicious salad.

‘Fancy’ Egg Salad
This recipe dresses up basic egg salad with parsley, capers, shallots and bacon. The writer, David Latt, cooks his eggs on a low, gentle boil for 30 minutes and finds they come out perfectly done, with the yolk flaky, but feel free to use whatever method you like, as long as the eggs are hard-boiled. (We give instructions for boiling and steaming in our guide to cooking eggs.) You can also add other spices: mustard, ground mustard seed, cumin or rosemary. The parsley can be replaced with cilantro, and the mayonnaise can be flavored.
