Lunch
2842 recipes found
Curried Coconut and Red Lentil Soup
In this quick-cooking and restorative soup, the key to building flavor fast is curry powder. While the spice blends vary from brand to brand, most include at least coriander, cumin, turmeric, fenugreek and black pepper. Madras curry powder, used here, is a spicier variant featuring chile powder. In the time it takes for the vegetables and aromatics to soften, the red lentils cook through, creating a creamy, velvety texture when the soup is blended. The optional addition of coconut water reinforces the flavor of the coconut milk and balances the aromatic savoriness with a hint of sweetness. The extra hydration this soup provides is especially welcome during Ramadan.
Lemony Roasted Mushroom Pasta
A mélange of mushrooms, roasted with aromatic garlic, sweet red onions and warming woody herbs, brings elegance to this easy weeknight pasta. Roasting mushrooms is a wonderful hands-off cooking technique, giving them the time to soften and become golden around the edges while staying moist and plump. Lemon wedges are roasted, too, which unlocks their sweetness and coaxes out a deeper citrus flavor. A dash of soy sauce is just enough to intensify the umami of the dish. While using a single variety of mushrooms is just fine, incorporating different types will deliver more texture and flavor. To make this vegan, simply use nondairy butter and opt for nutritional yeast rather than cheese.
Stir-Fried Cabbage and Pork in Fish Sauce Butter
This quick, weeknight cabbage and pork stir-fry is humble in ingredients yet packed with flavor, thanks to briny fish sauce, rich brown butter and potent aromatics (ginger, garlic and red-pepper flakes). Chopped cabbage gets a nice char in butter that browns as it cooks, adding richness to the lean vegetable. Fast-cooking ground pork is infused with garlic, ginger and scallions, and the final addition of salty fish sauce, bright lime juice and chopped fresh cilantro creates a punchy sauce. If you like a jolt of heat, use a thinly sliced bird’s-eye chile in place of the crushed red pepper.
Spiced Pea Stew With Yogurt
Inspired by a warmly spiced Persian stew traditionally made with peas and tomatoes, this version allows the sweetness of the peas and the warmth of onions, ginger, cumin and turmeric to lead. It tops the pea stew with a fresh pea topping made from a portion of the just-cooked peas, plus crushed sesame seeds and chopped cilantro, all of which add vibrant color and texture when sprinkled over the stew just before serving. A drizzle of yogurt on top brings a cooling contrast. Serve the stew alongside steamed rice, pita or other fresh warmed flatbreads.
Pav Bhaji
A popular street food originally from Mumbai, pav bhaji is a flavorful and colorful mashed vegetable curry served with toasted and buttered dinner rolls or buns. Pav means “dinner roll” and bhaji “vegetable dish.” Typically, a mix of boiled potatoes, cauliflower, carrot and green peas are mashed and cooked with sautéed aromatics like onion, green bell pepper and tomatoes. The flavors are jolted awake with green chile, Kashmiri chile powder and the warming spices in the pav bhaji masala. You can purchase pav bhaji masala at Indian markets, or prepare your own blend. Look for pav at Indian markets, or use any dinner roll or slider bun. Salted butter should be used generously for a luscious, rich and comforting pav bhaji. To serve, squeeze lemon or lime over the bhaji to brighten everything up, sprinkle with fresh onion and use the pav to scoop up a glorious bite.
Broccoli Rabe Pesto Pasta
Blitzing pungent broccoli rabe into a creamy, nutty pesto (along with walnuts, garlic, Parmesan, olive oil and lemon juice) helps mellow any bitterness in this verdant weeknight pasta. Start by quickly boiling the broccoli rabe and garlic, which takes the edge off. Fans of broccoli rabe will enjoy extra bites of the greens throughout this pasta dish, and those looking to round the flavors out further would do well to add cooked Italian sausage, cannellini beans or a dollop of ricotta cheese. The broccoli rabe pesto can also be used as a topping for crostini or pizza, and can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or frozen for up to 3 months.
Little Gem Salad With Crispy Halloumi
Meet halloumi crumbs, a best-of-all-worlds garnish for salads, pastas and more. They’re crisp like toasted breadcrumbs, salty like Parmesan and still maintain some of halloumi’s signature chew. To make the crumbs, grate the sturdy cheese on the large holes of a box grater, then sizzle the strands in an oiled skillet. Here, pistachios and whole spices, like fennel or coriander seeds, are also added for a boost of flavor and even more textures. Even the simplest salad of crunchy, lemon-dressed lettuces can wow when these crumbs are showered on top. To make it a meal, serve it with roasted root vegetables, lentil soup or a grilled or roasted protein.
Cauliflower Satay
In this party-friendly appetizer, roasted cauliflower is paired with a shortcut version of the rich, creamy coconut and peanut butter satay sauce often served with chicken. To coax out deep, nutty flavor from the cauliflower, first roast it simply slicked with oil to help it caramelize, then coat it in a blended mixture of coconut milk, shallots, lemongrass and spices to bump up moisture and flavor and roast until tender. While your cauliflower roasts, you’ll prepare a supersimple peanut sauce by simmering coconut milk with red curry paste and peanut butter. (The salt and heat levels in store-bought curry pastes vary widely, so season your satay sauce accordingly.) Intended as an appetizer, this recipe is hearty enough to work as a main course when served with rice, but also pairs well with crispy or grilled tofu, grilled chicken or steamed vegetables, and can dazzle as the centerpiece for a main-course salad.
Skillet Cornbread
This cornbread recipe from photographer, documentarian and writer Pableaux Johnson is a simple and rustic standard. Baked in a hot skillet to encourage crispy edges and a substantially toasty bottom, cornbread is traditional to many regions in the South. This recipe was passed down by Mr. Johnson’s grandfather, Achille Leon Hebert from Baton Rouge, La., and it was served every Monday at Mr. Johnson’s legendary red beans and rice community table at his home in New Orleans. It traveled with him across the country on his Red Beans Roadshow, where he collaborated with local chefs and served dozens of communities over the span of almost a decade.
Pastina Soup
Often referred to simply as pastina, which means “little pasta” in Italian, this is Italy’s answer to the comforting cure-all chicken soup. Variations of pastina soup abound, but most include chicken broth, vegetables (in the form of sautéed onions, carrots and celery) and tiny pasta. The miniature star-shaped pasta most commonly used in this dish is sold as “stelline” — or “tiny stars” — in Italy, and simply as “pastina” in the United States. Acini de pepe works well, too, if pastina is unavailable. A tiny shape is key here, as the pasta continues to absorb broth after it cooks, giving the soup an almost creamy, porridge-like consistency. Some versions even call for puréeing the cooked vegetables and stirring them back into the soup to further thicken the broth. Homemade chicken broth would be an excellent choice here, but for those who need comfort in a hurry, this recipe uses the handy shortcut of reducing store-bought chicken broth and adding a Parmesan rind to the pot, to enrich and maximize the soup’s flavor.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/20250224-Cheese-Frenchees-Qi-Ai-hero-horizontal-closeup-47a497d62d1e4bc89f02113ffdad13e6.jpg)
Cheese Frenchee (Deep-Fried Grilled Cheese Sandwiches)
Ooey-gooey and oh-so-crunchy, this fried cheese sandwich is a Nebraskan icon.
Chicken Stew
This creamy, cozy chicken stew is fast enough for a weeknight meal yet satisfying enough for a long Sunday dinner. Boneless chicken thighs are used instead of breasts, as they stay juicier longer. Simmering them in the stew along with sweet paprika, chicken stock and a touch of apple cider vinegar adds surprising depth of flavor alongside dried herbs and plenty of vegetables for dimension and texture. Heavy cream is in the mix as well, wrapping everything in a silky blanket. This stew is as versatile as it is easy to make, so feel free to add in other vegetables like mushrooms or peppers and replace the heavy cream with coconut milk, or leave the cream out altogether.
Yuzu-Miso Soba Noodle Soup
Sour like lemon, bitter like grapefruit, sweet like mandarins and tangy like oranges, yuzu might be the consummate citrus — and it brings all of that complex magic to this light, clean noodle broth. Miso pairs harmoniously with yuzu, bringing savory notes to balance the tartness. Yuzu juice is sold at Japanese and Asian grocery stores (or online), but if you are not able to access it, you can substitute with lemon juice for a broth that is equally impactful. Lemon tends to be more sour than yuzu, so add the fresh juice incrementally until you achieve your desired balance. A squeeze of lemon juice and the thinly sliced lemon slices inject a further jolt of freshness to the yuzu broth, brightening yuzu’s floral and herbal flavors.
Kālua Pork
Tender, juicy and kissed with a touch of smoke, kālua pork is an iconic and revered Hawaiian dish dating back to the earliest settlers of the islands. Kālua, meaning “to cook in an underground oven,” is a cooking method brought by the Polynesians to what is now the Hawaiian islands. Traditionally, a whole pig is seasoned with Hawaiian sea salt, wrapped in locally grown ti leaves (which are also used to weave leis) and cooked in a pit oven called an imu for hours to serve at luaus and potlucks. While it’s not possible to replicate those traditional flavors and cooking techniques at home, you can still prepare a succulent and flavorful kālua pork using a handful of ingredients. Here, boneless pork shoulder (or Boston butt) is drizzled with hickory liquid smoke, seasoned with Hawaiian salt, wrapped with more widely available banana leaves, and slowly cooked to tenderness in a low oven. (You can also use a slow cooker; see Tip.) Serve kālua pork with rice and mac salad for a Hawaiian-style lunch plate.
Porcini Ragù
As a child living in Tuscany, Ixta Belfrage fell for a pasta rich with dried porcini mushrooms, served at the lone restaurant in the tiny mountain village of Acone. In her cookbook, “Mezcla” (Ten Speed Press, 2022), she pays homage to the power of porcini mushrooms, which are typically gathered from the wild and taste of it, luscious and nutty. They offer a shortcut to glory in this ragù that almost defies the name, because it doesn’t demand hours on the stove and attains a velvety intensity in practically no time at all. Leave the porcini to soak and swell back to life; chop; gently fry with tomato paste, garlic, chile and parsley; rain down black pepper; melt in some Parmesan; swirl with pasta water and porcini broth and let it bubble. A dab of cream, then a slicking and coating of the pasta, and it’s on the table.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/20250218-SEA-Loubia-MoroccanStewedWhiteBeans-QiAi-Beauty1-12-976b64b3d56448a685be94581170a96b.jpg)
Loubia (Moroccan Stewed White Beans With Lamb)
This creamy Moroccan white bean stew is studded with spoon-tender morsels of lamb and infused with sweet and earthy flavors from onion, tomatoes, cumin, paprika, ginger, and turmeric. It requires just one pot and minimal effort to prepare.
Spinach and Gungo Pea Soup
When the winter soup rotation starts to feel a bit stodgy, reach for this more-green-than-bean recipe. Also labeled as pigeon peas, gandules or whole toor, depending on where you may purchase them, gungo peas are earthy and starchy, with a flavor similar to black-eyed peas. Bacon, in the form of both rendered bacon fat and crumbled bacon bits, offers smoky and savory notes to the soup. Seemingly endless piles of baby spinach finish the soup just before a portion of it is blitzed with an immersion blender, which adds body and encourages even more melding of flavors than the long simmer.
Roasted Kabocha Squash
Naturally sweet kabocha squash takes on a caramelized richness when brushed with maple syrup and coconut oil and roasted. The flavorful dish is equally at home alongside a holiday roast, on a bed of whipped ricotta or atop a grain bowl. Coconut oil works exceptionally well here, adding a subtle nuttiness and sweetness that other oils lack, though vegetable oil will work too. Best of all, the kabocha skin is edible so no peeling required. Don’t forget to save those seeds for roasting.
Creamy Cauliflower-Cashew Soup
Creamy and comforting, this cauliflower soup happens to be vegan, and takes its silky texture from being simmered and thickened with roasted cashews. The nuttiness of the cauliflower and the cashews is balanced by the addition of a tart apple. The preferred thickness of creamed soups varies, so if the soup feels too thick, just adjust it to your ideal level of creaminess, adding more stock or water — and an additional sprinkle of salt — as needed.
Gombaleves (Creamy Mushroom Soup)
This hearty, warming soup is a Hungarian version of creamy mushroom soup, with a good dose of Hungarian paprika and fragrant dried herbs imparting its unique, earthy hue and flavor. Although any mix of wild mushrooms can be used, common white button or cremini mushrooms are wonderful here (or use a combination); the key is to lightly caramelize them to maximize their complexity. A final swirl of tangy sour cream and lemon juice brightens the rich, creamy soup.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/20240304-SEA-HKSpamandEgg-AmandaSuarez-19-33204e43c4c74714888c42bd74df8d7f.jpg)
Hong Kong-Style Spam and Egg Sandwich
This classic Hong Kong sandwich consists of a pile of velvety scrambled eggs and savory Spam between two slices of toasted white bread.
Sardine and Egg Sandwich
In 1939, New Orleans chef Lena Richard self-published a cookbook to meet the demand for her recipes. She was the first Black person to host a cooking show and also owned restaurants, had a line of frozen foods and founded a catering company and cooking school. In addition to showcasing the Creole dishes of New Orleans, “Lena Richard’s Cook Book” included a whole chapter on sandwiches for luncheons and tea time. This four-ingredient mix comes together easily and tastes both complex and comfortingly simple. The recipe below reflects her book’s version and the tips added here offer guidance for cooks today.
Brie and Mango Chutney Grilled Cheese
Grilled cheeses come in many flavors and shapes depending on the cheese, bread and condiments used. This version opts for relatively mellow, creamy Brie topped with tangy mango chutney and earthy spinach. Mayonnaise is slathered on the side of the bread slices that cook on a preheated pan for a guaranteed crunchy crust, and the two halves of the sandwich initially cook separately to ensure the Brie melts nicely. Feel free to adjust the amount of mayo, cheese and chutney depending on the size of your bread slices (and your taste). To make a simple, comforting appetizer or shareable snack instead of a sandwich, remove the grilled cheese halves from the pan after Step 3, cut into rectangles or triangles and serve.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/20250205-SEA-GaengHunglae-NorthernThaiPorkCurry-QiAi-Beauty1-64-184d3f660ea646c098c16ce4cb6d0268.jpg)
Gaeng Hunglae (Northern Thai Pork Curry)
Seasoned with palm sugar, tamarind paste, and hunglae powder—a regional variation on garam masala—this sweet and sour pork curry is deeply aromatic, and one of northern Thailand’s most iconic dishes.