Main Course
8665 recipes found
Mushroom and Eggplant Yassa
Sauce yassa is a richly flavored Senegalese stew typically cooked with poultry, meat or fish. It’s the result of slowly caramelized onions, chile, garlic and ginger simmered in stock and finished with a splash of lime juice. This vegetable version, a vegan adaptation, uses mushrooms and eggplants, which both add layers of depth to the sauce. A shower of thinly sliced fresh scallions announces itself with its delicate yet crisp bite. Serve a generous helping of the sauce over steamed rice, millet or fonio, along with additional lime wedges for squeezing, if desired.
Sabich Bowls
The traditional Israeli sandwich known as sabich features fried eggplant that’s tucked into pitas and topped with sliced hard-boiled eggs, chopped tomato-cucumber salad, pickles, tahini sauce and sometimes shredded cabbage. This weeknight recipe turns the popular sandwich into a one-bowl meal that is prepared on a sheet pan. Eggplant and chickpeas are roasted side by side; the eggplant becomes tender and creamy while the chickpeas turn golden and crispy. Canned chickpeas do double duty: Some are a part of the roast, while the remaining beans transform into a luscious, garlicky tahini sauce. The eggplant mixture is served on top of rice in this recipe, but all sorts of grains would work, including bulgur, farro and quinoa.
Eggplant Baked With Tomatoes and Ricotta Salata
I have always loved eggplant parmigiana, but the first time I tried preparing it at home, I found the standard recipe daunting: too much frying and too much cheese. I've been simplifying it ever since. This recipe is more pared-down than most. I baked the eggplants with a simple tomato, eggplant and garlic topping bolstered with fragrant herbs. I used ricotta salata, but other cheeses, including shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano, fontina or mild pecorino, would be fine. Though the dish can be served hot from the oven, I prefer to let it cool somewhat, to let the flavors bloom. If made well in advance but not refrigerated, it can be reheated in a 300-degree oven for 20 minutes. And it makes for a handsome and delicious buffet dish.
Baked Eggplant With Ricotta, Mozzarella and Anchovy
I learned this dish from a Sicilian cook in a small town outside Palermo. She makes it by layering thinly sliced eggplant with fresh curd cheese and caciocavallo (I use fresh ricotta and provolone instead), as well as pecorino and Parmesan cheese — a bit like a lasagna without pasta. It is quite delicious and unusual in that there is no tomato sauce, as there often is in so many Sicilian baked eggplant dishes. The anchovies, melted into the crisp bread-crumb-and-cheese topping, provide a sharp contrast to the sweetness of the eggplant. I like to serve a tomato salad alongside.
Bacon, Egg and Cheese Fried Rice
Bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches and fried rice are each beloved for their simplicity and affordability, but also because they deliver great comfort and satisfaction. They typically offer a combination of salty meat, creamy eggs and a carb in the form of bread or rice, but each dish is infinitely adaptable. In this playful weeknight meal, the two come together. Rendered bacon fat is used to cook the dish’s components, infusing the vegetables and rice with smokiness. Eggs are beaten with nutty grated Parmesan to create rich, fluffy scrambled eggs that add an extra layer of savoriness to the dish. Any type of leftover rice will work, as would other leftover grains like farro or barley.
Spring Barley Soup
This soup is as cozy as mushroom-barley soup and as vibrant as spring. Chewy barley, crisp asparagus and peas lay in a broth bolstered by umami-rich soy sauce and miso. Hits of fresh ginger and vinegar enliven the mix. Feel free to swap in other vegetables that catch your eye: Add leeks and hearty greens with the barley, and quicker-cooking vegetables like sliced turnips or snap peas with the asparagus. Thinly slicing the asparagus makes it easier to eat with a spoon, but cut them larger if you prefer it. For more protein, add cubed soft or firm tofu to bowls, or stir a beaten egg into the pot as you would for hot and sour soup.
Miso-Glazed Eggplant With a Bowl of Rice
This is a no-recipe recipe, a recipe without an ingredients list or steps. It invites you to improvise in the kitchen. You know how to make rice. For the rest of this dish, grab some small eggplants — the Japanese variety is a good option — and cut them on the bias into little steaks. Drizzle them with neutral oil and roast in a 400-degree oven for 20 minutes or so, turning them once or twice, until they’re soft. Then crank the oven to broil, and paint them with white miso that’s been cut with splashes of sesame oil and rice wine, a smaller splash of soy and a few grinds of black pepper. Let that get going until the skin begins to pop, then serve those little vegetarian flavor steaks over rice, with a spray of sesame seeds over the top. Sam Sifton features a no-recipe recipe every Wednesday in his What to Cook newsletter. Sign up to receive it. You can find more no-recipe recipes here.
Silky Eggplant With Almond Salsa and Yogurt
Eggplant that’s silky-soft and bubbly-brown all over (rather than tough, oily or fossil-like) is a revelation — and, with just a little maneuvering, it’s not that hard. You’ll want to sear the eggplant slices in hot oil, cover them for a minute or two, until they’re soft, and then add a touch more oil until they’re beautifully golden. You could, of course, eat these rounds on their own (and you might!), but spicy almond salsa, cubes of salty, crispy halloumi, and a bed of garlicky yogurt make them a full meal (especially if have warmed pita for swiping everything up). While salting the eggplant slices before you cook isn’t completely necessary, it will help draw out some of the vegetable’s moisture, making it less prone to bitterness and oil saturation.
Pastrami-Spiced Steak With Charred Cabbage
Pastrami is typically a time-intensive affair, but in this recipe, its seasonings — black pepper, coriander, sugar and paprika — are applied to strip steaks for a fast weeknight dinner. Coat the steaks with the spice mixture, then brush them with mayonnaise to magnify the flavor of the spices better than oil does. (Instead of steak, you could also use tofu, chicken or a firm fish, reducing the cook time as needed.) To brown the steak without burning the spices, follow an unconventional method engineered by Andrew Janjigian, a recipe developer and writer: Start the steaks in a cold skillet, then turn the stove to high, and flip the steak every couple minutes. Eat with charred cabbage seasoned with garlic and the steak’s resting juices, plus a spoonful of mustard. Mashed potatoes, roasted carrots or simmered lentils wouldn’t be out of place, either.
Narjissiya With Asparagus, Halloumi and Sumac
Narjissiya refers to any of several dishes found in medieval Arab cookery books made with sunny-side-up eggs. The word itself means “like narcissus,” a name likely chosen for the dish’s vibrant white and yellow colors, just like the narcissus (daffodil) flower. The ancient variations and ingredients were endless, from meat and broad beans to chickpeas and yogurt, but the choice of ingredients here — and bright flavors — are inspired by spring, and asparagus, which grows wild in the fields of the Levant. The citrusy sumac and olive oil complement asparagus and eggs, but their flavors do stand out, so use the best you can find.
Cabbage Rolls With Walnuts and Sour Cream
Packed full of flavor, the filling for this stuffed cabbage is inspired by pkhali, a Georgian spread prepared by mixing ground walnuts, onions and spices with different vegetables, often cabbage. This version is eaten warm and uses allspice, cumin and cinnamon in the filling. To get ahead, stuff and bake the cabbage rolls the day before, but don’t finish with the sour cream until just before serving. Serve with rice, as a vegetarian main.
Pasta al Pomodoro
Pomodoro, the Italian word for tomato, comes from pomo d’oro (“golden apple”), and also refers to this sauce. A good pomodoro leans into the inherently savory, umami-rich flavor of the tomatoes, so use the best ones you can find. Any combination of low-water, high-flavor tomatoes like plum, grape, cherry and Campari, cooked down to their purest essence, makes for the most vibrant result. Thin spaghetti works best here, as its airy bounciness catches the pulpy tomato sauce beautifully, but regular spaghetti would taste great, too. Add basil at the end, if you’d like, or a dusting of cheese, but a stalwart pasta al pomodoro made with peak-season tomatoes needs neither.
Papadzules (Eggs and Asparagus in Tortillas With Pepita Sauce)
A dish from the Yucatán Peninsula in southeastern Mexico, papadzules are similar to enchiladas in that they feature tortillas that are dipped and coated in a sauce, then filled, rolled and topped with more sauce. Traditionally, papadzules are served with hard-boiled eggs and topped with a toasted pepita sauce and a spicy habanero-tomato salsa. In this late-spring version, jammy eggs and blanched asparagus serve as the filling, and an uncooked sauce of pepitas and jalapeños finishes everything off. Be sure to cook the eggs for the full 6½ minutes or the yolks will be too runny.
Polenta With Asparagus, Peas and Mint
Buttery polenta serves as a soft, savory bed for asparagus and peas in this verdant, vegetable-rich main course. Sautéed shallots add sweetness, while fresh mint lends brightness to a satisfying yet light meal. You can substitute any soft herbs for the mint or use a combination for the most complex flavor. And, if you’re short on time, instant polenta will work in place of regular, too. Just follow the directions on the package to cook it.
Spring Ramen Bowl With Snap Peas and Asparagus
This lighter take on ramen, with snap peas and shaved asparagus, comes from the vegetarian cookbook author Lukas Volger. The flavors are perked up with pounded or grated ginger and lemon zest. You can skip the frizzled scallion garnish, but it does add nice texture to the finished bowl.
Spanish Asparagus Revuelto
In Spain, wild asparagus is very popular, and it’s a sure sign of spring. Because the variety of wild asparagus there can be a slightly bitter, cooks blanch it in boiling water before sautéing in olive oil. (In North America, both wild and cultivated asparagus are sweet, so this step is unnecessary here.) This dish features typical Spanish ingredients — garlic, chorizo and bread crumbs — incorporated into soft scrambled eggs, for a hearty breakfast, or a simple lunch or first course.
Pork-Cabbage Casserole
This hearty skillet meal is filled with layers of buttery, caramelized cabbage sandwiching a filling of herby pork and rice. A garlicky yogurt sauce, plus plenty of lemon juice and zest, keeps the dish bright and tangy, and the soft cabbage makes it especially warming on a cold winter day. This reheats perfectly, so make it ahead if you like (up to three days, store it in the fridge), then heat it up in a 350-degree oven until steaming.
Country Panzanella With Watermelon Dressing
Consumed plainly or with a salt sprinkle, fresh watermelon conjures warm-weather memories. In the U.S. (primarily in the American South), master gardeners are growing heirloom (seedful) varieties: sugar baby, jubilee and Georgia rattlesnake. In Apex, N.C., Gabrielle E.W. Carter is the new steward of the property once owned by her maternal great-grandfather, where she grows herbs, tomatoes and watermelon. As a multimedia artist, she is documenting the food ways of Black families in Eastern North Carolina and preserving cooking traditions using fruits and vegetables straight from the garden. Crimson-flesh watermelon transforms the classic panzanella with a balanced sweetness. Using a coarse grater is essential in achieving a vibrant, textured dressing. Bocconcini can be substituted for feta cheese in this salad, which pairs well with festive mains like dry-rub mushrooms and spicy tamarind pork ribs.
Tofu and Cabbage Stir-Fry With Basil
Tofu and cabbage make ideal partners in a stir-fry, bringing contrasting soft and crisp textures. For best results, the tofu is pan-fried until golden, then stirred in at the end to maintain its shape and preserve its creamy texture. Scrambled eggs add fluffy bites, while fresh basil perfumes and brightens the dish. The hot mustard sauce complements the caramelized cabbage. Green cabbage is used here, but Napa or Savoy varieties are fantastic alternatives.
Pasta With Fresh Tomato Sauce and Ricotta
This wonderful pasta is made with nothing more than fresh tomato sauce and good ricotta, plus a little pecorino. It’s most delicious if you keep the pasta quite al dente; use just enough sauce, no more; give it a good pinch of crushed red pepper; and season it with enough salt of course.
Pasta With Asparagus, Arugula and Ricotta
This recipe works best if you use thin asparagus and peppery wild arugula, available at some farmers’ markets.
Lamb Chops With Green Tomatoes
Lamb chops cooked with tomatoes is traditional, but less so when the tomatoes are green. Here, unripe, green tomatoes add acidity, which works nicely with the rich gaminess of the shoulder chops. If you can’t get green tomatoes, you can make this with the half-green, half-red tomatoes, the kind that haven’t fully ripened on the vine before they need to be picked in advance of a frost. In a pinch you can even use tomatillos or bland, out-of-season supermarket tomatoes, which will add the necessary juiciness and vegetable matter to the pan if not the same complexity of flavor (a squeeze of lemon would help). In any case, make sure to taste before stirring in the honey, since the acid content of tomatoes varies widely. And if you aren’t a lamb lover but are wondering what to do with a plethora of green tomatoes, you can make this recipe with pork chops; just add a few minutes to the cooking time.
Egg-in-a-Hole With Asparagus
What would you get if you crossed savory Parmesan French toast with egg-in-a-hole and served it beneath a pile of roasted asparagus? An easy, vegetable-focused brunch or light dinner that you can make on a single sheet pan. The key here is to use wide slices of bread large enough to hold two eggs each: Choose slices from the middle of the loaf. (If your bread slices are smaller, just use one egg in each.) Feel free to substitute other quick-roasting vegetables for the asparagus. Broccoli florets, halved cherry tomatoes or brussels sprouts, or sliced mushrooms will all work equally well. And if you want to double the recipe, use two sheet pans, arranging the bread on one and the asparagus on the other.
Tsaramaso Malagasy (White Bean Tomato Stew)
Jeanne Razanamaria, a cook from Madagascar, transforms three ingredients with some oil and salt into a rich dish that tastes like it has secret seasonings hidden in its depths. Her simple technique of collapsing tomatoes with sautéed red onion then simmering both with beans and their cooking liquid concentrates them into a tangy, earthy stew. She shared this recipe with Hawa Hassan for the book “In Bibi’s Kitchen,” written with Julia Turshen. It works with any dried white bean, large or small, and tastes great on its own or with steamed rice.