Main Course
8665 recipes found
Lamb, Harissa and Almond Sausage Rolls
In this sassy twist on a classic sausage roll, the Australian chef Paul Allam of Bourke Street Bakery riffs on North African flavors to create something fragrant, rich and generously spiced. Harissa pastes can vary widely in heat content; Mr. Allam uses a moderately hot homemade paste in his recipe. If your harissa is especially potent, consider using half the amount called for here.
Italian Hero Sandwich
Italian hero, sub, hoagie, grinder — this classic sandwich has many names, and every deli makes it differently. Its deliciousness lies in the proportion of rich-and-fatty ingredients to spicy-and-crunchy ones. For optimal structure and texture, start with crusty rolls with pillowy insides (or toast soft rolls). Use two to four types of cured meat for a range of umami, and plenty of lettuce and pickles to counterbalance them. Then assemble wisely: Shingle the meat and cheese across the rolls, then top with pickles, onions and dressed lettuce. Once put together, the wet ingredients are wrapped in meat so they’re held in place and the bread doesn’t get soggy. Wrap with parchment or wax paper for tidier eating and transporting.
Butternut Squash Lasagna Pie
This comforting dish lands somewhere between a lasagna and a pie. Thinly sliced butternut squash and broken dried lasagna noodles are all tossed together in one bowl with cheese, spices and a red pepper sauce, then pressed into a cake pan before baking, at which point everything softens and cooks together into imperfectly perfect layers. A simple béchamel topping is made while your pie is in the oven, leaving you ample time to get on with assembling a big salad or a side dish of your choosing.
Yvonne Maffei’s Roast Chicken With Couscous, Dates and Buttered Almonds
Deglet Noors dates shine when they are cooked in chutneys, desserts or North African dishes like this whole roast chicken. The chicken is cooked with fluffy couscous that absorbs the sweetness of dates and the butteriness of toasted almonds. Supermarket Deglet Noors are often dark brown and hard, because they have been kept well past their natural point of ripeness; seek out soft, light-colored ones for the best flavor.
Split Pea Soup
This customizable recipe for classic split pea soup allows you to make it vegetarian or not with equally delicious results. Meat eaters can get that classic smoky flavor by adding bacon or ham hock, while vegetarians can reach for the smoked paprika. Half the split peas are added part way through cooking, which adds texture to each cozy, hearty spoonful.
Tater Tot Casserole
I first ate this hot dish, a Midwestern favorite, on a late fall evening in the humid kitchen of the cook and television star Molly Yeh, at her farmhouse in Minnesota. The casserole accompanied venison, lefse and talk of the sugar beet harvest outside. I thrilled to the cream-beefy, umami-strong flavors that sat beneath its golden, cobbled exterior, and I loved the way the potatoes soaked up the gravy that pooled below the venison. You could substitute other ground meats for the beef, and other frozen vegetables for the peas or corn, but the tots are mandatory, and I do love the addition of cheese at the end.
Couscous With Tomatoes, White Beans, Squash and Peppers
This hearty vegetarian dish, served with couscous, can be made ahead and uses the bounty of vegetables from late summer and early fall. And when the weather turns cold and winter rolls in, canned tomatoes are a fine substitute. The hot and the sweet peppers contribute great contrasting flavors.
Skillet Pork Chops and Apples With Miso Caramel
This recipe is like a delicious game of free association: miso caramel, caramel apples, apples and pork chops. You’ll often see miso caramel added to desserts for an umami oomph, but it can also form a glossy and complex sauce suited for proteins, much like Vietnamese caramel. Start by searing pepper-crusted pork chops, then brown the apples in the rendered fat. (Be sure to choose an apple that’s more tart than sweet to balance the caramel’s sweetness.) Instead of making a finicky caramel, just pour all the elements over the apples and simmer until thickened. This nontraditional caramel uses brown sugar for toastiness, and water instead of heavy cream, so the savoriness of miso and pork and the sweetness of the caramel and apples shine through.
Niku Jyaga (Japanese Beef and Potato Stew)
There’s nothing extraordinary about meat and potatoes stewed in a sweet soy broth, and yet it’s easy to find yourself taking just one more taste until half the pot is gone. Patience pays off though: niku jyaga tastes better the second day, when the potatoes are saturated with sauce. Every household makes it a little differently in Japan, and so the flavor is affectionately called “mother’s taste.” Saori Kurioka, a private chef in Brooklyn, cooks hers the same minimalist way her mother and grandmother did in Kobe, with just beef, potatoes, onion and carrot. She uses a wooden otoshibuta, a drop-lid that fits inside the pot, so the vegetables simmer and steam evenly as the broth slowly concentrates, but the same thing can be achieved with parchment paper. Beveling the edges of the potatoes with a peeler keeps them from crumbling as the jostle around the simmering pot, but skip it if you’re rushed or impatient.
Cheesy Baked Pumpkin Pasta With Kale
Arguably one of the coziest autumnal dishes you can make in under an hour, this cheesy pumpkin pasta doesn’t rely on a roux. Instead, the sauce is made simply by blending canned pumpkin, cream and vegetable stock. And because the pasta bakes in a flash — just 10 to 15 minutes at 500 degrees — the most time-consuming part of the entire recipe is grating all that cheese.
Pork Chops With Apples and Cider
There are some culinary combinations that cannot be improved upon, and apples and pork is surely one of them. This recipe calls for pan-frying boneless pork chops and serving them with butter-browned apples and a Normandy-style sauce made with cider and cream. It makes for a perfect cold weather meal.
Korean Bulgogi Bolognese
In this recipe, Korean grilled barbecue meets Bolognese, the classic Italian meat sauce. Ground beef is simmered in a sauce that starts with a traditional base of sautéed onion, carrots and celery, to which scallions, garlic, ginger and soy sauce are added. As the sauce cooks, the flavors of the tomato paste and soy sauce meld, creating a deeply salty-sweet mixture, while the addition of chopped mushrooms provides depth and complexity. Be sure to use egg pasta here as the richness contrasts nicely with the sauce.
Mushroom Potpie
Dried porcini mushrooms and caramelized fresh mushrooms give this dish plenty of deep, earthy flavor. Sweet parsnips, garlicky kale, carrots and potatoes round out the mushroom filling, but if those don’t suit you, the filling is fully flexible. Substitute butternut squash, celery root or just about any root vegetable for the carrots, parsnips and potatoes. The entire dish cooks in a large ovenproof skillet, but you could also transfer the filling to buttered ramekins for individual pies, or divide the mixture between two 8-inch pie dishes for two separate pies. Rich and creamy, it feeds a crowd, and can easily be prepared in advance: Refrigerate the cooked filling overnight, then warm it on the stovetop, assemble and bake. The results justify the effort.
Cornbread Tamale Pie
This recipe came to The Times in a 2006 magazine article about the 75th anniversary edition of The Joy of Cooking, the soup-to-nuts cookbook found on practically every home cook's shelf since its first publication in 1931. Like many of the book's beloved recipes, this dish is a crowd-pleasing, homespun classic that is incredibly simple to put together. First, make a quick chili of beef, black beans, corn, green pepper and onion seasoned with chile power and cumin. Spread that in a baking dish, top with a simple cornbread batter and pop it into the oven. In about a half hour: tamale pie. Serve with hot sauce, a dollop of sour cream and a few slices of avocado. If you're trying to eat less red meat, ground turkey or chicken would make a fine substitute for the beef.
Pasta With Kale Pesto and Roasted Butternut Squash
Here is a one-pot meal designed explicitly for the hungriness of a long-distance runner, with garlicky kale pesto and sweet roasted butternut squash. Making the pesto with kale instead of basil gives it a structure the basil-rich original lacks, and it interacts beautifully with the crisp-and-soft smoothness of the roasted squash. A terrific dish.
Khoresh Kadoo Halvaii (Butternut Squash Stew)
Khoresh kadoo halvaii is a popular and comforting fall dish from the northern region of Iran and is typically prepared with meat or chicken. This version swaps out the meat for canned chickpeas and is just as flavorful. Dried fruits are commonly used in Iranian cuisine to infuse a variety of savory dishes with a sweet and sour taste. Traditionally, dried golden sour prunes, aloo Bukhara, are added to this stew for a pleasing and distinct sour flavor, but pitted dark prunes, which lean a little sweeter, can be used. If using aloo Bukhara, be mindful of their pits when eating. To get vegetarian recipes like this one delivered to your inbox, sign up for The Veggie newsletter.
Pasta With Butternut Squash, Kale and Brown Butter
This pantry pasta turns cold-weather basics — pasta, squash, kale and butter — into something luxurious and deeply flavored thanks to garam masala, the warming spice mix used in many South Asian dishes like kebabs and curries. But since this is a pantry pasta, you can substitute freely: Consider another nutty spice or two, like five spice, turmeric with chile powder, or cinnamon with crushed fennel seeds. Whole-wheat pasta stands up to the squash and spiced browned butter, but regular pasta will work as well. In place of squash, use chickpeas or carrot, and instead of kale, try something else green, like brussels sprouts, broccolini or mature spinach.
Cheddar-Stuffed Turkey Burger With Avocado
The secret to keeping lean turkey juicy as a burger? Adding fat. The burgers in this recipe, stuffed with cheese and a bit of butter, are moist, flavorful and, best of all, hold together and flip easily. These are best cooked on a flat-top griddle, burger-joint style, or you can use a large, wide skillet (like cast-iron) if that’s what you have. Both give the outside of these burgers an irresistible sear that keeps the juice and flavor inside the burger, not dripping through grill grates. Finally, Hawaiian buns are a must. Their softness and subtle sweetness give these burgers a universal appeal.
Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes
Crisp fall mornings call for cozy breakfasts, and these fluffy pumpkin pancakes are just the thing to warm you right up. Packed with pumpkin and a sprinkle of cinnamon and vanilla, they feel and taste special, but are quick to stir together. The buttermilk and pumpkin make the batter quite thick, but they will spread. Be sure to leave lots of room between the pancakes when cooking them.
Curried Roast Chicken With Grapefruit, Honey and Thyme
Sweet and savory curry powder is combined with honey and a pleasantly tart grapefruit juice to create a rich glaze for your above-average weeknight bird. Roasting the chicken low and slow keeps the meat moist, and basting frequently prevents the caramelization of the sauce from scorching. Serve with a side of greens such as spinach, kale or Swiss chard that have been sautéed in lots of garlic and oil.
Brown-Butter Orzo With Butternut Squash
In this autumnal one-pot meal, rice-shaped orzo is cooked with stock and butternut squash until it’s tender and creamy, a little like risotto but without as much stirring. Brown butter, lemon zest and sage add depth of flavor, while red-pepper flakes give this zip and heat. An optional dollop of ricotta intensifies the creaminess but feel free to skip it for a lighter dish. This recipe also works well as a hearty side for roasted meats and fish.
Dijon and Cognac Beef Stew
This rich, comforting stew was brought to The Times by Regina Schrambling in 2001, in the dark days immediately following the attacks on the World Trade Center. The accompanying article was an ode to the therapeutic benefits of cooking and baking: "Whoever said cooking should be entered into with abandon or not at all had it wrong. Going into it when you have no hope is sometimes just what you need to get to a better place. Long before there were antidepressants, there was stew." This one, while complex in flavor, is not difficult to prepare, but it cannot be rushed. Make it when you have the time to indulge in the meditative qualities of chopping, sautéing, reducing, braising, waiting and tasting. You will be rewarded with an exceptionally flavorful dish that is just as satisfying to eat as it was to cook.
Mushroom Bread Pudding
Wonderful served as a brunch centerpiece or as a holiday side, this rich meatless casserole can be assembled in advance, refrigerated overnight, then baked just before serving. You could certainly prepare it day-of and let the bread soak for 15 minutes before baking, but allowing it to sit overnight will make it more tender. Delicate brioche is the ideal bread for this pudding, and it is available in most supermarkets, often in the form of hamburger rolls, which are a good size and shape for this dish. Challah is also a good option, but it’s a bit denser, so it may take more than 15 minutes for it to soak up the custard.
Roasted Salmon and Brussels Sprouts With Citrus-Soy Sauce
Roasting vegetables like brussels sprouts, scallions and jalapeño next to salmon fillets as they cook makes for a crunchy, sweet and spicy side that requires very little work on your part. When the salmon and vegetables are done, spoon a lively sauce made of citrus juice (any you choose), rice vinegar and soy sauce over everything. If you like, serve with rice, whole grains, soba or udon — there’s plenty of sauce to go around.