Main Course
8665 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.
Salami Pasta Alla Gricia
Pasta alla gricia is among the most versatile Roman pastas, and arguably foundational: Add tomato for amatriciana, add egg for carbonara or remove the pork for cacio e pepe. As one origin story goes, shepherds in Amatrice brought guanciale, pecorino and pasta on their journeys, and made these dishes for sustenance. Guanciale (cured jowl) isn’t especially common in the United States, so, in the spirit of the shepherds using what was available to them, this recipe uses salami. Like guanciale, salami gives off deeply flavored fat to build the pasta sauce on. But salami provides even more crispy bits of meat to stud this rich, silky, deceptively simple pasta.
Baked Tilapia
Tilapia has a flaky texture and a sweet, mild taste, so it welcomes assertive seasonings. This baked, sheet-pan recipe coats the fish with butter, lemon, garlic and parsley, but feel free to switch up the flavor as you like; paprika, Old Bay, ginger, lime and tarragon would all be great. Keep in mind that there are environmental issues around tilapia farming, so use resources such as Seafood Watch when selecting fish. This recipe also works with trout, flounder or other thin filets.
Rice Salad With Currants, Almonds and Pistachios
Summer buffets often feature potato salad and pasta salad, but rice salad, quite popular throughout the Mediterranean, is another terrific option to keep in mind. This simple one, which takes inspiration from Middle Eastern cuisine, uses pantry ingredients. It is delicious on its own with a bit of salad or with grilled chicken or fish. To keep the rice grains separate, boil the rice in a large pot of water as for pasta.
Fastest Pasta With Spinach Sauce
The very best pasta is often the simplest. Jack Bishop, the author of “The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook,” has refined his technique for pasta and vegetable sauce to breathtaking efficiency: He cooks the greens with the pasta and adds the seasonings at the last minute. While the pasta is cooking, Mr. Bishop prepares the seasonings. Allow at least a gallon of water to a pound of pasta, because you need a large pot to accommodate the greens and because, if there is too little water, the addition of the greens will slow the cooking too rapidly.
Pasta Alla Brontese (Creamy Fettuccine With Pancetta and Pistachios)
This easy weeknight pasta honors the town of Bronte, Sicily, renowned for its green pistachios harvested from the volcanic soil of Mount Etna. They’re famous for their flavor and bright green color. The simple pan sauce has only a few ingredients: ground pistachios, grated cheese, heavy cream, a splash of wine and pancetta. Perfect for a weeknight but interesting enough for a dinner party, this dish is as rich and comforting as fettuccine alfredo, with additional texture and depth of flavor from the crispy pancetta bits and nutty pistachio crumble.
Steamed Whole Fish With Ginger and Sesame
Steaming a whole fish is an excellent, and speedy, way to cook. The fish here, dabbed with ginger and a few other aromatics, is transformed by the process, and delivers a sweet, near-melting succulence. The pan juices are the only sauce necessary. A traditional bamboo steamer is great to have, but any sizable steamer will work, or you can rig up a steamer using a large pot. Make sure that the makeshift rack sits an inch or so above the boiling water, and that the pot has a lid.
Roasted Vegan Sausages With Cauliflower and Olives
Tangy-sweet raisins and salty olives make a zesty topping for this simple sheet-pan meal starring vegan sausages. As everything cooks, the cauliflower caramelizes and turns very tender, while the sausages sizzle and brown. If you’d rather make this with meat sausages, go right ahead; pork, turkey or lamb work especially well.
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.
Pasta With Cauliflower, Bacon and Sage
A comforting dinner for a cold night, this hearty pasta has all the makings of a crowd-pleaser like fried sage leaves, crispy bacon and nutty roasted cauliflower. This recipe demonstrates the magic of starchy pasta water: Swirled with lemon juice and Parmesan, it creates a luxurious sauce without the addition of cream or butter. Add more pasta water than you think you need, so the pasta stays moist as it absorbs the sauce.
Vegan Kale-Pesto Pasta
This silky sauce is a lovely mash-up of kale sauce, basil pesto and cashew cream. Thanks to a simple pot of water and good timing, it doesn’t require soaking nuts for 30-plus minutes: Just boil the cashews with basil stems and kale stems (which are perfectly edible). Part of the way through, add the kale leaves, then right at the end of cooking, add a handful of basil leaves to lock in their color. Blend everything with garlic and red-pepper flakes, and watch in awe as rugged kale and cashews transform into a bright-green sauce that’s as light as air. The 3 cups of sauce will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge.
Spicy Glass Noodles With Shiitake Mushrooms and Cabbage
Glass noodles readily soak up their surrounding seasonings — and this dish delivers a smack of umami with curry powder, soy sauce, sesame oil and fresh ginger. Also known as bean thread noodles or cellophane noodles, gluten-free glass noodles are often combined with vegetables and used as a filling for dumplings or spring rolls, or added to soups, braised dishes or stir-fries for heft. Here, the transparent threads are tossed with curry-spiced Napa cabbage and dried shiitake mushrooms, which have more complex, earthy notes than fresh. Bright cilantro and ginger round out the dish, which is equally good warm or at room temperature.
Mall-Style Vegetable Stir-Fry
The vegan chef Jenné Claiborne grew up in suburban Atlanta, where she developed a love for the teriyaki chicken stir-fry at Panda Express. After she became vegan, she recreated the flavors of her teen-age craving, using dates and soy sauce to produce the flavor of teriyaki sauce. If you don’t have chickpeas on hand to add heft to the vegetables, replace them with tempeh, tofu, edamame, jackfruit or mushrooms. Also, feel free to swap out the broccoli in favor of another green vegetable like kale, cabbage or bok choy. To make a less salty, slightly less mall-like version, use low-sodium soy sauce or 1/4 cup soy sauce and 1/4 water or broth. You can also use low-sodium canned chickpeas (or soak and cook your own and salt to taste).
Salad Pizza With White Beans and Parmesan
Inspired by California Pizza Kitchen’s tricolore salad pizza, this pizza features a mountain of brightly dressed greens and beans atop a crisp Parmesan crust. Rolling the dough very thin takes some patience, but the reward is a snappy crust similar to that of pizza tonda, a thin-crust pie that’s popular in Rome. The salad is made of arugula, white beans and pickled pepperoncini, dressed simply with olive oil and the brine from the peppers, but any salad topping would do. (The C.P.K. original had radicchio, greens, tomatoes and a vinaigrette.) With an abundance of leaves atop, fold the pieces in half to eat, or embrace the mess — it’s all part of the fun. To get vegetarian recipes like this one delivered to your inbox, sign up for The Veggie newsletter.
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.
Vegetarian Chili With Butternut Squash and Moroccan Spices
This Moroccan-inspired take on vegetable chili is not so much spicy as it is spiced, using ingredients you’re likely to have stocked in your pantry. In place of the same old kidney beans, this recipe uses butternut squash, cauliflower and chickpeas, making it a lighter, fresher update on the classic dish. Like any good pot of chili, this is even better reheated the next day.
Baked Tunisian Carrot, Potato and Tuna Frittata
Tunisians often add tuna to their frittatas. I’ve tried this one with both tuna packed in olive oil and in water, and find that the tuna packed in water becomes too dry when the omelet bakes.
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.
Mushroom and Potato Paprikash
This recipe is a vegetarian adaptation of chicken paprikash, a classic dish in Hungary, where there are many regional and cultural variations. This version is not at all traditional, though mushrooms are common in Hungarian cooking. To make this dish doable on a weeknight, par-cook the potatoes while you’re searing the mushrooms. If time is not an issue, you can skip that step, but it will increase the lid-on cooking time to about 30 minutes in Step 2. Avoid washing your mushrooms, which makes them less likely to sear. Instead, wipe off any dirt with a damp cloth. Meaty trumpet mushrooms add a wonderful texture in the stew, but you can use any mushrooms you like, including all-purpose creminis. This recipe can also be made in an Instant Pot. To get vegetarian recipes like this one delivered to your inbox, sign up for The Veggie newsletter.
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.
Noodle Bowl With Mushrooms, Spinach and Salmon
I love spinach, barely cooked, in a noodle bowl. Use either bunch spinach from the farmers’ market or baby spinach for this one.
Soor iyo Dalac Bilaash (Grits and Tomato Stew)
Thick and comforting like Kenyan ugali or Italian polenta, soor is Somalia’s version of grits. A common staple, it is foundational to many Somali culinary traditions, whether it is served with maraq ari (goat soup) for a simple lunch or dinner, or eaten with buttermilk and sugar for a quick meal during Ramadan. Here, soor is topped with dalac bilaash, a robust tomato stew that can be made easily with just a few simple ingredients. The name of the dish implies that it can be created out of nothing, but, despite its humble ingredient list, its flavors run deep.