Main Course
8665 recipes found
Beet- and Horseradish-Cured Salmon
This is a good first foray into curing because the process is simple and relatively quick and the reward considerable. Thanks to the beets, the color on the outside of the salmon is a deep, rich fuchsia. And don't be afraid to use fresh horseradish if you can find it; just be careful.
Baked Eggs With Crème Fraîche and Smoked Salmon
Runny-yolked eggs baked in individual ramekins or custard cups make for a very elegant brunch or light supper. These are bathed in a shallot-steeped crème fraîche and topped with smoked salmon for an especially rich result. Serve them with toast, croissants or crusty bread — something to mop up the last bits of yolk and cream at the bottom of the ramekins. You won’t want to leave behind a single drop.
Beef Barley Soup With Lemon
With a higher ratio of broth to barley than one usually sees, and the addition of plenty of fresh baby spinach, this beef barley soup is a little lighter than most of its kind. However, it’s still a substantial, satisfying meal that gets a heady aroma from spices (coriander, cumin and paprika) and a brightness from lemon. If you like your meals with a kick, top this with thinly sliced jalapeño, which will wilt slightly from the heat of the soup. Leftovers freeze perfectly for at least three months, though if using the jalapeño, don’t add it until serving time.
Eduardo Giurici's brodetto alla triestina (Trieste-style fish stew)
Pinakbet (Vegetables Stewed in Fermented Shrimp Paste)
Filipino cooking embraces salt — perhaps the legacy of life in a tropical climate, where, before refrigeration, food had to be preserved. The primary salt in pinkabet, a vegetable stew, is bagoong, a satisfyingly funky paste of fermented shrimp or fish. As with miso, there are many types of bagoong: dry or oily, toasted or raw, bright pink and briny or dark brown and faintly sweet. I like to use the pink variety because of the large formations of salt crystals. Paired with the toasted and caramelized tomato paste, the bagoong achieves a deep, concentrated umami flavor, enough to season all the vegetables.
Tortilla Stack With Chili-Tomato Sauce
Black-Eyed Pea and Pork Gumbo
The chefs Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewski serve this gumbo regularly at Cochon, their Cajun-Southern restaurant in New Orleans. Its ingredients depart significantly from traditional New Orleans restaurant gumbos, which almost never feature pork, legumes or greens, although those norms have changed in recent years, in part due to Cochon’s influence. As a rule, when seasoning gumbo, Mr. Link uses just 75 percent of the suggested spice portions at first, then adds the rest as desired according to taste. Since this recipe can produce varying results, depending on whether you’re using smoked pork butt from a local barbecue joint or a store-bought variety, home-cooked black-eyed peas or canned, braised collards or mustard greens, Mr. Link’s seasoning approach is particularly useful.
Par-Cooked Lobsters
Black-Eyed Pea Soup or Stew With Pomegranate and Chard
This is another dish inspired by a recipe in Louisa Shafia’s book “The New Persian Kitchen.” You can use more or less water, depending on whether you want the dish to have the consistency of a soup or a thick stew. It’s hearty, and the most beautiful pink hue.
Glazed Pork
This grilled (or broiled) slab of pork resembles Chinese roast pork. It is a vital component of arroz gordo, a dish from Macau. But it can easily stand on its own. Just be sure the meat is at least 2 inches thick so it will brown nicely without overcooking. Slice it to serve as an appetizer with strong mustard, or add it at the last minute to stir-fried mushrooms. You could substitute pork loin for the shoulder.
Dandelion Salad With Beets, Bacon and Goat Cheese Toasts
Tender dandelion leaves make a sensational salad. This one is modeled after a classic Paris bistro salad, but the vinaigrette has fresh ginger and lime juice to stand up to dandelions' faintly bitter flavor. It still tastes very French, as do the goat cheese toasts.
Smoky Beef and Vegetable Sliders
Sliders are a great way to stretch out a small amount of ground meat. I made this dish, which is reminiscent of a sloppy Joe (though a lot tidier), to use up the half-pound of left-over ground beef, and added vegetables to bulk it out and lighten it up.
Poached Eggs
Vietnamese-Style Chicken With Fragrant Rice Noodles
Nuoc cham, the Vietnamese dipping sauce, does double duty here: As a marinade, it soaks into the chicken as it roasts. And as part of a rich pan sauce for rice noodles, it marries with the chicken juices. Look for rice noodles that are flat and similar in width to linguine, those normally used for pad Thai. Since the noodles are served at room temperature, run them under cool water after boiling to keep them from clumping. Raw snap peas offer a refreshing crunch, and fans of half-sour pickles will enjoy the extra tanginess they add to the dish.
Eggplant Torte
This is a dramatic dish, like a molded eggplant parmesan inside a double crust. It makes a great vegetarian dinner party main dish.
Griot (Spicy Pork Shoulder)
Romesco Egg Salad
There’s mild-mannered egg salad, and then there’s this one, feisty with tang, crunch and smoke by incorporating elements of romesco, the Catalan sauce. Soft-boiled eggs are cut into chunks for pockets of richness, then tossed with oil, vinegar, smoked paprika, sweet peppers, almonds and parsley. Ingredients are left in hefty pieces for contrasting textures and bites, but if you prefer a homogenous salad to mound in a sandwich or onto your plate, just stir vigorously; the yolk and oil will emulsify and bind everything together.
Grilled Clams and Mussels with Garlic, Almonds and Mint
Grilling clams and mussels gives them a smokiness you can’t get inside on your stove. Use hardwood charcoal if you can; it gives the best, smokiest flavor. The cooking time may vary depending upon your grill and the temperature of the shellfish when you put it in the pan. (Very cold seafood may take a few minutes longer.) Keep checking, pulling out the open clams and mussels with tongs as you go. And don’t forget to pour the heady pan juices on top of the shellfish; dunking grilled bread into that garlicky pool may be the best part of the dish.
Pizza Calzone
A calzone unveils itself slowly, bite by bite, especially if you’ve layered the fillings with several elements. For those who can’t give up the pie, I offer a pizza-calzone hybrid. Based on an elaborate dish I sampled at Don Antonio by Starita, a Midtown pizzeria, it has basil-perfumed ricotta and Parmesan in the center, and tomato sauce and melted mozzarella on top. It’s the best of both worlds, and an unexpected thing to do with a ball of pizza dough.
Pork and Portobello Burgers
This is a new-age version of a veggie burger (as in half and half, not a burger made from vegetables and grain), which you might also think of as a stuffed mushroom. It’s terrific, hearty, unusual and really cool: a portobello filled with sausage meat and grilled. In this instance, a broiler will work, as will a skillet.
Black-Eyed Pea Fritters
The chef Pierre Thiam puts a twist on these traditional Senegalese accara, or black-eyed pea fritters. They are sold on street corners throughout West Africa, usually on fresh baguettes as a sandwich. But Mr. Thiam treats them a bit like falafel and stuffs them into fresh pita bread instead. The spicy pickled carrots he uses as a condiment are based on a recipe from his Vietnamese godfather. Accara are deliciously light and fairly addictive, and they make a great snack with drinks.
Crab, Beef and Okra Stew
Asparagus Alla Fontina
Much like a quiche without a crust, this dish is equally good as an appetizer, or as the late main course for brunch, lunch or a late dinner.
Seared Salmon With Caper-Raisin Vinaigrette
In this rich one-skillet dinner, seared salmon and cauliflower are topped with frizzled capers, plumped raisins, browned butter and vinegar. For cauliflower with bite, sear florets until they’re caramelized but still snappy, then toss with vinegar and raisins. Cooking the salmon skin-side down (and not flipping) ensures a crisp skin and tender fish that won’t dry out. Finish with a baste of brown butter, garlic and capers. Serve alone, with bread or over orzo or farro.