Main Course
8665 recipes found
Halibut Niçoise
What if salade niçoise wasn't a salad at all, but a warmer, heftier dish with a beautiful piece of butter-browned halibut right at its center? Erin French, the chef at the Lost Kitchen in Freedom, Me., does just that with her Maine halibut niçoise, in which the main components of a classic niçoise are accounted for, but totally reconfigured. Beans and new potatoes are in a simple shallot dressing; eggs are poached so the yolks are still soft and runny; garlic and anchovies season a quick tapenade. If your cast-iron pan fits only two fillets comfortably, cook the fish in two batches to avoid overcrowding.
Braised Lamb Shanks With Fresh Herbs
Bone-in lamb shanks are perfect for braising. The marrow in the bones releases into the sauce, deepening its flavor, while the tough meat softens into perfect tenderness during the long, slow cooking. In this recipe (very loosely based on a Georgian stew called chakapuli) the shanks are cooked with a prodigious amount of fresh herbs, adding fragrance and body. You can braise this several days in advance, then reheat it on the stove. The flavors get even better after having a chance to meld. Just don’t add the final herbal garnish until right before serving. A little bread, polenta or rice would be just the thing to soak up the heady sauce, though a spoon works, too.
Coconut-Braised Chicken Thighs With Turmeric and Peppers
Coriander, lemongrass, ginger, garlic, turmeric and coconut milk create layers of complex flavor in this braised chicken dish that’s lighter than many traditional curries. Available at Thai supermarkets and other specialty food stores, fresh makrut lime leaves are optional, but perk things up. Any leftover lime leaves — sublime when sautéed with butter and seafood, sliced very thinly and sprinkled as a garnish, or simmered into simple syrup for cocktails — can be stashed in your freezer, where they’ll keep for months.
Spiced Beef in Red Wine
There is nothing to stop you from serving spiced beef in red wine at a dinner party, but proper cooking should not be undertaken only for company. I make a batch of the beef and, when it is cool, bag it up in single portions and put it in the freezer. It makes a great warming supper for nights when you are lazing on a sofa watching television. Just because it's Wednesday, you need not have to resort to a bagel or grilled cheese for dinner.
Lamb Patties With Fried Onions And Tahini-Yogurt Sauce
Ground lamb makes a great alternative to a traditional burger, even when sprinkled with only salt and pepper or a little chopped parsley and garlic. These well-seasoned, simple-to-make patties are inspired by kofta, and are spiced with a fragrant mixture. You can season the meat up to a day ahead, which cuts down on kitchen time. Folded into warm pita bread, doused with tahini sauce and topped with fried onions, these burgers may not be standard cookout fare, but everyone loves them.
Lamb Meatballs (Boulettes d'agneau)
Lamb Patties Moroccan Style With Harissa Sauce
Sauteed Shrimp With Vodka and Mango
Braised Pork Chops With Tomatoes, Anchovies and Rosemary
This is the sort of thing to make when you long for a satisfying, braised beef pot roast, but you don't have the several hours required. Here, pork chops are seared until they're mahogany in color, then tossed in with a quick sauce of tomatoes, garlic, rosemary and anchovies. The whole mess goes in to the oven for about 15 minutes until the chops are cooked through. Don't be put off by the anchovies; they will magically melt into the sauce.
Lamb and Rice Stuffed Cabbage With Tomato Sauce
Spiced Lamb Loaf
Moroccan Shakshuka
In this shakshuka variation by the San Francisco chef Mourad Lahlou, lamb and beef kefta (meatballs) are browned, then simmered in a spiced tomato-red pepper sauce. Instead of the usual whole eggs poached in the sauce, Mr. Lahlou adds only the yolks, which burst into a luscious orange sauce when tapped with a fork. In his native Morocco, this kind of dish would traditionally be cooked in a tagine, but a large skillet works equally well. Serve this with flatbread for brunch, lunch or dinner. Chef Lahlou garnishes his shakshuka with edible flowers and micro cilantro, as shown here, but tender cilantro springs will do beautifully, too.
Fresno Pork Roast With Hot Spiced Raisins
Summer Vegetables in Spiced Yogurt Sauce
The farmers’ market or a home garden may be the ideal source of summer vegetables for this seasonal main course. Feel free to substitute or add other garden gifts as available. Eggplant, green beans, small potatoes or okra would all be welcome. Substantial but light, and reminiscent of some kormas, it gets its rich, creamy consistency from a mixture of yogurt and almond flour. To get vegetarian recipes like this one delivered to your inbox, sign up for The Veggie newsletter.
Roast Chicken With Herbs And Butter
Merguez (A Tunisian sausage)
Roast Chicken With Lemon and Za’atar
This plump and juicy roast chicken benefits from tenderizing in a yogurt-lemon-garlic marinade for as long as 24 hours, but if you don’t have a lot of time, slathering it with the mixture before sliding it into the oven will still add flavor, and give the spices something to stick to. Za’atar, a Middle Eastern herb-and-spice blend, can still be hard to find in the supermarket, so make your own by combining sumac, sesame seeds, thyme, coriander, oregano and cumin. You can buy sumac, a garnet-colored lemony spice, in Middle Eastern markets or online, but the rest of the ingredients are most likely already on your spice rack, and leaving out one or two of them is perfectly O.K. If you have a premade za’atar blend on hand, you’ll need about 1/2 cup to coat the chicken.
Salmon on a Bed of Greens And Mango
Moussaka
This recipe for moussaka is adapted from one found in David Rosengarten's book “Taste” which includes an entire section devoted to the classic Greek casserole. In the book, Mr. Rosengarten claims that his is “the lightest, least oily, least tomatoey, most eggplanty, most refined moussaka that you've ever tasted.” Isn't that just what you want as you plan a dinner party? Mr. Rosengarten writes with bravado, but he certainly persuaded me to try his recipe. And it delivered.
Grilled Duck Breast With Miso, Ginger and Orange
Miso contributes a sweet, nutty flavor to this tasty marinade for duck, punched up with ginger and orange zest. Substitute duck legs if you wish (they’ll take a bit longer to cook), or use large chicken breasts if duck isn’t available. Here the duck breast is thinly sliced for a summery main-course salad, but keep the flavorful technique in mind for use throughout the year.
One-Pot Chicken and Rice With Ginger and Cumin
Inspired by Indian flavors, this one-pot chicken-and-rice pilaf comes together in under an hour by taking advantage of spices that pack a punch: Mustard seeds bring heat, cumin adds nutty notes and cardamom provides depth and warmth — and all of the spices are toasted in oil and butter, which concentrates their flavor. Golden raisins lend a touch of sweetness. To make it a vegetarian side, omit the chicken and use vegetable broth or even water in place of the chicken broth.
Bobotie (The Boschendal's recipe)
Restaurant-Style Pork Chops
A '90s-restaurant-style dish that came to The Times from Matthew Kenney, a chef whose career soared in that decade, these pork chops make for a dinner that is as steady and simple as it is elegant and rich. The chops are broiled beneath a glaze of maple syrup and balsamic vinegar, then served with soft apple slices and a dusting of Clinton-era nostalgia: chopped pecans and candied ginger. (Polenta is the perfect accompaniment -- stir in some goat cheese and rosemary instead of the more typical butter and Parmesan.)
Sesame Snap Pea-Chicken Salad
This simple salad features crisp-tender sugar snap peas, delicate shredded chicken and creamy sesame dressing. The cooking methods are important here: Blanching the peas, then shocking them in ice water ensures that they retain crunch and color, while gently poaching the boneless chicken breast and plunging it into an ice water bath means it stays moist. The tangy dressing, which is a nod to the highly addictive Japanese-style goma dressing, is made with earthy roasted sesame seeds and mayonnaise; it finds its way to the craggy edges of the shredded chicken. Try to shred the meat the same size as the sliced peas for the best texture. This salad is great to serve immediately, and even better after spending at least an hour in the refrigerator.