Main Course
8665 recipes found
Bess Feigenbaum’s Cabbage Soup
Tuscan Bread and Tomato Soup (Pappa al Pomodoro)
Pappa means pap, which is what this soup is. If you ever needed proof that stale bread needn’t go to waste, this soup is it. And this stale bread recipe can be made with canned tomatoes, so you can make it throughout the year. When the weather is hot, you can serve this at room temperature.
Macaroni With Tomato Sauce, Chard and Goat Cheese
This tomatoey version of macaroni and cheese is a great way to use greens or other vegetables.
Pasta With Herbed Ricotta, Tomatoes and Spinach
Penne With Peas, Pea Greens and Parmesan
Many farmers who sell peas also sell the shoots and tendrils that grow with them. They’re sweet, light and nourishing, especially when you serve them along with peas.
Risotto With Chard and Pancetta
This satiny risotto uses an entire bunch of chard, both stems and leaves, which gives texture and color to the tender grains of rice. Pancetta, crisped up in the pan, adds a savory, brawny crunch that contrasts with the sweetness of the shallots or onion. Red chard turns the rice a subtle shade of pink, but Swiss or rainbow chard will work equally well. And don’t neglect that squeeze of fresh lemon juice right at the end; it brightens everything up.
Barley Risotto With Greens and Seared Scallops
A great vegetarian entree for fall, this creamy risotto can be served with scallops or seared halibut fillets; you could also add more leafy greens and top it with with slivers of aged cheese. Using barley instead of rice produces a nutty chew that works with the sweetness of root vegetables. You can use less butter and cream than the recipe calls for, but the end result won’t be quite as deliciously runny and rich. The Saltry restaurant, in Halibut Cove in southern Alaska, is reachable only by boat or seaplane. Like a culinary Brigadoon, it appears every summer and evaporates each fall — and has done so since 1984, when Marian Beck, a native of the area, decided it was time for the food of Alaska’s wilderness to move beyond canned corned beef hash and smoked fish. Modern dishes like this risotto, beet salad with savory sesame brittle, and black cod with dashi and paprika oil now sit comfortably on the menu with classics like house-pickled salmon, smoked cod chowder, and oysters and mussels raised just yards offshore.
Pasta With Chopped Pesto and Peas
This pesto doesn’t call for a food processor, blender, or mortar and pestle — and it’s better for it. Instead, all of the elements are chopped and mashed together by hand. (Pesto means “to pound, crush or smash” in Italian.) In Tuscany, this would be done with a half moon-shaped mezzaluna, but a chef’s knife does the job, too. The result is a more textured mix with bright pops of flavor, like a sauce, herb salad and nut garnish in one. Basil and pine nuts are classic choices, but this version, “I Dream of Dinner (So You Don’t Have To),” by Ali Slagle (Clarkson Potter, 2022), was guided by the pesto ratio in “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat” by Samin Nosrat. It works with whatever soft herbs and nuts that you like and have on hand.
Jap Chae: Korean Noodles
Turkish-Spiced Halibut Skewers With Yogurt Sauce
Turkish chefs make these beautiful skewers with local swordfish, usually dousing the fish in a garlicky lemony marinade before cooking. Bay leaves (they grow wild) are usually a presence, too. David Tanis took that inspiration and made the fish halibut, adding thinly sliced lemons and onions, along with pinches of aromatic cumin and coriander, and a heavy hand with the bay leaves. You would think this might be overkill, but in fact it only enhances the sweetness of the fish.
Rice Porridge With Squash and Brown Butter
This recipe for a rich, winter-y rice porridge comes from Minh Phan, the owner of Porridge + Puffs in Los Angeles. Ms. Phan is a porridge whisperer, creating all kinds of complex, beautiful rice bowls, and her velvet porridge rich with roasted squash is no exception. To make a simple version of it at home, roast a mix of squash then purée it with brown butter and a little half and half. Stir the mixture into loose, cooked rice for a comforting meal you can eat plain, topped with pickled vegetables and herbs, some browned sausage or dressed salad leaves. Ms. Phan lets the cooked rice rest overnight so the grains absorb the seasoning evenly, but if you’re in a rush, you can go ahead and eat it right away.
Penne with Tomatoes And Basil
Spinach Risotto With Taleggio
This recipe, based on the nettle risotto from River Café in London, substitutes spinach, which is easier to find and less perilous to work with. It’s best made with mature, crinkly spinach, which has a more robustly mineral flavor than delicate baby leaves, but use whichever you can get. The melting taleggio makes the rice supremely creamy, and adds a funky earthiness. Note that it’s easiest to remove the rind and cut the cheese into cubes when it’s straight-from-the-fridge cold, then let it come to room temperature as you cook the rice. If you'd like to use an equal quantity of nettles here instead of spinach, you can.
Pappa Al Pomodoro
Stuffed Baby Artichokes, Izmir Style
Long-Simmered Eggplant Stuffed with Farro or Spelt
This is a riff on imam bayildi, the long-cooking eggplant dish bathed in tomatoes and onions that is one of the great achievements of Turkish cuisine. I added cooked farro to the tomato-onion mix, making this more like a stuffed eggplant dish. The active cooking time is minimal, but the smothered eggplant must simmer for about 1 1/2 hours to achieve the intense, syrupy sauce and deep, rich flavor that make this dish such a wonder. Make it a day ahead for best results, and serve at room temperature on a hot night.
Pumpkin Risotto Con la Zucca
Spring-Vegetable Risotto
Penne Al Ortolano (Penne With Garden Vegetables)
Seasonal vegetables can be substituted for the ones in this recipe. Lightly steamed green beans, broccoli or cauliflower broken into small pieces work well in place of the zucchini; shredded spinach or other greens can take the place of the eggplant.
Penne Carbonara With Fava Beans, Peas and Pecorino
Corn and Lobster Tart
Lobster and corn. It does not take much more than those eminently compatible ingredients to recognize summer. You hardly need a recipe to prepare steamed or broiled lobsters and serve them with corn on the cob. But you do need more than pocket change. Here, you can satisfy four at lunch or six with a first course at dinner, relying on a single, modest lobster. This quiche-like tart, meant to accompany a glass of chilled chardonnay, can be served warm or at room temperature.
Deviled-Crab Casserole
This is our hands-down favorite. Each cook had a slightly different recipe. This is Martina's.
Roasted Mushrooms With Garlic
