Main Course
8665 recipes found
Linguine With Zucchini, Corn and Shrimp
This super fast and super easy summer pasta recipe barely cooks peak-season corn and zucchini, maintaining their freshness and crunch while highlighting their vibrant flavor. This same quick-cooking method is applied to the shrimp, which keeps its bite by spending little time in the pan. (While corn and zucchini turn mushy if overcooked, shrimp turns tough and rubbery.) Finishing off this summer pasta is a shower of fresh basil and mint, which cling to each glossy strand of linguine. Feel free to add whatever vegetables and herbs catch your eye at the market. This pasta is best eaten al fresco.
Orzo Salad
This colorful, Mediterranean-inspired orzo salad is a crowd-pleasing side dish for a picnic or potluck, and can be a satisfying, vegetable-packed lunch. The trick to a flavorful pasta salad is adding the dressing while the pasta is hot, so it can soak up plenty of flavor as it cools. This recipe takes that method a step further by tossing the hot orzo and dressing with the chickpeas, tomatoes and olives, giving the ingredients ample time to marinate. If olives aren’t your thing, try adding diced roasted red peppers or marinated artichokes for a burst of briny flavor in each bite. If preparing for a larger gathering, this recipe doubles easily, and leftovers keep well in the refrigerator, making it a good choice for meal prepping.
Crunchy Noodle and Tofu Salad
With crisp noodles and vegetables coated in a tangy dressing, this salad is reminiscent of the ubiquitous Chinese chicken salad, which isn’t actually Chinese in origin. Stripped of the chicken and given a more accurate name, this vegan take is a fresh salad with lots of textures and no active cooking. Fridge stalwarts carrot and celery combine with robust cabbage to provide heart and heft, while store-bought crispy fried noodles (sometimes sold as chow mein noodles) bring mouth-watering crunch. (They’re worth keeping in your pantry to use as a fun, effortless topper for salads or soups.) Another store-bought timesaver is baked tofu, which has already been marinated and baked, and is ready to use straight from the packet. It often comes in several flavors, and any of them will work for this recipe. The dressing is sweet, savory and acidic, and can be easily adjusted to your liking. Maple syrup adds richness, but honey, agave or sugar would all make suitable substitutes.
Crispy Shrimp Tacos With Smoky Chipotle Crema
Imagine tender, sweet shrimp ensconced in a crisp and airy tempura-like batter. Now envision those shrimp lying on a warm tortilla topped with fresh cut cabbage and a smoky-spicy drizzle of chipotle crema sauce. These tacos are not just a dream: This coastal delight can be found, just like some of the best fish tacos, along the main Mexican Pacific coast and Baja Peninsula, but you can also make them a reality at home. The toppings can vary, so add sliced or smashed avocado, spicy pickled onions, salsa macha or any other salsas you may prefer.
Snap Pea, Tofu and Herb Salad With Spicy Peanut Sauce
When the season gifts us sweet, juicy sugar snap (or snow) peas, use them raw in this textural salad. Slicing them in half diagonally not only unlocks their innate crispness, but also allows the inner peas to spill out, creating more texture. This salad is brazenly herb forward, and offers an excellent way to use up any leftover bundles in your fridge; mint, cilantro or basil can be used singularly or as a mix. The two-ingredient dressing is the simplest, and possibly tastiest, peanut sauce you’ll ever make: Peanut butter is whisked together with chile crisp and loosened with boiling water, which helps encourage it to emulsify, creating a smooth, creamy and intensely savory sauce. Looking for another shortcut? You can even skip pan-frying and use store-bought pre-baked firm tofu.
Palak Paneer
A vegetarian dish of fresh, unripened cheese cooked in a thick, creamy spinach purée, paneer palak originated in the northern Indian state of Punjab. Named for its two primary ingredients — spinach and paneer cheese — palak paneer is reminiscent of saag paneer (which typically uses a mixture of greens, including spinach, fenugreek leaves and mustard greens) but instead uses blended spinach as its sole source of greens. A fresh, firm, mild cheese used throughout India, paneer is prized for its texture and its ability to absorb the flavors of its surrounding ingredients, as it holds its shape without melting when heated. If you’re unable to find paneer, you can try firm tofu instead. Here, the paneer is heated in the sauce, however, you could sear the cubes in a pan before adding them to the dish. Serve palak paneer with naan or steamed basmati rice.
Creamy Miso Ramen With Shrimp
Creamy but light, this shrimp chowder-inspired ramen combines briny clam broth and heavy cream with caramelized miso to create a rich, savory broth in record time. The noodle soup brims with radishes and snap peas alongside baby potatoes for a bountiful spring veggie twist. A good dose of freshly grated ginger adds nice spice and brightness, while thinly sliced snap peas are stirred in at the end for crisp, crunchy bites.
Antipasto Salad
In this recipe the classic Italian antipasti platter takes the form of a single cold salad. All of the traditional elements are present here: tomatoes, olives, artichoke hearts, peppers, cheese and salami. Of course, you can swap all kinds of antipasti-minded ingredients into this salad and omit the meat or cheese for vegetarians or vegans, but don’t skip the butter beans, which are the star of this dish. They’re marinated in an oregano vinaigrette while the rest of the salad is prepped, ensuring they soak up as much flavor as possible. After tossing together, this salad chills in the fridge where the flavors only get better over time. So, feel free to make it ahead. Serve with a nice hunk of bread to make a bellissimo lunch or dinner.
Couscous Risotto With Tomatoes and Mozzarella
This caprese-inspired “risotto” swaps in toothsome pearl couscous for the usual short grain rice, cutting the time spent stirring in half. The result is a pleasantly chewy, creamy one-pot dish that, like true risotto, is easy to adapt. The tomatoes caramelize and concentrate in flavor when roasted, but if you don’t feel like turning on the oven, try replacing them with a heaping cup of drained and chopped roasted red peppers or sliced sun-dried tomatoes (just pat them dry if they're oil-packed). And because pesto is so flavorful, there’s no need for chicken or vegetable broth: Plain old water is the cooking liquid of choice here.
Chicken Pesto Meatballs
Simply adding pesto to chicken meatballs is a quick, easy way to infuse them with complex flavor while providing enough fat to ensure they are moist and juicy. With few ingredients, these meatballs come together fast and work well with any kind of pesto, whether homemade or store-bought. These meatballs can be eaten on their own, make a great addition to any plate and are the perfect companion to pesto pasta, of course.
Lemongrass Tofu and Broccoli
Intensely flavorful, this stir-fry harnesses the fresh, citrusy notes of lemongrass in a punchy marinade that doubles as the stir-fry sauce. While the tofu only needs a short soak in the lemongrass marinade before cooking, it also benefits from a longer one, so feel free to prep ahead and refrigerate overnight. This recipe’s cooking method is a combination of stir-frying and steaming: Searing the onions and tofu on high heat creates smoky notes, and covering the pan during cooking ensures that the broccoli stays bright green as it cooks through. If your skillet or wok doesn’t come with a lid, slide a large sheet pan over the cooking vessel. This hearty stir-fry can be eaten alone, with rice or tossed through glass or rice noodles.
Roasted Zucchini and Shrimp With Za’atar Yogurt
This simple, colorful sheet-pan meal combines caramelized chunks of zucchini and tender shrimp. The zucchini is given a head start in the oven so it can turn deeply brown, while the shrimp marinate in a mix of za’atar and lemon zest, absorbing the flavors. Then, the shrimp is added to the sheet pan, and everything is quickly broiled before being dolloped with an herby, garlicky yogurt sauce. Don’t slice the zucchini too thin: This dish benefits from the texture of thick, meaty pieces.
Sheet-Pan Pizza al Taglio
Popular in Rome, pizza al taglio is a rectangular pizza that’s sold by the slice and is often eaten on the go as a salty, savory snack. The dough tends to be crisp-edged and light rather than chewy, and the toppings, which can vary widely, are often seasonal. This quick, untraditional version can be made on a sheet pan in less than three hours. It has a puffy, no-knead crust that’s imbued with olive oil (like focaccia) and extremely easy to make. Feel free to play with the toppings. Cooked vegetables (thinly sliced potatoes, artichokes, roasted peppers), sliced prosciutto or mortadella, olives, other cheeses, or tinned fish like anchovies or tuna can all be added after the pizza is baked.
Cumin Green Beans and Mushrooms
This bold stir-fry showcases the versatility of one of our pantry’s most staple spices: ground cumin. Often used in conjunction with other spices, cumin is just as compelling as a singular flavor, and it shines in this green bean and mushroom stir-fry. The warmth and slight citrus edge of cumin coaxes out sweetness from the beans and the earthiness from the mushrooms. The choice of mushrooms is up to you, from everyday button or creminis to fancier varieties like oyster or shiitake mushrooms. As with all stir-fries, most of the active time is spent in preparation. But when you are ready to cook, the meal comes together quickly.
Curry Roasted Half Chicken and Peppers
A half chicken, cut right between the breasts and back, is sold in most supermarkets and just what you want when cooking for one, offering both light and dark meat, and the juiciness that comes with all the bones. After it cooks — quickly, relative to a whole bird — it leaves you with two meals or one very hearty dinner. Here, this curry-rubbed chicken roasts over peppers and onion, which release their natural sweetness into the pan juices. It’s great over rice or with bread, and leftovers can be simmered with coconut milk for a stewed curry, or chopped and mixed with mayonnaise for a chicken salad sandwich.
Egg-in-a-Nest Sandwich
An egg cooked in an egg-size hole cut out of butter-sizzled bread feels like a treat. But it’s not quite enough to make a meal. Here, the classic egg-in-a-nest merges with a grilled cheese and a breakfast sandwich into a meal for one that’s meant to be savored leisurely. It’s as delightful with coffee at the beginning of the day as it is in the middle for lunch, or ending it, whether at supper or at midnight. The bread slices — one cradling the egg, the other holding cheese — cook at the same time over relatively low heat so that they end up perfectly golden brown while the egg sets and the cheese melts. If you’d like a little heat, add hot sauce or any chile powder or flakes.
Kabab Koobideh
Popular street skewers found all over Iran, koobideh are traditionally made using either ground beef or lamb flavored simply but impactfully. This recipe calls for three seasonings: grated onion, sumac and salt. The word “koobideh” is derived from the Iranian term for “to beat,” referring to the way in which the meat is prepared. Aggressively working and mixing the ground meat to form a cohesive mixture helps when it’s time to form the meat onto the skewers. Baking soda helps to keep the meat tender, while using 80 percent lean ground meat will keep the koobideh moist. When grilling the kababs, 1-inch-wide flat metal skewers work best to hold the meat. But, you can also shape the meat mixture directly on parchment paper if you don’t have metal skewers. Grilling over charcoal yields the best results, but cooking in the oven will also work well. Serve koobideh with steamed basmati rice or sabzi polo, grilled plum tomatoes and fresh herbs, such as parsley, dill and tarragon. A squeeze of fresh lime juice doesn’t hurt either.
Kai Yang
There’s hardly a definitive recipe for any dish, and certainly not kai yang, which is sometimes referred to as Thai barbecue chicken. Variations abound, but you’ll always find salty notes (often from fish sauce, soy sauce or Thai seasoning); sweet notes (from palm sugar or coconut milk); and a range of accents like lemongrass, garlic and galangal or ginger. This recipe is adapted from Sheree Sarabhaya, the chef and owner of Kai Yang restaurant in Montclair, New Jersey. She refrigerates whole chickens in a fragrant, salty marinade with turmeric, ginger, lemongrass and cilantro for 24 hours, then roasts them in a rotisserie oven, allowing the scent to permeate the dining room. You can achieve spectacular results at home by basting the chicken as it cooks, encouraging it to soak up the seasoning. Traditionally served with green papaya salad and sticky rice, this chicken can also be used as a substitute for standard rotisserie chicken to liven up soups, sandwiches and salads.
Tzatziki Tuna Salad
Tuna salad often includes mayonnaise, but this version delivers a similar creaminess with Greek yogurt, which imparts a freshness to the mix. Here, the yogurt is seasoned with the classic garlic-dill combination of tzatziki, which goes surprisingly well with sharp yellow mustard. Cucumber is traditionally used in tzatziki, but for this tuna salad, celery is also a fun, crunchy variation. (You also can add celery to the salad if starting with store-bought tzatziki.) If you have only tuna packed in water on hand, simply drain the tuna well and stir olive oil into the salad for richness. Sandwich the tuna between bread, mix it into a salad or enjoy it as a dip with chips or crackers.
Lemon-Garlic Linguine
This bright and creamy pasta is a weeknight go-to that can be embellished with seared scallops, shrimp or mushrooms to make it something special. Grated garlic, lemon zest and black pepper sizzle and bloom in melted butter to which starchy pasta water is added to create a thick sauce. A hit of lemon juice at the very end keeps it punchy. Linguine, which is not as thin as spaghetti or as thick as fettuccine, works well here, but if you have another pasta shape on-hand, feel free to swap it in.
Tandoori Chicken
Believed to have originated in Iran but known by different names depending on the country, the tandoor is a clay oven used throughout South, Central and Western Asia to bake, roast and grill. Meats cooked in a tandoor are incredibly moist and tender; cooking on a grill or in the oven under the broiler can achieve similar results. Make incisions into the chicken to help the marinade really penetrate the meat. Lemon juice and yogurt help achieve the tenderness tandoori chicken is known for, while a combination of sweet paprika and Kashmiri chile powder give it its signature red hue. (The bright red hue you might see in some Western restaurants is achieved by adding red food coloring.) Serve with steamed basmati rice and cucumber cilantro raita.
Wild Rice Porridge
Wild rice, known as manoomin in the Anishinaabemowin language, has been central to the identity and history of Indigenous people in the Upper Midwest and Central Canada for thousands of years. Directly translated as the “good berry,” the sacred manoomin is found in tall green grasses of low-lying lakes and streams, where ricers of all ages use sticks to knock kernels from the grass stalks into the bed of a canoe. This recipe is adapted from Dwayne Jarman, a traditional ricer in Michigan and enrolled member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. For his son’s birthday every year, he makes a delightful breakfast porridge of hand-harvested manoomin simmered in cream and topped with dried fruit and nuts. A touch of maple syrup and plumped berries balance the nutty flavor of the rice with explosions of warm sweetness. You’re urged to seek out manoomin for this recipe (see Tip), but you could substitute store-bought, commercially cultivated wild rice if preferred.
Burnsie’s Cheesy Wild Rice and Chicken Soup
The Anishinaabeg have harvested manoomin, or wild rice, in the area now known as the Great Lakes for hundreds of years. Myron A. Burns Sr., who goes by Burnsie, a lifelong ricer and elder of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, combines hand-harvested manoomin, lean meat and rich dairy in a single pot to produce this hearty soup. Natural manoomin is knocked into canoe beds with wooden sticks, then dried, hulled and winnowed by community members, producing a soft, flavorful brown rice that cooks in 15 minutes. This differs from the commercially cultivated wild rice sold in supermarkets, which is grown in artificial paddies and processed by machine, producing a chewier black rice that takes at least 45 minutes to cook. You’re urged to seek out manoomin for this recipe (see Tip), but you could substitute store-bought, commercially cultivated wild rice if preferred. Top this soup with herbs and pair with crackers for a thoughtfully satisfying meal.
Garlic Shrimp With Crisped Chickpeas
A snappy skillet dish well-suited to warm weather eating and snacking, this garlic shrimp recipe is a sunny mashup of shrimp scampi and gambas al ajillo, leaning on the lighter side. A hefty dose of smoked paprika adds a spirited color and dynamic smoky flavor to both the garlicky shrimp and chickpeas. The canned chickpeas gain extra depth and texture from sizzling in the pan until crunchy, then simmering in white wine until tender. Use a wine that you’d like to sip alongside this dish, and serve with some crusty bread to wipe your bowl (and even the pan). If you’d like some greens to round out your spread, simple sautéed spinach with garlic would be a delightful addition.