Main Course
8665 recipes found
Littleneck Clams With Cherry Tomatoes and Pearl Couscous
In this one-pot dish from Lidey Heuck’s cookbook, “Cooking in Real Life” (S&S/Simon Element, 2024), fresh clams cook together with garlic, white wine, shallots and tomatoes to form a deliciously fragrant sauce that’s perfect for mopping up with a piece of bread. As the clams open, they release their briny liquor, which gives the broth a salty, savory complexity. While this dish is particularly well-suited to a summer evening, you can make it any time of year; the tomatoes will sweeten and burst as they cook. The fregola or couscous gives this recipe enough heft to be a main course, but it can easily be stretched to serve 6 as a part of a larger spread.
Hilib Suqaar (Beef and Vegetable Sauté)
A staple in Somali cuisine, this hearty beef and vegetable dish is found in restaurants and homes alike. Suqaar comes in several variations, all involving little pieces of meat. This recipe uses boneless beef stew meat, but there is also camel, lamb and chicken suqaar. While everyone has their own spin on suqaar, substituting in their favorite vegetables or additional spices of choice, the foundational ingredients are typically small cuts of meat, aromatic xawaash spice and vibrantly colored peppers. The peppers are the last ingredient added to the suqaar, so cook to your desired level of doneness. Hilib suqaar pairs well with a flatbread like muufo, or spooned over plain white rice or Somali-style spiced rice. If you’d like some heat, make a little basbaas cagaar, a fiery green hot sauce that can be served on the side.
Kaddu With Greens and Shrimp
The base for this stew is a simply spiced, South Asian–style preparation of kaddu, or squash, seasoned with ginger, garlic, cumin, chile powder and garam masala. In this recipe, the addition of coconut milk, kale and shrimp leads to a complex, flavorful and hefty meal. The sweetness of the coconut milk provides a counterbalance to the heavily spiced squash, while greens add a touch of bitterness. To save on prep time, you can use 6 cups of store-bought precut squash instead of peeling and chopping your own. For a vegetarian version of this dish, you can simply skip the shrimp.
Everyday Dal
The warming, soothing and downright healing effects of dal are well known throughout South Asia and its diaspora. This is an everyday dish for a good reason: It’s simple to make but tastes complex, and the flavor only deepens over time. There are countless ways to make dal; this version requires just 10 minutes and five ingredients (not including salt), all serving important purposes: The lentils cook quickly, the turmeric lends an earthy wholesomeness and the rich chhonk, or tempering, made by sizzling spices with ghee, brings instant depth. To gussy it up, try adding a packet of frozen spinach, or stirring minced garlic into the chhonk. If you’re tempted to use ground cumin instead of cumin seeds, resist! The seeds have a distinctly smokier flavor and add a pleasant texture to the dal.
Maraq Digaag (Spiced Chicken Soup)
This aromatic and revitalizing soup is the lesser known sibling of maraq ari, a traditional Somali goat soup beloved for both its nutritious and healing properties. Maraq digaag is a comforting soup to turn to in times of sickness. This soup is thick and filling, thanks to the addition of potatoes, and has small hints of heat due to the jalapeño, plus the layered flavors of the xawaash spice blend. Eat it as it is, with bread, or with the noodles of your choice mixed in. The fresh chile invigorates this comforting soup, but the heat level is entirely up to you; you can remove the jalapeño early for a milder soup or keep it throughout, spicing up the broth for as long as you’d like.
Jerk Chicken Pot Pie
If you are a fan of jerk chicken and pot pie, this recipe is for you. It uses leftover cooked chicken – store-bought rotisserie works great – for ease, and root vegetables for heft, while a spicy jerk coconut sauce lends that essential pot-pie creaminess. It’s then topped with a buttery dough infused with turmeric and Jamaican curry powder, reminiscent of a patty crust, that is perfect for breaking into the hearty stew beneath – an ultimate comfort food.
Baked Cheesy Chicken and Mushroom Pasta
An irresistible layer of simultaneously melty and crunchy cheese tops this simple, comforting weeknight meal. Meaty mushrooms, juicy chicken and succulent strands of spaghetti make it a recipe fit for hearty appetites, and the efficiency of doing most of the active cooking on the stovetop drastically cuts the baking time. Budget-friendly chicken breasts — which are worth stocking up on when on sale and freezing — stay tender as the pasta bakes thanks to the assistance of some broth. The results are ready in just 30 minutes, but taste like a long-baked casserole.
Sheet-Pan Quesadillas
A single quesadilla thrown together on the stovetop takes mere moments, but when you want to make a larger batch all at once, a sheet pan comes in handy. Lightly greasing the pan results in the richness of a stovetop quesadilla, and the dry heat of the oven gives you crisp tortillas and bronzed, bubbling cheese in 10 minutes. A sprinkle of salt on the tortilla maximizes its inherent nutty flavor and all it needs is cheese to be a great quesadilla. But, a little extra filling in the form of vegetables — like corn kernels and onions, or leftover beans or shredded chicken — would be welcome. Serve with the usual accouterments: raw onion, cilantro and avocado, maybe sour cream and salsa or hot sauce, whatever you like to eat with your quesadillas. This recipe makes 6 quesadillas, but that amount can easily be scaled down.
One-Pan Creamy Artichokes and Peas
This creamy stew, full of seasoned sweet leeks, lemon zest and Parmesan, is a celebration of spring that you can make all year long, thanks to the canned artichokes and frozen peas. The creaminess comes from dolloping fresh ricotta over the top, then swirling it into the warm stew as you eat so it melts a little. Serve this with crusty bread or over pasta, gnocchi or rice to soak up the fragrant, herby pan sauce.
Roasted Chicken Thighs With Hot Honey and Lime
These sweet and spicy chicken thighs pack enormous flavor using only a handful of pantry ingredients. Generously seasoned with salt, pepper, and onion and garlic powders, they’re roasted at a high temperature to maximize the crispiness of the skin. Halfway through cooking, the chicken is brushed with a butter-and-hot-sauce blend. Finally, honey and lime zest are whisked into the remaining hot sauce butter to coat the fully baked chicken thighs. A squirt of tangy lime juice provides balance and the perfect finishing touch. Serve with a simple and refreshing cucumber salad or coleslaw.
Chile Crisp Chicken Cutlets
These savory, tangy, spicy chicken cutlets get their zest from an easy marinade of chile crisp, soy sauce and red wine vinegar. This recipe upgrades the standard breading procedure — flour, egg and bread crumbs — by whisking the excess marinade and eggs together, creating another layer of flavor before the chicken is encrusted in crunchy bread crumbs. If time permits, leave the breaded cutlets in the refrigerator for at least an hour before frying to help create a durable crust and allow the marinade to more fully season the chicken. If you like, serve with a vibrant side of lightly wilted spinach and wedges of lemon.
Quick Lamb Ragù With Artichokes
While many meat ragùs are hearty and long-simmered, this 30-minute riff has a little spring in its step. Ground lamb, cherry tomatoes and canned artichokes quickly bubble into a pasta sauce that’s brawny, sweet and pleasantly bitter. This trio of ingredients, often stewed with herbs and white wine, is a common springtime combination throughout the Mediterranean. Fresh mint or basil add lightness, and if you have a bottle of wine open, add a generous splash. For additional richness, top portions with ricotta or grated Pecorino.
Smoked Mackerel Rundown
Rundown is only one of many names for this earthy Jamaican stew of fish and vegetables simmered in coconut milk. It's “an easy dish with big rewards,” says Melissa Thompson, a British writer and the author of the “Motherland” cookbook (Interlink Books, 2022). She begins by slackening onions in a pan, followed by garlic, yellow yam, tomatoes and red bell peppers. Spices are half the transformation: ginger, allspice and cumin, built to warm; thyme, with its kiss of camphor; bay leaves for a piney depth. Coconut milk is poured over, and the heat is left to do its work. When the yam turns tender, the fish goes in — in Ms. Thompson’s version, adapted for life in England, smoked mackerel takes the place of more classic salted mackerel — and then the coconut milk gets another 10 minutes to “run down” and thicken to near cream. This dish is also known as dip-dip, because diners traditionally scoop up the stew with the likes of boiled dumplings and, here, green bananas, not yet sweet.
Weeknight Spinach and Ricotta Lasagna
While it is hard to beat the perfection of a meticulously layered lasagna, this cheater’s version delivers all the comforting vibes with minimal effort. This weeknight dish requires no chopping; just mixing and baking. Choose ease, with oven-ready lasagna sheets, as they don’t require preboiling and will cook quicker than the regular ones. (Fresh lasagna sheets will certainly work, too, with the same cooking time.) Don’t drain the thawed spinach, as the extra moisture will help keep this dish moist and saucy. The easiest way to thaw spinach is to leave it overnight in the fridge; it can also be defrosted quickly in the microwave.
Pea and Ricotta Frittata
This frittata is a celebration of spring: Its color, flavor and tenderness capture the spirit of beginnings. A purée of mint and peas, as well as a sprinkling of both, give it its pastel green freshness. Heavy cream and a long cook time in a low oven give it a quivering, custardy texture that may remind you more of steamed eggs than most frittatas. To get this gentle wobble, undercook the frittata ever so slightly, and let the residual heat finish the job. Be brave and take it out of the oven right after you feel the middle go from swampy to jiggly, and allow it to cool slightly before slicing. As is always the case with frittatas, they are best at or right above room temperature, so do not refrigerate before serving.
Sheet-Pan Japchae
Though readily available at restaurants today, japchae — the royal Korean stir-fried glass noodle dish — is traditionally a banquet affair, eaten just a few times a year at holidays and special occasions because the labor to produce it is so high. Each vegetable, among a rainbowed array, is ordinarily stir-fried individually, but in this variation, all of the vegetables roast together on the same sheet pan in color-blocked sections for ease and deliciousness. The roasted vegetables caramelize with less effort, and then need only to be tossed with the noodles and sauce, making japchae a dish within reach for any night of the week. The spinach, mushrooms and bell pepper recall key flavors of typical japchae, but you can use whatever vegetables you have on hand or prefer. Frozen spinach might not be a conventional ingredient, but it roasts beautifully and ends up tasting almost like umami-rich kale chips or roasted seaweed. You can add a drop of toasted sesame oil, if you’d like, but the toasted sesame seeds here lend enough of that quintessential aromatic nuttiness that makes japchae taste so regal.
Broccoli Korma
Broccoli florets are simmered in coconut milk and almond butter then topped with slivered almonds, resulting in a nutty, luxurious main or side in just 30 minutes. Malabar pepper, grown and commonly used in the south of India, has a delicate lingering heat. (You could use another black pepper, but if the former is an option, try it.) Garam masala dials up the spice and an onion provides subtle sweetness. Serve with rice or roti.
Smothered Chicken
This easy, beloved one-pan meal is true Southern comfort food. Though smothered chicken often includes bacon, celery or bell pepper, this recipe strips it to its essence, relying more upon onion and scallions. The classic cooking technique of smothering has its roots in West African, French and Creole culinary traditions and, at its core, is a simple stovetop braise. Serve this dish with steamed rice or mashed potatoes, plus a side of collard greens or green beans.
Doubles
Easily the most recognizable and beloved dish from Trinidad and Tobago, doubles are an expression of migration and fortitude. Badru Deen is the son of Emamool and Raheman Rasulan Deen, who conceived of the dish in 1936 in Princes Town as a way to support their large family, bridging Indian flavors with the ingredients of their Caribbean home. Doubles are addictive: The turmeric-and-cumin-laced bara (fried bread) are crisp but soft, cradling spiced chickpeas that are punctuated with sour, spicy, sweet and crunchy condiments. As with all deep-frying, have a splatter guard handy, and open a window. Traditionally, doubles are served with mango chutney and pepper sauce, chadon beni or culantro chutneys, but, inspired by the cross-island connections found in “Islas: A Celebration of Tropical Cooking” by Von Diaz (Chronicle Books, 2024), these can be topped with mint-cilantro chutney from Mauritius and tamarind sauce. Sauces are optional, but strongly encouraged. Doubles are messy by design, and turmeric will stain your clothes.
Spicy Mushroom and Tofu Mazemen
Mazemen, sometimes known as mazesoba or abura soba, is a brothless ramen dish believed to have originated in Nagoya, Japan. Inspired by a punchier and spicier Taiwanese flavor profile, the soup is replaced with an intensely savory sauce. In this vegan take, this sesame paste-based sauce delivers a rich finish, bolstered with umami agents such as miso, soy sauce and chile crisp. Mazemen, which translates to mixed noodles in Japanese, should be tossed before eating, so that the sauce and the toppings distribute evenly through the noodles. While this recipe is vegan, an egg yolk or an onsen tamago (soft-cooked egg) is a common mazemen topping, which falls apart as it is tossed through the noodles, leaving a silky and creamy finish.
One-Pot Tofu and Broccoli Rice
One pot is all you need to make custardy tofu, fluffy rice, crisp vegetables and a spicy sauce for dinner tonight. Toast rice with ginger and garlic for a fragrant base, then partway through steaming the rice, add broccoli florets. Once the rice is tender and the broccoli bright green, use the rice’s resting time to warm the tofu on top. The tofu’s marinade of peanut butter, soy sauce and chile crisp adds a punchy, creamy complement that completes the meal. If you want to use another vegetable instead of broccoli, you may need to adjust when it’s added to the pot: add sturdier vegetables like sliced carrots and winter squash with the rice, as they take longer to cook, and more delicate asparagus or spinach with the tofu.
Chicken Perloo
The supremely comforting one-pot rice dish, perloo (pronounced every which way, including PER-low, PER-la and per-LOO), is a Lowcountry staple with roots in West Africa. This Charleston version from “Rodney Scott’s World of BBQ” by Rodney Scott and Lolis Eric Elie (Clarkson Potter, 2021) calls for two key ingredients: Charleston Gold rice, an heirloom grain, and leftover smoked chicken. Feel free to use arborio rice or another short-grain variety if you can’t get Charleston Gold; and you can buy the smoked chicken from your local smoke shop or BBQ restaurant, or in a pinch, use grocery store rotisserie chicken. You’ll just want to compensate for the absence of smokiness by adding a pinch of smoked paprika, a whisper of fire.
Yogurt-Marinated Roast Chicken
Marinating chicken in yogurt, much like buttermilk, creates juicy meat and caramelized skin, but yogurt’s additional fat and lactic acid contributes extra richness and tang. The practice of marinating meat in yogurt likely dates as far back as 13th century Central Asia and has stood the test of time for good reasons. While you don’t need to add anything to the yogurt besides salt for it to work its magic, yogurt carries flavors well. For even more depth, consider fresh aromatics like chopped chiles, garlic, ginger, and herbs, as well as dried spices like turmeric, cumin, za’atar and garam masala. As yet another bonus, you could serve more yogurt alongside to sauce the chicken. If marinating with Greek yogurt, thin it with a little olive oil until pourable — otherwise, its weight could keep the skin from crisping.
Baked Fish With Olives and Ginger
Set in a shallow pool of briny, gingery oil, mild fish fillets cook effortlessly on a sheet pan, layered with bold lemon, olives and capers, similar to a deconstructed tapenade. The mixture is brightened even further with the addition of grated ginger, which provides a zingy contrast to the salty, meaty olives. (But this recipe is flexible: Sliced garlic or anchovies would also work nicely, taking a more savory turn.) Nestling the delicate fish in oil helps it stay moist in the oven, and creates a no-effort pan sauce that is best served with bread, to soak up every delicious drop.