Main Course
8665 recipes found
Shrimp in Rundown Sauce With Cavatelli
Richly flavored rundown, popular across the Caribbean, is the result of gently simmering seafood in coconut milk and tomatoes with aromatics such as scallions, onion and garlic until the flavors are concentrated and intense. Some say it gets its name from the way it lightly runs down and coats any starch or protein with which it comes into contact. At her restaurant, Bywater American Bistro, the chef Nina Compton tosses shrimp and house-made gnocchi with a rundown sauce made with the shrimp shells and scented with ginger and lemongrass. Here it’s served with cavatelli or shell pasta and is every bit as delicious. Lime zest plus a garnish of mixed soft herbs such as basil, chives and dill brighten the dish and add a hint of freshness.
Coconut-Dill Salmon With Green Beans and Corn
A fillet of salmon, bathed in a fragrant mixture of coconut cream, lemon and dill, is foil-wrapped and set on a hot grill to steam in its own juices. The fish is accompanied by a light salad of fresh corn, tomatoes, green beans and an additional showering of feathery dill. The result, served warm or cold, is a great low-lift dish for a large party, or a meal that can be prepped in advance.
Grilled Pork Chops With Plum BBQ Sauce
The bright, sweet-tart flavor of ripe plums comes through in this streamlined pork chop dinner. Cooking the juicy gems into a simple barbecue sauce leads to fun, fruity results. You could add your favorite spices, such as ground cumin, smoked paprika or fennel seeds, or let the vibrant plum aroma shine on its own. This would be great alongside wild rice, roasted potatoes or a big green salad.
Sheet-Pan Chicken Thighs With Spicy Corn
The spicy, salty jalapeño brine balances sweet corn kernels, which roast on a sheet pan alongside chicken thighs in this simple, summery weeknight meal. The chicken, marinated with basil, garlic and a little mayonnaise, stays juicy even after a brief stint under the broiler. You can serve this hot from the oven or at room temperature — it’s equally good each way — and cold leftovers are excellent piled onto lettuce or avocado for a salad the next day.
Ham and Bean Soup
Hearty and comforting, this soup is a great way to use the ham hock or any leftover ham from a holiday meal. However, you don’t need a special occasion to make it. Both ham hocks and cooked ham are available year-round. The pork, combined with vegetables and herbs, make for a rich and flavorful stock. (For extra flavor, feel free to sub in chicken broth for the water.) Slowly simmering the dried beans adds body and creaminess that isn’t quite the same with canned beans.
Italian Wedding Soup
This name of this popular Italian-American soup comes from a mistranslation of “minestra maritata,” a Southern Italian soup in which meat and vegetables are “married” together. Wedding or no wedding, the appeal of this comforting and easy soup endures: The combination of mini meatballs, pasta and greens in savory chicken broth, topped with a sprinkling of Parmesan, is always a crowd pleaser.
Crispy Chicken Thighs With Charred Zucchini
Char your vegetables. Its brings the best out of many brassicas, like broccoli and cabbage, but also summer squash like zucchini. All too often zucchini can fall a little flat, but charring caramelizes the natural sugars that are present in the zucchini, enhancing their sweetness and adding a hint of smoky flavor. This is the perfect, punchy weeknight dinner, as the pumpkin seed dressing comes together entirely in the blender while the chicken finishes cooking in the oven. Save this sauce in your back pocket, as it does everything a green goddess dressing can do, but is much lighter — and equally great on a wedge of iceberg or as a dip for potato chips.
Fresh Corn Pancakes With Blueberry Sauce
Corn and blueberries are a beloved, if slightly surprising summer combination. They partner up in this twist on classic buttermilk pancakes, perfect for a summer brunch or special leisurely breakfast. A mix of all-purpose flour and cornmeal gives the pancakes a wonderfully light texture and makes them the perfect vehicle for sweet, crunchy corn kernels. (Use in-season corn for best results.) The simple blueberry sauce comes together quickly, with only four ingredients. Try any leftover sauce reheated on vanilla ice cream, with crumbled oatmeal cookies, for a blueberry cobbler-like dessert.
Saag Shrimp
Saag comes in so many ingenious variations. Leafy greens, such as spinach, amaranth, mustard greens or fenugreek, make up the bulk. A heady blend of spices and aromatics provide the foundation, and different proteins can be added to enhance texture and flavor. This version, adapted from the chef Pourin Singh’s recipe at Le Taj in Montreal, is made with plump shrimp, which add a complementary brininess. The secret to Mr. Singh’s version is the freshness of his ingredients: the spices, the spinach, the shrimp and even the chopped tomato garnish. Serve while still warm, alongside steamed fluffy basmati rice and fresh naan, topped with green chile chutney, tamarind chutney or fresh kachumbari for a lovely pop of acid and heat.
Poc Chuc (Citrus-Marinated Grilled Pork)
Super citrusy and smoky, poc chuc is both charred and full of tangy brightness. This dish with Mayan origins, from the state of Yucatán in Mexico, translates to “toast” over “fire” and is grilled hot and fast. Traditionally, thinly sliced pork is marinated in sour orange juice. Here, a mixture of citrus juices mimics the spirit of sour oranges, and makes the meat tender and full of flavor. A simple yet delicious way to prepare versatile and cost-effective pork shoulder, poc chuc can top tacos or salads or be served with beans, rice, tortillas, pickled onions, cabbage and avocado. There are no boundaries on how to enjoy it.
One-Pan Zucchini-Pesto Orzo
Keeping pesto on hand (store-bought or homemade and frozen) is one of the greatest kitchen time-savers, since stirring just a spoonful into a dish can add so much herby, garlicky flavor. Here, pesto builds on a pan of orzo loaded with zucchini and onions that have been sautéed together until golden brown. Cooking the orzo in vegetable or chicken stock bolsters the pasta’s flavor as the broth reduces into a silky sauce. Then, pesto is added at the very end to preserve its brightness. Finally, just before serving, a caprese-like mix of marinated mozzarella, cherry tomatoes and fresh mint is stirred into the pan. Filled with vegetables and milky cheese, this dish is especially satisfying and very easy to make.
Furikake Tomato Sandwich
In this variation on the classic Southern sandwich, a sprinkle of furikake, the savory-sweet Japanese rice seasoning that makes food sing, enhances the flavor of glutamate-rich summer tomatoes. The furikake’s seaweed, as well as its monosodium glutamate, lends you that extra burst of umami (the fifth taste after sweet, sour, salty and bitter), helping the tomatoes taste even more of themselves. Here, soft, just-toasted slices of brioche or milk bread should sandwich thick sheets of your favorite mayonnaise, completing the harmony of fruit, carb and condiment.
Grated Tomato Pasta
It’s tough to highlight peak summer tomatoes in pasta. To make the most out of their bright flavor, summer tomatoes should be minimally cooked. This recipe gently warms the fruit, so they keep their acidity and succulence. Since the tomato hasn’t had the liquid cooked out, it doesn’t cling to the spaghetti the way a cooked pomodoro would, but this keeps the dish light and bright, and makes it perfect for a hot summer day. Be sure to serve with plenty of bread to sop up the cheesy sauce that is left behind at the bottom of the bowl. If juicy, ripe tomatoes aren’t around, swap out for cherry tomatoes and blend them instead of grating to get a similar effect.
Soy-Butter Corn Ramen
This easy, one-pot noodle recipe employs the sweetness of summer corn to balance out the umami of the butter and soy sauce. It’s a nod to wafu pasta dishes, which fuse Japanese and Italian cooking traditions, flavors and ingredients. Corn cobs are used in this recipe to create a quick, sweet corn-infused water to cook the noodles. (Don’t be tempted to add more water, as the amount specified will yield perfectly al dente noodles with just the right amount of broth, which intensifies as it concentrates.) The corn kernels go in at the last minute, which mutes any raw notes while maintaining sweetness and crispness. Though light enough for summer, this dish has depth.
Grilled Steak With Sauce Rof
A combination of onion, parsley, scallions and chile, this classic Senegalese sauce adds complexity to dishes. Typically used to stuff fish as a marinade and top it as a bold relish, it is also great for tempering the smoky char of grilled chicken or steak. In this recipe, some sauce rof is used as a marinade and served as a topping. Thinned with a dash of olive oil, the relish also gets lemon juice to add a lovely sparkle. Go for a nice marbled cut of meat — the fat intensifies the flavor of the grilled meat and the sauce rof cuts through the richness. This condiment can be made up to 24 hours in advance and refrigerated in an airtight jar.
Crispy Potato Tacos
Potato tacos, or tacos de papa, as they are known in Mexico, make the perfect meal for those times when you find yourself with an excess of potatoes and a package of tortillas on hand. Tortillas are an endlessly versatile pantry item. In this recipe, adapted from “Tenderheart” by Hetty Lui McKinnon (Alfred A. Knopf, 2023), they are stuffed with potato and cheese for a deeply satisfying meal or light snack. Cooking the potatoes whole, skin intact, prevents them from absorbing too much water, and the skin also adds a nice texture to the filling. Shortcuts are always available: If you’ve got leftover mashed potatoes, you can use them and skip the first step.
Salt and Vinegar Kale Chips With Fried Chickpeas and Avocado
These salt-and-vinegar kale chips from “Tenderheart” by Hetty Lui McKinnon (Alfred A. Knopf, 2023) feel decidedly snacky, but team them up with fried chickpeas, avocado and an optional frizzled egg and they become a delightfully textural meal. To encourage maximum crunch for your chips, it is crucial to dry your kale well after washing, and give the chips ample time in the oven to crisp up, since they’re doused in vinegar for extra verve. Customize your chips, if desired, by adding other seasonings: Paprika and harissa impart more intense flavor, while nutritional yeast, grated Parmesan or Cheddar will add more umami. The key point to remember is that salt will make your kale soggy, so only sprinkle it on your chips after roasting.
Cashew Celery
This vegan cashew and celery stir-fry, which is adapted from “Tenderheart” by Hetty Lui McKinnon (Alfred A. Knopf, 2023), offers a lovely jumble of textures that form a dish that is uncomplicated but elegant. Celery is an ingredient that performs well in stir-fries, as it perfumes the entire dish and delivers a gratifying, crisp-tender crunch. You can use any leafy greens in this dish, but if they have thick stems (like gai lan), make sure you cut them in half lengthwise, which will help them cook quickly and evenly. Cashews add a creamy nuttiness, and tofu provides substance — but you could opt for shiitake mushrooms in its stead.
Oven BBQ Chicken
Lacquered with barbecue sauce, this juicy chicken swaps constant flipping on the grill for a mostly hands-off process using the oven and one smart trick: The dry-rubbed chicken roasts most of the way on top of barbecue sauce. The resulting sauce becomes thickened and glossy from the chicken’s rendered fat. It’s then spooned onto the chicken and roasted until sticky, caramelized and rich with flavor. Serve the extra sauce with dinner, for dipping chicken, or spooning directly into your mouth. (For boneless barbecue chicken, try this stovetop method.)
Paneer Chile Dry
Served at restaurants on both sides of the Pakistan-India border, this spicy, sticky paneer’s popularity is testament to China’s culinary influence on the region. The word “dry” in the title references the preparation’s consistency compared to more saucy, gravy-rich dishes. Coating paneer in batter then frying it gives the mild fluffy cheese a crispy crust, then tossing it in a thick chile-soy sauce imbues it with salt and heat. Onion and bell pepper provide just enough fresh, sweet relief until the next bite. The dish forms a deluge of pleasurable textures and fiery flavor in 30 minutes. If you’d like, you can substitute tofu for the paneer and skip the batter frying.
Basil-Butter Pasta
This pasta captures the essence of basil, without pesto’s garlic, nuts and salty cheese tussling for attention. It smells like a sun-warmed basil plant, one of summer's greatest moments. To make it, simply blanch basil leaves to lock in their color, then blitz them with butter. As the bright-green basil butter melts onto hot pasta, it carries the sweet pepperiness (and the smell, too!) of the herb into every nook and cranny.
Chilaquiles
Chilaquiles are an incredibly comforting, quick and easy Mexican dish whose origins and name are believed to go back to the Aztecs. (In Náhuatl, the Aztec language, the name means “submerged in chile sauce.”) It was — and is — a great way to use up stale tortillas because they soften and absorb the flavor and color of the chiles. For chilaquiles rojos, guajillo chiles are used to add that familiar brick red color, as well as an earthiness that balances out the sweetness and acidity of the tomatoes. Chiles de árbol add heat, but if you don’t have them, you can use one or two chipotles in adobo for heat and a bit of smokiness. Top with shredded rotisserie chicken or roasted vegetables to make a hearty meal.
Zucchini Tofu Udon
Fuyu, or fermented tofu, is the umami star of this quick noodle dish, delivering a briny, tangy saltiness that is also creamy. Also called furu or doufuru, it is made by fermenting soybean curds in a brine of rice wine, water, salt and spices. It has a strong flavor on its own, but when used to stir-fry noodles (or greens, as it is commonly employed in Chinese cooking), its punchiness mellows into a subtly sweet hum that is redolent of buttery blue cheese. This dish is finished with a generous amount of black pepper, giving it unmistakable cacio e pepe vibes. In a dish where black pepper is front and center like this one, freshly ground is preferred, but measuring it can be cumbersome, so if you are using a grinder, 1 teaspoon amounts to about 50 to 60 turns.
Zucchini Pasta With Crispy Capers and Pistachios
This pasta dish celebrates zucchini, cooking it two ways. Half the zucchini is thinly sliced into rounds, fried then steeped in red wine vinegar for a sweet and sour kick. The remaining zucchini is cut into large chunks and braised until it’s so silky that it seems to melt into the pasta sauce. Cooking the pasta directly in its sauce takes a little more attention than usual, especially toward the end of cooking when the liquid reduces to a sauce, so be sure to stir frequently to prevent the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot. This one-pot cooking approach allows all the starch released from the pasta to be captured in the sauce, creating a rich, glossy coating without the addition of dairy. The fried topping adds bursts of flavor and texture, turning this into a show-stopping dish. This pasta works just as well cold, so can be made in advance.