Main Course
8665 recipes found
Skillet Chicken With Cumin, Paprika and Mint
Chicken shawarma, a rotisserie favorite heady with spice and flavor, is usually cooked on a spit, then shaved into sandwiches and salads. But it also belongs on a bed of rice, cooked in a pan for a filling family meal that’s easy to return to again and again. White rice does a fine job rounding out this meal, and cooks quickly. But, if brown rice is more your speed, look for the sprouted short-grain variety, which cooks faster than regular brown rice and reaches al dente just as the chicken begins to split into tender morsels. (To cook the rice even faster, soak it while you marinate the chicken.) Cooking this on the stove yields crisp rice bits along the bottom of the pan, especially nice against the tender, flavorful chicken. Since even the best shawarma is only as good as its bright flavors, be generous with mint, parsley, yogurt and lime: the more, the better.
One-Pot Chicken and Rice With Ginger
This one-pot dish was inspired by a dinner of ginger fried rice and garlicky stir-fried greens served at Uncle Lou, a Cantonese restaurant in New York. It’s both mild and full of flavor, which might sound contradictory at first, but it delivers subtle notes of fresh ginger, soy sauce and lime, rather than bold hits in each bite. Serve with extra soy sauce and lime on the side, so that everyone can adjust the seasoning as they would like. Fish out the ginger slices at the end or let everyone know they’re there.
Sticky Coconut Chicken and Rice
This comforting one-pot chicken dish features fragrant coconut rice infused with aromatic ginger, garlic and scallion, and studded with toasty cashews. The cashews soften as the rice steams, adding subtle nuttiness to the dish. Chicken thighs absorb the coconut milk as they cook, which keeps the meat tender and juicy. Fresh chopped cilantro brightens the dish, while hot sauce adds nice heat and tang to balance the creamy, rich and slightly sweet rice.
Sheet-Pan Roasted Chicken With Greens
This one-pan meal features a bronzed bird and a pile of braised greens that are cooked unevenly to our benefit: The leaves under the chicken steam and absorb chicken juices, while those exposed to the oven’s heat brown and crisp. Use a mix of greens if you can, but either way, you’ll get a tangle of deep, dark greens so rich and soft, even the stems are edible. (And less prep work for you!)
Sheet-Pan Paprika Chicken With Potatoes and Turnips
Think of this as the sheet-pan dinner version of a Hungarian chicken paprikash, ruddy with paprika and sweet tomato paste. Roasting the chicken at high heat instead of braising it lets it singe at the edges, and allows the potatoes and turnips to turn golden beneath their coating of duck fat (or olive oil). Feel free to double this; just use two large sheet pans instead of the smaller pans.
Sheet-Pan Trout With Garlicky Broccolini
The benefits of cooking trout in its whole, butterflied form go beyond visual appeal — the large piece drastically reduces the risk of overcooking, and the longer roasting time gives other vegetables on the pan, like wispy broccolini (or smashed boiled potatoes, or halved cherry tomatoes), a chance to crisp up. Once the pan is out of the oven, spoon over a punchy dressing made from raw garlic, smoky Aleppo pepper and fresh lemon juice, and let the residual heat mellow and meld the flavors before serving. Most grocery stores sell trout already butterflied (it’s the most common ready-to-buy preparation), which saves you the extra step of trying to figure out how to do it yourself. If not, ask and they will happily oblige.
Sheet-Pan Chicken With Sweet Potatoes and Peppers
This sheet-pan supper brings velvety sweet potatoes together with soft bell peppers, pungent sage and roasted chicken thighs. To counter the rich and caramelized flavors, quick-pickled thinly sliced red onion adds a bright and zippy note right at the end. If you prefer chicken breasts, you can use them here instead of the thighs. Choose bone-in, skin-on breasts if possible, and keep an eye on them. They’ll cook faster than the thighs. Remove them when they’re ready, but let the vegetables roast until they thoroughly golden and tender.
Vegetarian Skillet Chili
If you keep canned beans, tomatoes, onion and garlic in your pantry, you can make this dish on any weeknight without having to shop. The pickled onions aren’t strictly necessary, but they are simple to make and add a welcome tangy contrast to the beans. Pickled peppers are a fine substitute. If you have a bell pepper or jalapeño or two, chop them up and sauté them with the onions. And if you want to be fancy, grate the zest off the lime before juicing for the pickles, and stir it into the sour cream.
Kale Soup With Potatoes and Sausage
Though kale probably originated in the dry heat of the Mediterranean, it became a fixture in the kitchens of northern Europe. In Scotland, according to the author Elizabeth Schneider, "to come to cail," was an invitation to come to dinner. Recent devotees extol the virtues of undercooked kale. But having spent five winters in Provincetown, Mass., where the Portuguese eat their kale with sausage or fish, I grew to like mine similar to theirs: slow-simmered in bacon or sausage fat, or braised in chicken broth until it's soft and sweet.
Sheet-Pan Sausage Meatballs With Tomatoes and Broccoli
Instead of making meatballs from scratch, this weeknight recipe calls for rolling bulk sausage into small meatballs that cook alongside broccoli, tomatoes and mushrooms. Sprinkling a layer of Parmesan over the entire pan during the second half of cooking allows it to melt and crisp simultaneously; a blanket of gooey cheese coats the roasted tomatoes, while the Parmesan that falls directly onto the sheet pan becomes crunchy and frico-like. Use the garlic bread that cooks alongside to scrape up any pan juices or to assemble French bread pizzas.
Broccoli Rabe, Shakshuka Style
North African shakshuka, eggs baked on a vegetable stew, is popular throughout the Middle East and has become a brunch staple in New York. Traditionally, it’s a tomato-based mixture, reflecting the Mediterranean market. But there are no rules. Here’s an earthy green version made with broccoli rabe, potatoes and peppers. Tomato sauce alongside would not be a mistake, nor would slices of garlic sausage tucked throughout.
Pork Chops With Kale and Dates
A fat and juicy pork chop will always shine on a dinner plate, and these are especially star-worthy. For browned outsides, evenly cooked insides and fewer splatters, cook them over moderate heat and flip often. Use this method for basic pork chops, or continue with the recipe for a tangy and bittersweet tumble of kale, dates, garlic and vinegar inspired by bittersweet meat dishes like suon kho, orange beef or root beer-glazed ham. Instead of kale, use another bitter green like escarole or radicchio, but keep the dates, which contribute a sweetness far more nuanced than straight sugar. Eat with roasted potatoes, grits or on top of a thick piece of toast.
Skillet Chicken With Orzo, Dill and Feta
Chicken and orzo is timeless combination, simple and satisfying. In this recipe, you could use chicken thighs, but drumsticks make this dish super family-friendly. Of course, if you have a crowd that doesn’t love the classic feta-dill pairing, feel free to change the toppings. Mint or parsley work just as well for the herbs, and any salty, crumbly cheese is lovely here. You can dress this up as you like with cucumbers or cherry tomatoes, or green olives, served alongside or pitted, chopped and tossed in instead. Besides the obvious perk of its being a one-pot dinner, this recipe yields great leftovers. For the next day’s lunch, pull any remaining chicken off the bone, chop it, skin and all, and toss with the remaining orzo, vegetables and cheese. Know that the orzo — a very small pasta, not rice — soaks up all the liquid and flavor as it sits and cools, so you may need a drizzle of oil and lemon juice over the top to serve it the second day.
Sheet-Pan Shrimp Boil
There is absolutely nothing like a shrimp boil, but this flavorful recipe captures its essence by roasting the ingredients on a sheet tray instead of simmering them in a pot of broth. Serve it on its own or tossed with pasta. The slight char brings out seafood’s sweetness, so for contrast, serve with tart lemons or a tangy cocktail sauce
Green Shakshuka With Avocado and Lime
This easy twist on classic North African shakshuka (traditionally eggs baked in tomato-pepper sauce, with cumin, paprika and cayenne) starts with an onion-garlic-chard sautéed until gently wilted: a nest of sorts for steam-poaching eggs. Once the eggs go in, be sure to keep the flame low and keep the pan covered while cooking, so the eggs stay soft and almost oozy at their yolk, and the Cotija melts a bit. The chard and the half-and-half create a sort of light broth at the bottom of the shakshuka, which holds so much flavor and is one of the dish’s charms. Lastly, be daring with smoked hot sauce at the end: It’ll push the creamy avocado, cheese and eggs to their peak.
Sheet-Pan Coriander Chicken With Caramelized Brussels Sprouts
Brussels sprouts cozy up to chicken in this sheet pan supper. When the brussels are blasted with enough heat, they get intensely sweet, losing the mustardy, cabbage-like bite they have when they are cooked to a lesser degree. Both sprouts and chicken caramelize and brown, getting soft in the middle and crisp at the edges. Coriander seeds add a citrus spiciness to the pan, intensified by grated lemon zest, while garlic and crushed red pepper just make everything else even more delicious. Try it with polenta on the side.
Roasted Cod and Potatoes
When one of my daughters, Emma, was young, there was a time when her main passion in life was potatoes, especially crispy ones. For one special occasion, I produced a classic French dish, potatoes Anna, in which potatoes are thin-sliced, drenched in butter, carefully layered and roasted until golden. This was an error, of course; potatoes Anna is a pain to make. Naturally, the demand was unrelenting thereafter. So, in an attempt to make the effort more rational, I cut down on the butter, cut short the preparation time by enlisting the aid of the broiler during the last few minutes of cooking, and decided to turn this one dish into something approaching an entire meal. In the last few minutes, before the potatoes were cooked through, I placed a thick fillet of fish on top of the potatoes. The result is a simple weeknight dish that I now make routinely, and one that even seems to impress the occasional guest.
Curried Swordfish With Tomatoes, Greens and Garlic Toast
For a decade, swordfish was dangerously overfished. Over time, the North Atlantic swordfish stock has been rebuilt, and swordfish caught by American vessels are now sustainably fished. One thing hasn’t changed: Handled incorrectly, swordfish can be tough or dry. Searing, then steaming with the moisture that comes from braising greens and ripe, on-the-vine tomatoes, yields a moist and succulent steak. Make sure to use small grape or cherry tomatoes. When the tomatoes burst, the juices meld with the curry powder and the fat (ghee or oil) for a flavorful, spoonable sauce. Drizzle any extra over garlicky bread with a generous squeeze of lemon. If you don’t have ghee, cook the fish in a mixture of butter and vegetable oil, which will give you all the high-heat flexibility of ghee with the rich, flavorful finish of butter.
Sheet-Pan Chicken With Squash and Dates
This weeknight sheet-pan dinner combines chicken with simple ingredients that hit a number of notes, all salty, sweet, tangy and rich. The juicy Medjool dates caramelize as they cook, while the chickpeas become extra toasty and nutty. Their textures complement the velvety roasted squash and meaty chicken. A lemony olive-caper relish with fresh parsley, bolstered by pan juices, brightens and balances. Chop up leftovers and repurpose them in a rice salad with crumbled feta or grated Parmesan for extra tang. Or, for a fantastic vegetarian side dish or warm salad, you could make this recipe without the chicken.
Meatball and Sausage Casserole
As the grandfather of six oft-hungry children, Pierre Franey sought to develop dishes that would “capture their attention.” This hearty, kid-friendly casserole of meatballs, sausage, onions, peppers and mushrooms did not disappoint. It's sort of a cross between a casserole and a stew, and can be served over pasta or polenta, or with a huge hunk of bread to sop up the herb-y tomato sauce. If you'd like, you can easily substitute ground chicken, turkey, pork or veal for the beef in the meatballs (or any combination of them all). The meatballs are seasoned with Parmesan cheese, nutmeg, cumin, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. Depending on the composition of the meatballs, you might want to try other favorite spices, too, like ginger, coriander seed or fennel.
Sheet-Pan Roasted Fish With Sweet Peppers
Quick to make and very pretty to behold, this easy weeknight dish has more verve than most. The roasted bell peppers turn sweet and golden, while olives add a salty note that goes nicely with the mild, flaky fish and a garlicky parsley dressing. If you can’t find hake, cod or flounder make fine substitutes, though you may have to adjust the roasting time. The thicker the fillets, the longer they will take to cook.
One-Pan Shrimp Enchiladas Verde
If the only thing holding you back from making enchilada verde tonight is the idea of standing over the countertop, stuffing and rolling tortillas, read on. These layered lasagna-style enchiladas cut your work in half. Instead, put all your effort into making a nearly effortless verde sauce with pan-roasted tomatillos, jalapeño and onion. Once that’s done, there is little to do but layer and simmer: The shrimp cooks in minutes in the tomatillo bath. For the best flavor, look for wild-caught Gulf or Argentine shrimp. Then, the only challenge here is deciding how to portion fairly for four people (hint: be generous). If you make this in cast-iron, store any leftovers in glass or plastic in the fridge — the sauce is too acidic to spend a long time in a cast-iron pan — and reheat lightly over a very low flame. (Note, too, that the sauce can be made up to two days ahead, and refrigerated.)
Creamy One-Pot Pasta With Chicken and Mushrooms
Cooking pasta the way you would make risotto may sound new and hip. But it’s at least old enough to have been demonstrated to me in Rome in 1976, and I imagine as old as pasta itself. In this method, the liquid is minimized: there’s no need for a gallon per pound of pasta. The liquid is added gradually to the pasta, which absorbs it completely and thereby retains its starch. This makes the pasta creamy and rich; it also gains the flavor of the stock. You can use pretty much any pasta shape you like, but timing will vary depending on size. This approach may seem like more work than making pasta in the ordinary way. But as the making of the “sauce” is integrated into the pasta-cooking, it really becomes a one-dish meal — as interesting as risotto, and even a bit quicker. Here is a combination of gemelli with mushrooms and chicken to get you started.
One-Pan Crispy Spaghetti and Chicken
This dish has won the hearts of adults and children alike, and for good reason: It’s easy to prepare, fun to eat and doesn’t call upon any hard-to-source ingredients. Cooking the spaghetti in this way lends plenty of texture, allowing for crispier bits at the edges and softer bits throughout. Feel free to make this dish your own by using up any soft herbs or hard cheeses you have on hand, or sprucing it up further with the addition of spice (cumin would work great here). Serve with some lightly cooked greens for a complete meal.