Main Course
8665 recipes found
Pasta With Mint and Parmesan
The pairing of pasta with mint and Parmesan is a good one. There is something about the lightly assaultive yet somehow sweet nature of mint that is unlike any other herb. Older cuisines use it occasionally, but it is rarely seen as a major player. In this dish, however, softened by butter and cheese, mint converts a basic but undeniably heavy combination into an easy yet complex pasta dish best described as refreshing. To the inevitable question, Can I use olive oil instead of butter? my answer is that you can, but you will completely change the nature of the dish; it won't be bad, but it won't be as good. Better, I think, to cut the butter back to two tablespoons. But because this sauce is cut with the pasta cooking water, the butter is spread nicely throughout, and it really isn't a huge amount per person.
Roasted Salmon With Peas and Radishes
Salmon and sweet peas are the perfect pairing for a quick and satisfying supper. The salmon is roasted skin-side up, to protect the delicate flesh and keep the fish moist. Peppery radishes mellow during cooking, turning slightly sweet and juicy as they soften. Browned butter, mustard and capers coat the peas and radishes in a tangy sauce, and white miso provides depth. If there’s no miso to be found, just leave it out or sub with a splash of soy sauce.
Roasted Squash With Turmeric-Ginger Chickpeas
Custardy, mildly sweet roasted squash holds its own as a main course in this easy weeknight recipe. Although fresh turmeric root is suitable, a high-quality ground turmeric will do a better job of infusing the chickpeas with its earthy, floral notes. Marinating the chickpeas a day or two ahead will allow the turmeric, ginger and other aromatics to intensify in flavor. If you do make this ahead of time, hold off on tossing in the fresh herbs until just before serving. Pomegranate seeds add color and crunch, and a dollop of yogurt would be the last of your obligations, if you want to take this dish out of vegan territory.
BLT Pasta
When another summer tomato sandwich just won’t do, try this BLT pasta instead. This clever twist on the classic sandwich substitutes spicy arugula for lettuce and in-season cherry tomatoes for heirlooms, which cook in bacon fat and produce a silky, smoky sauce. If baby arugula is out of reach, baby spinach, watercress or Swiss chard would work well in its place. Serve with a raw, shaved zucchini salad tossed with lemon juice, olive oil and mint.
Olive Oil Baked Salmon
If you’re looking for a baked salmon recipe that produces silky fish with flavors that go with anything, you’ve found it. This fish gets so tender because it’s cooked at a moderate temperature and cushioned by a shallow pool of olive oil and lemon juice. Add lemon peels or other seasonings to the baking dish before the salmon cooks and they’ll infuse the oil; this mixture will become your sauce. Once the salmon is done, let it rest and squeeze more lemon juice into the sauce. The results are reminiscent of squeezing a lemon wedge over a piece of fish, but the flavor is a little more luxurious and developed. Any extra sauce can be used on a salad, steamed vegetables or crusty bread.
Classic Shrimp Scampi
Scampi are tiny, lobster-like crustaceans with pale pink shells (also called langoustines). Italian cooks in the United States swapped shrimp for scampi, but kept both names. Thus the dish was born, along with inevitable variations. This classic recipe makes a simple garlic, white wine and butter sauce that goes well with a pile of pasta or with a hunk of crusty bread. However you make the dish, once the shrimp are added to the pan, the trick is to cook them just long enough that they turn pink all over, but not until their bodies curl into rounds with the texture of tires. (Watch the video of Melissa Clark making classic shrimp scampi here.)
Pasta e Ceci (Italian Pasta and Chickpea Stew)
There is an incredible number of recipes for this classic Roman dish, and everyone has an opinion on how it should be prepared. This version is more stew than soup, but it can be loosened up with a bit more water if you prefer. It begins with sautéing onion, tomatoes, garlic and rosemary in olive oil, then tossing in the chickpeas, and smashing a few to give the stew a creamy texture. Water is added, then uncooked pasta, which cooks as the stew simmers (and results in one less dish for you wash). Escarole is folded in right before serving. This flexible stew can go in a number of directions, so tweak it as you see fit, but don’t forget to finish each bowl with grated pecorino and a drizzle of olive oil. Ciao.
Gingerbread Pancakes
These warmly spiced pancakes have all of the classic flavors of gingerbread cookies. Finely grated fresh ginger and lemon zest brighten the deep molasses and spice flavors. Serve these pancakes with warm maple syrup and butter.
Buttery Breakfast Casserole
The word “buttery” in the title refers to croissants, which make an especially rich foundation for this golden-topped baked breakfast classic. Toasting the croissants before building the casserole adds caramelized notes that can stand up to the bits of browned sausage, sage and melted Gruyère strewn throughout. Make this the night before a special breakfast or brunch, then pop it in the oven an hour before you plan to serve it.
Braised Chicken With Rosemary, Chickpeas and Salted Lemon
This stew takes inspiration from long-simmered tagine dishes with many layers of flavors. In this weeknight version, a broth seasoned with salted lemon, rosemary and tomatoes bathes the chicken and chickpeas, making a lovely, hearty stew. For a bold and bright finish, lemon slices quick-pickled in juice and salt are added to the stew. A handful of hearty greens, a scattering of fresh herbs and a spoon of creamy yogurt ensures every bite is rich and flavorful. Serve over steamed couscous or with thick slices of crusty bread for dipping.
Banana Pancakes
For the fluffiest results, be sure to mix this banana-and-buttermilk pancake batter as minimally as possible. Fold it just until streaks of flour have disappeared but not enough to smooth out the lumps. As they sizzle in plenty of melted butter, they will puff up and develop crisp edges and fluffy, tender interiors. Keep the cooked pancakes warm on a rack in a 200-degree oven while cooking off the rest of the batter and they will all stay hot and ready for serving.
Breakfast Burritos
A delightful breakfast, these burritos filled with soft scrambled eggs, scallion-flecked refried beans and buttery avocado slices are also great any time of the day. Cilantro adds freshness, and a few drops of your favorite hot sauce will deliver a nice zing. The nontraditional open-ended rolling technique used here will tightly encase the filling in the smaller-size tortillas while ensuring the optimal tortilla-to-stuffing ratio. To seal completely, wrap each tortilla in a strip of foil and twist both ends. For convenience, the little wraps can be made ahead of time, stored in the refrigerator or freezer and reheated in an oven.
Sausage and Egg Tater Tot Casserole
There are few things better for breakfast than fried potatoes swimming in a velvety pool of eggy custard, Cheddar cheese, seared bits of sage sausage and scallions. This recipe is inspired by hot dish, the Midwestern classic that gained popularity in the 1950s and 1960s. Traditionally a mixture of protein, vegetables, creamed soup and a starch, it still often dwells in church halls, or is covered in foil and brought to potluck suppers. This version is perfect for a hearty breakfast or brunch, something you can throw together when you want to feed a gang of loved ones or just two very hungry people. A simple green salad tossed in a vinaigrette would be a perfect pairing.
Baked French Toast With Oat Crumble Topping
The beauty of a baked French toast casserole is that you can prepare it entirely in advance, usually the night before you want to serve it, then pop it into the oven about 45 minutes before you’re ready to eat. This version combines toasted challah with a nutmeg-flavored custard, which is then topped with a crunchy oat crumble. Pears add a ripe and juicy note to the dish, but if you’d rather go fruitless, you can leave them out. The finished dish is sublime served with vanilla-honey syrup drizzled on top, but it is also excellent with maple syrup.
Scrambled Eggs With Peppers
This dish, a classic piperade from southwestern France, is a great way to use those vitamin-rich peppers still abundant in farmers’ markets. You can mix and match peppers here. Just be sure to cook them for a long time so that their juices infuse the eggs.
Velvety Scrambled Eggs
This recipe adapts a technique from making Chinese egg drop soup — gently poaching a thin stream of beaten eggs in simmering liquid — to a Western-style breakfast of scrambled eggs. The results are special and one of a kind. Drizzling the eggs into hot cream gets them to set into tender, velvety curds that end up bound with a rich custardy sauce, perfect for spooning onto buttered toast. The eggs are delicious without the herbs, but, given how rich they are, think of them as a special occasion dish, worthy of the added effort.
Scrambled Peppers and Eggs
As in many Mark Bittman recipes, the idea here is more vegetables -- in this case, peppers -- than protein. It works because except for the jalapeño, none of the peppers is hot.
Potato-Kale Casserole and Eggs
Inspired by a classic colcannon (potatoes mashed with kale or cabbage), this recipe turns those elements into a heartier meatless meal by cracking eggs into the mixture and baking it until the yolks are as runny or jammy as you like. Cheddar adds nuttiness and richness, and browned shallots round out the flavors and offer sweetness. You can make the potato-kale mixture a few hours — or even a day — before serving. Reheat it in the skillet on the stove until piping hot before adding in the eggs as directed in Step 7. This makes a substantial brunch or light dinner, maybe accompanied by a salad.
Sausage, Egg and Kale Casserole
Finding a brunch dish that feeds a crowd can be a challenge, but this large-scale frittata does just that by layering sausage, kale and fontina with cream-thickened eggs. Use any fresh sausage you like (chorizo, merguez, or hot pork sausage work well), and swap in mild Swiss chard or peppery mustard greens in place of the kale. You can prepare this dish the night before serving by cooking through Step 5 and layering the sausage, vegetables and cheese in the baking dish. Let it warm up slightly at room temperature before adding the eggs, then bake as directed. Baking times will vary depending on how cold or warm the dish is, as well as its depth and ingredients, so keep an eye on the eggs; they should be just set in the center.
Coconut Granola Bars
These are crunchy and a little bit sticky. If you are vegan you can substitute agave syrup for the honey.
Indian-Spiced Tomato and Egg Casserole
This dish, inspired by a traditional recipe from the Parsis (a group of Zoroastrians from Persia who settled in India sometime between the 8th and 10th centuries), is possibly one of the most fragrant and vivid casseroles you’ll ever see. It starts with a highly spiced tomato sauce flavored with mint, green chiles and ginger. The sauce is then poured over a layer of sliced cooked fingerling potatoes and baked. At the end of the cooking time, wells are made in the sauce and eggs cracked into them to finish baking. The result is a tomato-rich casserole with runny yolk over each pungent bite. Serve it for dinner or for brunch.
Strawberry, Millet and Banana Smoothie
Whenever you find sweet, ripe strawberries buy twice what you need and hull and freeze half of them. I freeze them in small freezer bags, one smoothie portion per bag. You can also use commercial frozen strawberries for this nourishing mix of fruit, millet, cashews and kefir. I have gotten into the habit of soaking a small amount of cashews and almonds in water and keeping them in the refrigerator to use in smoothies. For a vegan version substitute almond milk for the kefir, and if you can’t find plain kefir, use yogurt or buttermilk.
Grain Frittata With Chile, Lime and Fresh Herbs
You may think of frittatas as leftovers’ idea of heaven, but is it yours? For a frittata to look forward to, throw in leftover grains: The result is something like a Spanish tortilla, pleasingly dense, but with more bounce. Add an acid, like lime, and umami, like fish sauce, which melts into an underlying savoriness when warmed. Whatever you do, don’t turn on the oven for this. Instead, stir the frittata on the stove and all but the top will set — nothing a few minutes covered can't fix (no precarious flip!). Finally, put a salad on top. The herby one here adds pep to the substantial frittata, as does a final squeeze of lime.
Pineapple and Millet Smoothie
I played around with this smoothie, toying with adding this ingredient (banana) or that (coconut); but in the end what I love about it is the pure flavor of pineapple, softened by the grain that also thickens and bulks up the drink.