Main Course
8665 recipes found
Black Bean Burgers
Also known as McBitty's Bean Burgers, these veggie burgers from Mark Bittman are loaded with black beans, porcini mushrooms, garlic, smoked paprika (or chili powder) and soy sauce, for a satisfying patty you can serve with all the usual burger fixings.
Roasted Vegetables and Buttermilk Grits
The buttermilk gives a cheesy-richness and tang that lifts the earthy flavor of the grits and offers a bright contrast to the roasted, caramelized vegetables. It is also a great way to use up that leftover buttermilk in your refrigerator. To make the perfect grits, cook them over the lowest heat and maintain a bare simmer. Whisking and scraping the sides and bottom of the pan every few minutes will ensure that they will not stick and will allow them to cook more evenly. If you like, stir in an extra 2 tablespoons of butter and ¼ cup of grated Parmesan or shredded Cheddar just before serving.
Vegan Chili
This chili starts with a few different whole dried chiles, toasted and blended together, then fried with vegan ground meat and other aromatics to form the complex backbone of this stew. Along with tomatoes and kidney beans, I like to add some soy sauce (for umami depth), cider vinegar (for acidity and brightness) and a shot of hard liquor. The volatile alcohol in the liquor helps pull aromas up and out of the chili and into your nose. If you want to opt for a vegetarian version, feel free to use unsalted butter in place of the vegan butter, and garnish with sour cream or Cheddar.
Kimchi Tuna Salad
Kimchi and canned tuna make a popular combination in Korean cooking. These two pantry staples are found together in a number of dishes like kimchi jjigae and kimbap, and here they are the basis of a lively, fortifying salad. Combine them with fresh ginger and celery for crunch (or an equal amount of other crunchy vegetables, like thinly sliced sugar snap or snow peas, radishes, carrot, cabbage or fennel). The dressing is made using the spicy liquid from the kimchi jar, rice wine vinegar and sesame oil, but because each jar of kimchi is different, you may want to tweak the seasonings to taste. Eat the salad on its own; with gim, or seaweed, as a hand roll; or with something starchy to balance the punch, like a burger bun, rice, boiled potatoes, soba or ramen noodles.
Kimbap
Kimbap, or “seaweed rice,” is often mistakenly referred to as sushi, but it is a popular Korean dish with its own unique flavors and history. These rolls can be simple, with just a single sheet of seaweed wrapped around cooked rice, or complex, with entire restaurants dedicated to serving variations of kimbap. This recipe uses traditional fillings, like a mix of vegetables, egg and meat, but other popular fillings include cucumber, imitation crab, bulgogi or canned tuna. It’s very adaptable, and it does well with substitutions. Leftover kimbap can be kept in the refrigerator, but the rice will lose some of its moisture, so to serve a second time, soak each piece in beaten egg, then pan-fry them until golden.
Yaki Onigiri (Grilled Japanese Rice Balls) With Pickled Shiitakes
Onigiri, also known as omusube, are portable snacks, often sold in Japanese convenience stores, which are traditionally stuffed with salty, tangy fillings, then wrapped in seaweed. When grilled, glazed or cooked, they become yaki onigiri. In this version, adapted from “Vegan JapanEasy: Classic and Modern Vegan Japanese Recipes to Cook at Home” by Tim Anderson (Hardie Grant, 2020), a little bit of the pickled shiitake filling goes a long way. (The recipe makes extra, which you can keep refrigerated to add to stir-fries, ramen or even omelets.) You could also stuff these with finely chopped kimchi, Japanese pickles, sautéed greens or nothing at all. Available online or at most Japanese supermarkets, an onigiri mold makes for sleek shaping, but, with a little practice, you could also form the shape by hand, or simply roll the rice between your palms into balls. For hot yaki onigiri, brush them with the miso glaze, which will form a delightful crackly, caramelized crust when broiled.
Gyudon
A popular fast-food dish in Japan, gyudon is a quick-simmered mixture of thinly sliced beef and crisp-tender onions cooked in a sweet soy broth that’s seasoned with fresh ginger. It’s perfectly suited to weeknight cooking because it requires minimal prep, a short ingredient list and less than 30 minutes of active cooking. Gyudon owes its popularity to Yoshinoya, Japan’s first fast-food chain, which was founded in Tokyo in 1899 and became wildly successful in the 1960s serving just this dish. Variations abound — this recipe borrows heavily from the chef Ivan Orkin’s recipe, as well as one featured in “Simply Bento” by Yuko — and while some skip the use of dashi, a Japanese stock using bonito flakes and seaweed, the ingredient gives the dish a slight funk that offsets the sweetness of the mirin, sake and ginger. The flavor is subtle, but it’s missed when absent.
Pressure Cooker Salsa Verde Chicken
This warming, satisfying stew takes about 30 minutes from start to finish, thanks to the pressure cooker, which makes quick work of braising chicken and melding flavors. Use your favorite jarred green salsa as a shortcut: The salsa mingles with the chicken juices to make a thick, tangy sauce that tastes like more than the sum of its parts. (Jarred salsas vary in heat levels, so be sure to taste yours first. Make the dish spicier by leaving some of the jalapeño seeds in.) Serve the chicken over rice or whole grains, which soak up the sauce, or use the chicken in tacos, burritos or enchiladas. You can also add one cup of frozen or fresh corn, or a drained 15-ounce can of black or pinto beans to the cooked chicken and simmer until just warmed through. Pass around toppings like crunchy pepitas, tortilla chips, crumbled queso fresco or avocado, to customize at will.
Chicken and Mushroom Bulgogi Lettuce Wraps
The savory Korean bulgogi marinade in this recipe is made with pantry items and livens up just about anything you put it on. Here, the soy-scallion-ginger marinade is used on boneless, skinless chicken thighs, but it can also be brushed on tofu, zucchini or bell peppers for a satisfying vegetarian meal. As the meat cooks, the marinade caramelizes into a sweet-salty sticky glaze that coats the chicken. Serving the grilled chicken and vegetables in lettuce cups is a fun way to enjoy the meal. Korean condiments like kimchi and gochujang are traditional bulgogi accompaniments, but shredded cabbage, salsa or even guacamole would also work. Leftovers can be refrigerated overnight, then chopped and tossed with salad greens.
Instant Pot Dakdori Tang
Dakdori tang, sometimes called dakbokkeum-tang, is an easy-to-make Korean braised chicken stew. It gets its deeply savory flavor and brick-red color from gochugaru, Korean red-pepper flakes, and gochujang, the spicy, pungent and sweet fermented red chile paste. Most traditional recipes call for braising bone-in, skin-on chicken parts without browning them first, resulting in a rich dish with a layer of very delicious chicken fat on top. If you prefer a leaner broth, you can remove the skin from half the chicken parts before starting, or simply ladle some of the fat off the top before serving.
Snapper Escovitch
A Caribbean favorite, this light, tender and flaky fish is made with whole snapper, but you can also use fillets for ease. This recipe has a mellow spice to let the flavor of the fish shine through, but it’s open to adaptation: Feel free to add a little more hot pepper or allspice, if you like, for more intensity. If you’re in a hurry or low on spices, you can substitute Old Bay, jerk or Cajun seasoning blends for the spice mix in Step 1. Then, turn it into a sandwich (see Tip), paired with sweet plantain fries, or eat it as a light meal on its own.
Pressure Cooker Lentil Soup With Sausage
An electric pressure cooker makes quick work of this Italian-style lentil soup, which tastes like it has simmered away on the stovetop for hours. (If time is on your side, get the slow cooker version of this recipe here.) You could use any brown or black lentils, but beluga lentils are ideal because they get creamy on the inside while retaining their shape. (Other lentils may fall apart, but the soup will be no less delicious.) Determine your leafy green selection by what the market has to offer, keeping in mind that heartier types will retain more bite. Finish the soup with a hit of red-wine vinegar and a sprinkle of fresh basil for bright, fresh flavor.
Kale and Squash Salad With Almond-Butter Vinaigrette
For a creamy, rich and dairy-free salad dressing, use almond butter instead of olive oil. It provides rich savoriness and body, like mild tahini or peanut butter. In this recipe, mix it with lemon and mustard to dress a combination of sturdy greens, roasted squash and crisp apples. Embellish as you wish by adding salty cheese, like blue, Gruyère or pecorino; freshness with fennel, parsley, mint or pomegranate seeds; or heft with whole grains or beans. This hearty salad is easy to tote to work for lunch and exciting enough for dinner.
Instant Pot Congee
You can use any leftover roasted meat to flavor this mild, comforting congee, which is delicately seasoned with white pepper. Adapted from Liyan Chen of New Jersey, this recipe is a perfect use for all the bits and pieces of your leftover Thanksgiving turkey (or chicken or duck during the rest of the year). If you’d like to, add the shredded lettuce just before serving so it retains some of its texture. Then garnish the top with any combination of scallions, ginger, soy sauce or chile sauce that pleases you. Note that congee will thicken as it cools, but you can thin it out again with a little water or stock.
Instant Pot Carrot-Saffron Risotto
An electric pressure cooker is so worth the precious counter space it takes up. Not only does food cook in a fraction of the time, but the results are rich and flavorful. Use this recipe as a guide, and sub out whatever vegetables and flavorings you have on hand. Zucchini and mint, mushrooms and thyme, or shredded butternut squash and rosemary would all be lovely in place of the carrots and saffron.
Shalom Japan’s Lox Bowl
The lox bowl at Shalom Japan, a Brooklyn restaurant created by chef-owners Sawako Okochi and Aaron Israel, shows how the combination of ingredients can tell a story. Lox, a Jewish-American staple, is set over a bed of sushi rice, inspired by Japanese chirashi bowls, in a meal that marries the cultures of both chefs. The dish combines lox, avocado and spicy mayo with crunchy cucumber, tangy pickles, sweetened kombu and fresh herbs, in a pile of salty, sweet and acidic umami. It takes some prep and quite a few ingredients, but you can pick and choose toppings to taste: “There aren’t too many rules, other than doing fish over rice,” Mr. Israel said. They cure their own salmon with parsley and dill, coriander and bonito flakes at Shalom Japan, but you can top your rice with store-bought gravlax, or even cooked salmon, tuna or scallops, before piling on your desired garnishes.
Pressure Cooker Pork Puttanesca Ragù
Inspired by puttanesca sauce, this braised pork ragù combines rich pork shoulder with the bright flavors of capers, olives and tomato. Those wary of anchovies can relax; the finished dish doesn’t taste overtly fishy. The anchovies dissolve into the sauce, providing a subtly savory note. Tomato-based sauces can trigger the burn warning in some pressure cookers. To avoid that, this recipe calls for more liquid than you would typically need, and finishes with a quick simmer to reduce the sauce to a thicker consistency. Find a slow-cooker version of this recipe here.
Pressure Cooker Indian Butter Shrimp
A play on the classic Indian chicken makhani, in this recipe yogurt and lime juice-marinated shrimp are cooked in a buttery, gently spiced tomato mixture. The key here is to cook the sauce under pressure, but to use the sauté function to quickly cook the shrimp so they don’t turn rubbery. Serve this over rice to catch every drop of the fragrant, creamy sauce. If you’re a fan of Indian pickles—lime, lemon, mango, and the like—a spoonful of one or all three on the side would not be out of place. This is one of 10 recipes from Melissa Clark’s “Dinner in an Instant: 75 Modern Recipes for Your Pressure Cooker, Multicooker, and Instant Pot” (Clarkson Potter, 2017). Melissa Clark’s “Dinner in an Instant” is available everywhere books are sold. Order your copy today.
Keema (Spiced Ground Meat)
Though elite, upper-caste Hindus tend to be vegetarian, most Indians eat meat, and many millions of Muslim Indians eat beef. This saucy keema, which can be made with chicken, lamb, beef or a combination of meat, is simple, comforting home cooking — the meat stretched out and made luxurious in a reduction of spiced tomato. It can be dinner with a couple of soft, shiny bread rolls, or a chapati and a dollop of yogurt. A friend of mine even mixes it with spaghetti and a moderate squirt of ketchup. (Don’t judge!) The secret to this version is to take your time: Caramelize the onions properly for a strong foundation, and once you’ve added the beef, simmer it patiently until the sauce is dark and silky, and the fat has split away, risen to the top, and pooled in every nook.
BBQ Pulled Chicken
Almost nothing beats a barbecue pulled pork sandwich, but this faster and leaner spin, which is made with roasted chicken thighs and breasts and a quick barbecue sauce, is a delicious alternative that only tastes like it took all day to cook. Serve on buns with a vinegary slaw and ranch or buttermilk dressing, if you like. For a smokier flavor, use a combination of sweet and smoked paprika. Like most barbecue recipes, this is even better reheated the next day.
Pressure Cooker Mushroom and Wild Rice Soup
This comforting soup tastes long-simmered, but it’s cooked in a pressure cooker, which makes it a weeknight possibility (though you could also make this recipe in a slow cooker). Use any variety of mushrooms you like: Cremini (also called baby bella) are affordable and easy to find and work well, or you can add shiitake or oyster mushrooms for a mix of texture and flavors. Don’t worry about removing small, supple stems, but discard any that are tough or dried-out. Wild rice isn’t a true rice at all but the seed of a grass that’s native to North America. When it’s cooked, it should be pleasantly chewy and nutty, not hard, and most of the grains should be slightly split open to reveal their creamy insides.
Instant Pot Mushroom and Potato Paprikash
An electric pressure cooker is the very best appliance to use when you want deep, long-simmered flavor in very little time. Here, it’s used to make quick work of this comforting, cold-weather stew, a vegetarian adaptation of the classic Hungarian dish chicken paprikash. This version is not at all traditional, though it has mushrooms, which are common in Hungarian cooking. Avoid washing your mushrooms, which makes them less likely to sear. Instead, wipe off any dirt with a damp cloth. Meaty trumpet mushrooms add a wonderful texture to the stew, but you can use any mushrooms you like, including all-purpose creminis. This recipe can also be prepared on the stovetop. To get vegetarian recipes like this one delivered to your inbox, sign up for The Veggie newsletter.
Pressure Cooker Vietnamese Caramel Pork and Eggs
Called thit heo kho trung in Vietnamese, this rich combination of pork and eggs in bittersweet caramel sauce and coconut water is a must-have on many southern Vietnamese Tet menus, though people enjoy it as cozy year-round fare, too. It is typically made well in advance of Lunar New Year, so you’re free to relax when the holiday comes around. If you didn’t plan ahead to make it on the stovetop, follow this pressure cooker version to make the braise in a flash. Serve it with crunchy pickled bean sprout salad, stir-fried greens and steamed rice.
Pressure Cooker Beef Short Ribs With Red Wine and Chile
Prunes are the secret ingredient in this recipe. They practically disappear during cooking, leaving behind their complex sweetness. This recipe was meant for a 6- to 8-quart electric pressure cooker, but to use a stovetop pressure cooker, just cook the ribs a few minutes less than you would if using an electric one. You could also bake this in a covered Dutch oven at 325 degrees for 3 hours. In any case, it is easiest to make the day before, chill it, then skim the fat off the top. Serve this with polenta or mashed potatoes.