Stovetop
661 recipes found
Double Smash Burgers
Smashburgers get their name from just that: smashing the meat onto a griddle using a metal spatula or burger press, resulting in a thin burger with seriously charred edges. Use ground beef that has a 20 percent fat content, roll the meat into balls, then chill for at least 30 minutes before cooking to keep the fat solid. The result? Juicy burgers with brown, crisp edges. Unlike a typical burger that you might throw on the grill, thinner smashburgers cook best on a griddle or cast-iron skillet. Smear some mayonnaise on the insides of the buns before toasting them; the fat leftover from the mayo should be just enough to slick up the griddle to cook the burgers, but you can use a touch of oil in between batches as needed. Top your burger how you like: Finely shredded lettuce, homemade pickles and thinly sliced red onion are enough to make this fast food staple feel fancy. A simple combination of mayo, ketchup, mustard, relish and vinegar creates the perfect sauce, but fry sauce would also hit the spot.
Spiedie Chicken Breasts With Buttered Broccoli
Native to Binghamton, New York, spiedies are marinated and grilled meat skewers, often made with lamb, pork and chicken. This casual weeknight dinner, inspired by the vinegary oregano marinade of spiedies, takes boneless, skinless chicken and transforms it into something special and undeniably juicy. Splitting thick, bulbous chicken breasts helps: The key to not-dry chicken is to level out its surface area so it cooks quickly and evenly. Tender-crisp buttery broccoli is a fun side dish here, something you can pan-sear after the chicken has had its time staining the skillet with its savory remnants of dried oregano and red wine vinegar. Serve with white rice, buttered toast or a big green salad.
Flour Tortillas With Honey and Butter
Every culture has some kind of basic flatbread. The recipe for this one, originating in New Mexico in the early 20th century, is quick, simple and rustic. You can roll the tortillas out to a thinness or thickness of your preference. For this purpose, keeping them a bit thicker and eating them hot off the comal, with soft salted butter and honey, is a great joy. You can also roll them thinner for tacos, keeping them warm in towels or tortilla warmers until you are ready to use them.
Smoky Jollof Rice
It’s hard to think of a more iconic West African dish than jollof rice, the red-tinged rice dish with depth, thanks to aromatics and spices that meld into a comforting tomato base. “Jollof is really a one-pot meal that is very adaptable,” says chef Isaiah Screetch, who adapted this recipe that plays with, but honors the Nigerian version of the dish, with plenty of heat from habanero and serrano chiles. Fit to feed a crowd, it makes a perfect base for skewers of grilled suya or a braised entree like Jamaican oxtail stew, partnered with a side of fried plantains.
Everything Salmon With Creamy Caper Sauce
Covered in a crisp, everything-seasoning crust and served with a creamy, tangy caper sauce, this quick, weeknight salmon dinner is inspired by the beloved flavors of bagels and lox. The application of everything bagel seasoning forms a crisp crust on the fish fillets, adding deep flavor while preserving moisture. (You can use store-bought everything bagel seasoning, if you’ve got it, or create your own blend using pantry staples like sesame seeds, poppy seeds, granulated garlic and granulated onions.) Beneath the salmon, there’s a tangy cream cheese caper sauce laced with a subtle hint of lemon. For a refreshing bite, typical bagel and lox toppings — red onions and tomatoes — make a refreshing salad that rounds out the dish.
Fennel and Lentil Salad With Caper-Mustard Dressing
Quietly dazzling, this salad is a dish you’ll turn to time and time again. It’s ideal for when you want something simple and hearty without being too filling. Made mostly of pantry ingredients, it has a punchy, acidic dressing that’s lightened up with fresh ingredients like fennel and parsley. While satisfying enough on its own, it works well with simple proteins like salmon, chicken or a jammy egg. Eat it for lunch during the week, and refresh leftovers by adding some baby spinach, fresh dill or more parsley.
Summer Fish Tea
Fish tea is an endlessly flexible soup recipe found across the Caribbean, consisting of fish, starchy vegetables like pumpkin and yellow yam, and seasonings, which can all vary depending on the cook. Some prepare it with a helpful packet labeled "fish tea flavored soup mix," while others prefer making it from scratch with fresh fish heads. This weeknight version lands somewhere in the middle, showcasing tender-crisp summer vegetables like corn and green beans in a delicate broth scented with ginger, allspice and juicy hunks of snapper. If Scotch bonnet chiles are unavailable, habanero will work. Making a small puncture in the whole pepper will allow some heat to permeate the broth, but not an overwhelming amount. For a spicier soup, make a larger incision. To make this soup preparation even faster, you can cut the vegetables for the soup while the broth simmers.
Dumpling and Smashed Cucumber Salad With Peanut Sauce
Serving as a luscious, umami sauce for pan-fried potstickers, peanut sauce yet again proves itself to be the hero of weeknight cooking. The sauce needs no cooking, just some hot water to soften the peanut butter, which also helps the sauce come together smoothly. By design, it is slightly runnier than usual, allowing it to casually drape over the dumplings. Right after whisking, the sauce may look too loose, but let it sit for a few minutes as it relaxes and thickens into the perfect consistency. Frozen potstickers — which have a flat base for pan-frying — work best, but you could use other types of dumpling too, cooking them according to their package instructions. The cucumbers are smashed and then salted, which not only draws out moisture, but also tenderizes them every so slightly, delivering just the right amount of freshness and crunch.
Tomato-Watermelon Salad With Anchovy Bread Crumbs
Slightly sweet and very savory, this juicy, colorful salad is perfect for summer, when tomatoes and watermelon are at their peak. Briefly marinating the tomatoes helps season them thoroughly and draws out their juices, which lend a soft, round note to the tart sherry vinegar in the dressing. Note to anchovy-avoiders: Their presence in the bread crumbs isn’t obvious or assertive. They melt into the oil, leaving behind just a hint of their saline, umami character. Serve this as a side dish to grilled or toasted meats or fish. Or, to make it a meal, you can add crumbled goat cheese or feta, but it would also be nice with a can of tuna flaked over the top or some chickpeas mixed in.
Basil and Olive Pasta Salad With Tomato Dressing
Ripe summer tomatoes are transformed into a fragrant, fruity dressing for this pasta salad. Giving the tomatoes a quick salt bath encourages them to release their tangy juices and further intensifies their flavor before they are blended with basil and garlic. While this dish is best with summer tomatoes, this salting technique makes it possible to use out-of-season ones, too. This dressing is thicker than most, so use a robust short pasta with lots of crevices, curves and swirls to hug and carry the sauce. Eat this pasta salad as is, or dress it with a creamy fresh cheese such as mozzarella, burrata or ricotta, or stir through some leafy baby spinach or arugula for freshness.
Old Bay Shrimp and Macaroni Salad
If a shrimp boil dove into a bowl of macaroni salad, you might end up with something like this: a crowd-pleasing, lemony, peppery, glossy shrimp-and-pasta salad. To infuse all the elements with the flavors of a seafood boil, season the water that cooks the pasta, peas and shrimp with lots of Old Bay. The peas add sweetness to balance the pep (though corn kernels would also be great), while celery and red onion lend crunch, and herbs freshen things up. Eat warm, or refrigerate the salad for up to 6 hours. If the mixture stiffens, thin with water and toss until silky.
Lazi Ji (Chongqing Chicken With Chiles)
Lazi ji, a specialty of the sweltering city of Chongqing in southwestern China, might appear at first glance to be all chiles, spilling rim to rim in reckless abundance. But you’re not meant to eat them. They’re fried briefly, just long enough to give off their fragrance and lend a little sting to the cooking oil. Part of the fun of the dish is hunting for the small, crispy nubs of chicken, which in Chongqing are served with the bones left in, for happy grappling. (If you prefer to use boneless chicken thighs, cut them into pieces no bigger than popcorn.) You’ll want your ingredients premeasured at the start, since everything comes together quickly at the end: garlic and ginger turned golden and toasty, Sichuan pepper with its tickling buzz. The culinary scholar Fuchsia Dunlop advises staying away from the most powerful chiles; instead, seek out the long, slender, medium-hot variety sold by the bag at Chinese groceries. Be careful they don’t blacken in the wok. You want that red, untainted, unextinguished, blazing on the plate.
Gambas al Ajillo (Spanish Garlic Shrimp)
All over Spain, gambas al ajillo and its various versions (made with camarones, or shrimp, or mushrooms for a vegetarian twist) are beloved. And what’s not to love? Sweet, briny prawns (or larger shrimp in the United States) are sautéed with lots of garlic and olive oil, finished with a touch of hot pepper, and ready in less than half an hour. Don’t leave behind the flavorful extra-virgin olive oil, which is perfect for sopping up. Quick! Someone get a crusty loaf for just that purpose.
Fresh Lemon and Chile Pasta
This quick, deeply comforting pasta is creamy, but balanced by the zing of fresh lemon. Loosely based on Italy’s pasta al limone, this simple recipe combines butter, Parmesan and lemon juice with some reserved pasta water to form a velvety sauce that comes together in the pasta pan along with everyday heroes: garlic, green chile and some cream. To squeeze as much tang from a single lemon as possible, zest is also added to the vibrant sauce, giving the dish a wonderful, sunny scent. The lemon cuts through the richness and keeps your fork twirling for more. Serve this bright and easy pasta dish on its own to perk up a weeknight or with chicken piccata or simple roast chicken for a special dinner, ideally eaten outside in the late-setting sun.
Creamy Peach Sorbet With Raspberries
This light, easy dessert blends a fresh peach purée and yogurt. No ice cream machines are necessary, just a touch of gelatin for structure, and a stint in your freezer. For that matter, it tastes wonderful even without freezing. Leave skins on the fruit for a peachy color.
Pasta and Pickles Salad
This recipe is your invitation to the pasta and pickle party. Dill pickles work double time here: The brine is added to the creamy dressing to bring acidity, while a generous amount of pickles are used in the salad, bringing crunch and saltiness. The sourness of the pickles and the punch of the quick-pickled shallots really cut through the heaviness that is often found in creamy, mayonnaise-laden pasta salads. (This one skips mayo for lighter crème fraîche or sour cream.) An emphatic handful of dill reinforces the grassy notes of the pickle; if you have parsley or scallions lying around, you could throw those in too. Experiment by adding other pickles — sauerkraut, beets, radish, daikon would all work — or bulk this pasta salad up with some chopped romaine, chickpeas or hard-boiled eggs.
Eggplant Bolognese
Eggplant and mushrooms come together in place of ground beef in this hearty vegetarian pasta that delivers the depth of a more traditional Bolognese sauce. Use Italian eggplant, which is widely available and has silky, sweet flesh. Peeling the eggplant helps it brown and cook more quickly, and encourages it to partially melt into the sauce as it simmers. Earthy mushroom broth fortifies the vegetable-rich sauce with deeper savory flavor. Serve the pasta with a simple green salad and crusty bread.
Mapo Tofu Scramble
The bold, savory, spicy flavors of mapo tofu are paired with the creamy richness of scrambled eggs in this hearty and comforting anytime-of-day meal. The dish comes together quickly and all in one skillet: Ginger, scallions and spiced pork are first sizzled and simmered, making way for eggs that are soft-scrambled then folded into the tofu mixture. Round out this superfast meal with a sprinkling of freshly sliced scallions or chopped herbs and some buttered toast.
Avocado Hand Rolls
A fresh pot of perfectly steamed white rice is always a good place to start any meal. Though you could use leftover rice for this recipe, there is no greater comfort than just-cooked rice, especially when it’s seasoned like sushi rice with salt, sugar and acid. Build a meal around that pot: Sushi rice tastes great when stuffed into sheets of roasted seaweed with rich, creamy avocado. You can also tuck sliced cucumber, imitation crab sticks or sushi-grade raw fish into these rolls. If you have an extra 10 seconds, don’t hesitate to whip up the spicy soy sauce and lime juice dipping sauce (see Tip).
Shrimp Dumplings With Saffron Shallot Sauce
Aushak and mantoo (or mantu), dumplings found in Afghan cuisine, are often filled with soft cooked leeks and onion or ground beef, but this shrimp-filled iteration is the product of the chef Shamim Popal’s journey from Afghanistan to the United Arab Emirates and, eventually, Washington, D.C. After opening a French creperie in 2003, Mrs. Popal decided to share dishes inspired by her upbringing in Afghanistan at Lapis, a restaurant in the city’s Adams Morgan neighborhood. A filling, yet light appetizer, these are meant to be prepared by and for a group, which makes light work and speaks to Mrs. Popal’s own memories of making aushak in Kabul with family.
Tamarind Chicken Stir-Fry
Tamarind, the bright and tangy fruit often used in South Asian cuisine, takes center stage in this easy, weeknight stir-fry. This recipe takes direct inspiration from Filipino sinigang, a tamarind-based soup. A dry sinigang builds a complex, tangy sauce from tomatoes, onion, garlic, ginger and tamarind concentrate. A super versatile ingredient, tamarind concentrate can bring depth to savory recipes like rasam or doubles, or can be used in sweeter applications, like leveling up a standard margarita by swapping the lime juice for tamarind. Here, thinly sliced chicken breast is seared then tossed in the sauce and bulked out with green beans and peppery baby bok choy, but you could substitute the chicken with shrimp or omit altogether. Serve with steamed rice or fried noodles.
Chicken Thighs With Fresh Plum Agrodolce
Agrodolce means “bittersweet” in Italian and usually refers to a tangy sauce made with honey or sugar along with vinegar. This summertime riff is inspired by the Italian classic but uses fresh plums to add an additional sweet tart element. Simmered with sherry vinegar and honey, the softened plums make a beautiful sauce to top simple chicken thighs making this a weeknight meal that’s lovely enough for company. Round out the meal with some rice and roasted asparagus.
Spaghetti Sauce
A crowd-pleaser for all ages, this classic spaghetti sauce is thick, meaty and, most importantly, perfectly coats each strand of spaghetti. Garlic, tomato and ground beef are the foundation of this simple sauce, and a mix of dried fennel seeds and herbs adds savory depth. Red wine and a bit of sugar bring out the sweetness of the tomato. The flavors of the sauce intensify with time, so feel free to make it in advance, refrigerate and reheat later. The sauce also freezes well so you can have it on hand for future meals. Don’t tell spaghetti, but this sauce is also delicious layered in a lasagna or stirred into a cheesy baked pasta dish.
One-Pot Tuna Orzo With Zucchini
Sweet, savory and super-simple, this dish is made mostly from pantry staples and cooked all in one pot. Chewy raisins add an unexpected sweetness tempered by a bit of acidic red wine vinegar. Canned tuna is a great protein choice for weeknight dinners but be sure to buy the oil-packed variety for cooking — it’s much more tender. If you find it, high-quality oil-packed jarred tuna is even tastier. That said, jarred and canned tuna is fully cooked, so it’s best added at the end to warm the tuna through without overcooking it.