Vegetarian
6951 recipes found
Corn and Miso Pasta Salad
The interplay between the crunch of the celery, the chew of the pasta and the pop of the corn kernels makes this (potentially vegan) pasta salad a textural pleasure to eat. Pasta salads that you can easily eat with a spoon reign supreme, and ditalini’s petite shape — which mimics the size of fresh corn kernels — makes it the perfect pasta candidate. Miso adds savory notes and deep umami flavor to the mayonnaise dressing. This recipe calls for Calabrian chile, but the miso-mayo mix is versatile: You can substitute anything from chopped chipotles in adobo to a spoonful of gochujang for a hit of heat.
Eggplant Parmesan
The distinct layers of breaded eggplant, rich tomato sauce and melted cheeses are what make this version of the Italian American classic perfectly calibrated (and, frankly, easy to make). Eggplant Parmesan is a labor of love, but this recipe streamlines the process so the cooking can feel relaxing on a Sunday afternoon. Long sheets of panko-breaded eggplant slices crisp up gloriously in the oven on a sheet pan, which means no frying. Store-bought jarred marinara sauce works beautifully here, but homemade can lend its own kind of delicious character (see Tip). A fully baked and cooled eggplant Parmesan will keep in the freezer, tightly covered, for up to 3 months. Why You Should Trust This Recipe Eric Kim sliced, salted, breaded, layered and baked more than 10 pounds of eggplants to develop this recipe. He consulted multiple chefs and employed their tips and techniques in his final version.
Zucchini Salad With Sizzled Mint and Feta
Crunchy and tart like salad-e Shirazi yet sturdy enough to sit out for a couple hours, this salad dresses snappy raw zucchini and salty feta simply, with vinegar and oil. But while summery salads can be ephemeral, this one has staying power because its seasonings — a za’atar-like combination of dried mint, sesame seeds and dried chile — bloom in the olive oil for a rich undercurrent of flavor. Serve this dish as a side or build it into a whole meal by adding cooked grains, beans or another protein.
Tomato Cheddar Toasts
Tomato and Cheddar toasts don’t need fussing — just crusty bread, swoops of mayonnaise, perfect summer tomatoes and the sharpest Cheddar you can find. It’s in the construction where things can go from good to great. Instead of cheese that’s sliced (which can be stiff and unrelenting) or broiled (and coagulated), take a cue from Chris Kronner’s burger wisdom in “A Burger to Believe In” (Ten Speed Press, 2018) and stir finely grated Cheddar into the mayonnaise. When slathered on hot, toasted bread, the cheese will melt into a creamy base somewhere between a queso and pepper-free pimento cheese. It has the pluck of sharp Cheddar, albeit in a plush and delightful form.
Summer Vegetable Niçoise Salad
You’ll find the green beans, wax beans, Romano beans and fresh shelling beans for this salad at the farmers’ market, making it perfect for a summer lunch or supper. With sweet cherry tomatoes and fingerling potatoes, it makes a substantial meal. Add good canned tuna, black olives or anchovy fillets too, if you wish.
Chilled Avocado Soup
This chilled soup couldn’t be easier to make, packing a lot of flavor into a quick dish of just a few ingredients. Fresh, green and somewhat tart, it’s quite refreshing on a warm day.
Chilaquiles Verdes
Chilaquiles are beloved all over Mexico and across the U.S. Southwest. Tortillas are fried, simmered in salsa and adorned with a multitude of herbs and proteins that vary with the chefs cooking them. Some folks prefer their totopos (tortilla chips) crisper, while some like them softer. Chilaquiles can be doused in salsa, but just a bit can yield a meal just as delicious. Though it really is worth stretching for the best quality tortillas you can find and frying them to your liking, in a pinch, buying the best tortilla chips you can works, too. Bottled salsa will do, if absolutely necessary, but a quick homemade salsa will produce dividends in taste with relatively little labor.
Baked Feta Dip With Spicy Tomatoes and Honey
Baked feta, of TikTok pasta fame, also makes a tangy, creamy dip when mixed with grape tomatoes that have been roasted in the same pan. Here the tomatoes are spiked with dried chiles, onions and thinly sliced garlic cloves, which get sweet and soft after baking. Serve this warm from the oven with sliced baguette, pita bread or crackers for dipping. To make this even spicier, add a tablespoon or two of thinly sliced fresh red or green chile to the tomatoes.
Breakfast Potatoes
Prepare a batch of oven-roasted breakfast potatoes, and you’ll reap the rewards over the next few days. Eat them right out of the oven as a snack, or as a side to scrambled eggs or roast chicken, then tuck leftovers into a breakfast burrito or pile on top of a salad. The recipe is simple and mostly hands off; the potatoes just need to be tossed every so often for even crisping. While russets can be used, Yukon Gold potatoes are soft and creamy, and the longer they roast, the crispier the outsides will become. (Just don’t overdo it, or they’ll dry out.)
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.
Melon Salad With Pistachio Dukkah and Basil
Forget the beach, summer melons are the biggest reason to look forward to hotter temperatures. Run by husband and wife team Zaid and Haifa Kurdieh, Norwich Meadows Farms in upstate New York grows some of the best local produce using traditional techniques from Egypt. Their melons burst with sweet, floral nectar that plays off the basil perfectly, and the dukkah is a nod to the Egyptian farmers that work on their farm. But don’t worry if you can’t get a Norwich melon, this dukkah can exalt any supermarket fruit. A crunchy, nutty spice blend typically made with a widely varying variety of pounded nuts, seeds and spices, dukkah can be found throughout Egypt, sold in tightly wrapped newspaper cones as a quick snack. Be sure to hold onto any leftover dukkah; it’s great with crudités or mixed with olive oil to make a quick dip for warm bread.
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.
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.
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.
Fruit Salad
A bit of sugar and lime makes a standout fruit salad: The duo accentuates fruit’s flavors and sweetness while creating a syrup to gloss the fruit. Massage lime zest into the sugar so its oils release, then stir mixed fruit with the lime sugar and some lime juice. Taste and tweak until the result is electric. You could also add chopped mint or basil, ground cinnamon or coriander, vanilla bean seeds, chile flakes or grated fresh ginger.
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.
Chana Masala
Variations of chana masala, which means spiced chickpeas, are found across South Asia. This version, particularly common in Punjab, calls for a simple spiced onion and tomato mixture, which serves as the foundation for the humble chickpea. The nutty and buttery legume benefits from both dried chile powder and fresh chiles, coriander and the spice blend garam masala. Thinly sliced ginger and cilantro, added upon serving, add freshness. Both canned and dried chickpeas work for this dish, and in the case of the former, the resulting bowl of comfort feels nothing short of a miracle in under 30 minutes.
Frijoles de Olla (Homestyle Black Beans)
This beloved dish often starts with unsoaked dried beans, which are traditionally cooked in an olla, earthenware pot, or other types of clay pots, such as a cazuela de barro. Any pot works and the seasonings are generally simple — usually onion, garlic, herbs and sometimes lard or pork — but the resulting flavor is rich and complex. A staple throughout Mexico, this dish varies from region to region in the types of beans used and include pinto beans, black beans and Mayocoba beans. Eaten as is as a side or a main dish, frijoles de olla also can be puréed, smashed or refried and used as a sauce or a filling for dishes like tetelas.