Weeknight
3433 recipes found
Slow-Cooker Masala Dal
This recipe, which is adapted from “Classic Indian Cooking” by Julie Sahni (William Morrow, 1980), a treasury of foolproof recipes for home cooks. Masala dal is a staple of Indian cuisine and one that has infinite variations, but the basic technique is to simmer legumes until tender, then finish with a swirl of a tadka, ghee or other fat that’s infused with aromatics like onions, cumin seeds and chile. In the original recipe, the dal is boiled on the stovetop, but in this adaptation, the split peas are cooked in the slow cooker, which works beautifully, and has the advantage of making the timing a bit easier, as you can throw the peas into the slow cooker in the morning, and they will hold well until dinnertime. The success of this dish hinges on two key steps: First, be sure to beat the legumes to a creamy purée with a whisk before adding the tadka. Second, cook the onions on a higher heat and until darker in color than you might think: Ms. Sahni calls this technique “brown frying,” and it is not the same as making French caramelized onions, which are cooked lower and slower. As in cooking caramel candy, the last five minutes are critical: Stir the onions constantly and be aware they can burn quickly. Serve dal with basmati rice or Indian flatbreads such as naan.
Chimichurri Meatballs
Chimichurri is lively, with loads of parsley and oregano; bracing, with garlic, crushed red pepper and red wine vinegar; and rich, from buttery olive oil — all attributes that do wonders for meatballs. Add a generous amount of the Argentinian sauce to the ground-beef mixture, then roll and sear the meatballs until crispy and browned. (You can also broil for 7 to 10 minutes.) Serve as an appetizer, with more chimichurri alongside for dipping, or make the meatballs into a meal with couscous, broccoli, roasted peppers or a kale salad dressed with the chimichurri.
Chingri Dopiaza (Shrimp With Onion, Tomato, Chile and Turmeric)
Vivid and bright, this traditional Bangladeshi shrimp dish, which was adapted from Nur-E Gulshan Rahman, the chef and an owner of Korai Kitchen in Jersey City, New Jersey, is stained with earthy turmeric, sweetened with onion and spiked with chile. In Bangladesh, Iran, India and in other parts of the subcontinent, dopiaza can refer to dishes that use a lot of onions. This recipe cleverly builds flavor using onions two ways: Some are sliced and cooked until softened, adding texture, while the remaining are blended into a purée that melds with turmeric, chile, oil and cilantro into a sauce that tastes as bright as sunshine. Ms. Rahman learned the recipe from her mother, and the dish is a popular staple at the restaurant, which she owns and operates with her youngest daughter, Nur-E Farhana Rahman.
Horseradish Roasted Salmon With Mustard Potatoes
Slathered in a creamy horseradish mayonnaise, salmon fillet is a weeknight winner. (You can cook smaller fillets or one larger center-cut piece, whichever you prefer.) The key to moist, flavorful salmon is to roast it at a high temperature for a short length of time. Here it’s baked alongside tangy mustard potatoes, but asparagus, broccoli or even green beans would be nice, too. If using less hearty vegetables, just cut the initial bake time down to 5 to 10 minutes.
Easy Burritos
Saucy and savory with just ground beef, beans and cheese, this easy recipe is inspired by Los Angeles-style burritos, which restaurant critic Jonathan Gold once summarized as “the rough equivalent of a hardhat’s lunch pail, a method of constructing a filling, portable meal from a tortilla, last night’s beans and a spoonful of stew if there was one.” This burrito’s filling eschews guacamole, sour cream, rice and raw vegetables which means it freezes well for up to 3 months. The seared ground beef is simply spiced, but feel free to swap in a stewed meat like birria or tinga de pollo or make it vegetarian with just beans and cheese.
Chickpea-Chicken Salad With Green Harissa Dressing
In the bustling streets of Morocco, you’ll often find vendors selling tayb o’hari, a traditional Moroccan street food of warm chickpeas served in paper cones and topped with fragrant cumin, sweet paprika and chile powder. This recipe is like a salad version of the beloved dish, with pre-cooked chicken added for heartiness, fresh tomatoes and olives for crunch, and a spicy green harissa dressing for brightness. Serve either warm or at room temperature with good bread.
Sheet-Pan Red Curry Chicken With Butternut Squash
In this sweet and spicy, sheet-pan chicken dinner, boneless chicken thighs are coated in Thai red curry paste and roasted in a hot oven so the paste’s blend of chiles and aromatics toast and char. Cubes of butternut squash caramelize alongside, and you might marvel that the results taste richer than expected. Both the chicken and squash are seasoned with fish sauce instead of salt, which doesn’t make them fishy but rather accentuates their savoriness and inherent deliciousness. Herbs, lime and fresh chile perk up the deeply roasted flavors; serve with rice, or a crunchy raw vegetable salad like this one.
Slow-Cooker Whole Chicken
A whole chicken cooked in the slow cooker pays off beautifully for very minimal effort. The only thing you’ll need to account for is the time it takes to cook, which is all hands off. Turmeric and paprika do a lot of heavy lifting here, giving the chicken a subtle smoky flavor and vibrant color. Feel free to add any other aromatics and herbs that you like. The slow cooking ensures that you end up with tender, juicy meat. And there are endless options for how you serve and use the chicken: Carve and serve along with the carrots, onion and a bowl of its jus, or use the chicken meat in sandwiches, tacos or salads. The chicken skin is not meant to be crispy in this preparation (although you could transfer the chicken to an oven-safe dish and give it a quick blast under the broiler). This recipe leaves you with the gift of a rich and tasty broth, which can be used later for soup.
Cheesy Frittata
Random leftovers or wilted vegetables in your fridge won’t go to waste when you use this easy frittata formula. First, whisk eggs with salt and allow them to sit while you prepare your mix-ins. This gives the salt time to uncoil some of those egg proteins so they cook up tender and creamy. Next, sauté or warm through any quick-cooking or cooked ingredients, like tender vegetables, cooked grains or shredded rotisserie chicken. Then stir in the beaten eggs and cook into large curds. Top everything with cheese and quickly broil to set the top and melt the cheese. Get creative with the ingredient combos: Try cooking the frittata in bacon fat, filling it with leftover French fries and topping with Cheddar. Stir the eggs into a mix of wilted herbs and spinach, and top with feta for a spanakopita feel. The possibilities are endless.
Spatchcock Roast Chicken
For an exceptionally tender bird that roasts in a fraction of the time of a whole one, consider spatchcocking and brining your chicken. All you need to spatchcock a chicken is a set of sturdy kitchen shears. By snipping along the sides of the backbone, you can remove it, open up your bird and press it flat. A flat chicken allows the legs to get more direct heat for better browning and quicker cooking. If you have time, season the chicken with salt and pepper and chill it in the fridge, uncovered, overnight, a step called dry brining. This gives the salt time to dissolve and be drawn into the meat, resulting in juicy, well-seasoned meat as well as crisp, rendered skin. Roasting on a bed of aromatics infuses the chicken with flavor. Use whatever you’ve got on hand, from sliced onions or lemons to herbs like rosemary or thyme. Setup is key to avoiding cross-contamination, so before handling your raw chicken, gather everything you will need.
Tangy Romaine Salad With Habanero-Avocado Dressing
Tender lettuce, juicy sweet oranges, pungent radishes and crunchy cucumbers get a lush treatment with this creamy, tangy, rich, addictingly spicy dressing that leaves a luxuriously rich and full mouthfeel after each bite. The habanero becomes sweeter and its flavors more bold as it roasts, imparting zesty, peppy flavor, feisty bite and a hint of rustic smoke to the creamy avocado dressing. This dressing works well on any green salad — but is so good you might even want to pour it onto a bowl and eat with a spoon.
Habanero Chicken and Broccoli
In this bright, tangy sheet-pan dish, the chicken gets a quick first roast covered in a light oregano and garlic marinade. That quick warmup is followed by a stellar run: The chicken is flipped, broccoli florets get tucked all around and a sweet citrus sauce with the slightest habanero kick drenches the mix. The sauce adds flavor and moisture to the chicken as it roasts and browns, and soaks the broccoli, which chars and tenderizes. Although this can be a complete meal on its own, the ample sauce is so flavorful that you may find yourself craving for something else to soak in it. Rice is the perfect cheerleader to round up the race. The habanero’s heat is tamed by citrus, allowing its zesty and flowery flavors to shine.
Broccoli With Sizzled Nuts and Dates
Broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables, like cabbage and brussels sprouts, can handle some char. Blackening makes them sweet and caramelized rather than bitter and burnt. The key is to cook the vegetables hot and fast, so the pieces develop color without becoming mushy and they’re crackly at the edges while still crisp-tender at the cores. Make sure your broccoli florets are thoroughly dried before cooking by taking them for a ride in a salad spinner. (Water will slow down the browning, resulting in florets that steam instead of char.) A topping of toasted nuts, sticky dates, bright lemon and bites of peppercorn adds complexity to this humble vegetable.
Roasted Salmon With Dill and Cucumber Salad
Fish can be dry-brined relatively quickly compared to chicken and other proteins, and the benefits are just as magical: The dry-brining process extends shelf life, aids in crisping the skin, prevents overcooking and firms up the flesh. To do it, heavily salt your fish for at least 15 minutes and up to 2 hours (any longer and the fish will cure), then rinse and pat it dry. You can cook it right away, or store it in the coolest part of your fridge, wrapped in paper towels and placed in a zip-top bag, preferably on ice, for up to 3 days.
Buttery Steak and Potatoes
In professional kitchens, a good line cook can insert a cake tester into a steak, feel it on their lips and know the doneness from its warmth — but this expertise takes time to master. The poke test, in which you compare the firmness of a steak to that of your clenched fist, doesn’t work consistently across various cuts and types of meat. How marbled your steak is, whether it’s conventionally raised, grass-fed or grain-finished, all affect the meat’s final texture. For a perfectly cooked steak every time, your best bet is to use a thermometer. A little bit of tech, combined with frequent flipping, a cast-iron skillet and a final butter baste, will guarantee a steak with a deep mahogany crust on the outside and evenly cooked, ideal doneness on the inside. While the steak rests, toss boiled potatoes in the brown butter drippings for a satisfying and simple side.
Salmon Patties
Pan-seared and flavored with smoked paprika, mustard, lemon juice and scallions, these simple patties transform canned salmon into a quick, delicious and economical dinner. Any variety of salmon, such as sockeye or pink, will work here, but be sure to choose one that’s labeled boneless and skinless. Serve them on their own, or with homemade tartar sauce on the side. Wrap leftover patties in foil and freeze for up to 1 month. To reheat, unwrap and place on a sheet pan, then bake at 350 degrees until heated through, about 15 minutes.
Butter Pilaf
This simple butter pilaf is a delicious alternative to your basic stovetop rice, without much additional work. A pilaf consists of grains that are toasted in fat before cooking in a liquid. The step of cooking in fat is called parching, and it prevents the grains from clumping while adding flavor from both the toasting and the fat itself. Pilaf can be made with almost any grain, fat and liquid, and is supremely versatile. For extra flavor, swap out the water for broth or dashi. Level it up with aromatics, like chopped onion or garlic, sweated (gently cooked) in the fat before parching the rice. Add spices, like turmeric or paprika, to toast along with the grains of rice. Stir in quick-cooking meat, like diced chicken or peeled shrimp, and vegetables, such as peas or cauliflower, after adding the water to steam along with the rice. Toss in herbs, like a spring of thyme or a bay leaf, to perfume the grains.
Spaghetti Stir-Fry With Chicken
This is nowhere near a traditional Chinese stir-fry or Italian spaghetti dish. Instead, it’s a recipe my amu (the Bengali term for mother) made by combining staples from her pantry and fridge to reflect the flavors of our favorite takeout without the need for specific noodles or a wok. By using frozen mixed vegetables, there’s only minimal prep and knife work required. The chicken, aromatics and vegetables cook while the pasta boils, so it all comes together quickly. Serve it just out of the pot for a hot meal, or eat it cold the next day, straight out of the fridge.
Sweet Chile Grain Bowl With Tofu
You can use any kind of cooked grain as the base of this colorful, deeply flavored tofu and cabbage bowl. The grains, vegetables and tofu add texture, heft and protein, but the real star is the pungent sauce, a mix of chile crisp, garlic and soy sauce sweetened with ketchup. Brushed onto the tofu and cabbage before roasting, the sauce caramelizes and mellows. Drizzled on top of the bowl right at the end, it stays bright and snappy. Fresh cherry tomatoes tossed with more chile crisp make a juicy, spicy garnish, but you can leave them out if you don’t have any on hand.
Hamachi Sashimi With Ginger Ponzu
At Tiffany’s in the small town of Wailuku in central Maui, hamachi sashimi comes with a sauce so good, diners keep spooning it up long after the fish is gone. Bright and briny at once, it draws from the cuisines of island nations across the Pacific, combining elements of Japanese ponzu and fina’denne’, a CHamoru condiment from Guam that is a blend of shoyu (soy sauce), vinegar or citrus, onions and chiles. The chef Sheldon Simeon adds sweet local onions and ginger in lieu of chiles, for a gentler kick, plus shiso for “effervescence,” he says. To finish, he simmers lemon peel and olive oil over low heat, then strains out the peel so just the olive oil is left, only now sun-possessed. Drizzled at the very end, it gives the fish the vividness of lemon without curing it.
Salt-Baked Fish
Roasting a whole fish in a salt crust is an age-old technique. The salt coating seals in the moisture and steams the fish in its own juices, resulting in especially tender, richly flavored flesh. Keeping the skin on the fish prevents it from absorbing too much salt, so don’t try this method with fillets or you risk oversalting. You can serve this simply, as is, or with a sauce (hollandaise, salsa verde, pesto, brown butter and lemon, sesame-soy). And feel free to swap out the aromatics inside the cavity, using other herbs, sliced garlic, onion, ginger, chiles or lemongrass.
Shrimp Pasta
Consider this the shrimp version of vongole rosso, the classic Italian dish of clams tossed with pasta, tomatoes, garlic and white wine. Swapping the shellfish makes for an easy weeknight dinner. The shrimp’s briny sweetness is the star here, and cherry or grape tomatoes add a burst of acidity as well as a pop of color. Any long pasta shape will work well — just be sure to cook the noodles to al dente to give the dish great texture. Serve with the rest of the white wine and a simple green salad.
Wanja Jeon (Pan-Fried Meat and Tofu Patties)
These celebratory meat-and-tofu jeon — a variety of Korean pan-fried fritters, patties and savory pancakes — are peak party food. This brilliant recipe from Daniel Harthausen, the chef and owner of Young Mother, a pop-up restaurant in Richmond, Va., calls for a touch of baking soda in the meat mixture to give the patties a little lightness and lift. Unlike most traditional jeon recipes, these start on the stovetop and finish cooking in the oven, which means you can take your time assembling them in advance, then bake them off right before serving. Enjoy these meaty delights with Mr. Harthausen’s special dipping sauce (see Tip), a simple herb salad dressed with some of that sauce, as well as rice and kimchi.
Dwaeji Bulgogi (Spicy Pork Bulgogi)
In this chile-fragrant variation of the Korean grilled beef dish bulgogi, a quick but impactful marinade tenderizes thin slices of pork. Sweet and spicy dwaeji bulgogi, known to some as jeyuk bokkeum, can be both a weeknight staple for the family and a crowd pleaser for a gathering, not least because you can marinate the meat in advance and cook it whenever you’re ready to eat. Wrapping the juicy red pork in grassy, aromatic perilla leaves (a mint-family herb that you can find in Korean grocery stores) is a beautiful eating experience, but lettuces such as red leaf, romaine and butter lettuce work as well. A side of white rice helps sop up the saucy, flavorful pork.