Weeknight
3487 recipes found
Summer Roll Noodle Salad
Taking a cue from Vietnamese summer rolls, this rice vermicelli noodle salad is packed with the bold, bright flavors and textures reminiscent of its namesake dish. With tender lettuce for its sweet, earthiness (and a nod to the lettuce often used to wrap around spring rolls), a hefty handful of fresh herbs and plump shrimp, this salad is texturally rich and full of fresh flavors. The dressing — a hybrid of peanut dipping sauce and nước chấm — is nutty, punchy and deeply savory thanks to the fish sauce and hoisin. To lessen the fiery bite of the Thai chile in the dressing, let it sit in the lime juice before adding the rest of the ingredients. A combination of carrots and bean sprouts bulk up the salad, but feel free to swap more of one for the other.
Cumin Beef and Green Bean Stir-Fry
Borrowing from both Hunan and Indo-Chinese cuisine, this speedy stir-fry features a generous amount of crushed cumin seeds for their aroma and earthy flavor. While ketchup is commonly used in Indo-Chinese cooking to provide tangy sweetness, sriracha does double duty, delivering a spicy kick without needing to reach for the chile powder. Green beans are ideal here for their mild sweetness and crunchy texture, but any quick-cooking vegetable will work in their place.
Zucchini and Fennel Salad
It’s not properly summer until you have too much zucchini in your life, spilling out of your market bags and collecting in your crisper drawer. This recipe takes what might feel like a bumper crop burden and makes it a star of the season once more. Fresh, crisp and bright, this plucky, lemony shaved zucchini and fennel salad is easy to throw together for a lovely summer luncheon or dinner. An incredibly à la minute salad, the vegetables are basically softened in the moment with the salt and the acid, so make sure to serve this salad quickly for optimal texture and taste. While it is crispest and freshest as soon as it’s made, leftovers will be just as lovely, albeit not as crisp, the next day, and can be perked up with fresh herbs or even repurposed: Roughly chop and toss with arugula and cooked chicken for a great, hearty lunch. This is a salad that gives and gives.
Broccoli Soba Salad
Inspired by the flavors of crave-worthy yamitsuki, a Japanese cabbage dish named for its addictive qualities, this broccoli soba salad is an assured crowd pleaser. A brief marination in salt tenderizes the broccoli, making it more receptive to a humble yet powerful trio of seasonings: salt, garlic and sesame oil. The unlikely addition of vegetable stock paste or bouillon powder bolsters the emphatic umami of this dish; if you have MSG in your pantry, you could add a few pinches of that instead. Using both the flower and stalk of the broccoli adds both texture and crunch to the foundation of nutty soba noodles. This is the perfect prep-ahead dish, as it benefits from chilling to allow the flavors to meld and the soba to become firmer and less fragile.
Enchiladas Suizas (Creamy Chicken Enchiladas)
Enchiladas Suizas are sort of a lie. They are neither chile-laden nor from Switzerland. The name likely comes from using an abundance of cream and cheese in the recipe, which Mexicans associate with the alpine country due to its famous dairy production. These enchiladas, a combination of lightly fried corn tortillas filled with tender shredded chicken, bathed in velvety salsa verde and blanketed with melted cheese, were invented in the early 20th century at the famed Sanborns de los Azulejos, a Mexican café chain that turned the dish into a cultural icon throughout Mexico. That salsa verde? It is swirled into cream with a simple roux to keep the thickened salsa from separating and to tame any heat that you might expect from serrano chiles. For a weeknight-friendly version, shredded rotisserie chicken can save you some time.
Crunchy Queso Wrap
A wildly popular novelty snack from Taco Bell, the Crunchwrap Supreme combines elements of a burrito with the tidier portability of a sandwich, in a stacked, layered and wrapped tortilla package. It delights for two practical reasons (low cost and convenience) and two culinary ones (crunch and cheesiness). An at-home version is a fun party trick — and it is endlessly customizable. Once you cook up the assertively spiced ground beef, the rest of this recipe is basically assembly: Start with the largest flour tortillas you can find, then layer on the meat (or crispy tofu, or refried beans), cloak it in queso, stack a tostada on top, pile on some chipotle sour cream, lettuce and pico de gallo, then fold and sear. Would you spend less buying just one at a Taco Bell? Yes, but your ratio of filling to tortilla will be paltry compared to this homemade version, which cheaply and happily feeds a crowd.
Satay-Style Grilled Chicken Thighs
A familiar sight on many Thai menus in the U.S., chicken satay typically involves grilled skewers of marinated chicken, charred and stained with spices, and served with peanut sauce and perhaps a cucumber relish on the side. This recipe gives the dish a one-plate remix by bringing all the same flavors together, in slightly different proportions, and placing them atop rice. Because of its sugar and fat content, the coconut milk in the chicken marinade chars up beautifully on the grill, while the chile in the cucumber relish — served as an abundant garnish here — balances out the sweetness of the dressing. Replacing the traditional peanut sauce, chopped peanuts add pops of crunch. Get ahead by putting together the salad and marinade the day before and storing them in the fridge until you’re ready to make the chicken.
Keema Palak (Ground Chicken and Spinach Curry)
This comforting ground-chicken dish is layered with typical Desi spices: cumin, chile powder and garam masala. Finished with tender baby spinach, it has all the makings of a satisfying one-pot meal. In most keema (or ground-meat) curries from the Indian subcontinent, onions and meat are sautéed separately in two steps, but this recipe calls for cooking them together, along with ginger and garlic, a shortcut that saves time without sacrificing flavor. Spices and tomatoes follow, and a hefty amount of quick-cooking baby spinach is added toward the end, adding a mild earthiness that balances the bold spices. A splash of lemon juice adds freshness and brings everything together. Serve it with rice or roti for an easy, flavorful meal that comes together in 30 minutes.
Spicy Green Curry Steak
A quick rest in spicy, superflavorful Thai green curry paste — made from aromatics and herbs like cilantro, galangal, garlic, lemongrass and fresh chiles — imbues skirt steak with complex floral heat. Besides making wonderful curries and marinades, the paste makes a great addition to soups, dressings and sauces. Look for jars or cans in Thai markets or the international aisle at the supermarket. Green curry paste can pack quite a bit of heat; red curry paste will offer slightly milder results for this dish. Serve this steak alongside a sliced tomato salad for extra color and brightness.
Ranch Grilled Chicken
Rich and creamy, herbaceous and garlicky, homemade ranch dressing serves as a marinade for chicken that gets charred on the grill outside, or in your kitchen on a grill pan. To freshen things up, make a crunchy, lemony radish salad with the same herbs used in the dressing, bringing the flavors back full circle. You can use the radish greens too, but if they aren't in their tender prime, try another leaf like arugula or butter lettuce. For a starchy moment, serve this with grilled or fresh bread.
Seattle-Style Hot Dogs
Nestled in a toasted bun, slathered with cream cheese and piled high with cooked onions and other toppings like sauerkraut and jalapeños, the split and seared Seattle dog is part of the city’s culinary identity. But, like so many regional dishes, the Seattle dog has evolved: Created in 1988 by Hadley Long, a street vendor in Pioneer Square during grunge’s heyday, the combination of hot dog and cream cheese was originally tucked into a toasted bialy bagel stick. By the early ’90s, other vendors followed suit, and the street food evolved to include butterflied hot dogs and toasted hot dog buns, becoming common at late-night hot dog carts outside of local music venues and sports arenas. While Mr. Long has since left the city, he has kept up with the evolution of his creation and maintains that while you can add whatever toppings you’d prefer, a true Seattle dog requires three essential ingredients: a bialy stick, cream cheese and a hot dog.
Skillet Orzo With Chorizo and Dates
This smoky, sweet one-pan orzo uses a hands-off approach that takes cues from paella, allowing the orzo to simmer, untouched, so that a golden crust (called socarrat) forms underneath. It’s not quite as crispy as what you’ll get from traditional rice-based paella, but it still makes for some nice textural contrast. Just be sure to use a well-seasoned cast-iron or nonstick skillet to prevent the orzo from sticking. Cured Spanish chorizo lends smoke and spice, dates provide pops of chewy sweetness, and a shower of goat cheese crumbles brings creamy tang.
Sheet-Pan Socca (Savory Chickpea Pancake)
Crispy on the outside and creamy at their core, socca are thin, olive-oil-rich chickpea pancakes. In Provence they’re often made on wide, flat copper skillets, but a screamingly hot sheet pan works extremely well, too — and makes an extra-large chickpea cake that can serve as a light dinner or an easy appetizer. Socca are usually not topped with anything more than black pepper; they are delicate and can’t support more than minimalist additions. However, a light scattering of toppings — like anchovies, pecorino and scallions here — makes socca qualify as a simple and delicious meal. A handful of chopped olives added before baking would also work, as would a garnish of torn slivers of prosciutto, draped on top just before serving.
No-Cook Chili Bean Salad
All the usual suspects found in a vegetarian bean chili appear in this salad — canned beans, tomato, bell pepper, red onion and spices — but there’s no cooking-with-heat required. The tomatoes are salted to tenderize and coax out their sweet, umami juices. Cumin, coriander, smoked paprika and dried oregano inject smoky earthiness and complexity. While black and pinto beans are used here, it is absolutely viable to use whatever beans you have on hand for this pantry-friendly recipe. Best of all, the salad can be dressed up with the usual chili toppings such as avocado, sour cream and cheese. Eat as is, or with tortillas or corn chips on the side.
Crispy Suya-Spiced Salmon
Traditionally used to season grilled meat skewers in Nigeria, suya spice (also called yaji) is a spicy peanut-based blend that brings a bold, layered flavor to anything you are throwing on the grill — and it has plenty of other uses, too. Here, the coarsely ground peanuts in the suya meld with panko to give the crunchiest crust to roasted salmon while adding a Nigerian spin. Using a bit of oil helps the panko mixture cling to the fillets, creating a crispy, flavorful dish that pairs perfectly with rice and a fresh cucumber and tomato salad.
Masala Chickpeas With Tofu and Blistered Tomatoes
Like a warm and gentle nudge, masala spice gives onions and chickpeas a distinctively comforting heartiness. Glimmering with droplets of ghee, they become rich in this any-season dish. Tearing the tofu allows for ample crooks and crannies that cradle and accentuate the aromatic goodness of the spice. Cherry tomatoes, slightly and delicately blistered, are welcome as juicy bursts of acidity in every bite. Serve this over rice, or with a gently poached egg, along with a few slices of lime for squeezing.
Lemony Peas and Dumplings
With no kneading or fussy shaping required, these easy, spoon-formed dumplings make the perfect dinner in a pinch. More like German spaetzle and Hungarian galuska than Italian gnocchi, these dumplings are made with a thick, pancake-like batter that comes together in minutes, ready to scoop and plop into boiling water. A fresh nod to chicken and dumplings, these lemon-scented dumplings develop an irresistibly chewy texture as they simmer. Thanks to the residual heat from the water, the frozen peas thaw in a couple of minutes, before getting dressed in the buttery lemon sauce. To ensure a silky-smooth sauce, gradually stir the fridge-cold butter in the lemon juice, two tablespoons at a time. Highlight the sweetness of the peas and the brightness of the lemon juice and zest with a generous sprinkle of salt to finish.
Grilled Honey-Mustard Chicken Thighs
Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are a great choice for grilling any night of the week: They take well to marinades, cook quickly and develop a nice crispy exterior without drying out. This crowd-pleasing recipe, inspired by classic honey-mustard sauce, starts with a simple but flavorful Dijon mustard marinade. Since marinades high in sugar can burn when chicken is grilled over high heat, this recipe calls to brush the chicken with a rich, sweet and savory three-ingredient glaze (honey, Worcestershire sauce and more mustard) as soon as it comes off the grill. For a little kick, add a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce to the glaze, and be sure to pass any leftover glaze around the table for dipping. Serve with grilled vegetables and a crowd-pleasing picnic side, such as pasta salad or potato salad.
Shrimp Salad
This Southern shrimp salad is so easy to throw together. It uses fresh or frozen shrimp, quickly and gently cooked in a pot of just-boiled water that’s well seasoned and spiked with lemon. Once cooled, the shrimp is then tossed in a savory, tangy, creamy dressing with a crunch from crisp vegetables for a perfect balance of texture. It’s an ideal light lunch, and also keeps in the fridge for a few days, ready to serve as a snack with crackers when you need something in a hurry.
Sheet-Pan Roasted Salmon With Tuscan Bread Salad
Panzanella, the peak-summer bread-and-tomato salad, turns into a satisfying dinner when you toss in tender flaked chunks of salmon. A simple anchovy-Dijon vinaigrette does double duty as both a quick marinade for the fish and the dressing for the colorful salad. Roasting the fish and toasting the bread on a single sheet pan makes for easy cleanup. This salad is delicious served as soon as it’s been tossed, when the bread cubes retain a crouton-like crunch, but it can rest a bit, too, at which point the bread cubes soften after soaking up the dressing and tomato juices.
Kai Jiew (Crispy Fried Thai Omelet)
This classic Thai omelet — with just enough fish sauce and sugar to enhance its pure eggy flavor — is equally friendly to home cooks, serving as a staple in dorm rooms and home kitchens alike. Unlike its French cousin, cooked softly in butter, kai jiew is cooked through in a generous amount of oil, making it delicately crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Beaten with cornstarch and poured into a hot pan, the eggs puff and sizzle as they cook. Serve this as is over a pile of fragrant jasmine rice or alongside curries or stir fries.
Sheet-Pan Shrimp Oreganata
This breezy weeknight meal loads fresh shrimp with fistfuls of garlicky, seasoned bread crumbs, which crisp and brown on top and plump up and soften underneath as they roast, soaking up the buttery wine sauce at the bottom of the sheet pan. It’s inspired by the Italian American classic clams oreganata, clams stuffed with bread crumbs and dried oregano, but instead swaps out the bivalves for shrimp. Slip the sheet pan in the oven to melt the butter, then stir in white wine before adding the shrimp and bread crumbs, creating a quick, tasty pan sauce that reduces as it cooks. A final spritz of lemon as soon as the pan comes out of the oven adds a nice zippy finish. Serve as an appetizer (plate required!), or alongside a plate of pasta or vegetables.
Spaghetti Napolitan
Spaghetti Napolitan should be thought of as a yaki (“fried”) noodle dish more than an Italian-style pasta. This smart, effortlessly delicious version comes from ketchup lover Chiaki Ohara of Davelle, a Japanese café on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Frying the ketchupy noodles and vegetables over high heat, in a generous amount of oil, results in a deeply satisfying sauce, so don’t be afraid of a little fire (or oil, for that matter). This is Japan’s yoshoku (“Western-style”) interpretation of Italian tomato spaghetti, a dish that’s hard to get right, but Ms. Ohara’s Napolitan ratios are quietly precise and genius. If you can relish it, the soft fried egg on top adds so much.
Spicy Cucumber Noodle Salad With Clams
Based on the classic Korean banquet dish, golbaengi muchim (sea snail or whelk salad), this refreshing noodle salad makes use of lovely canned clams in place of the snails. When paired with chile, lemon and umami, the seafood in this recipe recalls shrimp cocktail at the Grand Central Oyster Bar and eating local conch in the Bahamas. In other words, it’s a party. The key to this recipe is using the liquid from the canned clams to both season and thin out the dressing so it can really coat the luscious, bouncy noodles. If you have fresh herbs like perilla or mint lying around, use them here with great abandon.