Weeknight
3491 recipes found
Chopped Salad
A good chopped salad is a buoyant mix of different textures (creamy, crisp, crunchy, juicy), a range of colors, and sweet, salty and tangy flavors. This one has it all, in just the right proportions. You can gather all the ingredients in advance, including cooking the bacon and the eggs. But don’t toss everything together until just before serving — and, preferably, do so at the table for maximum impact.
Mashed Potatoes With Garlic and Basil
Creamy Cauliflower Pasta With Pecorino Bread Crumbs
Equal parts cauliflower and pasta, this one-skillet dinner is a vegetable-forward version of macaroni and cheese. A whole head of cauliflower browns and caramelizes in a skillet before being simmered with heavy cream, pecorino cheese and a bit of lemon zest, breaking down into a special (and yes, decadent) sauce to coat the pasta shape of your choosing. For those looking to make it their own, this pasta could absolutely handle a bit of chopped bacon sautéed with the cauliflower, or handfuls of leafy greens tossed in at the end to wilt. Whatever you do, do not skip the bread crumbs — they are a not-so-stealthy vehicle for more cheese, and also add much-needed texture to the finished dish.
Craig Claiborne's Beef Stew
It would be hard to find a simpler meal than Mr. Claiborne’s hearty beef stew, which goes beautifully with buttered noodles and a stout glass of red wine. (Or, for the children, a glass of milk.) A small scattering of cloves adds a floral note to the gravy, augmented by just a little thyme, and the combination pairs beautifully with the carrots you add near the end of the cooking process, to prevent them from going mushy in the heat. Sprinkle chopped parsley over the finished dish, of course, a nod to the past that rewards in beauty and flavor alike.
Shrimp and Kimchi Rice Bowl
If you want dinner with ease, make it a rice bowl. You can cook the rice in advance and reheat it, or employ a rice cooker. (A small one doesn’t demand much space, and it cooks perfect rice while you go about other business.) But even if you make rice on the stovetop, you’ll have 30 minutes to pull together the rest of this meal, so it’s hot and ready all at once. Kimchi is the heavy lifter here, since it has tons of crunch and tang, which gives you space to add in other vegetable without doing much to them. They could be grated and raw, or make use of yesterday’s leftovers. If shrimp isn’t your speed, try this marinade on beef chuck or tofu. Or top the rice with an egg fried in a mixture of canola and sesame oil.
Pan-Fried Trout With Rosemary, Lemon and Capers
This 1994 recipe gets Provencal flavors on the table in minutes. Fresh rosemary needles are pressed into the fillets, which are seasoned in flour and pan fried for a crisp exterior and flaky inside. A sauce built on shallots, white wine and lemon adds complexity. Pair it with a light vegetable like sautéed asparagus, or a bright arugula salad, and serve with some of that white wine for an easy, refreshing spring dinner.
Whole Fish With Soy and Citrus
For those curious about cooking a whole fish but nervous to try, this skillet method is as simple as cooking a chicken breast. Meant to work with a larger fish, such as a snapper or black bass, this method, which keeps the skin and bones involved, prevents overcooking and drying out (plus it's more fun to eat). Basted with a citrusy browned butter-soy mixture, which also acts as a sauce once the fish is cooked, this one-skillet dish needs little more than some spriggy, fresh herbs for nibbling on alongside, but feel free to serve with a big leafy salad, bowl of rice or thick-cut toast.
Garlicky Steak With Carrot, Walnut and Dill Salad
Any steak benefits from a quick marinade, but especially a flank steak. Fairly tender on its own, it becomes its best self when bathed in oil laced with lemon, garlic and coriander. The trick here is to set aside a teaspoon of this potent marinade to stir into yogurt, to dollop or serve alongside. This marinade and the garlic yogurt also work well on chicken or pork, tossed with almost any grilled vegetable or even drizzled over toast. The salad, made from long strips of carrots, is a light, sophisticated side that's as at home on your Tuesday night table as it is at weekend brunch.
Octopus Bolognese
This quick and rich nontraditional riff on bolognese features convenient yet under-used tender and meaty tinned octopus. Look for octopus that’s packed in olive oil; the oil will add depth to the sauce, along with clam juice to heighten the seafood flavor. Tangy capers brighten the sauce, while nutty Parmesan rounds it out. (Cheese can typically overpower the delicate flavor of seafood, but octopus has a hearty texture and here, it is enhanced by a hit of nutty Parmesan cheese.) Serve it over pasta or polenta; it’s also great with mashed potatoes or sopped up with crusty bread.
Skillet Refried Beans With Avocado and Radish
This hearty vegetarian mash-up of burritos and seven-layer dip is a crowd favorite for good reason: It’s easy, it’s fast and it encourages diners to gather around the table and fill their tortillas however they wish. Canned refried beans seasoned with a dash of cayenne are heated through on the stovetop, then topped with a generous sprinkling of cheese. Before serving, lots of cool, crunchy toppings like avocado, grated Cotija cheese, snap peas, radishes and romaine lettuce are piled on top. The toppings make it feel like a proper meal, though you could serve it with tortilla chips as a snack or with eggs for brunch.
Ground Lamb Pulao
The aroma of fresh mint and spices permeates this bright, turmeric-painted pulao made with basmati rice and ground lamb. This recipe, which has origins in the ground meat pulaos of India, is quite flexible and open to additions: a handful of fresh dill, a generous sprinkling of fried peanuts or other nuts, or crispy, fried onions tossed in just before serving. It also works well if you substitute beef for the lamb, and really needs no sides, except maybe some raita, creamy plain yogurt or a salad.
Braised Chicken Thighs With Greens and Olives
In this quick and comforting one-pot, stove-top meal, chicken thighs are browned, then simmered with sturdy greens. When they're in season, pleasantly bitter dandelion greens are lovely here. But any structured greens with a tendency to wilt when cooked, like escarole, kale and even Swiss chard, will work here, so feel free to use whatever you have on hand. Olives and raisins, tossed in at the very end, add some salty and sweet notes. Round out the meal with a loaf of crusty bread — it's perfect to sop up this brothy braise.
Roast Chicken With Cumin, Honey and Orange
An easy way to give roast chicken some character is to baste it with flavorful liquid. Contrary to conventional wisdom, this does nothing to keep the bird moist. Even a very lean bird remains moist as long as it isn't overcooked. But the liquid adds flavor to the skin and creates a ready-made sauce that can be spooned over the chicken as you serve it. If you add some sugar or other sweetener to the basting liquid, the bird gains a mahogany color that you have to see to believe. As it heats, the sugar caramelizes, becoming thicker and stickier and turning the chicken's skin crisp and gorgeous. The result is not overly sweet, because caramelized sugars have a bitter, complex component. I prefer honey to sugar and like to combine it — as I do here — with orange juice and ground cumin, which together add acidity and even more complexity. This aromatic mix creates pan juices that can be spooned over rice or sopped up with bread.
Jerk Fish
Black Cod Broiled With Miso
Black cod with miso was not invented by Nobu Matsuhisa, the chef at Nobu in TriBeCa, but he certainly popularized it. His time-consuming recipe, which calls for soaking the fish in a sweet miso marinade for a couple of days, is a variation on a traditional Japanese process that uses sake lees, the sweet solids that remain after making sake, to marinate fish. If you broil black cod with nothing but salt, you already have a winning dish. If you broil it with miso – the intensely salty paste made from fermented soybeans – along with some mirin and quite a bit of sugar, you create something stunningly delicious. And no long marination is necessary.
Corn and Celery Stir-Fry
Corn kernels stir-fried with pine nuts is a northern Chinese dish that shows off the versatility of fresh, sweet corn. While frozen kernels would work in a pinch, this dish is best made with corn at its peak; stir-frying at high heat for just a few minutes locks in the summer sweetness and ensures that every kernel stays plump and juicy. Similarly, flash-fried celery becomes highly perfumed while retaining its crunch. Pine nuts deliver pops of buttery nuttiness, but you could also use cashews or peanuts in their place. Eat alone as a light meal or with rice.
Salmon Fried Rice
It’s always a clever idea to cook extra rice so that you can make fried rice the next night, or the one after that, using various bits and bobs in your fridge. Allowing the rice a day or two to dry out makes it doubly flavorful: Since the grains have less moisture, they’ll absorb even more flavor from whatever liquid you add to them. Plus, the dry grains remain separate, which means more surface area to soak up any seasoning. When it comes to fried rice, anything goes — leftover meat or fish, or whatever stray vegetables are lurking in your produce drawer or freezer will do. Just make sure you don’t crowd the pan, or your rice will steam instead of crisp.
Any Vegetable Stir-Fry
It’s always a shame to let precious vegetables go to waste. Once they pass their prime, they can form the foundation for a tasty stir-fry. Wrap mature greens like kale, Swiss chard and spinach in a damp towel and refrigerate them and they will keep for about seven days. Once they start to become limp, they may no longer shine raw in salads but they are perfect for stir-frying. This recipe works with what you've got, building an easy stir-fry with any combination of toasted nuts, crunchy vegetables and sturdy greens.
Creamy Turmeric Pasta
This earthy pasta is cobbled together using ingredients that you almost certainly already have in your kitchen. Its approach is fairly standard: Melt some butter, sauté some garlic and shallots, simmer with cream, then add some Parmesan and pasta cooking water to create a silky sauce. That alone would make a great meal, but what makes this recipe really special is the addition of ground turmeric, which gives this simple dish its vibrant color and sophisticated depth of flavor. This is meant to be a lazy meal — the kind of dish you throw together, then eat out of a big bowl while sitting on the couch — but if you're feeling the need for something green, serve the pasta with a simple salad dressed with vinegar and olive oil.
Broiled Salmon With Chile, Orange and Mint
A butter-flavored sauce with vibrant citrus and herbs brings an easy elegance to your weeknight salmon. Red-pepper flakes give off a subtle heat — feel free to add more if you like — while orange zest and fresh mint cut the richness of this superbly fatty fish. A crisp green salad or sautéed asparagus would work well alongside, as would a glass of rosé.
Coconut Curry Fish
Jamaican curry powder plays a major role in this deeply savory weeknight dish, giving the sauce its unique flavor and golden hue. The traditional spice blend is heavy on the turmeric, and benefits from being toasted, which brings out its notes. This recipe calls for frozen whiting, which doesn’t hold up to frying but shines here, simmered in a sauce studded with red and green bell peppers. If whiting is unavailable, cod is also a good choice.
Broccoli Toasts With Melty Provolone
A beautifully assembled toast can make a lovely light dinner. In this version, blanched broccoli is cooked in olive oil that's been infused with garlic and anchovies (always optional) until it’s very tender, then it’s piled onto toasted bread. Grated extra-sharp provolone, which is a nice complement to the mildly sweet broccoli, is sprinkled on top, then the toasts are broiled until the cheese is melted and golden brown. You can use cauliflower, broccoli rabe or thickly sliced sweet peppers in place of the broccoli, but be sure to cook your vegetables until they are velvety soft — it provides a nice contrast to the crunchy bread. While these toasts work well on their own, they make an equally good accompaniment to roast chicken or grilled fish.
Skillet Vegetable Potpie
Loaded with the season’s finest offerings, this pie comes together in one skillet and manages to be hearty yet light. Leek provides a sweet and aromatic base, potatoes add body, fennel delivers an earthy note and asparagus imparts crisp freshness. (You could also use broccoli or green beans.) Sour cream in the base offers a slight tang and keeps the sauce light. Be sure to chop all of your vegetables around the same size to ensure they cook evenly and are tender by the time the pastry is golden. If you like, add other seasonal vegetables like peas or fava beans in the spring, or cauliflower or brussels sprouts in the fall and winter. (Frozen vegetables work well, too.) When using store-bought puff pastry, thaw it in the fridge overnight. If you don’t have an ovenproof 9- or 10-inch skillet, simply transfer the mixture to a similar-sized round or square baking dish.
Braised Greens
Chicken stock, white wine and red pepper flakes add flavor to this side dish that can be made with whatever hearty green is in season.