Weeknight
3491 recipes found
Slow-Roasted Tomato Sauce With Pasta
Instead of standing over a bubbling cauldron all day long, wondering how many dots of sauce you can collect on your apron, let the oven do all the work. You’ll want to use canned tomatoes here, rather than fresh ones, because you can trust that the canned ones were picked at peak season, their flavors amplified by being preserved in a can with a little salt. By roasting them in a low oven for a few hours, you’re effectively adding umami to an already umami-packed ingredient. Well, the oven is. You’re not doing a thing except boiling some pasta, and eventually, marveling at how such a rich red sauce came from such humble, any-season ingredients.
Spicy Stir-Fried Cabbage
This is a vegetarian version of a classic Chinese stir-fry. The authentic versions I’ve encountered include some pork or bacon, but the chilies, ginger, garlic, star anise and the cabbage are flavorful enough without meat. I’ve added carrots for color.
Vegetable Pajeon (Korean Scallion Pancakes With Vegetables)
Crisp at the edges, soft at the center and filled with scallions and other vegetables, these irresistible, comforting pancakes (adapted from Sohui Kim of Insa and the Good Fork restaurants in Brooklyn) make for a quick dinner that you can throw together on any given weeknight. It’s extremely forgiving, so feel free to use whatever vegetables you have on hand. Ms. Kim recommends finely shredded raw vegetables, or even leftover cooked vegetables. And if you don’t have the bandwidth to make a dipping sauce, a drizzle of soy sauce and squirt of Sriracha adds verve without any work. Serve pajeon by itself or topped with a fried egg or two, if you want to add protein.
Garlicky Chicken With Lemon-Anchovy Sauce
There’s nothing wrong with a dinner of pan-seared chicken seasoned with salt and pepper. But there’s everything right about the same chicken when you add anchovies, capers, garlic and plenty of lemon to the pan. What was once timid and a little dull turns vibrant, tangy and impossible to stop eating. And the only real extra work is chopping the garlic and a little parsley for garnish. In this dish, the cut of chicken is less important than the pungent pan sauce. Most people will probably want to use the workhorse of all poultry dinners, the boneless, skinless breasts. But the thighs cook nearly as quickly, and have a greater margin of error in terms of doneness. Overcook your breasts by even a minute, and you’ll get dry, tough meat. Thighs are more forgiving. However, if your family insists on white meat, you can substitute breasts and subtract about 3 minutes from the cooking time. There is no need to mention the anchovies until after people have complimented you on the meal.
Pepperoni Pasta With Lemon and Garlic
Bits of chopped pepperoni crisp up almost like bacon when fried, with curled, browned edges and a savory, spicy bite. Here, they’re the foundation of a hearty pasta sauce that’s supremely satisfying and fast enough for a weeknight. Lemon, garlic and fennel seeds round out the flavors, and fresh herbs lend brightness. Taste the pepperoni before adding the optional red-pepper flakes. Depending on the brand of sausage, you might not need the extra kick. And if you don't have pepperoni on hand, any kind of salami will work.
Mini Meatball Soup With Broccoli and Orecchiette
The little meatballs in this cozy soup are just half-teaspoon bits of Italian sausage that needn’t be rolled or browned before being plopped in. As the meatballs cook, the soup takes on the sausage's spices. This recipe is very adaptable: It calls for carrots and broccoli, but use whatever vegetables you wish. For the pasta, the tiny meatballs fit snugly in orecchiette, but feel free to use your favorite shape.
Any Fish Jorim
Fish jorims, braises such as eundaegu (black cod) and godeungeo (mackerel), are staples of Korean home cooking. This easy variation highlights the aromatic flavor of soy sauce, garlic and ginger, a combination that seeps into bone-in, skin-on fish. Steaks of black cod, mackerel and salmon work best here, as they seem almost to melt into rich silkiness, but you could use whatever fatty fish and cut you like. The whole red radishes in this recipe, replacing the more typical Korean radish slabs, gently boil in the salty-sweet liquid until tender, lending their vegetal sweetness to the velvety broth. A barely steamed, basically raw relish of scallions, red onion and jalapeño adds freshness and crunch.
Artichoke Carbonara
Like most traditional Italian dishes, pasta alla carbonara, quintessentially Roman, employs a minimum of simple ingredients to create a hearty and delicious meal. Guanciale provides salt and fat, while Pecorino Romano and egg yolks mixed with pasta water — a prized Italian secret — help create the velvety sauce. To truly gild the lily, consider a raw egg yolk on top of the pasta. Artichokes, a Roman favorite, come to this dish to soak up the flavors of the guanciale while melting into the pasta. The traditional pasta used in trattorias is tonnarelli, but spaghetti or bucatini are perfect substitutes.
Baked Mustard-Herb Chicken Legs
“A model of simplicity” is how Mark Bittman described this 2004 recipe from the San Francisco chef Gary Danko. Painted with mustard and tossed in an herbed mix of bread crumbs, they go right into an oven, to be pulled out about 30 minutes later. It’s dinner party-worthy fare, made just as easily on a weeknight.
Smoky Tomato Carbonara
Carbonara, a Roman specialty, transforms a few basic ingredients into a rich pasta dish. It’s traditionally made with Parmigiano-Reggiano, eggs, guanciale (cured pork) and black pepper, but this version uses bacon, since it’s widely available and lends a nice smoky note. The creamy sauce is created when raw eggs are tossed with the hot pasta (away from direct heat to avoid curdled eggs). This can be tricky, but the method used here is foolproof: Whisk some hot pasta water into the beaten eggs, then drizzle the tempered egg mixture into the pasta while stirring vigorously for a glossy smooth sauce. Tomatoes are not traditional in carbonara, but they lend a bright tang to the dish.
Dooymaaj Salad
Dooymaaj is a nostalgic Iranian childhood snack of dried, days-old bread — it’s an effort to not waste a single crumb — combined with fresh herbs, cheese and walnuts. The ingredients are bound with a splash of milk and a drizzle of butter, then rolled into balls and enjoyed as an afternoon treat. This refreshing, zesty, herb-filled bread salad is an homage to the beloved snack. Use any flatbread you like, but crisp lavash bread holds up particularly well against the creamy and tangy buttermilk dressing. This is hearty enough to be served on its own as a light meal or alongside grilled chicken or fish, such as chicken or salmon kababs.
Pork Meatballs With Ginger and Fish Sauce
These nuoc cham-inspired meatballs are perfect to fill lettuce cups topped with fresh basil or cilantro. (Add steamed rice for a more substantial meal.) The Ritz crackers here make for a juicier meatball, but feel free to substitute plain dry bread crumbs. To make the Ritz crumbs, place the crackers in a resealable plastic bag and lightly crush them with the back of a wooden spoon or measuring cup. For an easy dipping sauce, spike 1/4 cup mayonnaise with 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil or soy sauce. And save any leftover meatballs: They're great simmered in chicken broth the next day. The ginger and garlic in them release their aromatics into the broth for a deeply flavorful soup base.
One-Pan Feta Pasta With Cherry Tomatoes
In 2018, the Finnish blogger Jenni Hayrinen posted a recipe for baked feta pasta. The dish became a full-on TikTok sensation, popular to the point that supermarkets were selling out of feta. This version streamlines her recipe. Instead of cooking the pasta separately, it’s added to the casserole dish with the baked feta and tomatoes, turning it into a cozy one-pan meal. (Also note that you’ll need an electric kettle to boil the water. So maybe it’s more like a one-and-a-half-pan meal.) Don’t think of this as a pasta dish in an Italian, al-dente sense. It’s more like a creamy casserole along the lines of mac and cheese. In any case, it’s comforting and supremely easy.
Mahi ba Somagh (Sumac Roasted Fish)
This flavorful and bright preparation of mahi, which means fish in Persian (not to be confused with mahi-mahi), comes together quickly. In keeping with the sour-leaning Iranian palate, a generous sprinkling of tart sumac and a drizzle of fragrant orange and lime juices coat butterflied whole fish. If your sumac has been languishing in the back of the spice drawer for some time, get a new jar. Over time, sumac loses its fragrance and punchy flavor and becomes bitter and bland. The key to successfully roasting the fish is to remove excess moisture by patting them dry with paper towels. Serve with a side of rice with tahdig, plain steamed rice or oven-baked fries and a simple salad.
Spinach, Tofu and Sesame Stir-Fry
You can serve this simple stir-fry with grains or noodles, or (my preference) use it as a filling for a whole wheat pita pocket.
Gingery Fried Rice With Bok Choy, Mushrooms and Basil
An ideal recipe for reducing waste in the kitchen, fried rice is a great way to use up spare tofu, leftover meats or wobbly vegetables. Master Sam Sifton’s fried rice technique, and you’ll have the tools to repurpose leftovers and surplus vegetables. But if it’s a bright, fresh slew of greens and herbs you’re after, this recipe supplies a high ratio of vegetables to rice. Everything cooks quickly, so your mise en place truly counts here: Get everything chopped and prepped before you pick up the pan, and dinner can be ready in 20.
Somen Noodles With Poached Egg, Bok Choy and Mushrooms
The perfect salve for cold winter days, this vegetarian noodle soup can be cobbled together in an instant from the contents of a well-stocked kitchen. It takes its flavor from a quick bouillon using just four ingredients: soy sauce, sesame oil, scallions and shiitakes, which deliver a hefty, flavorful dose of glutamate. Poached eggs add richness to the clean and comforting broth. Fresh eggs have stronger, firmer albumen (egg whites) and will thus hold their shape better than older eggs, which have a tendency to unfurl. The main key to achieving that teardrop shape during poaching is allowing the eggs to simmer without disturbance until cooked.
Rice Cake Soup With Bok Choy and Edamame
This fresh soup is a riff on something that a Chinese or Korean mom might make, with rice cakes added to bulk it up. You can find the white, oval disks in most Asian supermarkets; they are made with glutinous rice flour and have a chewy texture. They are precooked, but will rehydrate and soak up more liquid in this soup. If you find that they have soaked up too much, simply add a little more broth or water to thin out the soup. Substituting one to two cups of cooked rice to the soup in place of the rice cakes works well if you don't have access to an Asian grocery store.
Spicy White Bean Stew With Broccoli Rabe
Not quite a fridge clean-out situation, this extremely flexible stew can use up much of what you’ve got on hand. It’s vegetarian by nature, but feel free to start the pot with sausage, slab bacon or leftover ham if you’re feeling more omnivorous. If you can’t find harissa, use tomato paste and a pinch of red-pepper flakes for spiciness.
Creamy Broccoli Soup
This is one of the best formulas for a creamy, savory broccoli soup — and it doesn’t include any cream. Borrowing from the concept of using coconut water to provide the kind of richness that is reminiscent of bone broth in Yi Jun Loh’s ingeniously vegan Malaysian ABC soup, this simple green elixir starts with a base of umami-loaded vegetables seared in olive oil then braised in coconut water. With silken tofu providing creaminess, this verdant, vegetable-powered soup can be pleasurably contrasted, in flavor and in temperature, with an optional dollop of sweet, cool ricotta. (If you’re keeping this vegan, you’ll still have plenty of creamy richness even if you leave the ricotta out.)
Hot and Sour Dumpling Soup
A Chinese take-out staple, hot and sour soup is super easy to create at home — and comes together in just 15 minutes. This weeknight version bolsters the traditional mushrooms and tofu with the addition of store-bought pork dumplings, but you could just as easily use chicken or vegetable dumplings, depending on your preference. Cornstarch gives the broth its velvety texture, vinegar adds verve, and white pepper adds subtle complexity, though black pepper is a perfectly fine substitute. Adjust the seasoning with extra soy sauce, ginger and vinegar for a more assertive soup.
Creamy Doenjang Pasta
Soybean pastes and noodles make good friends, as in Alexa Weibel’s five-ingredient creamy miso pasta. This version leans into the funkier, saltier flavor of doenjang, a Korean soybean paste whose pungency is an absolute pleasure in jjigaes, sauces and even bread made in a can. Here, doenjang is tempered by the natural sweetness of milk, which stars in many Korean takes on Italian pasta. The milk thickens as it mixes with the starchy noodles and creates a velvety sauce, one that tastes rich but measured, with a rounded cheesy quality. It will seem like a lot of liquid at first, but the milk will reduce. The finished pasta sauce will continue to thicken once it’s off the heat; add more pasta water if it starts to look dry.
Stir-Fries With Fresh Vegetables
Over 50 percent of this colorful chicken stir-fry is composed of vegetables. Use chicken tenders or chicken breast.
Lemony Carrot and Cauliflower Soup
The beauty of a soup like this — other than its bone-warming properties — is that you don’t need a recipe. You can pretty much simmer together any combination of vegetables with a little water or broth, purée it, top it with good olive oil and salt, and end up with something good to eat. The addition of miso paste and crushed coriander to the broth, and fresh lemon and cilantro at the end, zips things up without negating the comfort factor.