Weeknight
3491 recipes found
Cauliflower Adobo
Chicken adobo, the national dish of the Philippines, is made by braising chicken in a salty, sour and sweet mixture of mostly soy sauce and vinegar. In this vegetarian version, cauliflower, rather than chicken, is caramelized on one side, then simmered in the pungent but not prickly sauce until toothsome yet tender. The simmer mellows the vinegar and soy sauce into a sauce interlaced with pepper, garlic and something herbal but not immediately traceable — that’s the bay leaves. Serve the cauliflower and sauce over rice or another grain with something green on the side.
Herb-Marinated Swordfish
Swordfish steaks are meaty in texture yet delicate in flavor and best when cooked to medium, so that the flesh is firm but still juicy. (Like many proteins, it can get tough if overcooked.) Rather than marinating in advance, here the fish is marinated after cooking: Cooked in a skillet until golden, the steaks are then left to soak up a piquant pan sauce while warm. The sauce imparts the punchy flavors of briny capers and citrus, while the olive oil keeps the steaks moist. Serve with a simple salad or with crusty bread for sopping up the juices.
Salami Pasta Alla Gricia
Pasta alla gricia is among the most versatile Roman pastas, and arguably foundational: Add tomato for amatriciana, add egg for carbonara or remove the pork for cacio e pepe. As one origin story goes, shepherds in Amatrice brought guanciale, pecorino and pasta on their journeys, and made these dishes for sustenance. Guanciale (cured jowl) isn’t especially common in the United States, so, in the spirit of the shepherds using what was available to them, this recipe uses salami. Like guanciale, salami gives off deeply flavored fat to build the pasta sauce on. But salami provides even more crispy bits of meat to stud this rich, silky, deceptively simple pasta.
Baked Tilapia
Tilapia has a flaky texture and a sweet, mild taste, so it welcomes assertive seasonings. This baked, sheet-pan recipe coats the fish with butter, lemon, garlic and parsley, but feel free to switch up the flavor as you like; paprika, Old Bay, ginger, lime and tarragon would all be great. Keep in mind that there are environmental issues around tilapia farming, so use resources such as Seafood Watch when selecting fish. This recipe also works with trout, flounder or other thin filets.
Rice Salad With Currants, Almonds and Pistachios
Summer buffets often feature potato salad and pasta salad, but rice salad, quite popular throughout the Mediterranean, is another terrific option to keep in mind. This simple one, which takes inspiration from Middle Eastern cuisine, uses pantry ingredients. It is delicious on its own with a bit of salad or with grilled chicken or fish. To keep the rice grains separate, boil the rice in a large pot of water as for pasta.
Fastest Pasta With Spinach Sauce
The very best pasta is often the simplest. Jack Bishop, the author of “The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook,” has refined his technique for pasta and vegetable sauce to breathtaking efficiency: He cooks the greens with the pasta and adds the seasonings at the last minute. While the pasta is cooking, Mr. Bishop prepares the seasonings. Allow at least a gallon of water to a pound of pasta, because you need a large pot to accommodate the greens and because, if there is too little water, the addition of the greens will slow the cooking too rapidly.
Pasta Alla Brontese (Creamy Fettuccine With Pancetta and Pistachios)
This easy weeknight pasta honors the town of Bronte, Sicily, renowned for its green pistachios harvested from the volcanic soil of Mount Etna. They’re famous for their flavor and bright green color. The simple pan sauce has only a few ingredients: ground pistachios, grated cheese, heavy cream, a splash of wine and pancetta. Perfect for a weeknight but interesting enough for a dinner party, this dish is as rich and comforting as fettuccine alfredo, with additional texture and depth of flavor from the crispy pancetta bits and nutty pistachio crumble.
Roasted Vegan Sausages With Cauliflower and Olives
Tangy-sweet raisins and salty olives make a zesty topping for this simple sheet-pan meal starring vegan sausages. As everything cooks, the cauliflower caramelizes and turns very tender, while the sausages sizzle and brown. If you’d rather make this with meat sausages, go right ahead; pork, turkey or lamb work especially well.
Broccoli-Walnut Pesto Pasta
Pesto becomes more full-bodied with the addition of broccoli that’s blanched in the same pot as the pasta and fresher with the combination of mint and lemon. For a sauce that's light and loose, use only the florets — not the stems. Raw walnuts have a welcome natural sweetness and nice crunch that complement the pesto, but you can leave them out or substitute sunflower seeds if you have a tree-nut allergy.
Spicy Watermelon Salad With Pineapple and Lime
Refreshing, sweet and spicy, this salad is the edible equivalent of a crisp beer on a hot summer’s day. It pushes the watermelon-feta-mint combination to new heights with a Mexican-inspired flavor profile of lime, jalapeño and cilantro. It’s also easy to prepare, requiring little more than a knife, a bowl and a whisk. Enjoy it as soon as it’s assembled, as the salty dressing draws the juice out of the fruit fairly quickly and the salad can lose its fresh crunch. A sprinkle of Tajín, a chile-lime Mexican spice blend, is optional, but adds a touch of smoke.
Vegan Kale-Pesto Pasta
This silky sauce is a lovely mash-up of kale sauce, basil pesto and cashew cream. Thanks to a simple pot of water and good timing, it doesn’t require soaking nuts for 30-plus minutes: Just boil the cashews with basil stems and kale stems (which are perfectly edible). Part of the way through, add the kale leaves, then right at the end of cooking, add a handful of basil leaves to lock in their color. Blend everything with garlic and red-pepper flakes, and watch in awe as rugged kale and cashews transform into a bright-green sauce that’s as light as air. The 3 cups of sauce will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge.
Mall-Style Vegetable Stir-Fry
The vegan chef Jenné Claiborne grew up in suburban Atlanta, where she developed a love for the teriyaki chicken stir-fry at Panda Express. After she became vegan, she recreated the flavors of her teen-age craving, using dates and soy sauce to produce the flavor of teriyaki sauce. If you don’t have chickpeas on hand to add heft to the vegetables, replace them with tempeh, tofu, edamame, jackfruit or mushrooms. Also, feel free to swap out the broccoli in favor of another green vegetable like kale, cabbage or bok choy. To make a less salty, slightly less mall-like version, use low-sodium soy sauce or 1/4 cup soy sauce and 1/4 water or broth. You can also use low-sodium canned chickpeas (or soak and cook your own and salt to taste).
Salad Pizza With White Beans and Parmesan
Inspired by California Pizza Kitchen’s tricolore salad pizza, this pizza features a mountain of brightly dressed greens and beans atop a crisp Parmesan crust. Rolling the dough very thin takes some patience, but the reward is a snappy crust similar to that of pizza tonda, a thin-crust pie that’s popular in Rome. The salad is made of arugula, white beans and pickled pepperoncini, dressed simply with olive oil and the brine from the peppers, but any salad topping would do. (The C.P.K. original had radicchio, greens, tomatoes and a vinaigrette.) With an abundance of leaves atop, fold the pieces in half to eat, or embrace the mess — it’s all part of the fun. To get vegetarian recipes like this one delivered to your inbox, sign up for The Veggie newsletter.
Provençal Tomato and Basil Soup
I learned to make this soup years ago when I lived in France. If there are no fresh tomatoes at hand, use canned. The soup is delicious and silky if you thicken it with tapioca.
Cold Rice Noodles With Coconut Milk, Peanuts and Lime
In this breezy recipe, rice noodles are tossed in a creamy-yet-light mix of coconut milk, fish sauce and lime, then garnished with plenty of salty peanuts, chile, lime zest and cilantro. Don’t bother picking the cilantro leaves from the stems; just chop the whole plant until you hit a firm, white stem. The green stems add crunch, and they pack more concentrated flavor than the leaves. Feel free to add whatever fridge stragglers or greenmarket celebrities that look good to you, such as thinly sliced vegetables, poached shrimp, pan-fried tofu, grilled chicken or pork. Because this salad teeters from savory to sweet, even pineapple, green apple or mango would do.
Turkish Shepherd’s Salad
What distinguishes this summer salad are all the fresh herbs and the sumac and red pepper used to season it. You can buy these spices at Middle Eastern markets or from online retailers like Penzey’s. The recipe is adapted from one in “The Little Foods of the Mediterranean,” by Clifford A. Wright.
Juicy Tomatoes With Parmesan-Olive Bread Crumbs
This mouthwatering salad of ripe, juicy tomatoes is dressed with a quick, vinegary dressing and finished with cheesy, garlicky bread crumbs, which bring pizza flavors to this summery dish. The tomatoes are salted for seasoning, but also to make their sweet juices pool out, creating a saucy base. Made with a combination of Parmesan, olives, garlic, spices and citrus zest, the bread crumbs can be prepared one week in advance. (Store in an airtight container and “refresh” them by warming them in the oven or on a stove-top until crisp and fragrant. Make extra to go on caramelized zucchini pasta or even lemony shrimp and white bean stew) Serve the tomatoes as a grand appetizer, or as a light supper with grilled chicken or steak.
White Bean, Rice and Dill Soup
This cozy, comforting pot of soup comes together quickly with a few pantry staples. Creamy canned navy beans and jasmine rice add body to a base of softened vegetables stained with turmeric. You may be tempted to add stock, but be assured that using water is enough here. The sum of the ingredients can stand on its own and doesn’t need the added boost of stock. (If you do add stock, be mindful of the amount of salt you use.) The dill – which can be dried or fresh – and turmeric brighten up the soup and offer a bright reminder of spring any time of year.
Baked Tunisian Carrot, Potato and Tuna Frittata
Tunisians often add tuna to their frittatas. I’ve tried this one with both tuna packed in olive oil and in water, and find that the tuna packed in water becomes too dry when the omelet bakes.
Stone Fruit Caprese
A standout caprese starts with great fruit. You need ripe tomatoes to weep juices, which then mingle with grassy olive oil and milky cheese to make your dressing. Basil adds freshness, black pepper and flakes of sea salt add crunch, and that’s it, a perfect combination. But if the stone fruit options are looking better than the tomatoes at the market, you can use them instead. They’re similar in flavor to tomatoes, but need cajoling to relinquish their juices. By letting sliced fruit macerate with salt, sugar and lemon juice, their fruitiness becomes more electric and their juices pool on the plate. Start with fruit you can smell and pair it with equally quality ingredients. Caprese is more about shopping than cooking.
Buffalo Cauliflower
Cauliflower is a blank canvas that can take on flavors that pack a punch, like Buffalo sauce. It also has lots of craggy edges that the sauce can cling to for maximum flavor. For crisp-edged buffalo cauliflower without a fryer, turn on the broiler. Once the tender florets are roasted, broil them a few minutes so the silky, spicy sauce caramelizes and chars in spots. (A finish under the broiler can also elevate chicken wings coated in Buffalo sauce.) Stir together a quick Ranch-style yogurt sauce for dipping, and get on with the game (or lunch).
Avocado Salad With Herbs and Capers
This salad is both dead simple to make and highly luscious. It gets a velvety richness from the avocados. The salad is enlivened by a splash of red wine vinegar in the dressing and a handful of briny capers sprinkled on top. The herbs here are used in two ways, both chopped into a garlicky salsa verde-like dressing, and strewn in whole leaves across the plate. Choose your avocados carefully for this; look for firm but not rock-hard fruit, without any mushy spots. If you’d like to substitute another variety of avocado for the Haas you can, but the salad may not have the same texture. Then serve it either as a side dish or an appetizer with a meal of roasted or grilled meats, chicken or fish. Or make it the foundation of a light lunch, with some crusty bread and tangy cheese on the side.
Watermelon and Feta Salad
A take on the Mediterranean combination of watermelon and feta, this refreshing zinger of a salad couldn’t be more perfect. Unassumingly simple, the sweet melon, salty cheese and fragrant basil reach their peak when doused with white balsamic vinegar and dribbled with fruity olive oil. Rather than building tall, this salad builds wide — so use a large platter for the most dramatic presentation. Vinegared watermelon does not keep its crisp, juicy texture well, so be sure to dress it (and eat it) the moment the last basil leaf falls.
Simplest Steamed Fish
If you have forgotten how delicious a great fillet of fish can be, try this: Steam it, with nothing on it. Drizzle it with olive oil and lemon juice. Sprinkle it with coarse salt. Eat.