Ali Slagle

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

Two simple tweaks can elevate the classic combination of fish and herb sauce to new, more dynamic heights. Start by broiling the salmon (or snapper or bass) skin-side up for crisp skin and delicate meat without flipping, splattering or stinking up the house. Then, promote the sauce to a side dish by stirring in a can of lentils. The legume’s earthiness balances the richness of the fish, while the fresh sauce enlivens the lentils. It’s a meal all on its own, but also excellent with a slice of crusty bread broiled until golden.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

This simple pasta is for in-between seasons – it marries the richness of a wintry pasta with the verdant vibrance of spring. The combination of sausage and butter glosses everything in a silky sauce, while the asparagus, frozen peas, lemon and an entire cup of basil keep it springy. (There are more vegetables in there than sausage or pasta.) Feel free to use coarsely-chopped springtime alliums like leeks, spring onions or ramps instead of the shallot.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

For an elegant appetizer that’s so easy even a toddler could make it, stuff sharp and tangy blue cheese inside caramelly dates, then press a candied nut on top. Sweet, salty, savory and creamy, these three ingredients deliver everything you crave in a pre-dinner snack. The recipe is adaptable to any size get-together: Scale it up or down, serve right away or assemble it ahead and refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2 hours. Let the stuffed dates come to room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before serving.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

There is absolutely nothing wrong with unadorned scrambled eggs, but here are two luxurious yet simple twists to consider: One, brown the butter in the pan, as dark as a dark chocolate, before adding the eggs. This will bring out the nutty sweetness of the butter. Then, to keep the eggs from veering too buttery, dot the finished scramble with vinegar. It provides the tang of hot sauce in a subtler way, so as not to distract from our main character, those silky eggs.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

You can’t go wrong with rice, beans and gooey cheese swaddled in a warm flour tortilla. But this streamlined bowl version of the burrito delivers more texture and color in just a few steps. Cook rice and beans together in a skillet, then melt cheese on top. Spoon into bowls, then top with a big chunk of avocado and a quick corn salsa, which can be made with fresh or canned corn. If your fresh corn is sweet, use its kernels raw, or cook it by microwaving the cobs in their husks for three minutes before shucking. Feel free to add tomatoes, pico de gallo or radishes to the bowls as well.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

As gentle to make as it is to eat, this soup brings together the soothing properties of chicken soup and braised beans and greens. The soup is sweet and smooth from onions, garlic and herbs softened in butter, chickeny from poaching boneless breasts in chicken broth and silky from smashed beans. Feel free to top bowls with a squeeze of lemon, grating of Parmesan or slice of crusty bread. You could also add cooked rice or pasta to bowls. This is a soup that’s there for you.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

This no-cook, main-dish slaw is all about texture and toppings. The cabbage and shredded chicken is only the beginning. It also has a double dose of savory nuttiness from nori and peanuts, a creamy peanut-ginger dressing and refreshing scallions and cucumbers. It’s creamy, crunchy, salty and fresh all at once, satisfying bite after bite. For a vegan option, trade the chicken for a combination of shelled edamame, baked tofu, bean sprouts and cooked whole grains.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

This no-cook recipe loosely follows the Chinese traditions of liangban tofu and bang bang sauce by topping cold, silken tofu with a fiery, tangy peanut sauce and raw celery. Eaten together, it is creamy and crunchy, hot and cold, intense and mild all at once. (The combination of peanut butter and celery might happily remind you of ants on a log, the childhood snack.) Eat with hot, steamed rice alongside, if you like.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

In this one-skillet meal, silky salmon and greens grow rich, sweet and spicy as they roast with a mixture of dried coconut, garlic and crushed red pepper. The dish is inspired by thoran, a Keralan dish in which vegetables are stir-fried with fresh grated coconut and warm spices. Here, the vegetable is chard, and instead of stir-frying it, it’s roasted, which allows the coconut, chile and garlic to infuse the greens as their leaves soften and crisp. Instead of chard, you can use kale, but remove and discard its ribs and stems first. Lime-zested salmon cooks next to the greens, accentuating the tender and buttery qualities of the dish.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

This one-pot pasta marries the vivid herbaceousness of pesto with the creaminess of Alfredo. Instead of heavy cream, however, this pasta’s silkiness comes from blending cottage cheese with plenty of Parmesan. You’ll want to use a high-speed blender or food processor to whirl the cheeses and greens into a smooth and glossy sauce, and if you have a scale, use it to make quick work of measuring the sauce’s ingredients.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

Here’s a glorious pot of crispy shredded pork, silky-soft peppers and brick-red drippings to spoon over hero rolls, polenta, pasta, rice or sautéed broccoli rabe or kale. For fork tender meat with lots of browned edges, don’t cover the pot: Instead, cook it with a small amount of liquid uncovered in a low-temperature oven, so it simultaneously braises and roasts. The liquid here is a combination of water, vinegar and the pork and pepper’s juices, which concentrate into sweet, rich and subtly tangy drippings. If you’d like a bit of heat, add hot chiles, too.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

With its soft, gooey inside and toasted outside, this egg and cheese quesadilla is as satisfying to eat as it is fun to make. The trick is to use the barely set eggs and melted cheese to secure the fillings to the tortilla, so that when it’s time to flip, the whole quesadilla cleanly moves together. As the tortilla toasts, add another round of cheese and sprinkle some on the perimeter so it melts into a crisp, brown, lacy edge. If you’d like to add chopped vegetables like peppers, onions or kale, sauté them in the butter before adding the eggs.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

Creamy, tangy and full of pep, this quick snack brings new life to your cottage cheese. Scallions, capers and everything bagel seasoning are stirred into cottage cheese, then torn arugula is scattered on top for a peppery crunch. Scoop into it with any combination of crackers, pretzels, toast and raw vegetables like cucumbers or celery — or eat it on a toasted bagel or English muffin. A batch, minus the arugula, keeps for up to two days in the fridge, so keep it on hand for anytime you need a pick-me-up.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

This roasted sheet-pan take on bibimbap drapes golden squash, brussels sprouts and tofu in a gochujang-apple cider vinaigrette, then piles everything on top of nutty whole grains. Tossing the vegetables and tofu in the sauce, as opposed to spooning the sauce over bowls, ensures every nook soaks up the spicy tang. Thin slices of apple and shallot are in there too, for bites of crisp freshness. And while the recipe calls for pre-cubed butternut squash for ease, you can use any winter squash you have. Just cut it into ½-inch wedges or 1-inch cubes, and feel free to leave the peel on for another layer of texture.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

Oozy and crisp, a patty melt is always a treat to eat, but not so much to cook: The process can be splattery, and it can be tricky to make them for more than two people at a time. The grill not only solves these problems, but imbues the simple components — ground beef, bread, cheese and onions — with a hint of smoke. Grill the onions until golden, then the patties, mostly on one side, for a chargrilled exterior and medium-rare inside. While that’s happening, toast the bread and melt the cheese on the cool side of the grill. Serve with a pickle and mustard alongside to cut through the richness.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

This warm-weather dinner channels steak tartare's signature combination of rare meat and sharp accoutrements: The steak is charred on the outside and medium-rare within, then topped with a mixture of chopped tomatoes, shallots, capers and chives. But unlike classic tartare, the embellishments are left in larger pieces for bigger, bolder punches. The steak and tomato juices combine to form a bright and briny sauce that you can sop with grilled bread or drizzle over a tuft of arugula, watercress or Little Gem lettuces.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

When blended in a food processor, grainy ricotta becomes an ethereally light dip. Here, it’s a mild and milky backdrop to swirls of honey and chile. Feel free to use whatever chile paste or oil you have. Serve the lightly sweet, spicy and creamy dip with something starchy — like crostini, crusty bread or pita chips — as well as slices of pears, apples, peaches or persimmons.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

In this fast, single-serving soup inspired by shin ramyun and kimchi soondubu jjigae, ramen noodles cook in a ferociously red broth of kimchi, gochujang, sesame oil, soy sauce and gochugaru. To temper the heat, eat the soup with soft tofu or crack an egg into the pot — its yolk adds some creaminess to the broth. For more vegetables, add chopped leafy greens or broccoli with the ramen, or fill bowls with roasted squash or sweet potatoes.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

In this 20-minute side dish inspired by gomaae, tender green beans are glossed in a lively, savory, nutty combination of miso, mustard and lemon juice. They can be eaten right away or refrigerated for up to two hours ahead. Add them to grain bowls, picnic spreads, or lunch or dinner plates alongside grilled chicken or salmon, seared tofu, or tuna salad.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

You could throw some shrimp and vegetables on the grill and call it dinner, but a sauce makes the whole thing sing. Here, a pantry-friendly miso-honey sauce does double duty: It coats the shrimp before grilling, helping the exterior caramelize before the delicate meat toughens. Then, once everything’s off the grill, dunk the shrimp, corn and shishito peppers into more sauce. (You get to eat this dinner with your hands!) Leave the tails on the shrimp so they don’t fall through the grates, and also because a crispy, crackly shrimp tail is a treat to eat.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

These crisp and zesty tofu nuggets happily recall drive-thru chicken nuggets and seaside fried fish. The torn tofu is first coated in hot sauce, which acts as glue for the flour, Old Bay seasoning and garlic powder. As the tofu roasts in the oven, Old Bay’s blend of paprika, celery seed, dried mustard and other spices meld with the hot sauce for a nugget that’s salty, tangy and spicy. Eat with a squeeze of lemon or dipped into tartar sauce, ketchup or barbecue sauce, maybe alongside sweet potato fries or coleslaw.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

This lifesaver of a recipe calls for cooking dumplings and kale together in one skillet. First, brown frozen, not thawed dumplings, then sauté kale with garlic and ginger. Put the dumplings on top of the kale with a little water, cover the skillet and let the kale tenderize while the dumplings plump. Sauce simply with soy sauce and vinegar and garnish with any combination of sesame seeds, cilantro, scallions and chile crisp; for a bigger meal, serve over rice or another grain.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

At the happy place where mac and cheese, tomato pasta and tomato soup with grilled cheese meet, you’ll find this dreamy weeknight pasta. It starts with sizzling tomato paste, as well as garlic and paprika, in butter, to deliver a wallop of caramelized tomato flavor. Then, add water and pasta; as the pasta cooks, its starch will thicken the surrounding liquid. When Cheddar melts into the pot, it creates a glossy, creamy sauce with tang from the tomato and the Cheddar. Use cheese you grated yourself — not store-bought shredded cheese — so that it doesn’t clump.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

While this pasta is reminiscent of scampi, piccata and vongole, it delivers something more — a hard-to-pin-down complexity that comes from cooking the pasta not in water but in wine. Really! The pasta soaks up the wine’s layered flavors and piercing brightness, while the sharp alcohol evaporates away. Butter and anchovies round out the pasta to create a silky, savory sauce. Serve with seared chicken, shrimp or scallops, roasted mushrooms or a crunchy fennel or arugula salad.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

This classic Neapolitan dish involves poaching fish in a liquid that Marcella Hazan explained as being “denser than a broth, looser, more vivacious and fresher in taste than any sauce.” It’s made by simmering chopped extra-ripe tomatoes with water, garlic, chile and other flavorings. Once the water tastes like tomato, fish fillets are poached in it. This foolproof method prevents overcooking, so it’s ideal for all kinds of delicate seafood. Some think “crazy” refers to the broth’s spiciness, while others think the name comes from the fact that fishermen made the dish with seawater (but it could also simply reflect that water is the key ingredient). Ali Slagle

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

Inspired by Hawaiian pizza, this sweet, salty and spicy appetizer skewers together fatty, soft cured ham with juicy pineapple and the bright kick of pickled jalapeño. Because whole pineapples can vary widely in ripeness, go for the pre-cut, refrigerated chunks if available — they’re typically juicier and sweeter. These three-ingredient bites can start many a meal or party, especially with Champagne, rosé, beer or something stronger like a margarita or gin and tonic.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

This is a special pot of brothy beans with ingredients reminiscent of porchetta: shreds of pork shoulder, wedges of tender fennel, and a broth heady with herbs, black pepper and garlic. Eat it as you would any braised white bean, such as over pasta or alongside sautéed broccoli rabe or kale and crusty bread. For a slow-cooker version, see here.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

This easy sheet-pan meal starts by roasting pork, cherry tomatoes and chickpeas with nothing more than oil, salt and pepper. No need to brown the meat first; you’ll get plenty of flavor from the punchy combination of oregano, garlic, oil and vinegar that is poured over everything after roasting. As the pork rests, its juices mingle with the vinaigrette and roasted tomatoes to form a sauce for the tender meat and plumped chickpeas. Serve it alongside a green salad, grains or orzo, a spoonful of Greek yogurt, crumbled feta or a pita warmed in the hot oven.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

You probably already have a pantry full of protein-packed ingredients, so skip the protein powder and layer a variety of ingredients for a thick, creamy, just-sweet-enough shake. This recipe is flexible based on what you have, but the secret ingredient is a pinch of cinnamon, which marries the fruit, dairy and nuts or seeds into a combination that’s reminiscent of a fruit crisp. For a chocolatey shake, use frozen banana and 1 ½ teaspoons cocoa powder.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

While there are many ways to make a hearty soup of pasta and beans, this version of pasta e fagioli is tomato-rich and thick enough to coat a spoon, like some Italian-American renditions. While it usually includes sautéed celery, onions and carrots, on hurried nights, skip the meticulous chopping: A little cured meat, whether bacon or pancetta, and garlic build a savory base on their own. You could also add a green vegetable by stirring torn kale leaves or baby spinach into the soup in the last three minutes of simmering. The pasta will guzzle the broth as it sits, so thin leftovers with more broth.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

This cozy yet reviving rice bowl pairs Thai red curry-stained rice with tender chicken and a citrusy slaw. To fire up the red curry paste, toast it with the raw rice before adding broth. Then, place chicken breasts on top of the rice, where they will steam tender. While the rice rests, mix together a salad with a nuoc cham-inspired dressing, pre-shredded slaw blend, citrus, peanuts and herbs.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

Spicy, spritzy and refreshing, this cocktail is essentially grown-up root beer. A classic rickey is just liquor, lime juice and carbonated water, but reach for rye whiskey and trade the soda water for root beer, and you get the root beer rickey, a drink bartender Jim Meehan created for Cicoria, a pizzeria in Portland, Ore. Root beer and rye are natural partners, as each is woodsy, minty and caramelly; the soda also lends sweetness without having to add sugar. At Cicoria, the drink is served up in a short glass and garnished with a pineapple wedge, but this easygoing rendition opts for ice in a tall glass with more root beer. Add a lime wedge, if you like. Ali Slagle

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

While salmon might not be a traditional choice for Korean lettuce wraps, it is a delicious and fast one. Start by coating cubed salmon in vinegar and ssamjang — the salty-sweet-spicy sauce that’s also dabbed on the final wraps — then broil the salmon: The direct heat of the broiler mimics the sizzle of Korean barbecue, and broiling skin-side-up ensures the fat renders, the skin crisps and the meat doesn’t dry out. Eat the cubed salmon in a lettuce leaf with rice and more ssamjang, plus any other condiments you like. Fresh cucumbers and radishes and spicy raw garlic and kimchi play well with the silky, rich fish.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

Together, sardines and avocado make a rich pair. Here, the combination is balanced by rubbing a raw garlic clove on the warm toast and stirring together a vinaigrette right in the sardine tin using its seasoned oil. (You could also add capers, chives or everything bagel seasoning for more punch). Instead of slicing the avocado, scoop it out with a spoon, so that the vinaigrette can pool inside the little nooks instead of slipping off the toasts. Now’s also a great time to use smoked or seasoned sardines.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

If you like the pucker of fresh citrus and the punch of raw ginger and chile, this orange chicken-inspired dish is for you. Skip making a glaze and instead let the cooked chicken and broccoli rest in a sauce of tangerine juice, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, ginger and chile. The chicken will come out juicy, even if you overcook it a bit, since it rested in the sauce. This dish is as good warm over rice or soba as it is cold over iceberg lettuce for lunch the next day. Swap in any quick-searing protein or vegetable — steak, tofu, asparagus, bell peppers — as you like.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

This spectacular but simple side dish pairs golden, crisp-tender rounds of zucchini with salty, molten cheese, a garlicky red-wine vinaigrette and fresh herbs. Start by searing the zucchini in a skillet, then transfer it to a platter where it can soak up the punchy vinaigrette. Meanwhile, sear craggy pieces of halloumi in the same skillet. It’s added to the zucchini just before serving so the edges stay crunchy. Eat with whole grains, pita, hummus, grilled fish, chicken kebabs or other Mediterranean dishes.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

Silky salmon, chewy noodles, crisp vegetables: These cold noodle bowls are refreshing and satisfying, and don’t require much effort. Inspired by zaru soba and udon — cold noodles served with dipping sauce — this recipe uses supermarket stars to deliver flavor fast. Coating the salmon with toasted sesame oil and seeds accentuates the fish’s richness, while ponzu, a sauce of citrus juices, soy sauce and dashi, brightens straight from the bottle. If you like, add a kick with wasabi, grated ginger, shichimi togarashi, yuzu kosho or thinly sliced serrano pepper.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

This sheet-pan meal delivers big flavor with little effort. Bone-in chicken thighs, cubed squash (buy pre-cubed if you like), red onion and a can of black beans are all coated with smoky-warm spices before roasting. (To use boneless thighs, see Tip.) The chicken and black beans crisp, the squash and onion sweeten and everything is deeply seasoned with chili powder, cumin and chicken drippings. Bring contrast to the meal by adding cooling, creamy, fresh and crispy toppings, such as sour cream, pepitas, cilantro, raw onion and lime. This is sheet-pan cooking at its finest.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

It takes fewer than 10 minutes for the broiler to deliver a complete meal of molten, salty feta, sweet corn and smoky shishito peppers. While grilling cheese with vegetables is common in Mexican and Mediterranean traditions, this indoor, sheet pan rendition catches all the juices and oozing cheese as the feta slouches and chars and the vegetables plump and caramelize. Red onion quick-pickled in lime juice and a flurry of herbs cut through the richness. Serve it straight from the pan with warm pita, tortillas, quinoa, orzo, avocado, tzatziki or refried beans. For a kick, add thinly sliced jalapeños or serrano to the red onions, or top your plates with pico de gallo or hot sauce.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

While this weeknight-friendly recipe has the DNA of a broccoli-rice casserole, each element shines on its own: The rice is buttered and oniony sweet; the broccoli florets are tender, still-green and not mushy; and the cheese is broiled on top for a mix of gooey and crisp bites. Together, they make a dish that’s tempting enough to eat on its own. Or to make it a fuller meal, eat it alongside rotisserie chicken or pork chops or stir in a drained can of beans or tuna when you stir the rice.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

Soothing yet bright, this soup tastes like something that took careful attention, but really just requires throwing five ingredients into a slow cooker and letting it cook for hours. Dried chickpeas and cauliflower soften in the gentle heat, and the coconut milk thickens as the mixture cooks, seasoned with earthy turmeric and sweet lemon peel. While a little lemon juice balances the richness, the predominant lemon flavor here isn’t tangy but rather floral from the peels releasing their oils into the stew. Reminiscent of curries throughout South and Southeast Asia, it can be eaten over rice, or with sliced almonds or cilantro on top, but it can just as well stand alone.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

In this straightforward slow cooker recipe inspired by dakdori tang, you’ll be rewarded with a tomato-braised chicken that’s light enough for summer but hearty enough for winter. The balance comes from the interplay of cherry tomatoes and gochujang: The tomatoes burst into a tart, light broth that’s deepened with warming heat and fermented savoriness from the chile paste. Serve the chicken with plenty of the sauce and tomatoes over rice, rice cakes, udon or ramen noodles, roasted sweet potatoes or grits. Garnish with any combination of toasted sesame seeds, lime wedges, cilantro or thinly sliced scallions or serrano chiles.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

Braising stew meat with dried beans ensures a rich broth no matter what else is in the pot. Here, white beans and pork shoulder are cooked with the heady flavors of porchetta: garlic, fennel, sage, rosemary and black pepper. While fennel seeds or pollen are used in porchetta, this recipe opts for the bulb and its stalks, which soften into silky strands. Round out the meal with sautéed broccoli rabe or kale and crusty bread. For a stovetop version, see here.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

In this lively and satisfying weeknight pasta, nutty whole-wheat noodles and rich sardines are dressed in a sauce of lemon, garlic, chile and olive oil drizzled straight from the sardine tins. Because the sauce isn’t cooked, its ingredients stay punchy and bright. Arugula adds a peppery crunch, while shavings of Parmesan lend nutty umami. When every ingredient is bold in flavor, you have less work to do, so dinner can be ready in just 30 minutes. The pasta is also good cold the next day; add the arugula right before eating.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

This soup is simultaneously comforting, fresh and nasal-clearing — as good for sick days as for those crisp days of spring. The key is a spicy bright-green slurry made by blending a bunch of raw spinach, miso, lime juice, fresh chiles and ginger. Because it’s poured into the soup pot of tender lentils and rice right at the end, its color and flavor stays vibrant. For pops of savory nuttiness, top your bowls with slivers of shiitake mushrooms that have been browned in sesame oil. They make this soup especially satisfying, but you could also top bowls with stir-fried or roasted vegetables like asparagus and winter squash.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

Adding frozen, chopped spinach to your meatballs to “stretch” the meat further isn’t just kind to your pocket book — it also makes for a better meatball. The spinach brings moisture to the mix of beef and pork, which leads to a more tender and juicy meatball. (You can also exclusively use pork or beef if you prefer.) The spinach also accentuates the minerality of the iron-rich ground beef, adding savoriness without heaviness. This recipe has you brown the meatballs in a pot so that you can build the sauce with the flavorful drippings. If you’d prefer to cook the meatballs in the oven, roast them on the upper rack at 425 degrees until no longer pink, 11 to 14 minutes, then broil until golden-brown on top, 2 to 4 minutes before adding to the sauce. Be sure to scrape any drippings from the sheet pan into the sauce as well.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

This easy breakfast isn’t too sweet or too savory, and that’s what makes it enticing to eat. Combine strawberries with vinegar, honey, basil, salt, and pepper, then let them sit for 15 minutes or up to 1 day. The berries become sweeter, tarter and slightly spicy from the black pepper, and their released juices develop into a pink syrup that you spoon over cottage cheese. Accentuate the savoriness by adding arugula, watercress or prosciutto; or lean into sweet by adding a spoonful of jam or granola.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

A few choice additions can make the common breakfast of fruit and cottage cheese anything but ordinary. Drizzles of tahini and honey give the bowl a rich, nutty, savory and creamy edge, while toasted sesame seeds double down on the sesame flavor and add a delicate crunch. It’s hard to think of a fruit that wouldn’t be good here: Pile on bananas, berries, stone fruits, melons, apples and pears, grapes, citrus, persimmon or pomegranate seeds.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

With sweetness and brightness from citrus, and woodsy warmth from sage and black pepper, these roast chickens are elegant, yet unexpectedly effortless. By spatchcocking the chickens and roasting them on a sheet pan, you can roast two chickens in under an hour. That said, be sure to dry-brine them overnight for juicy meat and crackly skin fragrant with seasonings. This dish is a worthy stand-in for Thanksgiving turkey, but it would be just as welcome at Sunday dinner with a big green salad and roasted vegetables.

Ali Slagle · NYT Cooking

Humble in parts yet rich in textures, this combination of flaky tuna, creamy beans, juicy raw onion and hearty kale makes a satisfying and quick lunch. Massaging the kale and onion with lemon juice and salt softens and seasons so that the kale remains toothsome but not tough, and the onion spicy but not prickly. The salad can be made up to two days ahead and is amenable to improvisation: Add cooked grains, thinly sliced tomatoes or cucumbers or leftover roasted vegetables.