Melissa Clark

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

The name of this delightful vanilla layer cake comes from the measure of ingredients in the batter — 1 cup butter, 2 cups sugar, 3 cups flour and four large eggs. But, like its buttery sister, the poundcake (a pound of each butter, sugar, flour eggs), a little fine tuning goes a long way to yield the most tender, delicate-crumbed cake. Using a combination of butter and oil makes the cake layers moist, and reducing the sugar slightly keeps them from becoming cloying. Feel free to substitute any other frosting for the mocha buttercream. Cream cheese frosting, lemon buttercream and chocolate ganache are excellent on this adaptable cake.

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

In this classic Indian dish, adapted from the cookbook author Julie Sahni, hard-cooked eggs are swathed in a spicy tomato gravy fragrant with cardamom, cumin and cinnamon. Since garam masala spice blends vary in their chile content, sample yours before adding it to the sauce, then stir it in to taste. You can make the sauce and hard-cook the eggs a day ahead (store them in the refrigerator), but the eggs are best introduced to the pot just before serving; simply reheat them in the simmering sauce. You can serve the eggs over rice, or with flatbread on the side. Melissa Clark

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

A beloved Australian staple, a zucchini slice is an eggy, frittatalike lunchbox staple that’s baked until it’s firm enough to slice and eat out of hand. Most versions include bacon, but in his book, “Snacks for Dinner” (Harper Wave, 2022), Lukas Volger substitutes a combination of olives and pickled peppers for a deeply salty bite without any meat. You can serve this hot, warm or at room temperature. Or make it a day or two ahead, store it covered in the fridge, then let it come to room temperature before serving so the texture is supple and soft. Melissa Clark

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

With a puffy, soufflé-like top covering a jiggly layer of pudding, this comforting dessert is balanced by the sharp tang of lemon juice and zest, while dollops of blueberry jam add sweetness and color. If you can time this to serve warm from the oven, you’ll be rewarded with the most ethereal texture, but it’s also excellent at room temperature, or even chilled, in which case it becomes denser and more curdlike.

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

In her cookbook, “The Taste of Country Cooking,” Edna Lewis includes this homey dish of baked tomatoes in her menu for a summer wheat-harvesting dinner. Sweetened with sugar and thickened with pieces of buttered bread, it’s an unusual side dish that’s just as good when made with soft, overripe tomatoes as it is with perfect ones. Using a mix of different size and color tomatoes makes this both visually and texturally appealing. But feel free to use whatever ripe tomatoes you have. Melissa Clark

Dr Joanna McMillan and Melissa Clark · Feel-Good Family Food Plan

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

You’ve probably made some kind of Mexican casserole layered with tortillas, beans, and plenty of melted cheese before (and if you haven’t, now is the time). But this one is bolder, brighter and more deeply flavored, thanks to pasilla chiles in the sauce, lime zest in the luscious crema topping, and chorizo in the beans. If you’d prefer a vegetarian version, leave out the chorizo. But do seek out the pasilla chiles (also called negra chiles), which add their inimitable smoky, fruity spice. This casserole reheats perfectly and will keep for at least five days in the fridge. Melissa Clark

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

Pork shoulder is such a forgiving cut of meat. No matter how you cook it — low and slow, hot and fast, on the grill or in a Dutch oven — it comes out tender, rich and brawny, and able to take on the other flavors in the pot. Here, boneless chunks are gently braised with tomato, cinnamon and olives for a deeply flavored stew that feeds a crowd and can be cooked entirely in advance. It makes a good amount of savory, gently spiced sauce, so be sure to serve it with something to catch every drop, like polenta, noodles or rice.

Dr Joanna McMillan and Melissa Clark · Feel-Good Family Food Plan

Dr Joanna McMillan and Melissa Clark · Feel-Good Family Food Plan

Dr Joanna McMillan and Melissa Clark · Feel-Good Family Food Plan

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

This grilled and smoked salmon recipe by the food writer Betty Fussell calls for curing the fish for several hours with salt, brown sugar and spices before smoking it over indirect heat on your grill. While the fatty fish absorbs the smoke beautifully, the fish can also be successfully cooked in a grill pan, or under the broiler. The salt and sugar cure, laced with sweet spices, both flavors the fish and firms up its flesh, giving it a meaty, silky texture. Serve it with a crisp salad for a light supper, or with rice for something more substantial. Melissa Clark

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

Melissa Clark

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

This simple Cantonese noodle soup is endlessly adaptable. Choose rice noodles or egg noodles, add pickled mustard greens, oyster sauce and chile oil for pungency and spice, or leave them out for a mellower broth. The combination of good broth, springy noodles and leafy greens makes for a satisfying foundation no matter how you zip it up. Melissa Clark

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

These tender muffins are like mini, not-too-sweet carrot cakes, with a dollop of marmalade tucked into the center of each one. They’re adaptable too. Play around with the spices, the marmalade flavors, even the carrot is negotiable — shredded butternut squash or apple will work just as well. They’re best served a day or two after baking, but leftover muffins freeze well for up to 6 months.

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

Using cauliflower in a savory kugel is a nice, slightly lighter change from the usual potatoes. Adding both red onions and scallions give this a sweet and fresh flavor, while smoked paprika lends smokiness and depth. While this is perfect to serve at a Seder, it’s also great as a meatless main all year long.

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

Quickly stirred together in one bowl without an electric mixer, these oat-filled cookies are easy to bake anytime you’re craving a treat. The secret to their chewy texture is to pull them from the oven as soon as the edges turn golden but while the centers are still very soft. They will firm up as they cool. But don’t worry if you overbake them slightly — they are just as good when crunchy. For the best flavor, use a thick marmalade with plenty of peel, in any variety you like. These cookies keep well for at least a week stored airtight at room temperature.

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

Here is a chocolate ice cream topping that has a texture nearly identical to that of the commercial product Magic Shell (which also contains coconut oil), but with a far richer, more fudgy flavor. Melissa Clark

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

This recipe gives you everything you want in a roast turkey: crisp skin, juicy and well-seasoned meat. It’s also extremely straightforward, the kind of thing you can memorize, then return to year after year. The important points are to dry brine the turkey in the fridge a day or two before roasting, brush oil or butter onto the skin so it turns gorgeously golden in the oven, and splash a little wine in the bottom of the roasting pan so the drippings don’t burn. Once you’ve figured out the amount of salt to use in the dry brine (see Tip), you can add herbs, spices and aromatics, or leave it plain and simple. It’s everything a classic Thanksgiving bird should be, no matter when you make it.

Dr Joanna McMillan and Melissa Clark · Feel-Good Family Food Plan

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

This is a simple, streamlined version of the classic cold noodle dish. A combination of crunchy peanut butter and sesame oil gives the dressing an earthy nuttiness, which contrasts with the heat of chile crisp and tanginess of lime juice. But the real draw is a sprinkling of chopped crystallized ginger, which adds sweet-spicy chewiness amid the noodles and cucumbers. You can make this a few days in advance: It holds up very well in the fridge. Just toss well before serving since the dressing tends to pool at the bottom of the container.

Dr Joanna McMillan and Melissa Clark · Feel-Good Family Food Plan

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

With their scalloped edges trimmed in yellow and green, slices of delicata squash make a particularly beautiful topping for this simple roasted vegetable tart. Using store-bought puff pastry makes it easy to put together, and the combination of hot honey, pistachios and Parmesan with the sweet, velvety squash is both sophisticated and crowd-pleasing. If you can’t get delicata squash, butternut, acorn or another variety will also work well. Serve this hot, warm or at room temperature, preferably within four hours of baking so the pastry stays buttery and crisp.

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

Chewy soft pretzels are easy to make at home, especially if you use purchased pizza dough (though making your own from scratch only takes a few extra minutes to do). The secret to getting the best shape is to roll the dough into long, thin ropes before twisting them into pretzels, then adjusting them after boiling if need be (just use your hands to smush the dough into shape). Boiling them in water seasoned with baking soda and molasses gives them their characteristic flavor, as does a sprinkling of pretzel (or other coarse) salt on top. Serve them warm or at room temperature, alone or dunked in the spiciest mustard you can take.

Dr Joanna McMillan and Melissa Clark · Feel-Good Family Food Plan

Dr Joanna McMillan and Melissa Clark · Feel-Good Family Food Plan

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

Instead of being covered in pastry, this baked Brie recipe lets the runny, tangy cheese take center stage, happily oozing into a baking dish along with a caramelized onion topping, which gives the whole thing French onion soup vibes. You can make the onions a few days ahead of time. Then just spread them onto a round of Brie or Camembert and pop it into the oven before serving with crostini or crackers. Like all melty cheese dishes, this is best served warm while the cheese is at its softest and most delightfully gooey.

Dr Joanna McMillan and Melissa Clark · Feel-Good Family Food Plan

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

Mini peppers make adorable, colorful wrappers for cheese in this sweet and savory recipe that’s extremely easy to make. Just stuff the diminutive peppers with chunks of cheese (halloumi, or paneer also works), some garlic and herbs, then roast until they collapse into soft, caramelized heaps filled with salty, not-quite melted cheese. You can serve these on crostini or lettuce to make festive finger food, or plop them on salads, rice dishes, eggs or beans.

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

These thick and buttery shortbread rounds are a riff on the ones sold by Walker’s Shortbread in Scotland. The main point of difference between Highlander shortbread and other varieties is the sparkly Demerara sugar that coats the edges, adding a distinctive sweet crunch. Using a small percentage of rice flour or cornstarch in the dough gives these an especially crumbly-soft texture while using all wheat flour makes them slightly snappier. Use what you have, relish the results.

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

Traditional matzo contains only flour and water. But Hillary Sterling, the chef of Ci Siamo in New York City and author of the book “Ammazza!” (Scribner 2026), based her recipe on a Sardinian flatbread called pane carasau, which traditionally includes olive oil for richness and salt for flavor. The result is an airy, tender matzo that’s not hard to make at home. The key to rolling out the dough very thinly is to do so on an unfloured surface; you want the dough to grip a little so it can stretch (the oil in the dough will keep it from sticking). Note that these matzos are not kosher for Passover.

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

This rich soup was inspired by the creamy, garlicky comfort of hummus, blending chickpeas, cumin and tahini into an easy, nutty-tasting soup that’s thick and satisfying. It's a natural fit, given that hummus has long found its way into soup (the Turkish Cypriot humus çorbası comes to mind). Here, a topping of crisp fried chickpeas and garlic slivers is salty-sweet and impossible to stop eating. Sprinkle it on the soup just before serving to preserve the delightful crunch.

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

Flavored with peppermint extract, these zingy shortbread rounds — a visual riff on black and white cookies — have an especially bright, buttery flavor that’s echoed in the icing. The red and white glaze recalls candy canes and Starlight mints, but feel free to play with different colors when decorating these. Or skip the glaze entirely for an easy-to-make minty cookie with a more classic appearance.

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

This moist and nubby cornbread has a caramelized, rich flavor from browning the butter, a slight sweetness from a touch of honey and a fiery punch from jalapeño — either fresh or pickled. Using fresh chiles adds a bright, almost herbal note, while pickled jalapeños are tangier and more robust. Serve the cornbread warm from the pan and slathered with butter, or toasted until the edges turn golden and crisp.

Dr Joanna McMillan and Melissa Clark · Feel-Good Family Food Plan

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

According to the cocktail historian David Wondrich, from whom this recipe is adapted, this is the manhattan as it was made from the 1890s until the 1960s, and again since the 2000s. The optional absinthe, which amounts to no more than a dash per drink, is a late-19th century addition that gives the drink a little herbal pizzazz; do not use more than suggested. This keeps for weeks at room temperature. Melissa Clark

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

Also called Danish dream cake (drømmekage), this vintage recipe has a tender cake topped with a “lazy” frosting of butter, brown sugar and coconut. Then the whole cake, still in its pan, is run under the broiler until the brown sugar melts, turning fudgy, and the coconut toasts and singes in spots. It makes for a lovely treat that keeps well, too. The topping, brittle and crunchy on the day it’s baked, gets softer and creamier after sitting at room temperature overnight, where it will last for three days.

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

Roasting a cut-up chicken with bunches of asparagus and scallions makes for an easy, savory meal that doesn’t stint on vegetables. The key here is to pile the asparagus into a mound, next to the chicken, so everything fits on the same pan. The stalks on top get brown at the edges, while the ones underneath soften but stay bright green. A lemon-mustard sauce spiked with coriander and garlic brings everything together. If you’d rather, you can substitute 3 ½ pounds of your favorite bone-in chicken parts here for the whole, cut-up bird.

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

These curd-filled treats split the difference between lemon bars and lemon poppy seed cake, with a shortbread-like crust and crumbly streusel topping studded with poppy seeds. If you don’t feel like making homemade lemon curd, store-bought works perfectly, or substitute thick fruit jam or marmalade.

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

My mother, Rita Clark, adapted this recipe from Edda Servi Machlin’s “The Classic Cuisine of the Italian Jews," tweaking it slightly by using brisket instead of eye of round, and adding plenty of minced garlic. It’s fresh and lemony tasting, much zestier than the usual brisket, and far more tender, too, thanks to the acid in the lemon juice. It lasts for days in the fridge and makes excellent sandwiches. Best of all, it’s one the easiest brisket recipes out there.

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

Beautiful to behold, fun to eat and a snap to make, these loaded focaccias are like charcuterie boards, but with an edible base. You can use any kind of flatbread to make them, but thick pieces of focaccia work particularly well, holding their own against whatever is on top. The key here is to choose a few toppings that work well together, like figs or persimmons, blue cheese and walnuts, or Parmesan, arugula, salami and pepperoncini. Or, use one combination of ingredients for one side of the focaccia and another for the other side. Just bear in mind that keeping things simple will look and taste the most harmonious.

Dr Joanna McMillan and Melissa Clark · Feel-Good Family Food Plan

Dr Joanna McMillan and Melissa Clark · Feel-Good Family Food Plan

Dr Joanna McMillan and Melissa Clark · Feel-Good Family Food Plan

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

Filled with fruity jam and dusted with cinnamon sugar, this easy Bundt cake resembles a giant jelly doughnut. Easily mixed in one bowl, it has a tender, cakey crumb that’s scented with nutmeg and vanilla, and its jammy core helps it stay moist for several days. Serve slices plain, with coffee or tea, or dolloped with whipped cream for a festive, simple-to-make dessert.

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

A sweet, soft mix of cabbage and leeks forms the base of this homey one-pot dish. Using vegetable broth instead of water as the liquid in the pot deepens the flavor, which is rounded out with salty, nutty Gruyère cheese and sour cream, and finished with smoked paprika and dill (or another fresh herb). You can use any short pasta here, just keep an eye on it so it doesn’t overcook; it should be just tender without being mushy.

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

Like carrot cake, parsnip cake is lightly spiced, exceedingly moist and slathered with cream cheese frosting. This version, adapted from Susan Spungen’s cookbook, “Open Kitchen,” is less sweet than most. In her original recipe, Ms. Spungen candies slices of fresh ginger root to make a spectacular presentation, but store-bought crystallized ginger tastes just as spicy-sweet and delicious. Melissa Clark

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

Like its viral cousin, lasagna soup, pasta pesto soup is based on a crowd-pleasing Italian classic. Use either homemade or store-bought pesto to imbue the broth with the pungent flavors of garlic and basil. Ground turkey adds a satisfying meatiness, while baby spinach turns this into a one-pot meal. And although the ricotta is optional, a dollop or two stirred into the bowl adds a lovely creaminess that rounds everything out.

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

Adding whole lemons slices to a classic midnight pasta brightens the dish, giving it a juicy tang to all the salty, savory flavors in the pan. The key is to blanch the slices in the pasta water first, which tames their bitterness, then to give them a quick sear in olive oil, which caramelizes their edges. Make sure the pan is very hot when you add the lemon pieces. Otherwise, it can be hard to get them brown enough to bring out their natural sweetness.

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

A little miso paste and a dash of soy sauce add umami complexity to this simple garlicky pantry pasta, while using pickled peppers, instead of the usual chile flakes, lends acidity as well as heat. Mild white miso works best here, integrating seamlessly with the other flavors. But you can substitute yellow or red miso if that’s what you have on hand; just take care when adding extra salt, tasting as you go.

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

A can of white beans rounds out this midnight pasta variation, lending protein and heft along with a pleasing creaminess when the beans break down into the olive oil, turning into a silky, almost velvety sauce. Some crushed fennel seeds offer a gentle, haunting sweetness, and olives make it pleasingly briny. But if olives aren’t your thing, feel free to leave them out for a milder but no less hearty dish.

Dr Joanna McMillan and Melissa Clark · Feel-Good Family Food Plan

Dr Joanna McMillan and Melissa Clark · Feel-Good Family Food Plan

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

Flavored with cardamom and saffron-infused cream, then garnished with golden raisins and slivered almonds, chicken korma is a delicate and elegant dish. This version, by the cookbook author Madhur Jaffrey, is quickly made in an electric pressure cooker. You can substitute chicken breasts here, as long as you buy them still on the bone. Boneless chicken is apt to overcook. Serve this over basmati rice to soak up the rich, creamy sauce. Melissa Clark

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

These floppy, lightly pickled onions are a traditional accompaniment to grilled and tandoor foods throughout India and the rest of South Asia. There are different versions depending on the region, but all are seasoned with salt, spiked with chile (either powdered or fresh) and brightened with some kind of acid, usually lemon juice or vinegar. This recipe, adapted from “Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking” (Barron’s, 1983), uses a combination of sweet paprika and cayenne for an earthy, nuanced flavor, and you can add the spices to taste, making this as fiery or mild as you like. Soaking the onion slices in water before mixing the relish helps soften their sharpness, but you can skip this step if you prefer a stronger onion flavor. Melissa Clark

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

Slowly roasting pears in spiced red wine turns them into tender morsels that glow like garnets and taste like cinnamon and cloves. Use a fruity but dry red wine here for the richest flavor, and pears that are firm all over, without any soft spots. This recipe makes extra crumble, which will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for at least two weeks. Use it over ice cream, yogurt or just nibble it out of hand. Warning: The crumble can be hard to stop eating once you start.

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

This tangy, fruity dessert is gluten-free, vegan and suitable for Passover (those who choose to avoid cornstarch at Passover can use tapioca starch in the filling). The topping is a bit sandier and more caky than a classic crumble, with a subtle, nutty sweetness from a combination of almond flour, almond butter and shredded coconut. Paired with the jammy fruit, the almond butter gives this crumble distinct PB&J energy. Note that almond butter brands vary widely; some are loose and runny, others thick and pasty. If yours is on the thicker side, you may need to add a bit more to get the crumbs to hold together. Leftovers make a terrific breakfast, topped with yogurt if you like.

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

On her Seder plate, Hillary Sterling, the chef of Ci Siamo in New York City and author of “Ammazza!” (Scribner 2026), sometimes uses roasted beets dressed in a harissa vinaigrette as a vegetarian alternative to the traditional lamb shank. Here, roasted carrots stand in for the beets. Coated in an orange-flavored dressing spiked with harissa and red wine vinegar, they make a tangy-sweet side dish next to a Passover brisket, roast chicken or any other main dish.

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

This elegant, company-worthy roasted chicken is seasoned with nutmeg and herbs and served with grapes that have been prepared two ways. Some have been roasted with red onions alongside the chicken, caramelizing at the edges. The rest are briefly pickled in vinegar, providing a sweet-tart contrast to the buttery sauce and crisp chicken skin. Leaving the grapes in small bunches for roasting not only makes a lovely presentation, it also keeps them from rolling off the pan and people’s plates for serving: pretty and practical.

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

Roasting rhubarb is an excellent way to cook the cut stalks. The steady heat helps the pieces keep their shape, softening them without causing them to fall apart. You can add sugar to taste, but keep in mind that rhubarb’s sweetness level varies widely. Forced rhubarb, typically available in winter and spring, has a rosier color and milder flavor, often needing less sugar. Traditional rhubarb, harvested in late spring and early summer, is sharper and may need a bit more. Serve roasted rhubarb doused in cream or spooned over ice cream or pound cake. It freezes well, too.

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

I always keep sausages on hand in the freezer. Quick to defrost, preseasoned and ready for your pan, they are a boon for those crazy, busy nights. In this recipe, I roast them with cumin-scented chickpeas, then shift to broiling so everything gets a little crisp at the edges. I love to throw some spinach in during the last minute of cooking so it can wilt into silky ribbons. The extra veg eliminates the need for a salad, turning this into a one-pan meal. Use whatever kind of sausage you like best — pork, chicken, turkey; spicy or mild. This easy, speedy meal is both endlessly adaptable and consistently satisfying.

Dr Joanna McMillan and Melissa Clark · Feel-Good Family Food Plan

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

This is a gentle-tasting but fully potent punch made with Cognac, maraschino, lime and nutmeg. It’s a concoction meant to celebrate the waning days of summer, the weeks before you put away the grill and pull out your sweaters. Pair it with savory grilled lamb and a salad, and you’ve got an end of summer feast. Melissa Clark

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

Roasting gnocchi on a sheet pan gives the potato dumplings an irresistible, chewy-crisp texture with lovely browned edges. Here, the gnocchi are cooked with sausage and peppers, the classic sandwich combination, to make a rich and very savory one-pan meal. A handful of cherry tomatoes melt in the pan alongside everything else, adding a juicy element that’s almost like a sauce. Hearty and satisfying, this dish needs no accompaniment, though spooning it on top of a bed of arugula or baby spinach would add even more vegetables to the mix.

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

This colorful, vegetable-filled dish has all the flavors of ratatouille but requires a lot less work to get there. Instead of standing at the stove to cook the eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes and peppers individually, they’re roasted all together on a sheet pan until they caramelize and collapse, turning silky and sweet. Spiced chickpeas are added to the oven halfway through cooking, giving them a chance to crisp up. Sprinkled onto the vegetables just before serving, they add protein and a delightful crunch.

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

This has the flavors of shrimp fried rice, but with a texture that varies between crunchy and soft. Roasting the oiled rice makes the edges especially crisp, while the center grains stay plump and moist. If you want to substitute long-grain rice, watch it carefully; it browns (and can dry out) more quickly than short-grain.

Dr Joanna McMillan and Melissa Clark · Feel-Good Family Food Plan

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

When Madhur Jaffrey first published her cookbook, “An Invitation to Indian Cooking,” in 1973, Americans had a hard time finding Indian staples like garam masala and basmati rice in local supermarkets, and dishes like her fragrant shrimp pullao were considered special occasion fare. Much has changed, and these days pullaos are easy to throw together on any given weeknight, often straight from the pantry. This one is gently spiced, letting the delicate flavors of the rice and shrimp shine. Ms. Jaffrey suggests serving it with a yogurt-based vegetable dish. But even simpler, a little dollop of salted yogurt on the side adds a cool and creamy contrast. Melissa Clark

Dr Joanna McMillan and Melissa Clark · Feel-Good Family Food Plan

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

The citrusy, sweet and sour sauce in this sheet-pan recipe gets caramelized by the oven’s high heat, coating chicken thighs and cubed sweet potatoes with a delightfully sticky glaze. You can use any kind of marmalade here — orange, lemon, grapefruit — or use a mixed-peel marmalade for the most complex flavor. The combination of fish sauce, soy sauce and garlic lends pungent, salty flavors that round out the sweetness of the marmalade, while crushed red pepper adds heat.

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

Flavored with sesame seeds and tahini paste, these sophisticated shortbread cookies, adapted from "Soframiz" by Ana Sortun and Maura Kilpatrick, have a pleasing crumbly texture and an intense, almost nutty flavor. Serve them as part of a cookie plate for dessert, or with coffee or tea as a midafternoon snack. Melissa Clark

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

A little sweet from date syrup, creamy from tahini and very tangy from plenty of lemon juice, this roasted carrot dish — adapted from Adeena Sussman’s cookbook “Sababa” — has charisma to spare. It’s also extremely easy to make. While the carrots roast with olive oil and cumin, all you do is whisk together a simple glaze from pantry ingredients. If you don’t have the date syrup on hand, maple syrup works just as well, making the dish slightly sweeter but no less compelling. Melissa Clark

Dr Joanna McMillan and Melissa Clark · Feel-Good Family Food Plan

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

Three bean salads are usually the stuff of picnics and potlucks. But that same combination of canned beans and fresh green beans turns soft and silky when simmered into broth, rounded out with tomato paste for body and sweetness, ground coriander for a warm note and a sprinkling of Parmesan for depth. And just as in a classic three bean salad, a garnish of lightly pickled red onions adds acidity and crunch.

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

Torta rustica (also called pizza rustica) is a rich, ricotta-stuffed pie that’s traditionally baked for Easter in Southern Italy. This version includes greens (either spinach or chard) for color and freshness. The ham is optional; feel free to leave it out, or substitute chopped olives or sundried tomatoes if you’re looking for a similar savory bite. The crust, adapted from Nancy Harmon Jenkins’s 2007 cookbook, “Cucina del Sole,” is sturdy and slightly sweet, which makes a nice contrast to the salty filling. (For more on producing a lattice-style crust, see our How to Make Pie Crust guide.) Melissa Clark

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

Fancier than a tuna salad but no harder to make, tuna rillettes are a perfect party nosh. To make it, good-quality canned tuna (preferably oil packed for the best flavor) is mashed into butter and crème fraîche, then seasoned with herbs, lemon and either capers or horseradish for a sharp bite. Serve it with bread or crackers for a pescatarian pâté that’s easy, elegant and full of verve.

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

Adapted from Renee Erickson, the Seattle chef and restaurateur, this meatloaf has more verve than most. The ground meat (in this case turkey, but you can substitute beef or pork) is seasoned with grated orange zest, garlic and Parmesan for maximum oomph. But the real secret lies in the tomato sauce that stripes the center and top of the loaf, which is spiked with red wine. The tangy sauce adds color and complexity to the loaf and helps keep it extra juicy as it bakes. Serve this with mashed potatoes and peas for a classic, comforting meal, then tuck leftover slices into buttered toast the next day for the best meatloaf sandwiches imaginable. Melissa Clark

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

The key to this heady noodle dish, adapted from “Vietnamese Food Any Day” (Ten Speed Press, 2019), is to build complexity by layering umami flavors in the pan. The cookbook’s author, Andrea Nguyen, starts with ingredients that are familiar to many pan-fried noodle dishes: oyster sauce, fish sauce, mushrooms, garlic. But then, in a brilliant move, she augments it all with a big dollop of salted, European-style cultured butter to add both creaminess and acidity. There’s also a touch of monosodium glutamate (MSG) in the mix, which you can buy in Asian markets or other supermarkets sold under the name Accent Flavor Enhancer. It has a salty sweetness that deepens all the other flavors. But if you’d rather not use it, nutritional yeast also works well. If you can’t get mustard greens, substitute baby kale or spinach. Melissa Clark

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

These vegan, gluten-free stunners, which you can mix in one bowl without an electric mixer, have a candy-like crunch at the edges from caramelized brown sugar; a chewy, dense center from a mix of almond and oat flours (look for a gluten-free version); and a bittersweet speckling of mini chocolate chips strewn throughout. Adapted from Lee Farrington, LB. Kitchen in Portland, Maine, they bake up sturdy enough for picnics, lunchboxes and mailing to far-flung, cookie-loving family and friends, but note that the sticky batter does need to be frozen before baking so plan ahead. Melissa Clark

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

Inspired by the vegan, gluten-free chocolate chip cookies that Lee Farrington makes at LB. Kitchen in Portland, Maine, these one-bowl delights are chewy at their centers, crisp at the edges and full of raisins and sweet spice. The batter is very sticky and needs to be frozen before baking so they don’t spread too much, but a couple of hours will do it. Feel free to substitute hazelnut flour for the almond flour for a deep, toasty flavor, and be sure to look for gluten-free oat flour and oats.

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

You don’t need to use an egg substitute like flax seeds or aquafaba to make excellent vegan latkes. The key is to use flour to bind the potato strands together, then leave the latkes alone in the pan as they cook thoroughly on the first side before flipping them. (Too much flipping can cause them to fall apart.) Once the latkes form a golden-brown crust on the first side, carefully turn them over to finish cooking. For the crispiest result, you can add the potato starch lost in squeezing back into the batter (see the Tip for details). It does add an extra step and 15 minutes to the process, but it’s easy and worth it for latkes lovers who live for the crunch.

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

Not to be confused with a Latin American tamale, tamale pie is a comforting retro casserole made from ground beef chili that is topped with cornbread batter and then baked. This vegetarian version relies on vegetables and beans instead of meat. Fresh green chiles and onions are broiled until charred to deepen their flavor, then puréed with tomatoes to make a complex sauce for the beans. The cornbread topping — crisp at the surface, tender underneath — gets an optional handful of Cheddar folded into the mix for added verve. Serve this one-pot meal on its own or with a creamy dollop of sour cream or yogurt on the side.

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

These ultra-fudgy brownies take the bittersweet elements of Vietnamese coffee — espresso and sweetened condensed milk — and turn them into dessert. For the most pronounced coffee flavor, there’s instant espresso in the brownie batter plus some ground espresso (or coffee beans) speckling the milky cream cheese swirl. To get the neatest, most crumb-free slices, chill the cooled brownies for an hour or so before slicing them upside down. Use a sharp knife and wipe it down between slices. These brownies last for up to a week when kept refrigerated in an airtight container, and they freeze well, too.

Dr Joanna McMillan and Melissa Clark · Feel-Good Family Food Plan

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

This silky white bean dip has a crowd-pleasing, hummus-like appeal, but it’s seasoned with toasted cumin, lemon zest and chile flakes instead of tahini. Drizzling warm cumin oil over the top brings out the earthy flavor of the beans and adds a richness that makes the dip even more velvety. You can make the dip up to five days ahead (store it in the fridge), but don’t add the cumin oil until right before serving for the most pronounced contrast of flavors and textures.

Dr Joanna McMillan and Melissa Clark · Feel-Good Family Food Plan

Melissa Clark · NYT Cooking

A specialty of Jerusalem, this dark, dense kugel is bound by eggs and caramel, and sharpened with loads of black pepper. In this recipe, adapted from the cookbook author Adeena Sussman, the edges crisp as it bakes, providing a crunchy contrast to the soft, springy noodles inside. Don’t stray from the pan while the sugar is caramelizing, or it may burn in spots. Serve it in wedges, either warm or at room temperature. Leftover Yerushalmi kugel will keep for at least five days in the fridge, and reheats well in a 350-degree oven. Melissa Clark