Justine Doiron

Justine Doiron · NYT Cooking

What’s the difference between a baked salad and a regular old bowl of roasted vegetables? The easiest answer is that the leafy green ratio in a baked salad is high, and I only hope that makes the satisfaction factor high, too. Now the difference between a baked salad and your typical salad is that instead of crunching through the raw stuff in a typical salad, you dress the greens (and in this case, cabbage) in a bit of olive oil and salt before roasting them down into tender, softened bites. Roasting the vegetables is a precursor to coating them with dressing, giving them their first coat of olive oil before a highly acidic vinaigrette rounds it all out. I usually say you can skip herbs if they aren’t in your fridge, but the parsley is really helpful here: It freshens up the salad so you don’t get any flavor fatigue. Watch Justine Doiron make this dish in this video.

Justine Doiron · NYT Cooking

For weekday meals, well-seasoned chickpeas are a wonderful thing. They can sometimes wind up a bit dry when pan-fried, but an easy fix is cracking an egg on top. Plus, it’s an excellent way to take advantage of all those crispy chickpea edges. What you’re left with is a zippy, quick high-protein meal that can partner with rice, grain bowls or a big swipe of Greek yogurt. Watch Justine Doiron make this dish in this video.

Justine Doiron · NYT Cooking

If there is a sign at the farmers’ market saying corn is on sale, I am coming home with at least six ears. While I always have the best intentions of turning my first haul into a salad, I love making a dent in my stockpile with this creamy pasta. Summer corn has a nice sweetness that plays with the saltiness of the Parmesan, but don’t worry, frozen corn will get you great results. The main thing is to make sure to blend your sauce as smoothly as possible, so the corn can thicken into the creamy yellow, slightly cheesy sauce it is meant to be. (Watch Justine make this recipe on YouTube.)

Justine Doiron · NYT Cooking

Around the holidays, there always seems to be a surplus of eggnog — and ditto cranberry sauce. Luckily, they make a stellar combination. This tender, moist coffee cake balances the cozy flavors of eggnog with the tartness of sharp cranberry sauce. Grating cold butter makes the crumble topping a breeze to put together. I love using Sarabeth’s jarred cranberry relish (if you can find it) for its bright, citrusy notes, but the canned kind or a homemade version are excellent, too. Watch Justine make this cake on YouTube here.

Justine Doiron · NYT Cooking

This is a brothy bean dinner at its finest, and works for cooking fast (with canned beans) or slow (with dried ones). With either method, no bean broth goes to waste. The orzo absorbs the bean cooking liquid, becoming naturally creamy as it cooks. And everything creamy needs a crispy counterpart, so quickly cooked kale comes in as a much-needed topping (and as some much-wanted greens!). (Watch the video of Justine Doiron making Creamy Orzo, Butter Beans and Greens here.)

Justine Doiron · NYT Cooking

Around April 15th, you can always count on two things: ramps and taxes. Okay, maybe not the former, depending on where you live, but those of us who do have access to ramps can’t deny what an absolute delight these herby, garlicky greens are. Also known as wild garlic, ramps sprout and multiply around March and April, and taste like a bright, fresher cousin of garlic: Think less earthy but equally aromatic. This pasta shows them off with minimal fuss: You blend the ramps with lemon pulp and miso and then lightly caramelize the mixture in olive oil, making sure not to bury their coveted ramp-y flavor. If you can’t track down ramps, you can also make this with scallions and be equally happy. Watch Justine Doiron make this dish in this video.

Justine Doiron · NYT Cooking

Honeynuts are no longer the new squash on the block, but their sweet, custardy flavor is still one of my favorites for baking. This classic pumpkin muffin turns not-so-classic when you swap canned pumpkin for homemade honeynut purée, but either will work just fine. The fun part of this recipe is the light, crispy brown butter cornmeal crumble, which gives the muffins a toasty nostalgic note. There’s a good ratio of crumble-to-muffin here (and by good, I mean high). (Watch Justine make this recipe on Instagram.)

Justine Doiron · NYT Cooking

This bowlful of creamy farro, springy greens and lemony salmon is a great example of what to make when the weather is signaling spring, but warmer temperatures might not be here just yet. Plus, it helps justify scooping up all the herbs, spinach and snap peas when the farm stands finally have them. The salmon roasts in the oven, taking care of itself while you do the rest of the prep. A big pot of water is your workhorse here: It boils the farro, blanches the greens and serves as our “pasta water” when it’s time to make everything creamy, so don’t skimp when you fill up the pot the first time. Giving the herbs a quick blanch makes them tender and silky, a good counterpart to the nutty farro. The usual “boil then dunk in ice water” technique for blanching vegetables sounds like a big ask, but this lazy method cools the ingredients with water from the sink instead (feel free to swap in an ice bath if that’s more your style). Watch Justine Doiron make this dish in this video.

Justine Doiron · NYT Cooking

To properly call this crispy tofu dish “schnitzel,” there needs to be some tenderizing of the tofu. But seeing as tofu is tofu, there’s no need to pull out a mallet here. Instead, use a gentle rolling technique to flatten the tofu and create some nice cracks. While flattening makes the tofu a bit more delicate to handle, it gives it craggily fried edges and a plush and flavorful center as the brine seeps into all the crevices. The buttermilk slaw is the cool counterpart to freshly fried cutlets, and while it’s tempting to throw any vegetables in here, I vote for you to stick with the blend of cabbage and fennel. Both have the right amount of sweetness to stand up to the creamy, salty dressing. Watch Justine Doiron make this dish in this video.