Recipes

Dena Kleiman · NYT Cooking

Dena Kleiman · NYT Cooking

Dena Kleiman · NYT Cooking

Dena Kleiman · NYT Cooking

Marialisa Calta · NYT Cooking

Marialisa Calta

Marialisa Calta · NYT Cooking

Marialisa Calta

Karen Baar · NYT Cooking

Karen Baar

Amanda Hesser · NYT Cooking

This recipe, adapted from Deborah Madison's "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone," takes dried chickpeas, soaked overnight, and pairs them with a sauce built on the robust, aromatic flavors of grated ginger, ground coriander, cumin and cardamom. It's an easy, Middle Eastern-tinged weeknight meal. As the chickpeas cook, prepare the sauce, and top with diced tomato, onion, jalapeño for added bite. Amanda Hesser

Molly O’Neill · NYT Cooking

Molly O'Neill

Matt Lee · NYT Cooking

Matt Lee And Ted Lee

Jonathan Reynolds · NYT Cooking

Jonathan Reynolds

Amanda Hesser · NYT Cooking

Amanda Hesser

Jennifer Steinhauer · NYT Cooking

Jennifer Steinhauer

Julia Moskin · NYT Cooking

Julia Moskin

Julia Moskin · NYT Cooking

The chef and gardener Deborah Madison has been writing almost entirely about vegetables for more than 25 years. This recipe comes from her book“Vegetable Literacy,” which breaks down the universe of vegetables into botanical families — the Carrots (carrot, celery, fennel, parsnips), the Sunflowers (sunchoke, cardoon, artichoke, endive, escarole, lettuce) and so on. Julia Moskin

Dawn Perry · NYT Cooking

The Italian word “frico” describes cheese that is cooked until toasted and crisp — but what results is something like the greatest cheese wafer you’ve ever had. That technique is applied here to boneless, skinless chicken breasts to give them a boost in flavor and texture. Like any properly cooked protein, the frico exterior will release easily from the skillet when it’s ready, so wait for it. Umami-heavy mushrooms are a great accompaniment, but any quick-cooking vegetable will work. Try chopped zucchini or whole cherry tomatoes in the summer, slow-wilting greens like curly kale or mustard greens in fall, or go all in with a ton of onions.

Dawn Perry · NYT Cooking

A post-marinade is exactly what it sounds like: a flavorful mixture you sink meat or fish into after it cooks. Often used with grilled meats, the technique works great with seared proteins as well, especially boneless, skinless chicken breasts, which don’t have a lot of flavor on their own. These breasts are cooked using a combination sear-steam method that builds flavor and keeps lean breasts juicy. Finish with a tangy-spicy combination of lemon, garlic and red-pepper flakes and you’ll reap all the benefits of a traditional marinade without having to plan ahead. If you have thinner breasts or cutlets, this is a particularly wonderful use for them, since they don’t have a lot of time to pick up color and flavor before they cook through.

Dawn Perry · NYT Cooking

The pan-steam method used here ensures boneless, skinless chicken breasts cook quickly while staying moist. The technique works with water, but a flavorful mixture of soy sauce, honey, garlic and coriander infuses the chicken with even more flavor. Depending on the size of the skillet you use, the sauce may reduce a little slower or faster than the time indicated. When you swipe a rubber spatula across the bottom of the skillet, the sauce should hold a spatula-wide trail that fills in with liquid pretty quickly. If you happen to reduce too much, whisk in water one tablespoon at a time until you’re back to a shiny sauce that can be drizzled. Rice is an obvious side, but the sliced chicken and pickled cucumbers are really good tucked inside flour tortillas, too.

Dawn Perry · NYT Cooking

The secret ingredient in this ultrafast sauce based on long-cooking Bolognese is Worcestershire sauce. The vinegar, molasses and anchovies in the condiment season the ground beef mixture with salt, acid, sweetness and funk in one shot. Once the sauce has simmered, use tongs to transfer the pasta directly from the pot to the skillet, then toss in some of the starchy pasta cooking liquid for a glossy, saucy finish.

Dawn Perry · NYT Cooking

Packed with the intense flavors of garlic, paprika and salt, dried chorizo sets the flavor profile of this pasta. First, the chorizo sears in a skillet to render some of its fat and flavor, then chickpeas, scallions and kale soak up its spices. Salty Manchego cheese maintains the Spanish vibes, but Parmesan or pecorino work equally well. While eight ounces of pasta might not seem like a lot, meaty chickpeas and hearty kale complete the dish.

Dawn Perry · NYT Cooking

If you want to get the timing just right on this one — no wasted time! — start the sauce a few minutes after you’ve dropped the pasta into the boiling water. Your spinach should be wilted right around the time the pasta is al dente. If that feels too stressful, or the spinach wilts before the pasta is ready, simply turn the heat under the skillet all the way down to low and keep it warm while the pasta finishes. Don’t count this recipe out if you’re not fond of capers. They add a hint of salty brininess without being in-your-face caper-y. A pound of pasta is a lot to toss around, especially with 2 bunches of spinach in the mix, so save that extra quarter-box for your next pot of pasta e fagioli.

Dawn Perry · NYT Cooking

This recipe is endlessly adaptable: You can use pancetta or even sliced salami in place of the bacon, and chopped cabbage or torn escarole work well if you don't have sprouts. No shallots? A small red onion will do. Keep in mind different types of bacon (or other cured pork) will render different amounts of fat. When you add the brussels sprouts, if the skillet starts to look a little dry, add a tablespoon of oil to keep things moving. To achieve a nice mix of crisp leaves and tender cores, tear off some of the loose outer leaves from your brussels sprouts; they will wilt and blister while the more tightly bundled cores will soften and steam. This recipe is designed for a half pound of pasta; though you may be tempted to add extra pasta, the dish will be plenty filling with a whole pound of brussels sprouts.

Dawn Perry · NYT Cooking

The trick to creating deeply browned, pan-seared broccoli involves two things: high heat and no touching. Allowing your florets and stems to sear in an even layer, undisturbed, gives them time to blister without cooking all the way through, so they retain some crunch. While many pasta sauces are finished with starchy pasta water, this one isn’t, since the hot water would strip the broccoli of that color and crunch you worked so hard to achieve. Instead, toss the cooked pasta in the skillet with the broccoli, walnuts and cheese. A drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon will provide any additional moisture you need.

Dawn Perry · NYT Cooking

Buttermilk makes this stir-together cake super tender, but you can use any milk you have in its place. Same goes for the fruit: Use your favorite frozen berries, or a combination, but frozen cherries, mango or peaches work as well. Just cut any big fruit pieces into bite-size pieces before folding into the batter. And if you do happen to have fresh summer fruit around, that’ll work, too.